Photo of Congressional Country Club (Blue course)

Congressional Country Club

8500 River Rd,

Bethesda, Maryland 20817

  • Office

    +1 (301) 469 2000
  • Pro shop

    +1 (301) 469 2032
  • Fax

    +1 (301) 469 2318
  • Golf pro

    John Lyberger (PGA, Director of Golf); Greg Stark (PGA, Head Golf Professional).

About the course

  • The Course:

    18 holes. Tree-lined parkland. Gently undulating terrain - a few slopes to climb.

  • Surroundings:

    Woodland.

  • Designer:

    Blue course: Original design by Devereux Emmet (1924); later revisions by Tom Winton, Donald Ross & Alfred Tull. Substantially redesigned by Robert Trent Jones Sr (1957); renovation and further changes by Rees Jones (1989 & 2010).
    Gold course: original design by Devereux Emmet (1924); substantial redesign by uncle-nephew team of George & Tom Fazio (1976); renovated by Arthur Hills (2000).

Back
tees
Club
tees
Front
tees
Yards
7570
6199
5479
Par
72
72
72
SSS or slope
75.4
70.7

At the same location:

Above distances are for the Blue course. Also at Congressional is the also excellent 18-hole Gold course (par-71, 6844 yds from back tees).

Location

Latitude:

38.997291

Longitude:

-77.177088

How to get there:

2 mi SE of Potomac / 11 mi NW of Washington, DC (The White House).

Congressional Country Club (Blue course)

Private: A course for members and their invited guests only.

Est. 1924

Private and much revered, Congressional Country Club (known to its members as "CCC") is home to two excellent 18-hole parkland golf courses. It has also been (and still is) a golfing sanctuary to U.S. Presidents, Senators, Congressman, top government officials, wealth creators, oil barons and other members of Washington's elite. The highly-ranked Blue course is as good a parkland layout as you'll find anywhere in the world. Keeping it company is the also highly rated and pleasantly testing Gold course.

One imagines the outstanding Blue course owes as much to Robert Trent Jones Sr's 1957 redesign, as it does to Devereux Emmet's original 1924 layout. In classic Jones style, many holes play downhill to good width fairways from wonderfully elevated tees, then back uphill to heavily bunker-defended elevated greens. Each hole appears easy-on-the-eye, but laced with golfing challenges. The bunkering along the way is bold and plentiful, while blind shots are kept to an absolute minimum.

This gently undulating and pleasantly open parkland layout is home to a wonderful variety of mature trees that handsomely define the holes, but never too densely. Water puts in only one telling appearance on the front-nine, greenside at the par-5 6th. On the back-nine water is again sparingly used, but can't be ignored at the 10th, 11th and 18th holes.

Pick of the holes: played in front of Congressional's iconic and palatial clubhouse, the par-3 10th and par-4 18th both make good use of the same attractive pond. From elevated tees the 10th plays away from the clubhouse, demanding a tee-to-green carry over water to a wide but shallow green. Coming back to the pond from the opposite direction, the peninsula green of the par-4 18th poses one of the best risk-reward approach shots in golf, not least when the pin is positioned at the far end of the promontory.

Limited access: this private course is generally playable only by members and their invited guests.

List of courses: Around D.C. & Baltimore

Visitors

Who can play and when?

Private club - guests may only play if hosted by a member.

Green fees

Outside visitor fee not applicable; private course for members and their guests.

Other information

Members' guests permitted to walk if accompanied by caddies. Caddies and forecaddies available at all times.

Practice facilities

Excellent

Did you know?

Congressional boasts the largest Country Club clubhouse in the United States. This iconic and labyrinthine building is home to numerous excellent restaurants, bars, a ballroom, and fabulous collections of golf artwork and memorabilia.

Congressional Country Club's Blue course has hosted numerous USGA championships and PGA Tour events. For more details see Top Golf Tournaments at Congressional Country Club.

Published ranking

Blue course:
Maryland's No.1 course (Golf Digest, 2023/24).
USA's 73rd best course (Golf Digest, 2023).
World's former 91st best course (GOLF magazine, 2007; not in subsequent editions of this ranking).
Gold course:
Maryland's 6th best course.

Find a course

Or

Tournaments

The Sentry: known for many years as the Tournament of Champions, the PGA Tour’s 2025 season-opener gets underway on Kapalua’s Plantation course (Jan 2-5). Chris Kirk defends.

Tournament of Champions: the LPGA Tour’s 2025 season is launched at Lake Nona with the their Tournament of Champions (Jan 30-Feb 2). The 2024 edition gave Lydia Ko her 20th LPGA Tour title.

Who's Who

Attahya Thitikul: also known as “Jeeno”, the Thai golfer won the LPGA Tour’s 2024 CME Group Tour Championship … and an eye-watering $4 million, the richest first-prize in women’s golf.

Rory McIlroy: scooped the 2024 European (DP World) Tour season-long Order of Merit title, joining Seve Ballesteros as a six-time winner of this prestigious award.

Marco Simone Golf & Country Club

Marco Simone Golf & Country Club: With a clubhouse that might befit a Roman Emperor, and a golf course to match, you can be sure of a memorable outing at Rome's most talked about golf facility.

Jim Fazio's original layout was much changed to create a modern Ryder Cup course ... now one of the Eternal City's (and Italy's) most revered.

Prince's Golf Club, Kent (UK)

Here at Prince’s Golf Club you'll find 27 excellent holes of links golf. Just over the fence and sharing similar terrain is Royal St George’s; but Prince’s is far from overshadowed by its venerable neighbour. The three nine-hole loops at Prince's, laid out over gently undulating terrain, are sure to bring a smile of satisfaction to all lovers of links golf.

Stay&Play at Prince's: excellent onsite Lodge accommodation available

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