MIDLOTHIAN –– Over the course of seven months beginning in April, Virginia State Golf Association men’s and women’s championships will be contested at some of the most recognized and venerable layouts throughout the commonwealth.
In men’s competitions, northern Virginia’s Belle Haven Country Club will host the VSGA Amateur Championship for the first time (June 29-July 3). Originally designed by Leonard Macomber and opened in 1924, the layout underwent a complete renovation by designer Arthur Hills in 2003, which included new irrigation, new drainage, new ponds and streams, new cart paths, new tees and fairways and bunkers and greens. About 30 acres of sod for the fairways, tees, and greens, another 75 acres for the roughs was used during the redesign.
A solid foundation had to be in place for what was essentially a brand-new Arthur Hills design laid down in the old routing corridors. Those flat, low-lying fairways were raised and given plenty of rolls and ripples; greens were raised, lowered, reshaped, recontoured, and sometimes relocated; deep, muscular, Ross-style bunkers with grass faces and flat bottoms were built; intricate green complexes were coaxed into shape; and though the basic rhythm of the course was preserved, the new design added length on several par 4s, starting at No. 8, so that bringing home a low round would demand strong, straight driving. In all, Hills delivered a championship-worthy course, which also welcomed the 2007 VSGA Mid-Amateur Championship.
Should he elect to defend, two-time reigning VSGA State Amateur champion Brinson Paolini of Virginia Beach will look to become the first golfer to take home the title three years in a row. In triumphing in 2009 at Cedar Point Country Club, Paolini became the youngest to successfully defend his VSGA State Amateur title. The late and legendary Chandler Harper of Portsmouth won the first of his three VSGA State Am titles in 1930 at the age of 16 before capturing his second in 1933 at the age of 19.
Meanwhile, the SunTrust State Open of Virginia remains in central Virginia, returning to the VSGA Foundation’s statewide home for golf and the Tom Fazio-designed Independence Golf Club for a fourth straight year (July 15-18).
Another VSGA “major,” the VSGA Mid-Amateur Championship, goes to a classic layout in James River Country Club in Newport News (Oct. 8-10). The VSGA Four-Ball Championship visits central Virginia’s The Federal Club (May 7-8). Continuing in 2010, zone qualifying will be held at five sites in the commonwealth to fill the non-exempt Four-Ball field.
At the senior level, the VSGA Senior Amateur, open to competitors ages 55-and-over, goes to its third different site in as many years, visiting The Country Club of Virginia (Aug. 23-27); stroke-play qualifying will be conducted at the Tuckahoe Creek and James River courses, with match play set for the James River Course.
Meanwhile, the Senior Open of Virginia returns to The Country Club of Virginia’s venerable Westhampton Course from Sept. 23-24; the championship is open to men’s amateurs and professionals, ages 50-and-over.
Other senior action sees the VSGA Senior Four-Ball Championship stop at northern Virginia’s River Creek Club in Leesburg (April 27-28), while the Senior Stroke Play is Charlottesville-bound, going to The Keswick Club (June 16-17). The VSGA Super Senior Amateur Championship for golfers 65-and-over will be held at another premier layout in the Golden Horseshoe Golf Club’s venerable Gold Course in Williamsburg (July 6-9)
Other action will see the VSGA Junior Amateur Championship, open to junior golfers ages 18-and-under, make its third visit to VSGA founding club Roanoke Country Club (July 27-29). The association takes its Junior Match Play Championship to the Hampton Roads area and Suffolk’s Nansemond River Golf Club (June 22-25) for the first time. The VSGA will again hold the fourth edition of its Youth Championship, open to boys and girls ages 13-and-under, at Independence Golf Club (Aug. 4-5).
The VSGA Public Links Championship returns to northern Virginia’s Laurel Hill Golf Club for a third straight year (Aug. 27-30). Meanwhile, the VSGA Club Championship goes to Hermitage Country Club’s Sabot Course in Richmond (July 31-Aug. 1). VSGA championship action swings into action on April 24-25 with the Sectional Team Championship at The Manor Resort Golf Club in Farmville.
Men’s team-match action sees the Virginia-West Virginia Matches make its first visit to Bay Creek Resort and Club’s Nicklaus Course (April 17-18). Meanwhile, the 65th renewal of the Virginias-Carolinas Team Matches returns to Virginia soil and the Tom Fazio-designed Bayville Golf Club in Virginia Beach (Oct. 15-16). In junior team competition, the Virginias-Carolinas Junior Matches goes to North Carolina soil and the Country Club of Landfall (Aug. 14-15). Junior teams representing Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland will compete in interstate team competition in the 2nd Mid-Atlantic Junior Invitational at The Pete Dye Golf Club in Bridgeport, W.Va. (July 24-25).
