Virginia Golfer September / October 2015 | Page 31

FORT BELVOIR GOLF CLUB

range during World War I and his team
discovered 16,000 unexploded ordinances,
including 500-pound bombs, which took
almost a year to remove and explode before
work could continue. Previously 36 holes, the
Eagle course closed in 2011, but the Raptor
remains one of the best courses in the Air
Force—wide open a lot of fun to play with
a number of risk-reward holes and a scenic
quartet of par threes.

FORT BELVOIR GOLF CLUB
Base/Location: Fort Belvoir, Fort Belvoir
Play Policy: Just opened to the public this year
Green Fees: $$

There were 36 holes here until recently
when the Army decided that the best spot
for their new museum was on six holes of
the Gunston course, but they are paying to
have the remaining 12 holes remodeled so
the facility will once again have 36 when the
new holes open sometime next year. Both
courses feature nicely rolling terrain and

vsga.org

tree-lined holes with pushup greens and
deep greenside bunkers. Admirably, the club
hosts a six-week Wounded Warriors clinic
each spring and fall.

SEWELLS POINT GOLF COURSE

MEDAL OF HONOR
GOLF COURSE

Base/Location: Naval Support Activity,

Base/Location: Marine Corps Base,

Quantico

to the challenge. The course was renamed in
1980 to honor the Marines who have been
awarded the nation’s highest military honor.

Play Policy: Open to the public but on a spaceavailable basis on weekends and holidays
Green Fees: $, VIP Card discount
This short but tight layout dates to 1930
when it was just six holes before expanding
to nine holes four years later. After longtime
superintendent Ernest Stanley remodeled
it to 18 holes in the mid-1940s, it became
popular with our nation’s Golfers-in-Chief,
including Dwight Eisenhower, Gerald Ford,
and Bill Clinton. Not a lot of dirt was moved
to build the course so the holes really follow
the rolling terrain. There aren’t a whole lot
of flat lies. The small, pushup greens also add

Norfolk

Play Policy: Public welcome but must play
with authorized user (active-duty or retired
military or dependent or Department of
Defense employee)
Green Fees: $
Featuring a historic clubhouse reminiscent of Augusta National, this 1927 Donald
Ross design may just be the best course in
the state’s armed forces roster. It’s short
(only 6,290 yards) but sweet with Ross’s
signature pushup greens that were redone
four years ago with Champion bermuda.
The holes, like the 294-yard 2nd with water
down the right and in front of the green,
can really jump up and bite you if you’re
not careful.

S EPTEMBER/O CTOBER 2015 | V IRGINIA G OLFER

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