Good golf courses in our nation's capital

[ElWagonne]

I need some ideas for good courses in Washington, DC.  Got a conference in July and instead of going to all the meetings, I want to skip out and play the beautiful game.  Any ideas would be appreciated.

[sabram]

Stonewall is about 30 minutes south of DC. A few miles farther south is Augustine, which is a great course

Here is a link to pix of Stonewall: http://sports.webshots.com/album/562063957rRcmCo

[dugly2ugly]

Depending on where you are some of my favorites within 30-45 mins of the city are:

Westfields - west in VA

Lake Presidential - east in MD (probably my favorite in the area so far)

Blue Mash and Worthington Manor - north in MD

I haven't played Laurel Hill yet, but it's supposedly one of the best in all of VA.

Another option would be East Potomac in the city.  They have a full 18, a 9 hole exec, and a par 3 course.  The courses are nothing spectacular by any means but the location is tough to beat - on the Potomac with views of the monuments from just about every shot.  It doesn't hurt that it's cheap (by DC standards) as well.

As for sabram's suggestions, I haven't played Stonewall but hear nothing but good things about it.  However, I'd be careful about Augustine.  I played it twice this past summer and the conditions were brutal.  It's a shame because the layout is good and though I'd never played it before this year, I've heard it was considered one of the best in the area a few years ago.

[Yanks Fan]

I wouldn't touch Augustine right now. Maybe by July they might be in better condition but they got hammered last summer. From what I've heard, a good amount of their members left because of the condition of the course. The course I work at got 3 or 4 members from them. The lay out is nice but the course is in poor condition right now. Inside scoop though, wait until the new management gets that course together.

As for Stonewall, play it. Great course. My course I work at is 10 minutes from it. Play 18 at Stonewall then 18 at my work for a nice day hahah.

Drive 2 hours south to Spring Creek in Gordonsville. Worth every second of the drive and hands down best public course in VA.

[sabram]

Sorry to hear the conditioning reports on Augustine. It was such a nice course

[clubchamp]

1 more for Lake Presidential... awesome course usually in great condition but it is very pricey.

[hoofreak7]

Originally Posted by Yanks Fan

Drive 2 hours south to Spring Creek in Gordonsville. Worth every second of the drive and hands down best public course in VA.

I live in Richmond, go to UVA, so Spring Creek is in between. It might be far but if this is you're from far away, it's definitely worth the drive. In my eyes, it's the best public course (and it's cheap) in the state and it's not even close. It's still young, but give it some time (and a clubhouse) and people will know about it. Definitely a PGA tour caliber course.

If you wanna stay close, go Lake Presidential.