In 1947, Clarksville industrialist Charlie Robbins of Colonial Mills commissioned Donald Ross to design a company golf course; club history states Ross produced an 18-hole plan, but only the front nine was built initially. The facility opened for play that year on the completed nine. No primary-source drawings or correspondence are publicly accessible online through the club, but the VSGA directory corroborates the 1947 founding date, and the club’s own history is explicit about the Ross commission and partial build.
During the 1950s, Dick Wilson was engaged to add the back nine, at which time he also relocated the tee on the 1st hole and the green on the 5th. Those moves introduce early, specific evidence of change even within the Ross nine: the present-day No. 5 is not in Ross’s original green location, and the No. 1 tee is a Wilson adjustment. The Wilson phase created a full 18 but the precise year of completion is not stated in club or VSGA summaries. A 2024 Virginia Golfer feature likewise recounts the 1947 opening with Ross’s original 18-hole layout unbuilt in full, followed by Wilson’s 1950s completion of the inward side.
There is secondary evidence that Ross’s associate J. B. McGovern was linked to this commission late in Ross’s life: a contemporary research compilation notes “Kinderton CC (f/k/a Clarksville CC)” among Ross/McGovern projects in 1947, and a GolfClubAtlas research thread shows a “1947 Ross/McGovern plan” reference for Kinderton/Colonial Mills. Verification would require consulting the Tufts Archives in Pinehurst or original club files; nonetheless, these sources suggest McGovern’s customary role as field associate on late-era Ross work.
Unique Design Characteristics
Kinderton’s front nine is where Ross’s hand is most legible. Club materials describe the outward greens as “crown” or with fall-away slopes, and many retain their original clay base—an important indicator that the subgrade contours of 1947 largely survive despite subsequent regrassing. The 2nd green is a “small elevated” target that is difficult to hold, and the 5th remains a compact, bunkered surface, albeit at a Wilson-adjusted site; the 6th requires a demanding carry over a lake to position for a blind approach to an elevated, flanked green. The 8th is a long par-3 playing across a valley from the back markers and sharply uphill from forward tees, finishing on an undulating surface. These hole-specific traits—small, perched targets; fall-away surrounds; strategic ground demand on approaches—are the clearest surviving expressions of Ross at Kinderton and are concentrated on holes 1–9.
Wilson’s back nine contrasts in tenor. Water fronts or closely influences several approaches, and bunkers guard more aggressively at green fronts, echoing the club’s own description of “bunkers and water at the front waiting to grab approach shots that are not aerial.” The hole-by-hole card details a dogleg par-5 10th where water and a creek complicate the lay-up zone, a par-4 11th with water before the green, and a late one-shot 17th over a bulkheaded pond that Virginia Golfer has profiled as a highlight of the property. Collectively, these features make the inward nine a distinct counterpoint to the Ross nine.
As to which holes best preserve Ross’s original intent, the front nine’s greensites are the strongest candidates given their surviving clay base and the club’s own assertion that the outward half “remains today a true Donald Ross design.” Within that set, the 2nd and 8th are the most explicit in the surviving documentation: both are singled out in the hole-by-hole narrative for their elevated or demanding green complexes, aligning with the course’s own description of Ross-style domed targets on the outward side. The 6th, while dramatic, requires caution in attribution because the lake carry is central to play; without the 1947 plan in hand, we cannot confirm whether water influenced the approach in Ross’s construction or was accentuated later.
Historical Significance
Within Ross’s body of work, Kinderton belongs to the final chapter: a 1947 commission with construction on only nine holes before his death in 1948, and late-period field oversight likely involving J. B. McGovern. It also captures a rare Virginia juxtaposition of Ross (outward nine) and Wilson (inward nine) at a single club, illuminating a mid-century transition in American design sensibilities from compact, perched targets to more water-forward defense. The commission’s origin—as a company course for Colonial Mills—adds an industrial-sponsorship dimension common to the era but less frequently documented in small-town Virginia.
