Robert Trent Jones Golf Club
Robert Trent Jones Golf Club (RTJ) is a private golf club located in Gainesville, Virginia, a suburb southwest of Washington D.C. Opened for play 30 years ago in 1991, the par 72 course plays between 5,570 and 7,425 yards (5,093 and 6,789 m).[2]
| Club information | |
|---|---|
  Location in the United States  Location in Virginia | |
| Coordinates | 38.776°N 77.639°W |
| Location | Gainesville, Virginia |
| Established | 1991, 30 years ago |
| Type | Private |
| Total holes | 18 |
| Website | rtjgc.com |
| Designed by | Robert Trent Jones |
| Par | 72 |
| Length | 7,425 yards (6,789 m) |
| Course rating | 75.8 |
| Slope rating | 145 [1] |
Founding and premises
RTJ was founded by the legendary golf course designer Robert Trent Jones "while conducting an aerial site survey for another project," and it was designed by him, too. Located about 30 miles (50 km) from downtown Washington D.C., the course is on Lake Manassas, an 850-acre (3.4 km2) reservoir.
Jones is to have said "the terrain is aesthetically perfect...I don't think we could have done anything better anywhere," and he has created legendary courses Spyglass Hill, Firestone Country Club, Bellerive Country Club, and Congressional Country Club. He actually bought this land in the hopes of attracting a world-class membership because there was a need to create a world-renowned golf course in the area. He called this course "my masterpiece," and it opened for play in April 1991.
RTJ has a clubhouse that is a "65,000-square-foot (6,040 m2) Georgian-style mansion, with its red brick exterior and stately white columns and portico serves as the clubhouse," and the club does not allow for residential development, but does allow members of the club to construct cottages. For all the water around the golf course the only hole that a player has to fly the ball over open water on the lake is the par-three eleventh hole.[2][3][4][5]
Presidents Cup
The course hosted the inaugural Presidents Cup in 1994, and again in 1996, 2000, and 2005. The United States defeated the Internationals on all four occasions.
- 1994: The United States Team defeated the International Team by a score of 20 to 12.
- 1996: The U.S. team won 16½ to 15½ in the second playing of the competition.
- 2000: The U.S. team won 21½ to 10½ in the fourth playing of the competition.
- 2005: The U.S. team won 18½ to 15½ in the sixth playing of the competition.
PGA Tour
The course hosted an event on the PGA Tour in 2015, Tiger Woods' Quicken Loans National. The tournament was won by Troy Merritt, his first victory on tour.
Members
In 2017, it was reported [6] former President Barack Obama joined the club.