This past weekend my wife planned for my birthday a golf trip to a part of the state we'd not visited. An extensive Internet search led her to select Draper Valley GC in Draper, VA. Almost a three hour drive from Charlottesville, I expected to enjoy the weekend but not likely drive way out there again. We will be back.
This course is a gem. Obviously, I can't compare it to other courses in the area, but in comparison to the twenty courses we play within an hour of Charlottesville or further up in the Shenandoah Valley, this is the best. The greens fees posted on the course's website are very reasonable at $41 on the weekend - $30 with VSGA. We paid $26 for rounds on Sunday and Monday. Perhaps that is a seasonal rate, but in any case it is half of what we're happy to spend on a weekend in our part of the state. The course conditions were simply stunning. Beautiful bluegrass fairways - lush and well cut. Nowhere - not one place - is there evidence of poor drainage or dry patches. The greens were closely cut, moderately fast, and roll true. Perhaps because golfers in this part of the state are more conscientious about fixing ball marks than in Central or (especially) Northern Virginia, the greens looked almost "new". Sand traps - always a big indicator of cost cutting, were very good. The sand was not top end powdery stuff, but was rather a little "pebbly", but they were all clean, raked and more importantly all tilled. I felt like I was golfing at a far more exclusive course. Really, in searching for something to be critical about, I can only say that there were pine needles on many greens, and for a few the needles were thick. It reminded me of golfing in Georgia, but here the pine needles were very fine and difficult to brush out of the way. However, after we put them out of mind and just picked away those near the hole, they were not a factor. It was more like putting over dead blades of grass which had somehow blown up onto the green.
The layout of the holes is excellent. I'm a ten handicap, 55 years old, and for me the course was challenging without progressing to a beat down. This is a long course off the whites; the longest I've played this year. This distance comes in the par threes, and especially the fours. There are no 100 yard par threes, and to reach the par fours in regulation you are going to need a good drive and at least a mid-iron if not a hybrid. Where there are par fours of more moderate distance, you're going to need to carry your second shot over significant water obstacles right in front of the green, or you're going to face a sharp dogleg off the tee which can't be "cut". The fairways are all bordered by obstacles, like a typical Virginia mountain course, so you aren't going to be able to play your ball off another fairway - not ever. So yes, the course does play long, but it didn't feel so long to me as I expected. The fairways are wide and you can grip and rip your driver without worrying too much about accuracy. This is a track which is laid out to require you to hit your shots as far as you'd expected, but won't often punish you for hitting it less straight than hoped. Elevation changes, always a favorite aspect of Virginia mountain golf, make most of the holes unique from each other. #9 is the signature hole, a really fascinating par five with elevation changes, blind shots, obstacles, and landing areas throughout. We took four cracks at it (having only paid for two rounds - sorry) before finally figuring it out. Choices abound on that doggone hole, and you really do need to play it before deciding how to best apply your game to it. If you can par it your first time, somebody needs to buy you a drink at the turn.
This course was actually one of the shorter ones we play off the red tees. A number of holes are significantly shortened for the ladies, but for some which one might think could have been moved back, you can see the intent was to prevent obstacles from taking the driver out of a woman's hands. Just as is the case for the men, women can feel comfortable letting fly with their drivers here. Always a plus for my wife, there's a full restroom sited on the back nine, and I'm sure there is one which I just don't remember on the front.
The staff was excellent and very friendly. When we told the guy in the pro shop that it was our first time there, we were handed a very nice course book at no charge, and whether you have to pay for it or not I certainly recommend you carry one. We tried to pay for an extra nine at the end of our Monday round, and were just waved back onto the course. The food and service in the clubhouse was excellent. I just really do recommend this course to anyone who finds himself in this part of the state with his sticks in the trunk. read more