Virginia Golfer Sep / Oct 2020 | Page 12

at c ( ) 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