The par 3 6th at Hunting Hawk demanded an all carry shot to a sucker pin position.
Hunting Hawk, an inexpensive daily fee course about a half hour northwest of Richmond, VA, is tougher than it looks. I know this because scores at an annual college tournament there this weekend were pretty high under ideal scoring conditions.
The tournament is hosted by Randolph-Macon College in the nearby town of Ashland. A dozen small colleges competed in the event, including Washington & Lee, which is why I was there: My son Tim, a freshman at W&L, was competing in his first collegiate golf tournament, and I was not going to miss it. I followed Tim's threesome yesterday for the 18 holes and was impressed with the layout of the golf course, if not the conditions of the greens, which the players complained were a little bumpy. That might be more sour grapes than anything, because I saw a number of shots played from the ample woods that run along the perimeters of many holes, as well as balls dropped from hazards. The Bermuda rough grabbed and held offline shots, and the lies from the rough were generally pretty thorny. Bumpy greens did not seem the issue to me.
Indeed, the course, designed by Bill Love, five years ago, provides a number of opportunities for lost strokes. The layout runs to 6,882 yards from the tips, which is where the collegians played it, but the middle tees at 6,480 yards, a rating of 71.6 and slope of 135, is be more than enough for the rest of us. Water came into play on a few holes; on the par 5 16th (545 for the collegians), for example, the lake down the left side proved to be the undoing for a number of the kids off the tee. Marshy grassland areas formed most of the other hazards, but well placed bunkers in fairways and at greenside were high-lipped, deep and hazardous themselves.
The par 3s were nice, especially with pin positions both front and back. A couple of them were severely bunkered, with no good bailout opportunities except for the back or front of large undulating greens, leaving up to 60 feet of difficult putt remaining in some cases. Three of them were short, under 170 yards, but two exceeded 200 yards.
The amenities at the club are fairly bare bones but certainly enough for the daily fee player (including a good hot dog). Greens fees are a more than reasonable $52 weekdays and just a little more on the weekends. Memberships are available. Telephone: (804) 749-1900. Website is www.huntinghawkgolf.com, but only the home page was displayed.
As a footnote, my son Tim did quite well for his first college tournament, shooting 76/78 and finishing tied for 15th overall among the 60 players. Unfortunately, Washington & Lee finished a disappointing third behind Hampden-Sydney College and Wesley, Next tournament is at Bryan Park in Greensboro, NC, with 36 holes designed by Rees Jones. If Tim plays, I'll be there to report back on that well-regarded layout.
The 18th at Hunting Hawk demands a long drive to the left (but not too far left) of the fairway bunkers, leaving a mid-iron to a narrow opening in a well-protected green.
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