Herndon Centennial Golf Course — Attraction in Herndon

Being from Florida and getting an opportunity to play in “the North” I was looking forward to the challenge of a different playing surface and greens. I could see the course is played often with multiple divots in the tee boxes and fairways, filled with sand. The grounds people were present throughout the round but didn’t affect our play. The fairways cut nicely, the first cut rough was challenging but did not prevent a clean shot. Sand traps are nicely groomed and the care other golfers took to rake after their shots means to me that the course condition is respected.

What I truly enjoyed though was how well the greens played. Approach shots, with wedges, the greens received them well. I’m accustomed to hard greens in the hot Florida sun that at times act like asphalt. The greens took the approach shot, settled down the ball and kept you in play for a putt. The only drawback of the greens, with all the play, lots of ball marks. Sometimes putting was through a minefield of dips. Some of this can be blamed on golfers not properly fixing the ball mark or at all.

Overall, the layout is challenging enough to use most clubs in your bag. By choice I only used my driver on the Par 5’s, otherwise I might have hit beyond a good second shot setup. We played 5700 yd Blue tees.

Finally, pace of play was fantastic. With a mix of carts and walkers the starter does a great job keeping the train rolling. When I am back in VA I plan to take in another round at Herndon...

The only round of golf I have actually not finished for a reason other than weather. Pace of play was slow (5-10min wait at each tee box), but this is not a big deal - we are relaxed golfers and understand the difficulties that come with managing golf schedules. What we could not forgive was the horrible staff. We had a Range Master harass us at each hole, saying we were holding up play. We told him that we were waiting at each tee box and that without hitting into the group ahead our hands were tied. He harassed us at a Par 3 when the other group had just vacated the green, they were still visible and not even on the next tee box yet. This range master seemed to hone in our one female player, but with no good reason. The final straw was when he got into one of our carts as we tee'd off and moved it forward a whole 5 feet, to "speed it up". I have never encountered hostility like that on a course. We also took no practice swings and played best ball the entire round. Not sure how you can be holding up play when you have to wait on each shot due to course crowding. Course maintenance was mediocre....lots of ground wasps on the greens which made putting difficult, could not locate a beverage cart. I would not play here again even if the cost was...

This is a pretty great golf course in the area. It's not perfect or a PGA Tour level course, but for beginners and skilled players alike, it is a great course to play on.

The greens and tee boxes are well maintained and in great condition, even in not so optimal weather months. The fairways are excellent and the semi-rough/rough is kept up just enough to not make it a nightmare searching for errant balls.

There's plenty of variety with the course as well. By this I mean that the course is not flat, and each hole presents different playing challenges (be it a fancy dogleg, a water hazard, sand/grass bunkers, etc.).

The only reason this place isn't 5 stars in my opinion is that the pro-shop is a bit overpriced, the golf carts could be updated, and the club house could be a bit more modern and inviting for guests wanting to just sit and enjoy a beverage.

However, those are all minor quibbles to what amounts to a great golf course to enjoy either 9 or 18 holes on. I would definitely recommend you visit...