Top Virginia golf community hosts pro event

        It has been exactly a year since our first visit to Creighton Farms, the Aldie, VA, golf community whose seven-figure house prices and nearly six figure initiation fee will appeal to a select group of movers and shakers looking for a vacation or golf retirement home within shouting distance of the nation’s capital.  (Note:  The fee was waived in 2010 for new property owners; we await word back from the developer if that plan is still in effect.)  For the price, you receive access to one of the most highly rated golf courses in the state, refined service from a well trained and experienced staff, and Jack Nicklaus as your neighbor, albeit only occasionally.

        Nicklaus, who designed the 7,400-yard course (from the tips), purchased one of the 25 villas on the property.  The golf course has been shortened to 6,800 yards this weekend for the Southworth Senior PGA Professional National Championship, but if the Golden Bear is in residence, he may hear some screams of agony coming from the back tees.  Creighton Farms has played 3 strokes more difficult than River Creek in Leesburg, the other golf course being used for the event.  (At a rating of 77.0 and slope of 152, the tips at Creighton Farms might have created a bit of embarrassment for the old guys.)  Be that as it may, Oklahoma golf club pro James Kane shot a three-under 69 at Creighton Farms to put himself in a good place going into the second day of the tournament today.

        I published an extensive review of Creighton Farms after my visit last year; you can read it and check out the scorecard by clicking here. The golf course was one of the best I played in 2010.

The Jack Nicklaus layout at Creighton Farms gets off to a rollicking start with a dogleg left to a well protected green complex.  The rest of the course is as imaginative, challenging and fun as the starter.