Laurel Hill Golf Club - Golf courses, Lorton, VA

Laurel Hill Golf Club - Golf courses, Lorton, VA

DESCRIPTION

Laurel Hill Golf Club is the premier, championship golf course of Fairfax County, Virginia. As an upscale, daily fee course it provides 5 sets of tees for all skill levels. Laurel Hill is challenging, yet fun provided the correct set of tees are used. From the tips, the course rating is 74.3 and the slope is 143. Each hole is a challenge. The first two holes start off relatively easy. The fun starts at #3, a 452 yard uphill par 4 that plays into the prevailing wind. The 4 finishing holes measure 612 (par 5), 203 (par 3), 493 (par 4) and 562 (par 5).

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-3 of 3  
[Dec 26, 2011]
Phillip Wehmann
Shoots in the 80s

Very rude staff at Laurel Hill. I won't play here again. We had a great 4some together and teed off at 11:47am on 12/23/11. The pro-shop would not honor the $50/golfer rate listed on Golfnow.com and charged us each $79! I had played this course 2 weeks prior for $35! Additionally we were told the bar would be open until 5 by the bartender and when we finished our round at 4:25, the bar was already closed up. In addition, the ranger asked us to speed up play during the round in a very unfriendly manner. As a 14 handicap who plays 60 round in the Northern VA area, I'll be taking my business to Bull Run, Whiskey Creek, Pleasant Valley and other courses but not Laurel. Their staff is bunch of crotchety old men who don't see the importance of treating good customers correctly.

OVERALL
RATING
1
VALUE
RATING
1
[May 20, 2010]
Tariq
Shoots in the 80s

Good golf course but customer service is rude and sucks, specially Gene. Will never play there again when you can go to nearby courses that are cheaper to play (Old Hickory and Westfields to name a couple) and have superior customer service.

Customer Service

What customer service, all the folks at this course lacks civility and ruin a beautiful course.

OVERALL
RATING
1
VALUE
RATING
2
[Jul 12, 2009]
CMcD
Shoots in the 90s

Horrible customer service ruins what otherwise could have been a really nice (yet overpriced) muni course.

I've played here 8 times since it opened 3 years ago – after today I do not intend to play there again. There are too many other nice courses in the area where they want you to be there, and treat you as a valued customer. Laurel Hills has a reputation of being a snooty muni, and its gotten worse instead of better over time.

Other reviews are correct - the staff is rude (and incompetent), the rates are high (especially given the economy), pace of play is horrendous (I've never seen a ranger try to speed things up), and good tee times are impossible (unless you're a "member"). All signs point toward a situation where the County will have too make up for non-members like myself who won’t go back (and certainly won’t recommend it to friends).

On a whim, I called yesterday (Saturday) and asked the pro-shop if they had any super early tee times for me a fellow early riser who'd never played the course before - the guy I spoke with asked if 5:37 worked? I was pleasantly surprised since every other time I've tried to get an a.m. weekend tee time I've been told that only "members" can book the premium times. The few times I've played in the afternoon on weekends it took more than 6 hours, so I resolved to only play Laurel Hills on weekdays early (I'd played last month on a Friday around 6:30 a.m. and we finished our round in 3 hours without seeing anyone else on the course).

A non-early-riser friend of mine said he could play on Sunday too, and he had just booked a tee time online at 10:37 a.m. Since it looked to be a beautiful golfing day, I figured I'd go ahead and play 36.

I knew things weren't right when we showed up at 5:10 a.m. and the fence was still locked. It wasn't until after 6:00 that a lady finally drove up to unlock the gate, and inexplicably she shot us a look of disgust as she pulled in. We said "good morning" and explained that we had a 5:37 tee time, she abruptly told us that we were wrong, told us must have called the wrong course, said that the first tee time wasn't until after 7 and that they're always booked solid so we could not get a tee time. I showed her the number I'd called at 5 p.m. the day before and explained how I'd booked it - she again told me I was wrong, and said that she could not get us a tee time until after 9 a.m., and that she definitely could not let us out before the "members" tee times at 7. When she reviewed the tee sheet she found that we had in fact been booked for 18 holes at 5:37 *p.m.* (with <3 hours of daylight?) - she then pointed out that "if you've played here before you must have known that we're not open that early". I said that I have played there earlier than 7, but I did not know how early they were open, I was going off what the guy told me on the phone the day before - I'm assuming he thought he was booking us for 5:37 a.m. and he messed up – but I was perfectly clear when I called that we were looking for an early bird round of 18 holes.

I then pointed out that I had a 10:37 a.m. tee time, so her offer to get us out after 9 would not work. She then pointed out that the tee sheet showed that 5 people had been booked at 10:37 so that tee time wasn't valid either, since the online system was in error, we would get bumped – because there was a “member” booked at that time.

Customer Service

There was no effort to be polite or to accommodate us in any way, she insisted that we were in the wrong about everything. Given no alternative, we decided to bag the round and the second tee time as well. Its one thing when staff screws up booking a tee time, its another to be completely unaccommodating. I was told the club pro would give me a call – I am still waiting….

This was the most rude/snooty experience I've had at ANY course in the DC area – and I’ve played more than 20 private/public courses in the region. Unfortunately, past rounds at Laurel Hills have not been any better. One time I brought my dad, he was wearing jeans, they not only told him that it was inappropriate, but they berated him and told him that the "members" voted not to allow anyone with jeans to play the course. Other times I've simply found them to be thoroughly unaccommodating – the attitude is that of a snooty country club – and all deference is paid only to the “members” who act like they, not the County, own the course. I know that other courses are struggling, when you golf there they treat you even more special than usual, and do everything they can to get you to come back.

