Many courses today bear the moniker of "golf club" but few live up to the label.

This self designation by management or ownership can sometimes deceive the golfer who expects a certain level of quality in both course condition and club amenities.

Like most golfers, I feel a true "golf club" should exude an "ideal". It should foster a setting that promotes what a perfect day, playing the game should truly be.

With this "ideal" in mind let's consider what these expectations should be.

The course should be in near perfect condition from tee to green. The course design should inspire the minds eye with a scenic journey promoting a perfect harmony between nature and game. The clubhouse should feel like a second home with unparalleled service that goes beyond the norm. And the practice facility should be a utopia to learn, hone and become one with the game.

These may sound like lofty expectations but some "golf clubs' do deliver, and none embody the ideal better than Old Hickory Golf Club in Woodbridge Virginia.

Old Hickory opened in 2003 and is the centerpiece of the ever burgeoning River Falls housing development. Yes, houses are visible on the course but they do not impede play or detract from the courses beauty in any way.

The course was designed by Tim Freeland and he did an excellent job in promoting plenty of challenge from championship tees and at the same time cultivated an enjoyable experience from the forward tees.

The layout is carved through an abundance of hardwood trees that serve both as aesthetic boundary, and guard against any wayward or overly aggressive shot.

There are a few elevation changes on the course with the most noticeable at the tee. Selecting the proper club at an elevated tee is always difficult. The decline in elevation to the fairway always seems further than the actual distance. Trust in club selection and having faith in the scorecards posted distance is critical.

You can't but admire the attention to detail in every aspect of the courses conditioning.

Every tee box is expansive in size allowing plenty of room to move tees around. This promotes ample recovery time from excessive divots and provides added space for any maintenance the course might have scheduled. Nothing’s worst than playing a course with a multitude of temporary tee.

Each fairway is perfectly sculpted and easily describable from the rough. This visible boundary of fairway to rough is pleasing to the eye and aids in disguising ample landing areas that are not entirely visible at the tee.

Each fairway bunker was filled with a minimal balanced level of sand and each greenside trap had the perfect playable depth. Both promote the ability to play a variety of different shots when necessary.

A few of the greens at Old Hickory are only partially visible from the fairway; another great design quality that challenges the golfers trust in their swing and distance control.

Each green is large in size compared to most courses, with most exhibiting two tiers that add another dimension of challenge. Each green rolled firm and true, yet were receptive to good iron shots.

So, in a market with many self-proclaimed "golf clubs", few have exceeded our lofty expectations like Old Hickory!

Amigos Favorite Hole: On a course plentiful of favorites, we decided the par 5 626-yard Number 18 is one of the most dramatic finishing holes anywhere in the Mid-Atlantic.

Don't get to distracted by the distance from the championship tees, a good drive should have plenty of roll to a fairway that only looks tight.

Everyone’s best option on this monster is a three sho shot approach unless you have a swing capable of tour length.

Once in the fairway, a good second shot requires the golfer to hit a long iron, fairway wood or hybrid to a snaking fairway with a multitude of bunkers on the left and no real bail out room on the right.

Anyone who can conquer this hole in 5 strokes or less is one part golfer and two parts magician!