The most documentable tournament moment is the 1966 VSGA Junior Stroke Play at Kinderton, where Lloyd Liebler shot 206 (including a closing 64) to defeat Lanny Wadkins by six—an event that Virginia Golfer singled out as emblematic of a first “Golden Age” of Virginia junior golf. VSGA’s championship database and materials corroborate the site and scores. While national professional events are not recorded here, Kinderton’s regional tournament service and VSGA affiliation are clear.
Current Condition / Integrity
In agronomic and infrastructure terms, Kinderton undertook a significant greens project in 2011, converting bentgrass to MiniVerde ultradwarf bermudagrass and installing automated irrigation in place of the original hand-operated system. The club notes that “many of the greens still have their original clay base,” implying that regrassing occurred largely atop historic subgrades, preserving much of the original platform character on the outward nine. The fairways and rough are bermudagrass; tree lines have matured along corridors; and water management features (lakes/creeks) impact play particularly on the inward nine.
With respect to architectural integrity, the most explicit alterations recorded to the outward nine are Wilson’s relocations of the 1st tee and the 5th green during his 1950s expansion. Absent original 1947 drawings, additional changes in bunker placement or green interior contouring cannot be quantified from public sources. The club’s statement that the front nine “remains…a true Donald Ross design,” combined with the survival of original clay bases, supports a reading that the routing and most green platforms survive, though precise degrees of fidelity (e.g., bunker shapes, mowing lines, green perimeters) would require plan overlays and aerial comparisons. No subsequent full-scale restoration by a named architect is documented in public materials; beyond the 2011 agronomic conversion, later work appears to be targeted maintenance and infrastructure.
Several important points remain uncertain in the public record. First, while multiple sources agree that only the Ross front nine opened in 1947 and the back nine was completed in the 1950s, the exact year of Wilson’s completion is not stated in club or VSGA summaries. Second, the scope of Ross’s original plan—club sources say 18 holes were designed, whereas independent research threads also describe a 1947 “Ross/McGovern plan” tied to nine holes—cannot be reconciled without consulting primary plans or correspondence. Third, certain water features central to play on the outward nine (notably at the 6th) are not date-stamped in public documents; their precise construction history (original vs. later accentuation) is unknown. Finally, the extent of any interim bunker or green-edge alterations after 1947 and before 2011 is not documented in accessible sources.
Sources & Notes
Kinderton Country Club (official site), “About the Course,” with club history, attributions to Ross (front nine), Wilson (back nine and specific relocations), 2011 greens conversion, turf types, and descriptions of holes 6 and 8
Kinderton Country Club, “Hole by Hole” scorecard PDF (yardages by tee and narrative notes for each hole): https://kindertoncountryclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Hole-by-Hole.pdf.
Virginia Golfer (VSGA), “Great Holes No. 17 — Kinderton Country Club, Clarksville,” Nov/Dec 2024. Confirms 1947 opening, Ross 18-hole layout with only front nine initially built, Wilson’s 1950s completion of the back nine, and highlights the par-3 17th; includes historical note on the 1966 VSGA Junior won by Lloyd Liebler over Lanny Wadkins: page 15.
VSGA, “Junior Stroke Play Championship — Past Champions” (PDF factsheet). Documents the 1966 event at Kinderton (Liebler 206 with final-round 64; runner-up Lanny Wadkins 212)
GolfClubAtlas Forum, “Reunderstanding Ross” research thread (entry noting “Kinderton Country Club… 9 Holes, New in 1947… 1947 Ross/McGovern Plan”). Secondary source pointing to late-period Ross/McGovern documentation; primary plans not reproduced
Tyler Rae Design, “Donald Ross — Timeline of Courses Built by Year,” listing Kinderton CC (VA) with J. B. McGovern noted as associate in 1947. Secondary compilation; underlying primary citations not provided on page