Farmington (Main)

The estate of Farmington dates back to the American Revolution, but Farmington Country Club was founded in the Roaring Twenties. Set in 1,000 acres, Farmington was an original idea conceived by local businessmen to create a community that was conducive to the area’s history.

There are now 28 holes at Farmington and Fred Findlay laid out the original 18-hole course (formerly known as the North and South nines, now called the Main Course) in 1929. Fred Findlay was the brother of Alex, a Scottish immigrant who became the first man on record to design a golf course in the USA and went on to design several hundred US courses. Ironically, Buddy Loving, grandson of Fred Findlay, originally laid out the shorter East nine-hole course in 1965 but this layout was completely remodeled by Coore & Crenshaw in 2016, creating a highly acclaimed 10-hole short course.

The holes at Farmington Country Club extend on three sides of the elegant clubhouse – a former plantation house – and the entire round is played under the watchful guard of several mountain ranges. The course itself is an understated classic which is routed through small valleys interspersed with ponds and flanked by trees.

The Main Course is fair and honest with no tricks up its sleeve. Site of the 1993 U.S. Senior Amateur Championship, Farmington is quite rightly considered to be one of Virginia’s best traditional golf courses. Holes are varied and run in every compass direction and its glorious setting at the feet of the Blue Ridge Mountains is inspiring.