Transplanted Scotsman Donald Ross transformed the American sports landscape in the first half of this century. At his death in 1948, he left behind a legacy of 413 courses, including such gems as Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina, Seminole in Florida, and the site of the 1996 U.S. Open, Oakland Hills outside Detroit. Over 100 U.S. national championships have been played on his designs. Small wonder his name still resonates among the game's aficionados.

Of all the courses that bear Ross' name, either as original designs or as renovation projects, he probably never even saw a third of them, and another third he visited only once or twice. Given the constraints of train and car travel in those days, repeat visits were difficult to arrange. Though Ross was a voracious traveler, he did much of his design work from his home in a cottage behind the third green at Pinehurst. There he worked from topographic maps, drew up blueprints, and wrote simple but sharply-worded instructions that his construction crew knew how to implement. (http://www.donaldrosssociety.org/SOCIETY/AboutRoss02.htm)

Jefferson-Lakeside members play over the same ground as golf was played before 1900 and its 18-hole course remains substantially the course laid out by Donald Ross. In fact, a recent visit by architecture experts of the Donald Ross Society concluded that the course had retained a remarkable amount of his original design elements. Noted for the most difficult opening holes in Richmond, the Club's course starts with a long par 4 and a long par 3, followed by the two difficult par 4 holes, both of which feature severe green contours.

In contrast to the opening holes, the modern game has overcome a few of Ross' original holes such as the short, par 4 fifth and very reachable, par 5 fourteenth. While the card of the course (6,255 yards) suggests a short track, competitors rarely turn in especially low scores. Moreover, a few holes, such as the par 4 thirteenth with its green fronting creek and the par 4 seventeenth with its hilltop green, offer some of the prettiest, yet challenging holes anywhere in Virginia. A curiosity on the course even today are remnants of metal cages and concrete basins that 100 years earlier served to display "lions and tigers and bears," as well as other exotic animals featured at Ginter's zoo. The golf course is also the beneficiary of Ginter's extensive efforts in developing Lakeside Park because the property now features over 56 types of trees, including many personally selected by Ginter and imported from Europe. The compact, very walkable course features sufficient elevation changes and variety to still make a round of golf at Jefferson-Lakeside challenging as well as a most pleasant "walk in the park."