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 330-acre property an hour south of Washington, D.C.
Developed the past five years by Bellemount Development Corp., 18-hole Mattaponi Springs is an upscale daily-fee course featuring zoysiagrass fairways that negotiate wooded terrain.
“The property at Mattaponi Springs was enough to get any architect keyed up,” Lohmann says. “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. This mix is evident on the first hole [a 446-yard par-4]. The fairway sits 70 feet below the teeing ground. The vista is absolutely stunning.”
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.
With 330 acres to choose from, Lohmann and Mike Benkusky, the senior architect who directed the Mattaponi project for Lohmann Golf Designs, were able to choose the best possible land for strategy and aesthetics. A good example is the par-3 third hole, which plays 148 yards from an elevated tee that features long views of the surrounding countryside. A rear shelf effectively divides this putting surface in half, and the L93 bentgrass greens are replete with these inventive shelves and spines.
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 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 Mattaponi general manager Chris Ferris. “We were determined to work with that history to create a singular golf experience, and we’ve achieved that.”
