South Riding Golf Club

Chantilly, VA · 1.5 mi away

Pleasant Valley Golf Club sits about 25 miles west of Washington, D. C. in Chantilly, Virginia, and is one of the few daily-fee courses in the Northern Virginia corridor with no housing built along its holes. The 18-hole layout opened in 1998 to strong reviews and was designed by Ault, Clark & Associates, the firm responsible for a long list of mid-Atlantic public courses. It plays to a par of 72 and stretches to 6,915 yards from the Gold tees, with the Blue, White and Red sets at 6,509, 5,953 and 5,106 yards, and the course is routed through rolling hills, mature hardwoods and stretches of native grass meadow so holes are framed by trees and tall grasses rather than back yards and cart paths. Length comes in bunches: the par-5 third measures 596 yards from the back and the 13th runs 563, while short par 3s at the 7th (186) and 14th (152) give the card some balance. From the championship tees it rates 73.5 with a 138 slope, a genuinely stiff test, and the medal, club and forward tees step down to 71.7/135, 69.0/129 and 69.6/128 to keep the round playable for higher handicaps. A modern clubhouse, full pro shop and practice facilities support a busy outing and tournament calendar, and the course rewards driving accuracy and comfortable iron play over raw distance.

Clifton, VA · 6.7 mi away

Twin Lakes Golf Course is a 36-hole public facility operated by the Fairfax County Park Authority in Clifton, Virginia, built around two lakes on Union Mill Road. The Lakes Course is the original layout on the property, opened in 1967, while a second course, the Oaks, was added in 1998. The Lakes Course was designed by Charles B. Schalestock and plays to a par of 72 at roughly 6,695 yards from the back tees. It is generally more open and forgiving than the newer Oaks Course, with two lakes coming into play on a number of holes, rewarding length off the tee. The facility is public and includes a large clubhouse, grill, and practice areas shared by both courses. Six holes on the Lakes Course were redesigned in 1998 when the Oaks opened, and new tees were added in 2004 to broaden its playability for different skill levels.

Haymarket, VA · 7.2 mi away

Bull Run Golf Club is a public course in the foothills of Bull Run Mountain, a few miles north of Haymarket in Virginia horse country. Rick Jacobson, a former Nicklaus design associate, laid it out across more than 450 acres of meadow, pond and woods, and it opened in 1998. Fairways are wide and often allow run-up shots, with some forced carries over wetlands. Golf Magazine named it a best new public course in 1999.