Belmont Golf Course

Belmont was built as the home course of Hermitage Country Club. The Henrico County historical marker for the property records that its farmhouse, first owned by Edward J. Warren in 1858 and known as Belmont from the 1880s, became Hermitage's home in 1916. A. W. Tillinghast designed the course, which opened in 1917. Global Golf Post quotes Tillinghast as saying that "the features on this tract are far more pleasing and interesting than any I’ve encountered south of the Mason Dixon line."

Donald Ross came after Tillinghast, and his work here was a renovation of an existing course, not a new design. GOLF.com's 2021 account of the course says Ross consulted on improvements four years after the 1917 opening, that the work included converting the greens from sand to grass, and that he fine-tuned other parts of the layout. The May 2021 reopening release from First Tee – Greater Richmond, Henrico County and Love Golf Design describes the course as designed by Tillinghast in 1917 and "renovated by Donald Ross a decade later." No source describes Ross re-routing holes or adding new ones. The course stayed with Hermitage until 1977, when Henrico County bought it and opened it to the public as Belmont. Love Golf Design reworked it in 2020 and 2021, cutting the 18 holes to 12 and restoring them toward Tillinghast's course.

Holes to Know

From the Tillinghast tees the course measures 4,325 yards to a par of 48: eight par 4s, two par 5s and two par 3s. The first six holes are par 26 and the last six par 22. The par 5s come back to back at the 485-yard 3rd and the 505-yard 4th, and the par 3s are the 7th and the closing 12th. The holes keep their old order, so today's 1st was Hermitage's 7th and today's 12th was its 18th.

The 505-yard 4th from the Tillinghast tees is the longest hole on the course and the second of the back-to-back par 5s that Global Golf Post noted in its 2021 report on the reopening. The 4th is stroke index 15 on the men's card. Seven bunkers line its left side, and a brush-lined channel crosses the fairway about 35 yards short of the green.

The 450-yard 5th from the Tillinghast tees is the longest par 4 on the card and stroke index 1 on both the men's and women's cards, the hardest hole on the course. From the Ross tees it is 435 yards.

The 180-yard 7th from the Tillinghast tees is the longer of the two par 3s and the hole most directly tied to the 1949 PGA Championship: it was Hermitage's 13th, and photographs from the championship show Sam Snead teeing off there. Global Golf Post describes a push-up green surrounded by four bunkers and places the hole at the centre of the eight holes on the far side of the tunnel.

The 12th, 170 yards from the Tillinghast tees and stroke index 2, ends the round with a par 3. It was Hermitage's 18th, also a par 3, so Belmont still finishes on the original closing hole, back across the road on the clubhouse side.

Ross's Design Here

No source ties a specific feature of today's course to Ross. His documented work, the conversion from sand to grass greens and adjustments to the layout, was carried out on Tillinghast's routing, and the 2020–21 project restored the course toward Tillinghast's design rather than toward any later version. First Tee – Greater Richmond says ten of the twelve green complexes were restored to Tillinghast's original design.

What is on the ground today follows the old routing. The first three holes wrap around a large lake on the clubhouse side. The next eight lie on the far side of a tunnel, on a footprint that includes a boundary creek and a cross barranca. The 12th brings the round back across the road. Love Golf Design rebuilt deep, flat-bottomed bunkers, 64 in all, and restored the green complexes, working from old aerial photographs and other reference material. Davis Love III described the process: "This is what was here on some holes; this is what we think was here on some holes; and this is our interpretation of Tillinghast if he was around to tell us what to do."

Historical Significance

In 1945 Hermitage hosted a PGA Tour event won by Ben Hogan. In May 1949 it hosted the 31st PGA Championship, then played at match play. Sam Snead, a Virginian, won his second PGA Championship by beating Johnny Palmer 3 and 2 in the final. It remains the only men's major championship played in Virginia. The 2021 reopening release adds that Belmont is one of two Tillinghast courses to have hosted a major that are still open for public play, the other being Bethpage Black. For the 75th anniversary, on May 31, 2024, First Tee – Greater Richmond held a four-person scramble played with vintage clubs and balls like those Snead used.

In Ross's record, Belmont is a renovation of another architect's course, and that work is documented in outline: the greens conversion and the adjustments to the layout, with no hole-by-hole account. In its present form, the Golf Range Association of America named Belmont one of its Top 50 Public Facilities in 2022 and 2023.

Changes Since Ross

Hermitage outgrew the Lakeside property, and in 1977 the club moved to a larger 36-hole home nearby, in what is now Manakin Sabot in Goochland County. Henrico County bought the course that year to offer affordable public golf and named it Belmont after the farmhouse, which became the clubhouse.

Under the county, play fell from about 50,000 rounds a year to about 23,000 over the two decades before 2019, and the course lost many of its classic features as conditions worsened. When the county weighed other uses for the land, a local non-profit, Preserve Belmont, led the push to keep it as a golf course. Henrico asked for proposals in August 2019, and on December 10, 2019 the Board of Supervisors approved a 20-year lease to The First Tee of Greater Richmond, effective January 1, 2020. First Tee committed $3.25 million and the county $750,000 to a $4 million renovation.

Love Golf Design, with Scot Sherman as lead architect, began work in May 2020. Global Golf Post reported that only 15 of the original holes remained relatively unchanged before the project. The 12-hole course uses the old 7th through 18th, renumbered. Trees and brush were removed to reopen angles, including dozens of pines, and overgrown sycamores were limbed. Greens and bunkers were brought back to their Golden Age contours and shapes. The rest of the ground became a driving range and short-game area, the six-hole Little Bell course and The Ringer putting course. Little Bell restores the green complexes of Hermitage's old 4th and 5th holes and adds scaled versions of Tillinghast's Tiny Tim, Southward Ho's 4th, San Francisco Golf Club's 7th and a Reef hole. The renovated course had its grand reopening on May 24, 2021, and opened to the public on May 29.

