Blue Ridge Shadows
Blue Ridge Shadows Golf Club is near Front Royal, at the north end of the Shenandoah Valley. Tom Clark designed this public course that plays between 5000 – 7300 yards, with five (5) tee boxes.
Blue Ridge Shadows was an absolutely phenomenal experience! The layout is challenging, yet fair. You must be strategic with club selection, but good shots are rewarded. We had to be extremely nitpicky to find faults with any holes. Blue Ridge Shadows is a fun layout and each hole unique! The greens were firm and undulating. There are many subtle breaks around the hole, but are extremely fair and roll true.
The front 9 is phenomenal from the start! Many great holes out of the gate setting the tone for the round. The back 9 starts out difficult before ending in the best finishing stretch of holes you can find! This place was truly special and it is a course you just want to play over and over again! We loved every second of this round! It is well worth the trip to play Blue Ridge Shadows! This course requires a variety of shots and requires strategic club selection off the tee. We rated many of the holes highly. While all 18 holes are special here, we have a few that stand out. Some of our favorite holes:
The finishing stretch from hole 14-18! This might be the most I’ve ever loved a finishing stretch in a round. All the holes in this stretch are amazing! Water comes into play in each hole in the stretch. There are scoring opportunities in the stretch with two getable par 5s for the longer hitters, but you must avoid the trouble. A strong finish where scores can flip in a hurry!
Hole 15: Best hole on the course with unbelievable views! A downhill tee shot is well protected by a pond to the right and a creek with trees lining the left. Play further back off the tee, you have a wider landing area leading to a longer approach into a slight two-tier green. Take on the risk of hitting a longer club, the landing area narrows between the pond and the creek. We scored this hole as the rare perfect 10!
Hole 6 & 14: Both reachable par 5s but require a well-placed tee shot. Hole 6 requires you to avoid or carry the bunker on the right off the tee. Hole 14 requires a tee shot to a split fairway divided by a hazard in the middle. Favor the right side off the tee if you want to go for the green in two. If you’re on the left, you will be blocked out from going for the green. The green is well protected by a pond to the front and left.
Our favorite holes: No 1 (downhill approach to water guarded green); No 14 (par 5 that rewards a long drive and smart placed second shot); No 15 (Tee box is breath-taking); and the finishing hole No 18 (lofted “lawn dart approach” recommended for the narrow depth green that is wide left to right, crossing a creek)
Make sure you tell Brian Jones, GM that we sent you!
