Reaching the Greens
By John Holmes
Special to The Washington Post
April 26, 1996
Life in Washington has always been simple: When you've got power, you're on top of the town. And when you don't, you're scrambling for scraps with everybody else.
For decades, golf in Washington has been just as simple. Our Nation's Capital is as well-stocked with first-class—even world-class—private country clubs as any city anywhere. And if you can muster the resources to join a fabulous old-line club like Congressional or Columbia, or a hot new one like Robert Trent Jones or Lowes Island, then you're set for years of leisurely rounds of high-powered golf on plush, green carpets of grass designed by world-renowned architects.
But if you're unable or unwilling to join a private club—like the vast majority of Washington's golfers—you've been virtually locked off the golf course by the sheer lack of quality public facilities. The gridlock on the greens has been so severe for so long, in fact, that Washington has consistently ranked near the very bottom of the National Golf Foundation's list of 300 metropolitan areas in terms of public courses per number of golfers.
Lately, however, that situation has begun to improve dramatically. Prompted by the end of the real estate slump of the late 1980s and early '90s, buoyed by the growth of the local economy and boosted by the dramatic national increase in the game, golf-course construction in the Washington area has taken off—in fact, the region is in the midst of an unprecedented building boom.
The last thing like it occurred in the 1970s, when a growth spurt created the likes of Redgate in Rockville, Herndon Centennial in Herndon, Algonkian in Sterling, Enterprise in Mitchellville and Laytonsville in Laytonsville. But even that can't match the sheer number and quality of the courses that have been opening in a steady stream since 1993. And several of the brand-new babies—from Queenstown Harbor and Little Bennett in Maryland to Augustine and Virginia Oaks in Virginia—already have established themselves among the area's very best.
The overriding trend in all the new-course construction is that the developers are creating decidedly upscale daily-fee facilities for the legions of area golfers who want the feel of a country club without the punishing expense.
Most of the new public-access playgrounds offer a country-club-for-a-day experience, with first-rate layouts, professional service, plenty of amenities—and higher fees. Prices at most of the good ol' publics remain reasonable, often between $15 and $25. Many of the new facilities, however, charge twice that or more to enjoy their sparkling surroundings, driving the average area green fee way up. But for the many golfers tired of struggling to even get on substandard, overcrowded municipal courses (or munis as they are called by the players), the luxury treatment is well worth the expense.
The downside to the new courses is their location. Because the land closest to the city and the most well-established suburbs is so expensive or already developed, all the new courses are growing up in the exurbs. For the majority of area golfers, that eliminates the spur-of-the-moment round and requires a little extra time management—not to mention the blessing of the traffic gods.
Even so, playing a terrific new course in the hinterlands is a far superior alternative to the status quo. And if nothing else, these developments are providing the Washington area with an ever-better mix of near-in, classically designed courses and shiny moderns. That means, more than ever, there is very likely a public course to suit the taste and budget of every Washington golfer.
Still better news is that the construction boom's end seems nowhere in sight. Several more prominent new courses are set to debut in 1996 between south-central Pennsylvania and the Fredericksburg area, and another handful already are planning to open their fairways in 1997.
Are we nearing the saturation point yet? Hardly. When the Montgomery County Revenue Authority set out to develop its new Rattlewood Golf Course and its forthcoming Hampshire Greens Golf Course, its surveys indicated that the Washington market could handle 40 more courses. The Prince William County Park Authority, which is putting the finishing touches on two new courses of its own to open this summer, concluded the same thing.
We Washington golfers might not be starving anymore, but we're not full yet, either.
Copyright The Washington Post
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