On the women’s side, the VSGA Women’s Amateur Championship takes on a touch of the modern, making its first appearance at Glenmore Country Club in Charlottesville (July 6-10). Designed by John LaFoy, Glenmore’s layout features a Scottish feel with a high emphasis on positioning and shotmaking. For a third consecutive year, those players who do not qualify for the championship flight will play all remaining matches from a shorter yardage.
Three weeks following the VSGA Women’s Amateur, the VSGA Senior Women’s Am returns to The Homestead’s Old Course and Lower Cascades Course (July 26-30). Stroke Play action sees the Virginias Women’s Stroke go to another track with high shot-value characteristics in Kingsmill Resort & Spa’s Woods Course in Williamsburg (June 15-17). Meanwhile, the Senior Women’s Stroke heads to a classic layout in Waynesboro Country Club from June 2-3.
The VSGA Junior Girls’ Championship goes to the all-bentgrass Indian Creek Yacht and Country Club (July 13-14) in Kilmarnock; the revamped layout received rave reviews from competitors in welcoming the 2009 VSGA Women’s Division Four-Person Captain’s Choice event. In team action on the junior girls’ side, the Virginia-Maryland Junior Girls’ Team Matches heads to a Maryland site and Turf Valley Resort and Golf Club (July 10-11), while the Mid-Atlantic Girls’ Challenge returns to the commonwealth and the VSGA Foundation’s Independence Golf Club (July 31-Aug. 1) for a fourth time.
Championship action also sees the VSGA Women’s State Team Matches visit Charlottesville’s Farmington Country Club (Aug. 31-Sept. 2). One of the most historic and respected layouts in Virginia, Farmington welcomed the 2006 VSGA Women’s Amateur Championship. Virginias will seek its seventh win in the past eight meetings at the Virginias-Carolinas Women’s Team Matches, set for the pristine River Run Country Club in Davidson, N.C. (July 19-21).
The 2010 VSGA Women’s Division season schedule swings into action at Spring Creek Golf Club (April 13). New this year, the Spencer-Wilkinson Benefit Tournament will feature a four-person captain’s choice format as opposed to the two-player teams that have comprised the event in past years. The season-opener benefits the VSGA Scholarship Program’s Spencer-Wilkinson Scholarship Fund, which annually awards grants to high school seniors going on to college in the commonwealth.
Golfers wishing to play a two-person captain’s choice event will have the opportunity with the addition of an event at Stoney Creek at Wintergreen on May 12. Other tournament events include the Four-Ball Stroke Play (May 11 at Stoney Creek at Wintergreen), the Two Best Balls of Four (Aug. 10 at Laurel Hill Golf Club) and the Four-Person Captain’s Choice (Oct. 5 at Independence Golf Club)
Championship and event entry forms as well as the 2010 VSGA One-Day events schedule will be available in mid-January at www.vsga.org.
The 2010 VSGA championship and event schedules are listed below.
2010 VSGA MEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
April 17-18: 27th Virginia-West Virginia Team Matches
Bay Creek Resort and Club (Nicklaus Course), Cape Charles, Va.
April 24-25: 39th VSGA Sectional Team Championship
The Manor Resort Golf Club, Farmville, Va.
April 15-23: VSGA Four-Ball Championship zone qualifying
The Piedmont Club, Haymarket (April 15)
The Tradition Golf Club at The Crossings, Glen Allen (April 19)
Cahoon Plantation, Chesapeake (April 20)
Draper Valley Golf Club, Draper (April 23)
The Manor Resort Golf Club, Farmville (April 23)
April 27-28: 28th VSGA Senior Four-Ball Championship
River Creek Club, Leesburg, Va.
May 7-8: 45th VSGA Four-Ball Championship
The Federal Club, Glen Allen, Va.
May 24-June 8: VSGA Amateur Championship and SunTrust State Open of Virginia zone qualifying
Fawn Lake Country Club, Spotsylvania (May 24)
Danville Golf Club, Danville (May 27)
River Creek Club, Leesburg (June 1)
The Dominion Club, Glen Allen (June 7)
Dominion Valley Country Club, Haymarket (June 7)
Willow Oaks Country Club, Richmond (June 7)
The Tradition Golf Club at Kiskiack, Williamsburg (June 7)
June 16-17: 25th VSGA Senior Stroke Play Championship
The Keswick Club, Keswick, Va.
June 22-25: 20th VSGA Junior Match Play Championship (ages 14-18)
Nansemond River Golf Club, Suffolk, Va.
