Everything you need to know about Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, host to the 2024 Solheim Cup

The 10th hole at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, Virginia, USA

We explore the 2024 Solheim Cup course, and take a look at the key holes where the matches could be won or lost.

Located on the shores of Lake Manassas in Gainesville, Virginia, Robert Trent Jones Golf Club lies 40 miles west of the USA’s capital. The 850-acre site, which is hosting the 2024 Solheim Cup, was discovered by chance while Robert Trent Jones Sr was doing research on another golf course project. He spied a stretch by the coastline and was so taken by its setting that he described the terrain as ‘aesthetically perfect’.

Robert Trent Jones Golf Club was designed to be the epitome of elegance and challenge, blending strategic golf architecture with the natural beauty of the rolling landscape along Lake Manassas. “I don’t think we could have done anything better anywhere,” he said following the opening of the course in 1991.

The PGA Tour were similarly impressed and have staged four Presidents Cup matches at the course, including the inaugural event in 1994, as well as the 2015 Quicken Loans National.

The 2024 Solheim Cup, one of the most prestigious tournaments in women’s golf, will add another jewel to Robert Trent Jones Golf Club’s crown. The biennial event, pitting the best female golfers from the USA against Europe’s top players, marks the first time the tournament will be held at this venue. The club’s pristine and challenging design, combined with its history of hosting premier events, makes it a fitting stage for such a significant international competition.

Of the 500+ courses Robert Trent Jones Sr designed, he referred to his namesake course as his “masterpiece”, and fans can expect a thrilling showdown this year, with the course playing a crucial role in shaping the outcome of the 2024 Solheim Cup.

The course

The course at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club measures over 7,400 yards from the championship tees and plays as a par-72.

The course itself bears the hallmarks of an Robert Trent Jones Sr design, with big fairways, split-level greens and white-sand bunkers clinging to the inside of dog-legs. The design requires strategic decision-making, particularly on holes like the par-5 9th, which wraps around the lake and tempts players to go for the green in two. Much of the jeopardy is reserved for the back nine, which dances along the shoreline to create a highlights reel of heroic approach shots. The risk and strategy involved means few holes are likely to be halved in pars – and you can guarantee a few balls will be lost along the way!

Robert Trent Jones Golf Club is a private club, with members including high profile figures such as former US President Barack Obama, who visited team USA on site this week.

The key holes

Hole 9 | Par 3 | 177 yards

The first of two stunning par 3s on Lake Manassas, this downhill tee shot plays about 40ft below to a peninsula green surrounded by water on all sides except the front. Large bunkers lurk either side, while any shot that misses a narrow back shelf will almost certainly bound into the lake behind. A back-left pin position is particularly daunting for that reason.

Hole 11 | Par 3 | 170 yards

Often compared to the 12th at Augusta National because of the swirling winds, RTJ’s signature hole plays over water to another peninsula green, with trouble on three sides. A steep-faced slope runs 30 feet off the front and left side down to the lake. A pot bunker short is perhaps the only thing that will save a misjudged tee shot from sinking without a trace.

Hole 14 | Par 5 | 480 yards

The pick of the four par 5s at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club. Most tee shots will be looking to catch a speed slot, which skirts the two bunkers guarding the inside of the dog-leg. The safe play with the approach is to the right side of a split-level green, which is perched 6ft higher than the left. A ridge also runs diagonally through the centre, acting as a backboard to the left portion which sits over a pond. Anything long leaves a slippery chip coming back towards the water.

Hole 18 | Par 4 | 400 yards

Another sweeping dog-leg to finish, with a ravine and two bunkers lurking on the left. The angle and length of the approach is entirely dependent on how much players want to flirt with danger off the tee. The green plays downhill from the fairway and sits on the shore of Lake Manassas, just a few yards from the water. Left and long are no-go zones.

About the author

Michael Catling – Features Editor

Michael Catling is an award-winning journalist who specializes in golf’s Majors and Tours, including DP World, PGA, LPGA, and LIV.

Michael joined Today’s Golfer in 2016 and has traveled the world to attend the game’s biggest events and secure exclusive interviews with the game’s biggest names, including Jack Nicklaus, Jordan Spieth, Tom Watson, Greg Norman, Gary Player, Martin Slumbers and Justin Thomas.

Get in touch with Michael via email and follow him on X.