Top 50 golf courses in Virginia 2020
Virginia is home to some of the nation’s most beautiful — and demanding — golf courses
Virginia Golf Ratings Panel strives to recognize excellence in golf course design and operations through competitive annual rankings that promote the visibility of private, semi-private, public and resort golf facilities in the Commonwealth.
The results of the Panel’s Top 50 courses balloting are published each spring in April.
in 2020 seven of the top 50 courses are located in the Williamsburg /New Kent area. They include the River Course at Kingsmill (16) Gold Course at the Golden Horseshoe (18) Two Rivers/ Governors Land (21) Royal New Kent (30 )Marsh Hawk (No. 35) and Blackheath (No. 38) courses at Ford’s Colony Country Club and the Club at Viniterra (No. 43) in New Kent. Williamsburg National Jamestown (47) Green Course @ Golden Horseshoe (49)
The Panel is currently comprised of approximately 50 individuals who maintain a residence in the Commonwealth. While they have varying degrees of playing ability, they all share a common thread: a knowledge of Virginia golf and golf course design and a passion and appreciation of the game. Membership is by invitation only.
When voting, panelists were asked to consider a number of factors — variety in design, routing, strategy, fairness, shot values, memorability and aesthetics. They could vote only for courses they’ve played (and there are more than 300 courses in Virginia). From their ballots, the top 50 courses were determined using a blended scoring system that averaged a course’s ranking per number of panelists who had played it and also rewarded total points received (the higher the ranking, the greater the number of total points).
The panel’s mission is to provide rankings that a broad spectrum of golfers can appreciate. The panel is comprised of several dozen men and women who, while their playing ability varies, share a passion for the game and an appreciation for course design. Each also maintains his or her primary residence in Virginia.
