WASHINGTON G&CC

Architect:  Tom Doak + Eric Iverson - Renaissance Golf Design

Where: Arlington, VA (2018)

Team: Eric Iverson, Brian Schneider, Mike McCartin

My Role: Assisting with bunker shaping, fairway shaping, tee shaping, green shaping, green finishing

About: Washington Golf and Country Club is a tight, hilly 6300 yard layout originally designed by Donald Ross and later redesigned by William Flynn. When Flynn redesigned the course in 1919 he gained access to the Grunwell Tract, another 47 acres of land northeast of the original course. The new land alleviated pressure from the main section, but the property near the clubhouse remained tight, and holes like the 15th remained awkward. The goal of Renaissance’s renovation was to alleviate more pressure off the clubhouse tract by adding another par 3 to the Gainey Tract and combining holes 9 and 10 into a par 5. This also allowed us to work on some of the awkward aspects of holes like 5, 8, 11, 15, and 18. Furthermore, removing or reshaping some of the artificial features built in the last 50 years helped highlight the heaving landforms for which WGCC is so well known. Only a few original Flynn greens remained, and those were largely put back in place, such as the 16th, but all other greens, bunkers, and tees were reshaped, keeping with the Flynn style. Lastly, one stream and one storm water channel flow through the property and both had become badly eroded over the years. The stream channels are being restored by the county for credits and the new channels are being routed to provide more space for wider fairways on holes 3, 15, and 17.