Since then the CapTech putting lab has been built on the ground floor of the old clubhouse. In its first 12 months after reopening, Belmont recorded 34,000 rounds, 25,000 of them on the 12-hole course.

Uncertainties

• Date of Ross's work. GOLF.com places it four years after the 1917 opening, about 1921; the 2021 reopening release says a decade later, and GolfAdvisor gives 1927; Wikipedia's article on Hermitage gives a 1940 remodel. The listing keeps 1927, from the release, and gives no year in the text.

• Opening year. The county marker says the property became Hermitage's home in 1916 and GolfAdvisor gives a 1916 opening; GOLF.com, Henrico County's 2019 release and the 2021 release give 1917. The listing follows 1917.

• Name of the 1945 event. GOLF.com and the 2021 release call it the Richmond Invitational; Global Golf Post and First Tee's 2024 anniversary article call it the Richmond Open. The text does not name it.

• Restoration references. TeeTime Golf Pass says Love Golf Design studied original drawings and vintage aerials; Global Golf Post says the team worked from old aerial photographs and other material in lieu of original site plans. The text follows the aerial photographs, which both mention.

Sources & Notes

1. Josh Sens, GOLF.com, "Muni Mondays: Belmont", March 9, 2021. https://golf.com/travel/courses/muni-mondays-belmont-virginia-12-holes/ Tillinghast 1917; Ross consulting four years later, sand to grass greens and fine-tuning; 1945 Hogan and 1949 Snead; 1977 move and Belmont farmhouse name; Preserve Belmont; old 7–18 renumbered; tree and brush removal; Little Bell templates.

2. First Tee – Greater Richmond, Henrico County and Love Golf Design, "Belmont Celebrates Grand Re-Opening", May 24, 2021 (release as published by The First Call). https://www.firstcallgolf.com/industry-news/release/2021-05-24/belmont-celebrates-grand-re-opening Ross renovation "a decade later"; work began May 2020; May 24 and May 29, 2021 dates; Tiny Tim hole; Bethpage Black comparison.

3. Henrico County, "Henrico to lease Belmont Golf Course to The First Tee of Greater Richmond", December 11, 2019. https://henrico.us/news/2019/12/henrico-to-lease-belmont-golf-course-to-the-first-tee-of-greater-richmond/ Lease vote, term and start; $3.25 million and $750,000; $4 million renovation; 1977 purchase; rounds decline; Tillinghast 1917.

4. Henrico County, Belmont historical marker. https://henrico.gov/locations/belmont-marker/ Farmhouse history; Hermitage's home from 1916; 1977 county purchase.

5. Scott Michaux, Global Golf Post, "American golf history meets its future at Belmont", May 15, 2021. https://www.globalgolfpost.com/featured/american-golf-history-meets-its-future-at-belmont/ Tillinghast quote; 15 surviving holes; routing around the lake and tunnel; 7th was the 13th and 12th the 18th; 7th green and bunkers; back-to-back par 5s; aerial photographs; Love quote; Little Bell holes.

6. Richmond Magazine, "Belmont Golf Course reopens", May 26, 2021. https://richmondmagazine.com/news/news/belmont-golf-course-reopens/ Bentgrass greens; pines and sycamores; $4 million renovation.

7. Richmond BizSense, "Reinvented Belmont Golf Course cards first year with new look, management", July 12, 2022. https://richmondbizsense.com/2022/07/12/reinvented-belmont-golf-course-cards-first-year-with-new-look-and-management/ First-year rounds; CapTech lab in the old clubhouse; 125-acre county-owned property.

8. TeeTime Golf Pass, "The Past Meets The Future At Belmont in Richmond, VA", February 15, 2023. https://teetimegolfpass.com/blog/the-past-meets-the-future-at-belmont-in-richmond-va/ 64 bunkers; Little Bell replicas of old Nos. 4 and 5; The Ringer size; practice facilities; 1949 final score.

9. First Tee – Greater Richmond (sponsored article on WWBT 12 On Your Side), "Belmont Celebrates the 75th Anniversary of Hosting the PGA Championship", May 17, 2024. https://www.12onyourside.com/sponsored/first-tee-greater-richmond/belmont-celebrates-th-anniversary-hosting-pga-championship/ Ten of twelve green complexes restored; 1949 PGA; anniversary scramble.

10. Golf Range Association of America, "Belmont Golf Course – A GRAA Top 50 Public Facility", June 3, 2024. https://golfrange.org/belmont-golf-course-a-graa-top-50-public-facility/ 2022 and 2023 awards; range and practice areas; CapTech Golf Innovation Center; The Ringer.

11. Wikipedia, "1949 PGA Championship". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1949_PGA_Championship Match play format, Snead's 3 and 2 win over Johnny Palmer.

12. Wikipedia, "Hermitage Country Club". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermitage_Country_Club Club's present home in Manakin Sabot; 1940 Ross remodel date (see Uncertainties).

13. GolfAdvisor, Belmont Golf Course. https://golfadvisor.com/courses/13120-belmont-golf-course/ 1916 opening and 1927 Ross date (see Uncertainties).

14. Belmont Golf Course scorecard (club-printed card). Tee names, par 48 (26 out, 22 in), hole yardages, ratings and stroke indexes.