Virginia Beach National Golf Club Overview (Front Nine): A Fan’s Take

Virginia Beach National Golf Club is located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and was designed by Pete Dye and Curtis Strange. It is a par 72 course with yardages ranging from 5,267 from the red tees to 7,197 from the black tees. This article will provide an overview of the first nine holes for anyone who may be interested in playing it for the first time. Note: yardages are from the blue tees.

Hole 1: Par 4 379 Yards

A fairly straight hole that features a fairway bunker left and a large waste bunker right, requiring an accurate tee shot. There is a waste bunker left of the green, with a greenside bunker to the far right as well. The green has quite a few slopes to it, especially on the right side.

Hole 2: Par 4 411 Yards

This hole has a slight dogleg left to it, with a waste bunker going all the way down the left side. For the second shot, the green has two large mounds on the right side to watch out for. There are no greenside bunkers to have to deal with, but the green itself can be difficult to read with a ridge going through the back and front center vertically.

Hole 3: Par 3 152 Yards

There is water left on this short par 3, but it doesn't really come into play. Greenside bunkers guard both sides of the green, with ridges in the front of the green to look out for; the back of the green yields fairly straight putts however.

Hole 4: Par 4 360 Yards

A dogleg left hole that features trees down both sides of the fairway. The fairway actually runs out at about 250 yards from the tee box, so a fairway wood is the best play. There is a greenside bunker going up the right side, along with another long left. As far as the green, it has a ridge going horizontally through the middle of it, so getting the ball on the right level is the key to scoring low on this hole.

Hole 5: Par 5 517 Yards

A dogleg right hole that is more difficult than at first glance. There is some water down the right side as well as a large bunker, with the left being fairly open. For the second shot there is water and a large bunker on the left side near the green, as well as a medium-sized one to the right. The green generally slopes from back to front.

Hole 6: Par 4 368 Yards

This hole has a slight dogleg right to it, with water all down the right side as well as a large fairway bunker. There are two large fairway bunkers along with water, but it shouldn't come into play unless there is a severe mishit. A bunker guards the right side of the green, with a ridge going down the middle of it vertically.

Hole 7: Par 3 152 Yards

The tee shot is over water and plays slightly shorter than it looks, especially if there is wind. There are no bunkers in play, and there is a small ridge going down the middle of the green vertically.

Hole 8: Par 5 492 Yards

A dogleg left hole that features a large fairway bunker going down the left side; avoid it at all costs. There is also a large fairway bunker on the right side in play. For the second shot there are fairway bunkers on the right side about 130 yards out. The green is fairly straight with a small ridge in the back to have to deal with.

Hole 9: Par 4 424 Yards

This hole, along with 18, is one of the most difficult holes on the course. It has a slight dogleg right to it, with water all down the right side, making a cut shot hard to attempt. A bunker guards the green short left, with no fairway bunkers to have to deal with on the right side. The green has many slopes to it, so getting it as close to the pin as possible is a plus.

Total: Par 36 3,255 Yards

Ryan Kekoufski is a scratch golfer who has both played and watched the sport for over a decade. He covers sports for the Yahoo! Contributor Network, and currently resides in Virginia. Follow him on Twitter @RyanKekoufski.

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