You can search everywhere online and people will tell you what the best 100 courses in the US are or even in the world, but very few sites talk about the best women’s courses and even fewer actually describe why they are so great. So my objective is to play courses all over the U.S and give you a detailed account of my round including what the course is like from the red tees and what amenities they have, ie. Hairspray or sun block in the ladies room, and how nice the bar is!
Bull Run, Haymarket VA – 45 min drive west on 66 from DC
I had a little trouble waking up this particular Monday morning so instead of sitting in commuter traffic, I had a nice relaxing 45 min drive to Bull Run – well actually I missed my exit and had to drive another 16 miles, so it was more like an hour, but instead of getting angry I just enjoyed the country side that I hadn’t seen in a few months living in the city. Ok so enough about the drive, when I arrived at Bull Run, the craziest thing happened.
This guy pulls up to my car in his golf cart and asks for my clubs…It might have been the best service I’ve ever gotten at a golf course and I’ve been to some ritzy ones. But the service didn’t stop there, after meeting some of the staff I headed over to the practice range (FYI – they have one of the best public practice facilities in the DC metro area)
At the range I met an instructor who did his little sales pitch and gave me his card. I wish he had given me a few free tips, but instead I was just really nervous and wasn’t hitting the ball so great, but to my rescue comes the assistant pro to see If I want to play 18 with him. Obviously I would much rather play a round with people than alone, so I quickly said yes and hopped into my cart.
The course was in the best shape of all the DC/VA courses I had played so far this season, the fairways were soft and bouncy, the rough was high (definitely called for a lot of shots with my rescue club) and the greens were fast. They had been punched a few weeks ago, but still rolled great! The only thing I didn’t like was that the fairways were really wet; they are working on a new irrigation system, and fixing some of the problems the course had before they took over management, so I can’t be too upset.
I’ve just never liked it when mud splashes up onto my calves. The other thing I think I’ll find with most of the courses I’ll play is that the course always looks more beautiful from the tips. So my suggestion for you ladies is to play with really good men that play from the black tees so you can see the real beauty of the course. This might be something I’ve come to deal with as a golfer, that golf wasn’t made for us ladies, but we can still make it our own.
For example, enjoying the natural beauty of the courses. At Bull Run they have a lot of creeks running through the links and I saw at least one hawk. Golf for me is mostly about being outside and in nature away from city life, so Bull Run definitely took care of that aspect for me.
My play out there was not outstanding, but as long as I keep up with the guys and everyone thinks I scored better than I did, then I am a happy camper. After the round I decided to check out the bar and clubhouse. The Clubhouse has a gorgeous porch and extremely friendly wait staff. I don’t think I’ve ever met unfriendly servers at a country club though.
I had a nice cold beer to wrap up the day and after an appropriate amount of time to make sure I was sober to drive I hopped into my car, and made the much shorter 45 min drive back into DC. I definitely see myself going back to Bull Run, but next time with a few friends.