Unlike skateboarding or the high-flying motorcycles of the X Games, golfing at the Virginia National Golf Club in Bluemont qualifies as "extreme" in different ways. "Virginia National is filled with wildlife," explains Cliff Boyd, Director of Golf. "Our completely natural setting is like a bird sanctuary, home to 3 kinds of bluebirds, bald eagles, ospreys, and Baltimore Orioles. We've even spotted bears and mountain lions." Lions, eagles and bears, oh my!

The course sits between the winding Shenandoah River and the Blue Ridge Mountains and offers extremely beautiful views. High atop the fourteenth tee the panorama is spectacular; distant farms are the only buildings visible from anywhere on the course. As a bonus, Virginia National offers excellent small mouth bass fishing, Shenandoah style.

The course's undulating hills were the setting for the only Civil War battle in Clark County, the Battle of Cool Spring. Check out the Club's website for the story of this battle. As Dave Finney, the course's Superintendent, drove this reporter around the spectacular course, he pointed out landmarks of the battle, including Parker's Hole, a deep spot in the river where unfortunate Union soldiers met their end as they tried to escape Confederate guns.

Virginia National offers some of the finest golfing conditions in the mid-Atlantic.

In a quote from the website, "Virginia National is one part natural scenery, one part thoughtful design - delivering a total golf experience that carefully balances challenge with playability. "I've always thought that one key to a great golf course was that it made you work your bag," says Director of Golf, Cliff Boyd. "You didn't buy all those clubs to have most of them sit in there, did you? This course will force players to use them all."

Virginia National's Preferred Player program offers discounts on fees to make your golf outing an extremely good value. The combination of wildlife, peaceful scenic beauty, history, and great golf makes this course, in founder Cliff Boyd's words, "A setting like golf was meant to be."

Virginia National Golf Club
1400 Parker Lane
Bluemont, Virginia 20135
888-283-GOLF (4653)
www.VirginiaNational.com