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 Meadows Farms Home | |
The Story |
Welcome! |
Welcome!
As owner of Meadows Farms Golf
Course, I want to thank you for visiting our web site today and also tell you a little about myself and my course.
Some of you may know me as owner of Meadows Farms Nurseries - 22 nurseries around the Washington, D.C. beltway and also the largest privately owned retail nursery in the U.S.A.
I am a West Virginia hillbilly - born, raised and educated there. My wife and I came to Fairfax County, Virginia in 1959 to teach school. I taught physical education and coached football. Our first business experience was a summer roadside produce business. We pursued this for five years. It had expanded to 18 locations and covered summers, Christmas, fall and Easter. After 10 years of teaching and coaching I reluctantly gave it up to move into a full time nursery operation. About 1984, we bought a farm and went into the pure bred Santa Gertrudis cattle business.
While in Palm Beach, Florida, to accept the entrepreneur of the year award, I played my first game of golf. That was in 1990. In the first year of playing golf, I realized that I didn't like the "tone" and the "attitude" of most golf course management. I also didn't like the high price rates they charged or the way many courses had greens and fairways designed to be almost the same. I began to think I could build a golf course that would revolutionize the business. I wanted to build a course where every hole would be a unique and different experience and different than most found in the Washington, D.C. area. Equally important would be a staff that would treat all players like a pro. A friendly, helpful, appreciative staff. Last, but also very important, a course that could offer rates at approximately half the price of most others in the area.
With these objectives in mind, I made the decision to convert one of my four cattle farms into a golf course. The beautiful Virginia rolling land where civil war soldiers fought (the old house and cemetery are still there) was perfect for the kind of naturalized course I had in mind. And there would even be room for Santa Gertrudis bulls to graze right on the course.
After interviewing five golf course designers, I chose Bill Ward, Jr. of Beckley, West Virginia. I selected him mainly because I was impressed with his creativity and willingness to do exciting design work. Bill Ward worked as designer and general contractor and completed the course in one year. The course was opened to the general public in April 1993. Hundreds of golfers have now played the course and all are always anxious to return. Most will tell me that I did accomplish my goal of revolutionizing the golf course industry.
I am sure that you too will find Meadows Farms Golf Course to be a friendly, fun and exciting place to play. I want to take this opportunity to thank you for browsing our web site and hope I meet you at the pro shop or on the course. Please tell me what you think of our web site - and thank you for visiting with us today. We hope to see you on the course!
FARMS
CHAMPIONSHIP
GOLF COURSE
The Story
Situated 1 and 1/4 hours drive from Washington, D.C., 1 and 1/4 hours from Richmond, 45 minutes from Charlottesville and only 15 minutes from Fredericksburg makes the course easily accessible to thousands of golfers. The philosophy of providing players with a "No Frills" Championship Course, keeping fees at the lowest of any course in the area will bring more golf playing within the reach of thousands of players.
The 180 acre course has been designed by Bill Ward, Jr. - an up and coming designer with six golf courses to his credit - the latest - a Championship Course in Cumberland, Maryland. Ward has put maximum effort into designing 18 holes, each one with a distinct character.
Designing 18 holes, each one with a distinct character to offer a wide range of challenges and experiences. Maximum effort has been put in individualizing each hole so that the golfer will feel as if he/she has played 18 different courses rather than playing the same hole 18 times. Each hole has a story to tell. The Signature hole is a par 6 (the only one in Virginia), and when played from the championship tee is 841 yards.
This is recognized by the Guinness' book of records as "The Longest Hole in the United States." The design gives every level of golfer an option on how to play the hole - challenging not just the golf pro and the low-handicapper but the same advantages for the high-handicapper. Plans provide appropriate tees for women - planned and constructed from the beginning not just an afterthought. The course is fair but challenging - any kind of tournament, professional play or otherwise will be possible.
Ward has brought some new ideas to Virginia golf, taking elements from major courses in Florida and California. There are elevated tees, bounce bunkers, rock and railroad tie walls in and around the greens and bunkers and seven water crossings.
Bill Meadows' talent for unique landscaping is evident throughout the course. Seasonal colorful flora provides aesthetic appeal and charm with spring colors from February into autumn hues in shades of brown, red and gold into winter interest of colorful barks and stems and architecturally interesting tree and shrub shapes. Also of interest is playing around a pre-civil war homestead and cemetery and on the very ground where civil war battles were fought. Fields of grazing champion purebred Santa Gertrudis Cattle adds another dimension.
This public course opened in April 1993. The natural lay of the land and already existing ponds and cleared land kept construction costs at a minimum. Efficient management with great emphasis on friendliness and making players feel welcome and comfortable should make this course world famous.
Thank you for browsing the Meadows Farms Course web site. We hope to see you golfing with us soon!