Cannon Ridge Golf Course

“Cannon Ridge Golf Club”...a place synonymous with excellence and perfection. Cannon Ridge was a dream created by a man famous for his vision, Deane Beman. Take that vision and combine it with the perfect piece of land, and you get Cannon Ridge Golf Club. Factor in the historical significance of the property and you have THE premier golf destination in the Mid-Atlantic.   
 
Opened in 2003, Cannon Ridge is a Par 71 layout measuring 7,010 yards from the back tees. The greens, tee boxes, and fairways are L-93 Bent grass, while the rough is a combination of Tall Fescue and Kentucky Bluegrass.   Spread out over 200 acres of historic Virginia countryside, Cannon Ridge Golf Club is a great place to invite all your special clients, V.I.P.’s, or even just  good ‘ol Dad out for a round of golf.  With 5 sets of tee boxes to choose from, it makes Cannon Ridge enjoyable for golfers of all skill levels.

Golf at Cannon Ridge and stroll through history

The Beman Course is the first of two courses to be built at Cannon Ridge Golf Club. A second private membership course will be built later. Deane Beman, former PGA Tour player and Commissioner of the PGA Tour, wanted to preserve the history and flavor of the rolling countryside on the site picked for his course. “This course was built on existing terrain that has a very natural feeling to it,” Beman says. After all, this is a magnificent site bordering the Rappahannock River and lined with huge pines, oaks and maples that now frame the fairways and greens. Cannon Ridge takes its name from the fact that the Civil War battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia, was fought near here on Dec. 11, 1862, on a ridge above the Rappahannock River. The Union Army found that itself out-matched at the time by the Confederates led by Robert E. Lee. To commemorate what happened here, our designers marked 26 spots with special plaques where there are remnants of cannon revetments – places where the Union Army set up cannon to provide cover fire for its troops. There were also some holes where Union soldiers had dug out huts for winter shelter.  Extraordinary measures were taken to preserve as much of the site as possible.  Deane Beman wanted people to think that this course was built 100 years ago.  Great concern was also shown here for aiding the pace of play, Beman says. “We built old-style push-up greens here that are smaller than many modern greens. There are no plateaus but you can still have breaking putts. We wanted smaller greens because we believe most slow play results from spending too much time putting on the greens,” he says. To book a tee time call 866-85-RIDGE

 

There are five sets of tees here on the par-71 Beman Course with the Gold Cannon tees, the tips, playing at 7,010 yards. Then there are the Black tees at 6,570 yards; the Blue at 6,035; the White tees at 5,650; and the Red at 4,950. Players on this course will find that Nos. 1, 2 and 3 are fun and challenging holes, he says, holes that can help players ease their way into the round. But Nos. 4, 5 and 6 can be a tougher stretch and test of skills. No. 4 is a downhill par-3 (228 from the back tees, 190 from the middle and 125 from the forward) that has what is probably the largest green on the course. As you hit a lofted shot toward the green, you can bail out to the right, even though there is one bunker there. But you don’t want to miss on the left as the slope falls off about 50 to 75 feet from the green. There are beautiful elevation changes at Cannon Ridge.  Another strong hole is the par-4 No. 5 (461 yards from the back tees, 400 from the middle and 340 from the forward). The hole plays right in front of you as do most of the holes except for one blind shot on No. 2. You’ll need one of your better drives of the day on No. 4, and you’ll have to contend with some fairway bunkers on the right. No. 6 is a long par-4 (493 yards from the back, 410 from the middle and 345 from the forward) but requires a fairly straight shot traveling downhill, thus making the hole play seem a bit shorter than its actual length.You’re going to find your tee shot to be pretty exhilarating on the par-4 No. 8 (389 yards from the back, 330 from the middle and 270 from the forward). It’s also a drive that requires some fundamental golf decision-making. The hole moves slightly to the left from tee to green and running across the middle of the fairway is a sizeable ravine. If you’re capable of a huge drive, say 290 to 300 yards, you might be able to carry the ravine on the left side and leave yourself with a short iron to the green. Most players might choose to bail out to the right, where there is less chance of losing your ball but more distance to travel to the green on your approach shot. To book a tee time call 866-85-RIDGE

 

The back nine is so strong that it makes it hard to pick out favorites. No. 11, a par-3 that measures 187 yards from the back, 135 from the middle and 80 from the forward tees. If you hit long or right, you’ll find your ball going downhill into a huge drop off.  You can make a 2 here or a 10 and must get the right club into your hands! The par-5 No. 12 (551 from the back tees, 490 from the middle and 445 from the forward) is another unique hole. There’s a rolling fairway that looks as if they just peeled off the corn field and put in grass. The par-4 No. 13 (431 yards from the back tees, 380 from the middle and 325 from the forward) moves up an uphill slope. You need to tee off over a ravine with a large bunker on the left so it’s a challenging tee shot onto the fairway which has slope from right to left. If that’s not enough to contend with you have to hit into a very small, elevated green for your approach shot. No. 14 is a short enough par-4 (366 from the back, 325 from the middle and 260 from the forward) that seems as if it could be drivable par-4. After all, it’s also a downhill hole. But there are lots of risky spots out there, so Players are advised to lay back with a long iron or a fairway wood off the tee. The problem is that the river is on the left side of the fairway. And you also have to carry a ravine on your approach shot. It’s crucial here to keep your ball in play.  It’s a neat hole and you have a lot of options here.  Just to the left of the green here, you’re also going to find some of those historic cannon emplacements. The last three holes are great finishing holes, and Deane Beman has picked the par-5 No. 16 (575 from the back, 530 from the middle and 470 from the forward) as his signature hole. You drive to the top of a hill with a grand sweeping valley below you and the fairway then goes way down and comes back up again. No. 17 is a par-3 (179 yards from the back, 130 from the middle and 80 from the forward) that requires you to carry a ravine. The green complex has some mounding on the left so that you can see the ball hit and bounce, but you can’t see where it goes. There’s also mounding behind the green. 

Although this is a challenging course, it’s not going to leave players feeling defeated.  There are not alot of manufactured hazards and there is hardly any water out there to go along with the natural ravines. Deane Beman said, ‘I’m trying to build a golf course, not an obstacle course. This is an interesting course and a challenging course. It’s not a backbreaker.”