Field Notes: Bristow Manor

Bristow Manor in Bristow, Va. is kind of an inland links course, unusual for this area and not a bad place to warm up for some of those Outer Banks tracks some of you may be planning for. But forget about warming up; it's a terrific layout in its own right and a welcome change from the typical Washington area facility.

The photo is all wrong. It's looking from the sixth hole back to the 5th green, but most of the time you're not going to feel like holes are running into each other (and these two are separated enough so that isn't a factor even here). It doesn't convey the dominant atmosphere, which is rolling open links with some moguls thrown in to terrify you a bit more. But it's kind of a pretty picture, so there you go. At least it shows what kind of shape it was in when I played it June 20, which is to say excellent. Fast but fair greens--devilish greens quite often, with many fascinating options for torture available to the groundskeeper. The zoysia fairways were superb, some of the best I've played around here (later in the year I'm sure they'll show more abuse). I guess zoysia is unusual around here, but I love it. Up close and healthy, I swear it almost looks like astroturf. It has a nice cruncy snap on a full swing, and does quite well, it you don't get freaked out by its serious brown color, during the many winter months when Washingtonians can play.

Below the fold I have a shot of the finishing half of the 18th, taken from a hill up on the 10th. The 18th is a par four and the toughest on the back. The second shot threatens water on the left and lost-ball oblivion on the right. It's a fair test at the end of the round, and a fine example of golf sadism.

Water appears on a number of holes, and I'm counting at least seven divided fairways (front landing zones and then forced- or semi-forced carries over creeks or rough). But this is not a crazy-difficult course; from the wimpy "middle" tees I played, the slope is 126 and total yardage is a mere 6313. Championship tees rate 133 at 7102 yards). Regardless of all the numbers, I find this a much less grueling course than, for example, Forest Greens in Triangle, Va. which has a lower slope from middling tees but has so many sharp elevation changes you'll be looking for an elevator. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

And cheers to the designer, who decided the first hole should be an easy, short par 4, the least challenging hole on the front nine. Get those damn golfers on their way in a quick happy mood.

Photo of the 18th below; click on "continued."