Heritage Oaks Golf Course

It was nice to come back to my old home course after moving away several months ago. I’m happy to report it’s in as good condition as I’ve ever seen it.

The fairways look great with the new two-stripe mow pattern and have filled in nicely. The greens have already fully recovered from aeration just a few weeks ago. The tee boxes are nice and soft and cut, the bunkers are generally well looked after if not immaculate.

This remains a great home course if you live close by, if you are visiting you won’t be disappointed with the playing conditions or overall value of the course. I’ll be coming back up in a few months to give it another go.

After two years and over 40 rounds, I said "goodbye" to Heritage Oaks as my home course with a recent move to the Richmond area.

On the day I played my last* round the weather was perfect and the course was in great shape. Despite the dormant winter conditions, the greens were as fast and smooth as I've ever seen them, and even though there had been a lot of rain in the past week, nearly all of the course was dry. They've also taken steps to help alleviate some wetter spots while the traffic is slow.

The fact I have played over 40 different courses the past two years and still made time to play this course as often as I did is a testament to how enjoyable it is to play here. The layout--while not eye-popping--is dynamic enough to not get boring. I had multiple shots this last go-around from places on the course I had never hit to/from. There were new angles of approach and new shot variants to try to skirt a tree or a bunker or a creek (or all three, as was the case on the par-5 7th).

The staff is what I'll miss most about Heritage Oaks--I wish I could take them with me. I made some good friends there and encourage you to spends some time there and make friends with them too.

There's nothing quite like playing a home course for the last* time and to birdie the last hole sweetened the experience just a little more. In the end, if you're going to play one course in the Valley, make it Heritage Oaks!

*I'll drive the two hours back for tournaments, you can count on that.

Enjoyed the course. It was super wet after a lot of rain and unfortunately that made it very difficult

. I'd love to play it when it's dry

Very nice course. They had just aerated the greens, so they were a little bouncey but overall, the course was in great shape. I played with three members and they were welcoming and a lot of fun to play with. I will be going back!

This course is one of my favorites to play in my area. It was a hot day, but the course was in excellent shape. Pace was a little slow but overall I enjoyed playing.

First time playing and it was awesome. It's a very beautiful course and wide open. The course was in great shape and we managed to play in 3 hours, granted it was a Monday.

Heritage Oaks is a well maintained course with pretty views. The course is in great shape with varying elevation changes that allow all levels of golfers a fun game. The first two holes have open space around them giving you a good warm up if you skipped the driving range. If you land in the rough you should play smart, the grass is lush and thick - similar to velcro. There are several water holes, and a meandering stream that makes you think before you swing. There are plenty of holes that satisfy long ball hitters like us, and fun par threes to mix it up. There are several dog legs with mature trees just begging to be challenged by those with the "Tin Cup" mentality! The staff is very polite and they have a cafe, when you need a sandwich or something to take the edge off. (Water, Beer, soda, sports drinks and redi-mixed frozen daiquiris to go.) We have played here several times and will return.

There are several golf courses within easy driving distance of me here in the Harrisonburg area, and there are many reasons I made Heritage Oaks my home course when I moved in last year.

The two things that separate Heritage Oaks from the other local courses is service and value. The staff is very friendly and helpful and since the course is so walker friendly (more on that in a moment) a whole round costs just $20 as early as 1pm in a weekday, before any GolfNow discount. That’s a pretty good value for this course and one of the main reasons I keep coming back.

Heritage Oaks offers a fairly dynamic layout for a municipal course. There’s no tricks or gimmicks, hardly a blind shot on the course, but it is varied enough that you won’t get bored with it. Each hole is distinctive and after playing a few rounds, you’ll have your favorite and not-so-favorite holes. There is not a lot of elevation changes (I’m a sucker for mountain courses) but that just makes walking the course a lot more enjoyable than say...nearby Packsaddle Ridge. There are enough risk-reward holes for advanced golfers to enjoy, but beginners will also like the course (at least the front nine) for the wide fairways, findable rough, and few forced carries.

