Virginia Beach Golf

If I were to say "Hells Point", most people would be baffled, or possibly offended. How about "Owls Creek, Aero Pines, Red Wings and Kempsville Greens"? Ah, the greens gave away the answer.

For those who are still having trouble I am referring to golf courses. To be precise there are 18 golf courses, whether they are private (6), municipal (4) and public (8) here in Virginia Beach. Eleven are considered to be top rated in the country and each offers it own unique ambiance.

To golf enthusiast that means 198 holes to be challenged and conquered. Most people vacationing in beautiful Virginia Beach, VA may not know that golf's greatest players have left their signatures on three golf courses.

Arnold Palmer was the architect at The Signature at Westneck and claims to have the longest tee for a par 72 at an amazing 7,280 yards. Fred Couples designed The Heron Ridge course with a rating of 73.9 and a slope rating of 131. The legendary Pete Dye transformed rolling meadows and hardwood forest into The Tournament Players Club now renamed Virginia Beach National Golf Club.

The 2009 USA PGA Tour started with the Mercedes-Benz Championship Plantation course at Kapalua, Kapalua, Maui Hawaii, January 8-11th. It will end with the Merrill Lynch Shootout Tiburon Golf Course in Naples Florida on December 11-13th. Here in Virginia Beach, where according to Dave at Stumpy Lake Golf Course, his patrons come year round no matter what Mother Nature can unleash.

So unlike football, basketball or baseball, golf really does not have a season. Virginia Beach with its average temperature of 60°F means you can get 9 or 18 holes whenever you have time to spare.

One last point that needs to be addressed and I had to talk quite a few locals to ask why a golf course would name itself Hells Point. The golf course was designed by Rees Jones in 1982 through the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge earning one of the "Best Designed Courses in the Country" awards. People are frequently visited by deer, foxes as well as eagles and hawks flying overhead making it more like a paradise than purgatory, except when you cannot keep your concentration on the game - hence the name, "Hell's Point".

For more information on golf in Virginia Beach, click here.