Pohick Bay is a George Cobb design from 1982, out on the Mason Neck peninsula in Lorton, VA. It’s tight, tree-lined target golf on ground that moves like a roller coaster. Even though Cobb is credited with the design of the Par 3 course at Augusta National, this isn’t some lost architectural gem. The design is quirky, often flat-out incoherent. Elevation changes, blind shots, side lies, forced carries. The land rarely sits still, and that’s where most of its difficulty and character live.
It’s not a beginner’s course, and I’d talk any inexperienced golfer out of teeing off here. Pohick rewards the player who knows where their ball is going. You don’t have to shape it both ways or do anything clever, but you cannot be erratic with ball flight. Big misses will get eaten by trees, and if you can’t get the ball up in the air, the forced carries will wreck your card and day. Plan on using every club in the bag, and bring a short game that can handle missed approach shots.
Conditions the day I played
It was close to 90°F when I played it, and the greens were the letdown. They were slow and shaggy, not rolling close to their potential, which is a shame because there are a lot of interesting complexes on the property. When I regularly played here throughout 2020, they were slick and a serious test. (The greens are bent and poa, cool-season grass that struggles in a humid Virginia summer, which is most likely what I caught.) Treat the current surface as a snapshot, not a verdict.
The rest of it held up better. Fairways were firm and in great shape, clean lies with some run. The bunkers were inconsistent: the sand in the 1st greenside bunker ran clay-heavy but with decent depth, while the 6th greenside was wet sand, more like low-tide beach sand. You could find your ball and play from the rough, so a missed fairway leaves you a swing.
The signature hole, and the one I’d take instead
Pohick promotes its second hole as the course’s signature. The 156-yard par 3 is a forced carry from an elevated tee over a deep wooded ravine, the green perched on the far side protected by two front bunkers. The drop area sign on the tee box tells you it’s often the winner. I hit 8-iron and carried it long left into the fringe. That’s the bailout, though. It was a chip and putt for par.
Though I think the par-5 13th leaves a more memorable impression. It serves the first taste of water, a forced carry across a pond (which decorates the 14th and 15th holes) on the second shot. Long hitters can go for the green in two, but any drive over 300 yards might run out of runway. The green has three tiers, with plenty of slope. So keeping the approach shot on the right shelf can be the difference between birdie and bogey.
Cost, the walk, and the practice area
The rates are reasonable enough. I paid $37.50 to walk on a Wednesday afternoon, and walking it was certainly a choice. The same land movement that makes Pohick interesting makes it a slog on foot, and most people ride for exactly that reason. Your feet will feel every step, and if you think a push cart might alleviate some of the strain, consider gravity. Pushing up the steep stuff is one thing, but fighting to keep the cart from getting away from you on the way down is another. For the money, it’s a fair deal if you’re the player it’s built for. If you spray it, you’ll spend the round frustrated and donate a dozen balls for your trouble. (And heads up, the online tee-time system bundles a cart into every price even though it isn’t required. Call the pro shop to sort out the walking rate if that matters to you.)
There’s a putting green, a quaint chipping area, and a half-covered range. The range balls are a potpourri of course donations. Several mats are worn through, and there aren’t enough tees at varying heights. It’s more than serviceable for loosening up before a round, but there are better options to grind a session for hours.
And keep your eyes peeled during your round. While looking for my ball in the woods, I’ve seen some of the gnarliest spiders and webs. One round I saw an owl perched in a tree, and even a snake in the rough.
