By:
GOLF’s Course Raters and Ran Morrissett, Structure Editor
December 30, 2022
The Cascades course at Omni Homestead.
Lynn Swann
As a part of GOLF’s course ranking course of for 2022-23, our fleet of 100-plus knowledgeable panelists recognized one of the best golf programs in Virginia. Browse the hyperlinks beneath to take a look at all of our course rankings, or scroll all the way down to see one of the best programs in Virginia.
GOLF’s different course rankings: High 100 Programs within the World | High 100 Programs within the U.S. | High 100 Programs You Can Play | High 100 Worth Programs within the U.S. | America’s Greatest Municipal Programs | The 100 Greatest Quick Programs within the World
SYMBOL GUIDE
1 = High 100 Course within the U.S.
P = Public/Resort Course
V = High 100 Worth Course within the U.S.
M = High 30 Municipal Course within the U.S.
Ed. word: Some programs had been omitted from our rankings as a result of they didn’t obtain sufficient votes.
The most effective golf programs in Virginia (2022/2023)
1. Cascades (Sizzling Springs) [P]
Tillinghast really turned down this challenge, considering there wasn’t sufficient room to construct good holes within the slender valley flooring. That speaks volumes about William Flynn and his skill to search out options to difficult issues. The course famously finishes 3-5-5-3 however the complete again 9 captures the attract of valley golf. The lengthy twelfth, with a creek down the left, has lengthy been thought to be certainly one of Virginia’s best holes. Arnold Palmer named the dogleg proper par-4 tenth, which stair-steps downhill, as certainly one of his 54 favourite holes in America.
2. Olde Farm (Bristol)
3. Kinloch (Manakin-Sabot)
4. Robert Trent Jones (Gainesville)
5. Farmington CC — Important (Charlottesville)
6. Ballyhack (Roanoke)
7. CC of Virginia — James River (Richmond)
8. Primland — Highland (Meadows of Dan) [P]
9. Keswick Corridor — Full Cry (Keswick) [P]
10. Birdwood (Charlottesville) [P]
How we rank our programs
For GOLF’s course rankings lists, every panelist is offered a listing of a whole bunch of programs and “buckets,” or groupings. In the event that they imagine the course to be among the many greatest in its class (World, U.S. Worth, and many others.), they test the corresponding field to put it in a selected bucket. Panelists are additionally free to write down in programs they felt ought to have been included on the poll. Factors had been assigned to every bucket; to reach at a median rating for every course, we divide its combination rating by the variety of votes. From these level tallies, the programs are then ranked accordingly.
The important thing to the method is the expertise and experience of our panel. Hailing from 15 nations and all of the worldwide golf meccas, every of our 115 handpicked panelists has a eager eye for structure, each regionally and globally. Lots of our panelists have performed greater than 1,000 programs in 20-plus nations.
As a result of we don’t prescribe a set methodology to evaluate programs as different ranks do, nobody opinion carries the day — our rank is a democracy. Some panelists imagine that enjoyment is the last word objective, and thus prioritize design attributes reminiscent of width and enjoying angles, whereas frowning on upon having to continuously hunt for balls in thick tough. Different panelists worth problem and the calls for of hitting each membership within the bag. Nonetheless others take into account a course’s environment and total setting of paramount significance, thereby emphasizing the setting and naturalness of the course. In the long run, permitting raters to freely categorical their tastes is what produces the specified eclecticism in our High 100 lists.
Panelist integrity is significant. Voters with any ties or associations to eligible programs should flag such conflicts. Panelists additionally know to not let the standard of their play affect their poll — similar for a luxe expertise or clubhouse. Whereas opulence could make for a extra a memorable outing, it’s not what GOLF’s course lists are about. Our focus is on design and structure. We examine the course, not the trimmings round it.
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