June 29-July 3: 97th VSGA Amateur Championship
Belle Haven Country Club, Alexandria, Va.
June 29-July 9: VSGA Junior Amateur Championship zone qualifying
London Downs Golf Club, Forest (June 23)
River Creek Club, Leesburg (July 5)
Red Wing Lake Golf Club, Virginia Beach (July 7)
Willow Oaks Country Club, Richmond (July 8)
July 6-9: 16th VSGA Super Senior Amateur Championship (ages 65-and-over)
Golden Horseshoe Golf Club (Gold Course), Williamsburg, Va.
July 15-18: SunTrust State Open of Virginia
Independence Golf Club, Midlothian, Va.
July 24-25: 2nd Mid-Atlantic Junior Invitational
The Pete Dye Golf Club, Bridgeport, W.Va.
July 27-29: 58th VSGA Junior Amateur Championship (ages 18-and-under)
Roanoke Country Club, Roanoke, Va.
July 31-Aug. 1: 68th VSGA Club Championship
Hermitage Country Club (Sabot Course), Manakin-Sabot, Va.
Aug. 4-5: 4th VSGA Youth Championship (boys and girls ages 13-and-under)
Independence Golf Club, Midlothian, Va.
Aug. 15-16: 28th Virginias-Carolinas Junior Matches
Country Club of Landfall, Wilmington, N.C.
Aug. 23-27: 63rd VSGA Senior Amateur Championship (ages 55-and-over)
The Country Club of Virginia (James River and Tuckahoe Creek courses),
Richmond, Va.
Aug. 27-30: 7th VSGA Public Links Championship
Laurel Hill Golf Club, Lorton, Va.
Aug. 30-Sept. 9: Senior Open of Virginia zone qualifying
Fauquier Springs Country Club, Warrenton (Sept. 1)
Lexington Golf and Country Club, Lexington (Sept. 8)
Chatmoss Country Club, Martinsville (Sept. 9)
Lake Chesdin Golf Club, Chesterfield (Aug. 30)
Sleepy Hole Golf Club, Suffolk (Sept. 7)
Sept. 23-24: 5th Senior Open of Virginia (ages 50-and-over)
The Country Club of Virginia (Westhampton Course), Richmond, Va.
Oct. 8-10: 34th VSGA Mid-Amateur Championship (ages 25-and-over)
James River Country Club, Newport News, Va.
Oct. 15-16: 65th Virginias-Carolinas Team Matches
Bayville Golf Club, Virginia Beach, Va.
2010 VSGA WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIPS AND EVENTS SCHEDULE
April 13: VSGA Women’s Division Spencer-Wilkinson Benefit Tournament
(new format; four-person captain’s choice)
Spring Creek Golf Club, Gordonsville, Va.
May 11: VSGA Women’s Division Four-Ball Stroke Play Tournament
Stoney Creek at Wintergreen, Nellysford, Va.
May 12: VSGA Women’s Division Two-Person Captain’s Choice Tournament
Stoney Creek at Wintergreen, Nellysford, Va.
June 2-3: 13th VSGA Senior Women’s Stroke Play Championship
Waynesboro Country Club, Waynesboro, Va.
June 15-17: 33rd Virginias Women’s Stroke Play Championship
Kingsmill Resort & Spa (Woods Course), Williamsburg, Va.
July 6-10: 85th VSGA Women’s Amateur Championship
Glenmore Country Club, Keswick, Va.
July 10-11: 12th Virginia-Maryland Junior Girls’ Team Matches
Turf Valley Resort, Ellicott City, Md.
July 13-14: 41st VSGA Junior Girls’ Championship
Indian Creek Yacht and Country Club, Kilmarnock, Va.
July 19-21: 54th Virginias-Carolinas Women’s Team Matches
River Run Country Club, Davidson, N.C.
July 26-30: 53rd VSGA Senior Women’s Amateur Championship
The Homestead (Old Course and Lower Cascades Course), Hot Springs, Va.
July 31-Aug. 1 : 9th Mid-Atlantic Girls’ Challenge
Independence Golf Club, Midlothian, Va.
Aug. 4-5: 4th VSGA Youth Championship (boys and girls ages 13-and-under)
Independence Golf Club, Midlothian, Va.
Aug. 10: VSGA Women’s Division Two Best Balls of Four Tournament
Laurel Hill Golf Club, Lorton, Va.
Aug. 31-Sept. 2: 64th VSGA Women’s State Team Matches
Farmington Country Club, Charlottesville, Va.
Oct. 5: VSGA Women’s Division Four-Person Captain’s Choice Tournament
Independence Golf Club, Midlothian, Va.
