CR&J’s Final Rating: 50/80 (Good)
Glenrochie Country Club is set just about 15 minutes from The Olde Farm in Abingdon, VA. Glenrochie is Abingdon’s only private golf course, where the neighboring town of Bristol, VA has three. Glenrochie is a residential country club with a bit of a blue-collar vibe.
This course was reviewed as part of a broader Journal entry exploring golf courses in the Southwest Virginia area.
My understanding is that the membership fees are not expensive, and as I understand it, Glenrochie may be the best deal in southwest Virginia. The course is actually two pretty distinct 9-hole courses. Glenrochie was originally build as a 9-hole course, and that original 9 is now the first hole and then the eleventh through eighteenth. The second through the tenth were added later as the club expanded. Accordingly, they actually have two distinct characters, with the older feeling more like an upscale municipal course, with tighter packed holes and homes only on the perimeter. The newer holes are undoubtedly more “residential country club” with some of the similar refrains and design elements you would expect from that type of course.
What Works: Glenrochie works because it gives you what you expect, and at the price point, perhaps more than you expect. Course conditions are consistently good to playable with nice greens that can sometimes run on the faster side. Glenrochie has a particularly severe set of greens, particularly on the older side, but it is clear that Dan Maples tried to be aggressive in his putting surface design on the newer side to try to match the character of the older side. When quick, this results in a challenging test of one’s short game. Off the tee, Glenrochie plays through wide corridors and the houses rarely, if ever, come into play. Glenrochie is not a long course, but and like The Olde Farm, gets most of its challenge through that really tough set of putting surfaces (slower than The Olde Farm on average, but smaller with much more internal undulation). Glenrochie has a bit more natural scenery than most, being set at the base of a mountain.
Best Hole: One of my favorite holes in southwest Virginia is the thirteenth at Glenrochie, again a shorter par-4 that gently moves to the right the whole way, with a few options on how to play. I really love this hole because of its simplicity, which stands in contrast to the eighth at The Olde Farm. It shows that you don’t have to have six options and an elevation change to have a great hole.
There are three distinct ways to play this hole, with a long iron off the tee into the front of the fairway, taking all the bunkers out of play and leaving 130-140 yards into the hole. Alternatively, a fairway metal in front of the pair of bunkers feels like the right play and often is, which leaves just a wedge into the hole. For aggressive players, particularly ones that move the tee ball to the right, a third option exists to try to run it up close to the green, but you have to feel pretty confident about moving the ball to the right around the trees. Anything right of the fairway for any of the three options is very dead and completely blocked out, so missing in the bunkers is preferable to a slight right miss.
Interesting Hole: Another hole I really like is the mid-length par-4 sixth hole, which requires a layup off the tee generally, as the pond cuts in on the approach to the green, right about where a driver would stop from the back tees. However, just a wedge or short iron approach remains from the fairway. The trick to this hole is the severity of the green. A high point ridge bisects this green dividing it into front and back. If the pin is in the front, spin control is at a premium to avoid ripping it off the green. If the pin is in the back or middle, watch out, because if the greens are quick and your approach lands on the down slope, a very good approach shot can finish in the water. Landing a ball on the back of the green here is always very risky, and after you know this, back pins often lead to long, very fast lag putts. This is a hole on paper that should be scoreable, but generally, a par here is a good score.
Limitations: The limitations here seem to mostly be related to money. I think the underlying bones of this course are really quite something. I’ve always dreamed of buying this course and renovating/restoring it, because it could be a really good golf course with the right renovation. Conditioning is normally good but nowhere near top quality (in an area that is relatively temperate and easy to grow grass) probably due to a lack of funds and membership willing to pay higher fees for even better course conditions. Lastly, any future renovation needs to focus on making the character of two nines match even better, specifically making the back match the front a bit better. The weakest holes are fifteen and sixteen and badly need re-imagining.
Final Thoughts: Glenrochie delivers on its promises; modest but well-executed. Regardless, it makes for an enjoyable golf round and the club is certainly worth joining for golfers, considering the lack of other good golf options in the immediate area.
CR&J’s Final Rating: Shot Options: 6; Challenge: 6; Layout Variety: 7; Distinctiveness: 6; Aesthetics: 7; Conditioning: 6; Character: 5; Fun: 7. Total: 50/80 (Good)