Course Review: Cannon Ridge Golf Club

"An 18-hole links course crammed into a 9-hole executive footprint"

Cannon Ridge Golf Club

9000 Celebrate Virginia Parkway
Fredericksburg, VA 22406-5445
(540) 735-8000

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Rates (Weekday / Weekend):

Off Season - $59 / $69

In Season - $69 / $79

Twilight: Yes

Off Season - 2PM

In Season - 3PM

We've been playing golf in the Washington DC / Northern Virginia / Southern Maryland region for a number of years now, and it's a rare treat to play a new course. Cannon Ridge may not be the newest kid on the block (opened in 2003) but it was new to us, and I was excited to tee it up on a fresh face.

Cannon Ridge is a difficult course to review because there are so many positive aspects and only one real negative. The course boasts an impressive number of accolades including the 4-star "Best Places to Play" from Golf Digest ('06, '08, '08) as well as #1 Public Course on the East Coast (Golf Digest 2004) and the Top 3 Affordable New Public Course (Golf Digest 2004). Despite almost an hour drive from Washington DC, the friendly staff, well maintained fairways, smooth greens, nice practice facilities, and solid value make this course worthy of fighting I-95 traffic. Well...almost. All of these positive qualities just couldn't make up for the frustratingly claustrophobic layout.

I'll dig into my concerns with the layout in a bit, but first the positives. Perhaps more than any course in the area, Cannon Ridge does an excellent job of providing the all around golf experience. By this, I mean they do all of the little things which made it feel as though we were on a destination golf trip, rather than just your typical weekend tee time. Walking up to the course, the first thing we noticed was the large fire pit adjacent to the bag drop. Not only did this provide warmth on an unseasonably cold spring morning, it also gave off a rustic and antebellum charm - perfectly in sync with Cannon Ridge's civil war battlefield setting. The frost delay gave us an opportunity to explore the practice facilities, which were solid and well above average for the area. The range made use of grass tees (always a nice treat) and while the practice balls seemed old and beat up, we just figured they didn't want to break out the good balls in the soggy weather. Considering how everything else was top notch, we'll give them the benefit of the doubt.

The clubhouse isn't big, but they make good use of the limited space by providing a quaint feel. The bar area is also small, but the staff is friendly and mix a super solid bloody Mary. Drink specials included 6-pack specials for $12 (including PBR....yum!), and the grill made one of the best grilled cheese sandwiches we've seen.

Ok, so we've mentioned the value, the quaint / rustic charm, the friendly staff and the overall experience. Sounds perfect, right? Well it was....until we got to the first tee box. Looking out from the first tee, we honestly couldn't tell where to aim. #1, #2, #10 and #18 are stacked so closely together, that even though one of our foursome had played here in the past, he still aimed down #10. Not only was aiming difficult, but because the greens were right next to the tee boxes, it was almost impossible to keep your focus from all of the chatter. And it didn't get any better as you moved farther away from the clubhouse. Almost every tee box sits right atop the previous green - you'll get to know the group ahead and behind very well. Stacking the holes so closely also made the course feel more crowded. The course played slow for us (5.5 hour round), but I feel much of that can be blamed on the frost delay. Even if the course played faster, I still don't believe it would feel any less crowded. There was just too much stuff packed into too small of an area. Beyond the distraction of playing right on top of other golfers, the course layout was down right dangerous at times. #13 and #14 run up and back, but share a cart path. These two holes are also cart path only (no matter the conditions). As you drive away from #13 tee box, you will find yourself staring straight down the barrel of the tee box on #14. It doesn't even take a wild shot to put golfers in jeopardy.

The worst part however, is the individual hole layouts were brilliant. Architect Deane Beman does an excellent job of working with the land's natural contours and undulations. Every hole has its own personality - with multiple elevation changes and forced carries over ravines (make sure you play the appropriate tee box!). The course looks like it was carved into the landscape rather than simply bulldozed and planted. There are also several markers detailing various civil war related points of interest. When you take each hole in isolation, the course is damn near perfect. When you put it all together, it's just too damn cramped.

Some may argue the tightly packed layout is just a characteristic of a links style course - and while short tee to green distances are an hallmark of this style, I can't accept that the designer wanted golfers to feel this uncomfortable. More likely, the close proximity of the holes came about due to a desire to make optimal use of the available land. According to their website, Cannon Ridge is planning to add a second 18 sometime in the near future (though, this course would be private), and walking around the course you can see where they've already cleared the land to be developed. Soon they'll have 27 holes crammed into a space that should really hold 18.

Is it worth the drive? The value is there and so is the personality...but it's so cramped. It's a real shame, because they've absolutely nailed the little things. At the end of the day, while I enjoyed myself at the course, I just didn't enjoy myself on the course.