Lansdowne Resort (RTJ II Course)

Overview: The Robert Trent Jones Jr. Course at Lansdowne Resort is an 18-hole resort layout in Leesburg, Virginia, that follows the Potomac Valley through rolling ground, woodland, open slopes and water-edged holes. The par-72 course measures 7,063 yards and uses elevation as a central design feature. The 13th drops roughly 50 feet from tee to green, with a creek and old stone wall shaping the shot, while the 17th brings water into the strategic finish. Two three-shot par fives and the changing ground between holes give this course a different rhythm from Lansdowne’s Greg Norman design.

History: The Jones Course opened in 1991 as the first of Lansdowne’s principal championship layouts. It predates the Norman Course by fourteen years and established the golf identity of the Potomac River resort before the second 18-hole course and Sharkbite nine were added. Robert Trent Jones Jr. worked with the natural valley and existing woodland, using the site’s elevation rather than manufacturing a uniform resort landscape. The course now forms part of Lansdowne’s 45-hole golf offering and remains a core championship test for resort play.

Did You Know? The 13th hole’s substantial drop from tee to green makes the course’s elevation visible in one shot. The creek and old stone wall near the green then turn that downhill advantage into a precision question, because distance control is only useful if the approach finds the correct part of the putting surface.