Blue Ridge Shadows Golf Course

Decent golf course in the valley. Greens are usually well kept. Sometimes the course feels too wet, could just be me. Challenging hole designs, add to the fun. Really need a GPS for distance, not well marked. Ok clubhouse. Worth a play or two. Try it out.

I am from Pennsylvania and was in the area visiting. I decided this course would be fun to play with my dad and uncle. While I enjoyed the course alright, we made the turn in about 2 hours and was informed we had to pick up the pace by the ranger. We did not have anyone behind us. This was totally unnecessary and quite frankly rude. We definitely enjoyed rock harbor in Winchester more. Will not go back here again. Also, there were dead patches in the greens.

This course is located out past Front Royal. My golf buddy and I took a day off to play 18 holes. Since we golf for a yearly tournament, the course provides us with a free round of golf any other time during the year. We took advantage of it this week. The weather was hot and humid, but they offer carts for $ 25. There were just a few groups before and after us, but everyone was pretty courteous and let each other play through as needed.
The course is hilly but very nice. The grounds are clean, there is a very big clubhouse that offers an assortment of deli and grill foods. There’s also a nice selection of draft as well as bottles/​cans for your ‘cooler’ pleasure. Parking is easy and there are nearby accommodations should you decide to stay over for another 18 holes.

I called on ⁵⁄₂₉ to schedule a tee time and they gave my friend and I a 10:24am start. At 12:30pm, the marshal came by and told us we had 30 minutes to finish as they had a round robin tournament starting at 1pm. I told them that no one ever told us anything about a tournament scheduled that day otherwise we wouldn’t have taken off work to play that day. The marshal got extremely upset and began to scream and threaten us that we would get kicked off the course for not playing faster. I proceeded to the clubhouse to speak with the manager and he told me that it is not his problem that we play too slow, that a good golfer can complete 18 holes in 2 hours, and that they are not required to notify anyone of a tournament being scheduled when a tee time is booked. In addition, the fact my friend and I were playing on a gift certificate which I won at a fundraiser, and the tournament players were paying customers. I cannot believe that we were treated this way. Taking a day off of work, only finishing half the course, being screamed/​threatened at by the marshal because we are not «par» players, being insulted by the manager, this was the worst, most embarrassing golf outing I have ever participated in. I am still in shock that this happened. Never ever ever will I go back to this course and be made to be 3 inches tall with the worst golf skills.

Played golf here over the beautiful memorial day weekend. Nice place, aesthetically pleasing, airy club house. The course was in decent shape, not tip-​top, greens were a little bald and speedy and the back 9 bunkers were really junky (mostly unweeded) but overall a great experience. Service was pleasant – from the starter to the bar cart woman to the waiter, everyone was really nice. Oh and the sandwiches were tasty!
We used a coupon deal (Goldstar I believe) so that made it more affordable and worth the trek all the way out to Front Royal.

The positive reviews are from last year. Greens have been arified this late very little top dressing. Overpriced for the condition of the course, rough too long for a public course. Starter gives out too much information. This course has struggled since it’s been here, still struggling!

First off, I know very little about golf. My eight-​year-​old son, however, is developing a love for the sport and begged me to play here after we stayed in the adjacent Holiday Inn. The price for nine holes plus golf cart was VERY reasonable. The course is pretty and seemed challenging (again, I’m no expert). I staff member who saw my son playing came over and very kindly offered him pointers on his swing. While dad drove the cart and supervised our son, I grabbed my binoculars for some «birding.» I was rewarded with great views of the red-​headed woodpecker – not so common in the DC suburbs and other bird life. We’ll definitely be back next time we are in Front Royal.

I love this course for the following reasons: (1) they support our dog rescue efforts (2) it sits on a gorgeous piece of land, with mountains overlooking the entire course. (3) their carts are awesome, equipped with coolers!
Staff is great, there’s always someone to answer questions or help out when needed. The food at the concession stand is also very tasty and a good value for the money.
The course is pristine. There’s a nice driving range area as well as a small putting green. There are water falls and small lakes scattered throughout the property.
It’s about an hour drive from Fairfax but worth the trek!

I’ve played this course once each of the past two years. If it weren’t quite so far from Arlington, I would most definitely play it more often. It’s a nice course with some super-​fun holes, and because it’s so far out there, it’s not typically crowded, so you can play some fast rounds. Of course, all that time you save playing is lost on the time spent driving out there. Not the course’s fault, just something to consider. Another big advantage is the rates. ~$ 45 for playing Sundays at 1pm? Sweet.
The club house is nice, and the bar staff are truly friendly. Great service, and they’ve got some quality beers to pack up and take with you out on the course using the cart’s mini-​cooler. Side note: How the hell is it possible that there are still courses without coolers on carts??! Mind-​numbing.
Course conditions are generally pretty good. The front nine has always been in good shape, and most of the back nine holes are as well. However, they seem to have trouble with some greens on the back. Both times I have played, however, couple greens on the back were in bad shape. This is particularly true for the 16^th hole. Please fix these problems, because they’re really detracting from what is otherwise a great course!
Lastly, the proshop and maintenance staff are fantastic. We finished our last round in near-​darkness, and we were the last people on the ground when we walked off the course at the 7^th hole and arrived back at the clubhouse. There was a single gentleman there, waiting to greet us. But rather than getting upset that we were coming in with the darkness, he just smiled and said, «Thanks for bringing the carts back to me!» and not in a sarcastic way. Before heading out, I ran in to hit the head, and on my way out, he was still there, clearing our carts out. I gave him $ 10 and apologized for coming in so late. He just said, «You don’t have to do that, I’m just glad you guys had a good time out there!»
And that is precisely why I will be coming back again.

I am a low-​handicapper and played from the tips. It’s 7,200 yards from back there. I thought it was great layout with many challenging shots. There is a 250 yd par 3, a 489 yd whopper of a Par 4, and a lot of other longer holes, so I was hitting a fair number of hybrids and long irons. Conditions were good, except the greens were very slow, perhaps because of recent heavy rains. The scenery is good, but unfortunately there is a major road pretty much visible from everywhere, so you don’t get the Blue Ridge shadow feel that the name suggests. That said, I will be back for another go at this course.

So I’m going to start with the obvious. It’s not the closest course in the world, it’s not the most challenging or the longest. It is one of my favorites though. I LOVE the staff here. They are always accommodating and super friendly. They usually have great replay specials (non peak time) as well. Clubhouse is ALWAYS clean and quite comfortable. And the food is quite good for a golf course. One of my favorite amenities are the free showers that make the drive back a lot more pleasurable. I feel like I’m forgetting something… oh the golf course. Plenty of elevation changes, blind shots and quite a bit of course management is needed. Far from the toughest course in the area if you play from the whites. Playing from the tips changes the course quite a bit but still manageable. My most memorable holes are 8, 9, 15 and 18. The one knock are the greens aren’t the truest though I haven’t played peak season yet. Just winter and spring however they were in wonderful shape for this time of year.