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News & Notes
Compiled by CHRIS LANG
Players like Langley's Chase
Nevins and Kelly Chinn will have
to wait until the spring to compete
for a VHSL championship.
VHSL POSTPONES SPORTS
UNTIL THE SPRING
The Virginia High School League has
postponed all sports—including golf—
until the spring due to the continued
coronavirus pandemic. The VHSL’s
seven golf championships—which are
conducted by VSGA staff members—are
normally scheduled for October, including
team and individual championships
in six classifications and a state girls’
championship. The public high-school
golf season in Virginia will now run from
March 1-May 1, 2021, though those dates
are still subject to change.
“This is an extremely difficult decision,”
VHSL executive director Billy
Haun said in a teleconference following
the announcement. “You know how
important high school activities are to
our student-athletes, our coaches, our
parents, to our school communities.
“This was not a decision that was made
lightly. Everybody took this very, very
seriously. It’s safe to say in our office,
there are very few of us that have had a
full night’s sleep in a long time, just thinking
about all of the implications here.”
UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT
Goodbye Rapidan Golf Club, hello
Somerset Farms.
Now under the umbrella of New Direction
Golf Management and new owners
Kenny and Laura Dotson, the former Rapidan
Golf Club re-opened in July under
“This was not a decision that was made lightly.
Everybody took this very, very seriously. It’s safe to
say in our office, there are very few of us that have
had a full night’s sleep in a long time, just thinking
about all of the implications here.”
—Billy Haun, VHSL executive director
the name Somerset Farms Golf Course.
Located in Locust Grove in eastern Orange
County, the course lies on the historic
Somerset Farm property on the banks of
the Rapidan River.
The course retains much of the property’s
history, including a historic manor house,
which was built in 1834. The semi-private/
public golf course winds through gently
rolling woodlands and wetlands while offering
unspoiled views of the Virginia countryside.
The course was designed by Tulsa-based
architect Jerry Slack, who incorporated
the heritage of the club's natural terrain
into the design while preserving the natural
areas and wetlands on the property.
Somerset Farms is open while undergoing
improvements to the clubhouse
and course. Tee times can be booked
through Gauntlet Golf Club’s website
at golfgauntlet.com.
This is the third VSGA member club
to undergo a name change in 2020. The
former Waynesboro Golf & Country Club
is now known as Orchard Creek Golf
Course. On Aug. 11, Jefferson Lakeside
Country Club in Richmond was re-branded
as Lakeside Park Club. Look for more
on this change in the December issue of
Virginia Golfer.
CHRIS LANG
10 V IRGINIA G OLFER | S EPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020
vsga.org