Similar Products Used:

Horrible customer service ruins what otherwise could have been a really nice (yet overpriced) muni course.

I've played here 8 times since it opened 3 years ago – after today I do not intend to play there again. There are too many other nice courses in the area where they want you to be there, and treat you as a valued customer. Laurel Hills has a reputation of being a snooty muni, and its gotten worse instead of better over time.

Other reviews are correct - the staff is rude (and incompetent), the rates are high (especially given the economy), pace of play is horrendous (I've never seen a ranger try to speed things up), and good tee times are impossible (unless you're a "member"). All signs point toward a situation where the County will have too make up for non-members like myself who won’t go back (and certainly won’t recommend it to friends).

On a whim, I called yesterday (Saturday) and asked the pro-shop if they had any super early tee times for me a fellow early riser who'd never played the course before - the guy I spoke with asked if 5:37 worked? I was pleasantly surprised since every other time I've tried to get an a.m. weekend tee time I've been told that only "members" can book the premium times. The few times I've played in the afternoon on weekends it took more than 6 hours, so I resolved to only play Laurel Hills on weekdays early (I'd played last month on a Friday around 6:30 a.m. and we finished our round in 3 hours without seeing anyone else on the course).

A non-early-riser friend of mine said he could play on Sunday too, and he had just booked a tee time online at 10:37 a.m. Since it looked to be a beautiful golfing day, I figured I'd go ahead and play 36.

I knew things weren't right when we showed up at 5:10 a.m. and the fence was still locked. It wasn't until after 6:00 that a lady finally drove up to unlock the gate, and inexplicably she shot us a look of disgust as she pulled in. We said "good morning" and explained that we had a 5:37 tee time, she abruptly told us that we were wrong, told us must have called the wrong course, said that the first tee time wasn't until after 7 and that they're always booked solid so we could not get a tee time. I showed her the number I'd called at 5 p.m. the day before and explained how I'd booked it - she again told me I was wrong, and said that she could not get us a tee time until after 9 a.m., and that she definitely could not let us out before the "members" tee times at 7. When she reviewed the tee sheet she found that we had in fact been booked for 18 holes at 5:37 *p.m.* (with <3 hours of daylight?) - she then pointed out that "if you've played here before you must have known that we're not open that early". I said that I have played there earlier than 7, but I did not know how early they were open, I was going off what the guy told me on the phone the day before - I'm assuming he thought he was booking us for 5:37 a.m. and he messed up – but I was perfectly clear when I called that we were looking for an early bird round of 18 holes.

I then pointed out that I had a 10:37 a.m. tee time, so her offer to get us out after 9 would not work. She then pointed out that the tee sheet showed that 5 people had been booked at 10:37 so that tee time wasn't valid either, since the online system was in error, we would get bumped – because there was a “member” booked at that time.

There was no effort to be polite or to accommodate us in any way, she insisted that we were in the wrong about everything. Given no alternative, we decided to bag the round and the second tee time as well. Its one thing when staff screws up booking a tee time, its another to be completely unaccommodating. I was told the club pro would give me a call – I am still waiting….

This was the most rude/snooty experience I've had at ANY course in the DC area – and I’ve played more than 20 private/public courses in the region. Unfortunately, past rounds at Laurel Hills have not been any better. One time I brought my dad, he was wearing jeans, they not only told him that it was inappropriate, but they berated him and told him that the "members" voted not to allow anyone with jeans to play the course. Other times I've simply found them to be thoroughly unaccommodating – the attitude is that of a snooty country club – and all deference is paid only to the “members” who act like they, not the County, own the course. I know that other courses are struggling, when you golf there they treat you even more special than usual, and do everything they can to get you to come back. Save yourself the aggravation and try Cannon Ridge ($79), Old Hickory ($75), Pohick Bay ($44), or Greendale ($38) next time – they’re all within 15 minutes, and I’ve had positive experiences there in the past year.

OVERALL
RATING
1
VALUE
RATING
1
[Dec 05, 2008]
pat McCOnnell
Shoots in the 80s

The course is in great shape. Difficult to play though as it is extremely difficult to find yardage markers on the fairway. There are no stakes. Cartpath only alot of the time so you have to do alot of walking to find markers if you can find them.

Customer Service

Did not explain the course at all. Harrassed me about the nike warmup pants I had on in 40 degree weather. Also reprimanded me for not chipping in the designated areas which were not visible. Would not play there again. They are too busy taliing about what a good course it is and being a country club wannabee.

Similar Products Used:

a bunch

OVERALL
RATING
1
VALUE
RATING
2
[Jul 16, 2008]
FrstratdCstmr
Shoots in the 90s

A superb, adaptable design, with exceceptional maintenance. The course is challenging and fair. The fairways and greens are lush. The difficulty of the course is overstated, resulting in an expected playing time of 4.5 to 5 hours on a course that is easily played by a four ball in 3.5 to 4 hours. Consequently, you will wait on every shot while the marshalls "enforce" the 5 hour expectation. On a Weekday morning, don't be surprised to find two groups waiting on the tee for par threes while another group plays the hole. Coffee is $2 and beer is $4 a cup. In sum, the course is well-worth the green fee, but I would only recommend the track to those who are comfortable with slow play.

Customer Service

The staff is friendly and informative. There are no yardage books and the card gives no information on laterals, etc., leading to far too many provisionals for off target shots from the tee.

Similar Products Used:

Old Hickory (Prince William); Pleasant Valley (Fairfax); Cannon Ridge (Stafford)

OVERALL
RATING
3
VALUE
RATING
4
Showing 1-3 of 3  

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