Sometimes you find a course that truly inspires all the elements that make golf a great game.
That connection infused between nature and course that feels as if it were spawned from the earth just as the trees, grass and foliage surrounding it.
A perfect setting when course and nature become one, providing an unforgettable layout for all golfers to enjoy. No course embodies this inspiration more than Blue Ridge Shadows Golf Club in Front Royal Virginia.
The course opened last fall to rave reviews and despite the hour plus drive out I-66 to get there it doesn't disappoint.
The first hole is a stunning opener, setting the bar for what’s in store during the remaining 18-holes. The elevated tee to split fairway on the adjacent hill side requires accurate and controlled tee shot. Once in the fairway your approach shot must travel 50-feet downhill to a green with a small pond guarding the left and a large bunker guarding the back.
How’s that for a warm-up hole?
The remaining front nine is routed through woods with sloping fairways providing outstanding views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Each hole would be "signature hole" at any other course but it seems to be the norm at Blue Ridge Shadows. The course just keeps coming at you with a multitude of tests that challenge for both your game and to inspire your visual senses.
After the turn, the back nine has a stretch of four holes residing in a low valley below and behind the clubhouse.
As you proceed down the hill to the 10th fairway you can't help but notice the large waterfall cascading down the hillside behind the 13th green and just to the right of the cart path. With a winding creek, a couple of ponds and a lake to navigate through and between over this four hole stretch, the challenge of the course makes a dramatic switch but at least there there’s the solace of having and even lie for a change.
As you proceed to the 14th tee you’re brought back to the familiar views and rolling terrain that was ever present on the front nine. One of the most important factors remember when playing a course like Blue Ridge Shadows is the ability to club up and down to compensate for the elevation changes.
The tee shot up hill to the 14th green is a perfect example. During our round we determined the hole played two clubs uphill. The hardest part is telling your brain that you’re hitting the ball 170- yards using your 200-yard club.
Once you reach the18th hole you should be ready for one of the toughest finishing holes anywhere. This double dogleg par-5 starts with a blind tee shot to a split fairway.
The best play is a 200-yard shot to the right side of the fairway because of what you “can't see”. A hazard runs right down the middle of the fairway hidden from view at the tee. The most prudent play from the fairway is to lay-up at the end of the bend leaving you with a pitch to the green.
Amigos Favorite Hole: With 17 signature holes to choose from we settled on 420-yard par 4 No. 7 was our favorite.
As with many of the holes at Blue Ridge Shadows the tee shot sets up elevated and the trees both right and left provide a frame to the fairway and landing area below.
A good drive will descent to a fairway that is wider than seen at the tee. The approach shot has to go back up a hill to a green where only part of the pin will be visible.
Like many of the approach shots at Blue Ridge Shadows you have to visualize shots to greens with hidden features. You have to create opportunity in the subtle nuances that the course gives you.
Like all great designs, the course only made us want more and everyone in out group couldn’t wait to book another tee time even before we finished our first eighteen.