Welcome to Forest Greens Golf Club, a Clyde Johnston layout given four stars by Golf Digest and rated as a must-play by Golfstyle magazine. Since our opening in 1996, Golf for Women has also named us one of their top 100 courses for women.

And our scenic course fits perfectly into its stunning setting of towering oaks and pine trees. Our setting next to Prince William Forest Park and Quantico Marine Base will make you feel as if you're playing in a park. The Virginia Department of Conservation has even named us an Environmentally Friendly Golf Facility. We're also a participant in the Bluebird Restoration Program.

According to Peter Kim our head golf professional and general manager at Forest Greens, playing this unusual course will require accuracy and good management of each hole.

“After playing a couple of times, you'll understand the layout better,” he said. “We have lots of trees here and rough in front of the trees. Use your fairway woods or long irons for many of your tee shots.”

Forest Greens has an intriguing layout with a few blind shots, but you can score well if you keep your ball in the fairway. The greens are generous and on some of them you can even run up your ball to the hole. Many tee boxes are elevated which can add distance to how far you hit your ball.

“None of the holes go back and forth next to each other,” said Kim. “The fairways are far apart from one another. You can't see many houses. There's mostly gently rolling terrain. The course can be challenging but you can score well if you use good course management.”

He advises players to watch out for the false fronts on many of the greens. “You have to avoid leaving your ball short,” he

said.

The first hole gives you a particularly gentle start; it's a par-4 (383 yards from the back and 279 from the front). You'll be hitting downhill about 40 feet. Use a large fairway bunker in the distance to get aligned, but if you're a distance hitter, watch out that you don't hit the sand. Your approach shot is uphill to a receptive and gently rolling green with an open front.

Call us at 703-221-0123 to book your tee time today!

Peter Kim also gave us a rundown on his favorite holes on the course: Nos. 5, 9, 10, 12, 13, 16 and 18.

The 5th is the first par-5 on the course, 519 yards from the back and 411 from the front. Despite the length, it's reachable in two shots.The fairway slopes from left to right on this dogleg right. If you can fade the ball, you can use the downhill slope to run the ball downhill to gain some extra distance. Your second shot will be slightly downhill to a narrow, but deep green. If you can stay out of the trees and avoid the pot bunkers on both sides of the green, a birdie is a good possibility here.

The front nine concludes with a testy downhill par 4 that measures 430 yards from the back tees and 320 yards from the front. The hole can feel shorter because of a 50-foot drop in elevation from the tee box to the landing area. The fairway bunker on the left and the pond on the right side of the fairway come into play for long hitters but there is a lot of room in between. Second shots are slightly uphill to a green that is protected by a pot bunker that guards the front left portion of the green and a large free-flowing bunker that guards the right side.

The scenic back nine begins with a long par-5 that some consider to be the signature hole at Forest Green. This goliath measures 574 yards from the back and 410 from the front.It's a dogleg left that drops about 80 feet from tee to green. The wide landing area and elevated tees invite big hitters to fire away, and some fearless ball strikers may be able to cut the corner and reach the green in two.The undulating green is cut into the side of a hill and welcomes most shots, but again there is greenside danger: three attractive bunkers carved into the hillside on the back and right of the green and two grass bunkers to the left.

Twelve is a tricky par-4 that measures 340 yards from the back and 241 from the front. Tee shots on this sharp dogleg left need to avoid the pond near the inside of the crook of the “leg.” So be careful as you choose your club. For your approach, you'll be hitting to a narrow green perched on top of a hill. There is a menacing bunker tucked behind the green that must be avoided but once on the huge, relatively flat green you can relax and hopefully line up a birdie putt.

The 13th is a nice 194-yard par-3 from the back that plays 112 from the front. From the tees, you're hitting down a steep slope to a multi-tiered, kidney-shaped green. Pay close attention to the flag location and the wind direction for club selection.A small bunker guards the left side of the green while a series of mounds frame the right and rear of the green.

One of the most picturesque holes at Forest Green is our 16th, another fun par-3 that plays downhill to a well-bunkered green. This hole measures 170 yards from the back and 103 from the front tees.Club selection is very important on this hole because of a huge bunker to the front left of the two-tiered green. The green set-up favors a draw off the tee.

The 18th is tough par-5 that runs 582 yards from the tips and 406 yards from the forward tees and is uphill all the way.The tee shot on this dogleg left should go past the two fairway bunkers along the right side and stop short of the pond at the right elbow of the dogleg.On your second shot you should see the pin high up on the hill and several plateaus in the fairway along the way to the green.It will take three good shots to reach this putting surface in regulation.

Distances, ratings and slopes at Forest Greens: 6,808 (73.3/140); 6,377 (71.3/139); 6,085 (70.0/135); 5,480 (67.4/121); 4,957 (68.7/117).

Call us at 703-221-0123 to book your tee time today!