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While
the first two or three holes are welcoming,
there's a real battle to be won - especially
on the back nine if you're going to score
well. This course is certainly the best
of the five courses in the Fredericksburg
area, and better than anything I played
in Virginia Beach. Green fee rates vary
from $49 to $79 US.
We
couldn't resist the temptation to play the
longest golf hole in North America as recorded
in the Guinness Book of World Records at
the friendly 27-hole Meadows
Farms Golf Course. A 20 minute
drive past several more battlefield sites
and we arrived at the family-run operation
that offers Canadians a free round of golf
if they bring owner Bobby Lewis a 2-4 of
Blue or another favourite beer from north
of the border – you should see Lewis'
bar!
I
rarely play golf from the tips, but the
Longest Hole Nine plays 3,909 yards, par-37
including the mammoth 841-yard, par-6 third
hole that I bogeyed after putting my fourth
shot into the greenside pond!
While
there's nothing fancy about Meadows Farm,
it's a great place to have a ton of fun
where you can play other unique holes including
a warm-up hole, one with church-pew bunkering,
one over a towering waterfall that you drive
your cart under, an island green and even
one hole shaped as a baseball diamond –
you have to see it to believe it.
The
course opened in 1993, and green fees are
$37 to $42 US.
My
third stop in the area was a short march
out to The
Gauntlet Golf Club – which
certainly proved to be a handful. Set on
the shore of Lake Curtis, it curls around
the water's edge with unsuspecting scenic
beauty. The wooded parkland layout moves
swiftly over the front nine with some tricky
shots if you have never played the course
before, so paying attention to the GPS tips
on your golf cart is my advice to you.
Architect
P.B. Dye spins a fabulous back nine including
a terrific finish starting on number 15
with a 240-yard par-3 that I hit driver
on. It's a rollercoaster finish over the
three closing par-4s.
Number 17 is memorable for its uphill shot
to the wildest green on the course, while
number 18 is a narrow tree-line to another
elevated green surrounded by deep pot bunkers.
Interestingly,
the fairways feature a lush zoysia grass,
which the ball sits up very well on putting
a premium on staying on the short stuff.
Regular green fees range from $45 to $57
US.
The
Fredericksburg
tourism website provides information
on tourist locations, and details about
several Civil War sites and monuments. If
you like beer, check out The
Capital Ale House on Caroline
Street in Old Town Fredericksburg that has
a menu of 200-plus beers and awesome burgers.
09/09
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