Bull Run Golf Club — Local services in Virginia

I played the course in mid-April, 2025. Nice clubhouse, set just off Rte 15 in Haymarket, VA. Very accessible. Although in a residential development, there are only a few homes that are visible from the course. Well stocked pro shop with friendly staff. There is a helpful starter at the first hole. The cart girl comes around frequently. Because the course meanders through a residential development a cart is mandatory. Carts are in good shape, but no cart GPS. Practice area includes range, putting green and short game area. You do need to buy range balls, but price is reasonable. Bull Run has the feel of a modern course with large landing areas off the tee but challenging approach shots. Good variety in straight ahead, dog-legs, etc., not something you often get when a course needs to be set in a residential community. Tee boxes were in good shape and there are multiple tee boxes, so long hitters can play from 700+ yards. Fairways and bunkers were in good condition. Greens, however, were not exceptional, and the rough was, well, pretty rough in some places. Maintaining excellent greens is a challenge for any public course.

Value for your golfing dollar: Public play course owners and managers need to balance the amount they charge for a round of golf and how much they can spend to maintain and improve the course. The current rate (Spring 2025) of $60-$80 a round makes it an exceptional value.

I will absolutely play there again. Count me in for any 4 Star rated...

I generally like Bull Run a lot - I find it to be one of the best layouts in DC, and after the renovation a few years back the conditions have drastically improved. Also, the staff is USUALLY friendly and helpful there when you visit (polite starter, polite pro shop staff, etc.). However, it can struggle with pace of play, to the point where this summer we endured the agony of a 6+ hour round. While they had people on the course, the pace of play never got better, which was frustrating. Our day looked up when a pro came out and gave us two-for-one cards to come back and play, only to realize a few weeks later that they are only valid Monday-Thursday.

I called today and spoke with Richard to see if we couldn't honor those cards this weekend, with a promise to spend a lot with the cart girl and make up the difference. I even mentioned the 6+ hour round that got us into this position and the fact that we/I are loyal Bull Run customers and would hope for some sort of middle ground. There wasn't even a discussion; I was simply told no by Richard, which was off-putting. There are tons of places to play in the area - many of them better than Bull Run - and I found the response to my request unacceptable. So, sadly, what once was a very loyal Bull Run customer will take his money to a course where there is a more customer-centric approach, and I'd advise anybody who doesn't appreciate slow pace of play (and a club house that does nothing to fix it) not...

I waffled between 1 and 2 stars. Pros: It's a nice layout and not too expensive, at least not on a Monday. Cons: We used to play here a lot but it had probably been 10 years since we last played because the course went downhill pretty badly from an upkeep standpoint. We tried it again today and not much has changed. The starter suggested the course is in the best shape it's been in in years. That's a little frightening, given the condition of the tee boxes (mostly dirt) and some of the greens (13 in particular is in bad shape, it has a "moat" of ground under repair around it which made chipping onto the green interesting). On top of the condition, a couple weird things that were off-putting. First, our threesome matched with a single and the starter insisted the single ride with us (rather than in his own cart, which he already had). In 30+ years of playing, I don't think I've ever seen that. The single was a nice guy but, what, were they short on carts on a Monday? Second, many of the pin placements were on spines of green tiers which made some of them just silly to putt to (18 was a good example today). Bottom line, we'd probably give it another 5 - 10 years before coming back to give it another try. There are plenty of better maintained courses in the area at a similar...