GreatHoles
HOLE NO.
18
The Piedmont Club By Josh Apple, PGA
Set against the backdrop of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Prince William County, the Piedmont Club in Haymarket is a Tom Fazio-designed course known for its scenic beauty and strategic challenge. Built in 2001 and stretching over 7,000 yards, it blends solid length for the modern game with shorter holes that demand precision. Fazio’ s rolling fairways, well-placed bunkers and contoured greens make the course both playable and demanding. Piedmont has become a key venue for amateur competition in Virginia, recently hosting the 2025 Northern Virginia Match Play and the 2024 VSGA Amateur / Open Qualifier. This September, it will welcome the 2025 VSGA Women’ s Stroke Play Championships.
RISK / REWARD FINISH
Piedmont saves its toughest for last. The round culminates in a reachable par 5, though far from an easy birdie. A narrow tee shot is flanked by bunkers, with a long patch of fescue grass to the left and dense trees to the right, leaving little margin for error. Even from the fairway, going for the elevated green in two means navigating a severe false front slope, two bunkers short, a penalty area to the left and trees to the right. The green itself is heavily undulated, making two-putts anything but simple.
OUTSTANDING FEATURE
Right of the elevated green complex is a tree-lined area filled with wood chips, as opposed to the traditional mulch or grass. Golfers who go for the green in two often find their ball ricocheting off the trees and into this unpredictable zone, known among members as the“ Plinko Board” for the way balls bounce chaotically, just like the game on The Price is Right. A penalty area guards the left side of the green, so any aggressive miss brings a risk. Attempting to bump a chip under the trees off the wood chips to a fast, sloped green is a tough ask for even the most skilled players. With danger left, bunkers short and the Plinko Board waiting on the right, getting home in two often leads to a bogey finish.
CHRIS LANG
14 V IRGINIA G OLFER | S EPTEMBER / O CTOBER 2025