Westhampton opened on June 18, 1910, laid out by English-born professional and architect Herbert Barker for the then-young Country Club of Virginia. The course quickly became the club’s principal golf ground, and its early reputation drew prominent visitors, including Harry Vardon, Ted Ray, and Bobby Jones. A third nine—nicknamed the “Goat Course” for its steep, hilly ground—was added on adjoining terrain in the club’s early decades.
theccv.org
By 1920, the club engaged Donald Ross to redesign Westhampton. Club history summarizes this work simply as a Ross “redesign,” with no surviving plan set publicly available; in-house narrative suggests a modernization of greens, bunkering, and routing refinements consistent with Ross’s city-course commissions of that period. The club’s website gives 1920 as the Ross year; one renovation portfolio (Lester George’s) cites 1921. Absent access to board minutes or Ross’s correspondence, the conservative reading is that Ross’s principal work occurred circa 1920–21, likely executed soon after planning.
The hilly “Goat Course” was eventually abandoned; its corridor now houses the practice range and the current first hole, consolidating play on the 18-hole Ross-era footprint. In 2005, CCV completed a Lester George renovation described by the club as “dramatic,” aimed at restoring Ross features while upgrading agronomics and member facilities, particularly the practice complex occupying parts of the former third nine. The club’s account emphasizes continuity: a return to smaller, more contoured targets and strategic bunker placements, not a wholesale reimagining.
Unique Design Characteristics
Westhampton’s identity turns on small, sloping greens that make approach control and recovery work central to scoring—the club explicitly highlights their difficulty “especially from above the pin.” Around these targets, bunkers sit where they influence angles rather than only punish misses, and many green sites sit slightly elevated from their approaches, increasing the premium on precise yardage and spin.
The front nine includes two of the course’s sternest two-shotters: the third, a long par four around 428 yards, and the ninth, a ~445-yard hole that typically plays into prevailing wind. Contemporary hole-by-hole notes also describe a 200+ yard par three on the outward side. These longer asks are relieved on the back nine by a string of sub-400 par fours where positional play from the tee sets up attacking wedges to subtly crowned targets. Greens and tees sit in close proximity, keeping the course notably walkable and preserving its early-20th-century rhythm.
Without a public Ross plan to parse, the clearest surviving examples of the Ross imprint are the green sizes and surface pitches—consistently compact, with significant interior slope—paired with bunker lines that influence the ideal approach angle rather than merely flanking the putting surface. These characteristics are not generalizations exported from other courses; they are observable on Westhampton today and were singled out by the club in describing both the course and the 2005 work to “restore many Donald Ross features.”
Historical Significance
Within Ross’s portfolio, Westhampton represents a city-course modernization of a pre-existing layout during the architect’s highly productive post-World War I phase, when he was frequently retained to update earlier courses for growing memberships. In CCV’s institutional history, the course is notable as the club’s first home course and as a venue where celebrated figures of the game—Vardon, Ray, Jones—played exhibitions, underscoring its early stature within Virginia golf.
Tournament history at Westhampton has tended to be state-level rather than national. The club notes that Westhampton serves as the host site for the Senior Open of Virginia, and VSGA materials support a long association—e.g., 2015 champion Lee Pulk won at Westhampton. (Host sites vary year to year; VSGA rotated the event to other clubs in 2024.) The course also supports regular VSGA and MAPGA events and qualifiers, consistent with its manageable length and demanding green complexes.
Current Condition / Integrity
Westhampton today plays at approximately 6,214 yards, par 70, with four primary tee sets. While minor yardage swings occur with seasonal setup, the course retains its compact, walkable footprint. Third-party listings corroborate the current yardage and par; the club’s public site characterizes, rather than quantifies, the course’s playing parameters.
The 2005 Lester George renovation is the pivotal modern intervention. Based on the club’s account, the project re-established Ross-style targets and hazards, refreshed bunkering, and upgraded the practice facility on the retired third-nine ground. The routing of the 18-hole course appears to follow the Ross-era alignment (minus the former “Goat Course” loops), and the greens remain small and canted, in line with the club’s description of the course’s challenge “especially from above the pin.” In sum, integrity is high at the green-to-green scale, with modern agronomy and selective tree management improving turf performance and sightlines but not altering the essential Ross-period shot values.
Sources & Notes
Country Club of Virginia — “Golf” (official club page). Includes course history statements for Westhampton (opening date June 18, 1910; Herbert Barker original; Donald Ross redesign in 1920; description of small, sloping greens; the “Goat Course”; and the 2005 Lester George renovation and practice-facility upgrade). Also notes frequent hosting of the Senior Open of Virginia.
GolfPass — “The Country Club of Virginia – Westhampton Course.” Provides current par (70) and yardage (~6,214 VSGA (Virginia State Golf Association) — “2025 Senior Open of Virginia preview” (PDF). Cites Lee Pulk’s 2015 win at CCV Westhampton and outlines event context; corroborates Westhampton’s role as a repeated host site. (Note: host sites rotate; in 2024 the event was at Willow Oaks.)
George Golf Design (portfolio index). Identifies Westhampton as a Ross (1921) renovation in firm background materials—useful as a contrasting attribution to the club’s 1920 date. (No detailed scope publicly posted.)