Take a spin around the new Jack Nicklaus-designed Potomac Shores Golf Club in northern Virginia
DUMFRIES, Va. -- Northern Virginia has a new, upscale public golf course: Potomac Shores Golf Club, located in Dumfries on the shores of the Potomac River.
Designed by Jack Nicklaus and opened for play in May 2014, the course is set on rolling, forested hills on the banks of the Potomac. Almost every hole is encircled by dense forest, and very few holes are very flat. Most tee shots feature beautiful, elevated vantage points, particularly the ninth hole, which makes for one of the better visual and risk-reward holes on the course. There are four sets of tees and can play to more than 7,000 yards if need be. Greens are large and undulating (and were rolling quite fast when we played), so precision on approach shots is the key here.
The golf course is part of a 1,920-acre development with 4,000 potential home sites and will eventually also feature a hotel beside the golf club. The clubhouse has a fantastic vantage point overlooking the course. An enormous practice facility is also fully complete.
Potomac Shores G.C. was originally slated to open in 2007, but the development became a casualty of the economic downturn. Nicklaus, who surveyed the course at the grand opening for the first time since 2006, was mostly pleased with how the course crossed the finish line but said there were still a few small grading issues he'd like to tweak over the course of 2014.