The course conditions are respectable if not top-notch. Admittedly, nearby Lakeview has smoother, more even fairways and rough but Heritage Oaks still maintains their course well, there’s rarely anything that draws your attention in a negative way. The greens are medium speed and on the softer side (great condition right now), the tee boxes are never hard or dry (today there were some that were even a little too soft), some fairways hold water a bit but you can still enjoy a round on even a very wet day. The bunkers have native dirt that plays well with all skill levels.

Pace of play is pretty good most days but I’ll admit there is a risk of a 5-hour round out there on occasion. Off-course amenities are also just ok, nothing fancy here. If you are looking for a fancy clubhouse and practice bunkers and valet service, you’ve come to the wrong place but if you just want to go and play some golf, I highly recommend a visit.

Felt it was overpriced for condition of course. Tee boxes chewed up and a lot of debris and bare spots on fairway. No attempt to make course inviting. Unfortunately not many courses around so forced to pay the price. Much prefer Lakeview.

I play this course all the time. It is a little shorter then your normal course but still has a great layout and provides some challenge. Greens are the best you'll see in the winter months from a public course played alot. Only gripe is it gets pretty slow sometimes, but other than that you absolutely CAN'T BEAT THE PRICE for the quality of the course. I would highly recommend to a friend.

Well maintained course with friendly staff.

Course was sloppy wet. Greens and tee boxes could have been cut down more. Layout was ok with a couple of goofy holes (green was 'beside' fairway). Sand traps were not consistent.

Friendly professional staff along with a course you can enjoy.

The course was very nice and played on a beautiful day. I would suggest playing the Black tees if you are a good driver.

This course has a variety of holes that require some strategy off the tee. Even though the course is not long, choosing the right club and then placing your tee shot on the correct side of the fairway is critical in order to score well. There is a free course guide available in the pro shop that is worth picking up. The staff were very friendly as were the individuals I was paired up with. The course is walkable, although there is distance between some greens and the next tee.

A very good place to play golf some holes that a beginner to intermediate golfer has a good chance to par and some holes that are very challenging to that type of golfer

This was my first time playing Heritage Oaks, and I had a great time. I was playing with some college friends, and we had a bit of a mix up with how many people were going to be in our group. We only paid for 3, but we had to add a 4th once we got there. Golfnow had put a single with our group of 3 (as we had booked using the app), but he went off with another group and so our foursome was able to go off together. The girl at the front desk was very helpful in handling that tricky situation. The pace of play was pretty good; it was what was to be expected on a beautiful 70 degree day in December. The foursome ahead of us probably finished in just over 4 hours, and so did we. At one point, however, we had one of the female marshalls tell us to keep up with the group ahead of us...I was a bit surprised with this since we had to wait on virtually every tee shot, and were playing at a sub-4 hour pace. We mentioned this to her, and kept playing at the same pace. There was a 2-some behind us, and they were catching up to us, but really that was just the luck of the draw. There was nowhere for them to go. There were groups pretty much all the way in. Otherwise, some course knowledge is helpful as the driver is not always necessary on some holes. My friends had played the course before, and so they knew the lines to take on some of the blind tee shots. Signs along the course would also be helpful since some of the holes are not near each other at all. The course winds around, and so it would be helpful for there to be some more signs directing where to go on some of the longer drives between holes. The course was in good shape; the bunkers weren't great, but that's kind of expected at this time of year. The fairways were in really good shape, and the greens were also well kept. They rolled pretty well, and were receptive to well played shots. A lot of the tee boxes were moved up (as is common during the winter to preserve the grass), and so the course was not overly long. We played from the gold tees, and the card said they measured in at about 5900 yards, but it was probably a couple hundred yards short of that with the tees being moved up. It made some of the holes risk-reward, as a well played drive left only a sand wedge into a lot of the par 4s! We had a great afternoon, and next time I am in the Harrisonburg area, I will be sure to play again.