RUTHER GLEN, Va. - Mattaponi Springs Golf Club, the first East Coast design
from Chicago-based architect Bob Lohmann, will open for play in October on
the former Rose Hill estate, a spectacular 330-acre property located an
hour south of Washington, D.C., 30 minutes north of Richmond.
Developed by Bellemount Development Corporation, Mattaponi Springs has been
more than five years in the making. Having fully matured, Lohmann's 18-hole
design - an upscale daily-fee whose zoysiagrass fairways negotiate dramatic
wooded terrain - will celebrate its grand opening this fall, according to
Mattaponi General Manager Chris Ferris.
"It's been difficult to be patient, because people are going to absolutely
love this golf course," says Ferris, who adds that Mattaponi Springs is
located just eight miles from Interstate 95. "Bob Lohmann and his team have
done a tremendous job designing this layout. There's nothing like it in all
of Virginia."
Mid-Atlantic golfers might not be familiar with Lohmann's work, the
majority of which has been executed in the architect's native Midwest. But
Marengo, Ill.-based Lohmann Golf Designs (www.lohmann.com) is responsible
for more than 35 original golf course projects, including The Merit Club in
Libertyville, Ill., site of the 2000 U.S. Women's Open. More recently,
Lohmann put the finishing touches on Canyata, an 18-hole estate golf club
in Marshall, Ill.
Lohmann has also lent his renovation expertise to more than 60 courses
across the country. His work on The Traditions at Chevy Chase in Wheeling,
Ill., was recently honored by Golf Inc. magazine as the nation's best
course renovation for 2003.
"The property at Mattaponi Springs was enough to get any architect keyed
up: There's tremendous elevation change in Ruther Glen - almost 80 feet in
some places - and the sandy soil allowed us to create some fabulous natural
waste areas, in the Pinehurst tradition," says Lohmann, a past president of
the American Society of Golf Course Architects. "This mix is evident on the
1st hole [a 446-yard par-4]. I mean, the fairway sits some 70 feet below
the teeing ground. The vista is absolutely stunning. From there you can see
exactly why we're so excited about Mattaponi."
The course meanders through forests of mature beech, oak, holly and pine
trees, over gently rolling terrain cut by several streams that feed the
nearby Mattaponi River. The layout measures more than 6,900 yards from the
tips, though five sets of tees make the routing eminently playable for
players of all abilities.
Lohmann is as proud of this flexibility as he is of the diversity of golf
environments these 18 holes traverse. The 543-yard par-5 2nd, for example,
begins in a lowland area flanked left by a sandy scrub waste area. Strong
players can challenge the bunkers right of the first landing zone, leaving
a 240-yard, uphill shot to a green hewn from a wooded knoll. A lay-up
second shot requires another, wholly different risk-reward decision:
challenge the right edge of a colorful wetland to set up an unimpeded third
shot, or lay-up left of the wetland where the elevated green is guarded by
deep, grass-faced bunkers.
"I love the 2nd hole because locating the green on the high ground, in the
trees, seemed sort of crazy when we first walked the property," recalls
Mike Benkusky, the senior architect who directed the Mattaponi project for
Lohmann Golf Designs. "But as we started clearing the hole, it kept looking
better and better. Today it looks completely natural. It fits the hole like
a glove."
With 330 acres to choose from (and no housing to consider), Lohmann and
Benkusky were able to choose the best possible land for strategy and
aesthetics. A good example is the par-3 3rd, which plays 148 yards from an
elevated tee that boasts long views of the surrounding countryside. A rear
shelf effectively divides this putting surface in half; Mattaponi's
flamboyant greens (featuring L93 bentgrass) are replete with these
inventive shelves and spines.
The finishing holes at Mattaponi are some of the Mid-Atlantic's finest.
Sixteen is 495-yard par-5 where the reachable green juts out into an
enormous, rock-lined pond. Seventeen plays across the far corner of this
hazard, while the 442-yard home hole - a split-fairway par-4, one of two
alternate-route holes on the back nine - provides a rousing finish. Indeed,
the rock-walled putting surface at 18 sits 50 feet below the landing zone,
just beyond a creek and nestled among massive beech and oak trees in the
shadow of the clubhouse.
The clubhouse and golf course at Mattaponi Springs are state-of-the-art,
but many of the surrounding structures are remnants of the property's rich
history. After emigrating to Williamsburg in the 1700s, the George family
settled here in Ruther Glen during the early 1800s. They christened their
homestead "Rose Hill" after the family's ancestral estate in the English
Midlands. The 19th Century lodge from the Rose Hill estate has been
completely refurbished to accommodate the club's outings and functions.
"We chose to be very careful and deliberate in developing Mattaponi Springs
because the history here is still with us," says Ferris. "We were
determined to work with that history to create a singular golf experience,
and I think we've achieved that."
The Mattaponi Springs Golf Club can be reached at 804-633-7888 or
www.mattaponisprings.com.
