Burke Lake Golf Course: A Par 3 Course with a Big Heart Just South of Fairfax, Virginia

In the world of golfing, many better golfers tend to poo-poo the red headed stepchild of the domain, the executive par 3 course. But Burke Lake can be a deceptive course for the unwary and offers a challenge for all types of golfers. Situated next to Burke Lake, alongside Route 123, just south of Fairfax, Virginia, this Fairfax County Park Authority course offers eighteen diverse par 3s with narrow fairways, water hazards and bunkers. This course can be challenging when played from the blue tees. Some of the holes are at the 200 yard mark from the tips. The course is open year round. Greens fees in prime time are: $16 for 9, $23 for 18. Non-prime is $14 for 9, $20 for 18. In the winter, there is a significant mark down on greens fees after 4 p.m., usually half. The starters are very friendly and will often give you the option of teeing off on the back nine if the front is crowded; just ask.

A good time to play is either early in the morning or late in the afternoon. The course tends to get a little crowded with families, couples, and kids, but I have played 9 in an hour if no one else was in front of me. A cool thing to do is to hit two balls while playing nine if you are good enough and at the end, well, you do the math. Another upside is that you can drop a couple of balls on the fringe of the greens and play a couple of chip shots if you have people in front of you. If you are able, everyone walks here. There are power carts for golfers with disabilities. Rental clubs ($5-$9 depending if you play 9 or 18) and pull carts ($4.50) are available.

The driving range is one of the best in the area, largely because it is flat and you can get a really good idea about how well you are hitting and get a good feel for distance. It has 40 hitting stations, all mats, no grass tees. At the far end of the range is a sand bunker where you can practice fairway bunker shots and greenside sand shots. The range can get crowded however and there is no chipping area. The 8000 square foot putting green is single tiered, but sloping. A downside is that they use pins rather than actual holes. The range is lit, one of the few in the area to offer after sunset driving. The range is closed Tuesday mornings for maintenance. Open at sunrise, they stop selling baskets about one hour prior to sundown.

All around, a great bargain and an underestimated course.