Another area golf course is stuck in the rough.
The Royal Virginia Golf Club, a public course in Goochland County, is headed to foreclosure auction next week, joining several courses in Virginia that have gone into foreclosure or filed bankruptcy after a decades-long boom in golf course construction.
Built in the 1990s, the 18-hole, 7,125-yard course sits on 259 acres in Hadensville and closed about 45 days ago, according to the company handling the auction.
Bill Bryant, an auctioneer with Counts Realty & Auction Group, said the troubled course is still open to its members but is closed to the public.
“It’s just a sign of the times, and golf courses everywhere are struggling,” said Bryant. (You can see the auction posting here.)
The course’s website domain has expired, and its phone number is disconnected.
The legal notice detailing the foreclosures did not list an opening bid price, nor did it name the lender on the course.
David Lampton, an attorney with Gebhardt & Smith in Baltimore representing the unidentified lender, would not comment on the situation.
A representative at Dunn, McCormack & McPherson, the Northern Virginia law firm acting as substitute trustee, could not be reached by press time.
The course will go up for auction March 16 at noon. Bryant said his firm is promoting the foreclosed course.
“A golf course is something you can’t just promote locally,” Bryant said.
And judging from the response, there could be some interest come auction time.
“We’ve had quite a few calls from all over,” Bryant said. The course’s auction page has had 1,000 hits.
“We’ll see what happens next Wednesday.”
According to the auction site, the course’s clubhouse is a converted farmhouse that was remodeled in 2000. The course was designed by Algie Pully.
Michael Schwartz is a BizSense reporter. Please send news tips to [email protected].
Another area golf course is stuck in the rough.
The Royal Virginia Golf Club, a public course in Goochland County, is headed to foreclosure auction next week, joining several courses in Virginia that have gone into foreclosure or filed bankruptcy after a decades-long boom in golf course construction.
Built in the 1990s, the 18-hole, 7,125-yard course sits on 259 acres in Hadensville and closed about 45 days ago, according to the company handling the auction.
Bill Bryant, an auctioneer with Counts Realty & Auction Group, said the troubled course is still open to its members but is closed to the public.
“It’s just a sign of the times, and golf courses everywhere are struggling,” said Bryant. (You can see the auction posting here.)
The course’s website domain has expired, and its phone number is disconnected.
The legal notice detailing the foreclosures did not list an opening bid price, nor did it name the lender on the course.
David Lampton, an attorney with Gebhardt & Smith in Baltimore representing the unidentified lender, would not comment on the situation.
A representative at Dunn, McCormack & McPherson, the Northern Virginia law firm acting as substitute trustee, could not be reached by press time.
The course will go up for auction March 16 at noon. Bryant said his firm is promoting the foreclosed course.
“A golf course is something you can’t just promote locally,” Bryant said.
And judging from the response, there could be some interest come auction time.
“We’ve had quite a few calls from all over,” Bryant said. The course’s auction page has had 1,000 hits.
“We’ll see what happens next Wednesday.”
According to the auction site, the course’s clubhouse is a converted farmhouse that was remodeled in 2000. The course was designed by Algie Pully.
Michael Schwartz is a BizSense reporter. Please send news tips to [email protected].
It’s a shame to see Royal Virginia fall on hard times. While the economic downturn put them over the edge, their demise was probably due as much or more to longer-term competitive issues. They rely on play from Richmond and Charlottesville, and good local options have improved quite a bit since RV was built (Richmond: Hunting Hawk, Federal Club, Independence, Charlottesville: Spring Creek). Hopefully we will see a new company come in and invest in it along the lines of what is happening at Augustine, but those competitive challenges will remain. Our Virginia Golf Blog first covered this topic on… Read more »
My favorite golf course in florida went under 3 times before the price was finally right to make a profit. Deer Island in Mount Dora. It is surrounded by water and very tough and not easy to get to even from Mount Dora because you have to drive to the other side of lake dora.
Was this course still under the ownership of Ronnie Kelly who has ran several other Richmond golf courses into the ground. The guy has no business owning a lawnmower much less a golf course.
In response to Jim’s comment on 3/8. Mr. kelley and his partner sold this course over Three years ago. And when they sold the course it was in very good shape.
Does anyone know who entered the winning bid today, and what entity is the new owner? It was crazy to put a golf course in Hadensville in the first place, and it was a half hearted effort at most from the beginning. The “club house” is pitiful – no amenities whatsoever.