Lakeside Park Club is tucked away off Lakeside Avenue. (BizSense file)
The local golf industry started 2023 with a jolt, as news broke that Lakeside Park Club, formerly Jefferson Lakeside Country Club, was in talks to be sold to North Carolina-based McConnell Golf.
The deal, initiated by McConnell, would have brought the 127-acre Henrico club under ownership by someone other than its members for the first time in its 100-plus year history. But it was not to be. McConnell ultimately walked away from the transaction over the summer.
In the virtual golf world, the trend of indoor golf simulators continued to drive growth in the Richmond market this year.
Ryan Zylstra, a former VCU golfer and instructor at Richmond Country Club, opened Anytime Golf, a facility with TrackMan-powered hitting bays in Hanover County. It’s a second location for Anytime Golf, which originally opened in Charlottesville.
In Rocketts Landing, brothers Patrick and Doug Uhazie secured a spot for a new location for their Indoor Golf RVA, which also features simulator-powered hitting bays allowing members to play virtual versions of real-life courses. Their second spot will fill a ground floor space at 4501 E. Main St. in the Waterford at Rocketts Landing, the newest apartment development in the East End neighborhood.
Patrick Uhazie, left, and his brother Doug have opened Indoor Golf RVA, a golf simulator venue at 3920 W. Broad St.
In the realm of pro golf, the annual Dominion Energy Charity Classic was back in Richmond for its eighth year. And just before that PGA Tour Champions event teed off, some of the pro players got a warm-up in another, lesser-known annual golf tournament played at lesser-known local golf course.
The Fred Funk and Friends Golf Gala took place at Kanawha Club in Goochland. Held quietly each year as a sort of unofficial kickoff event for the DECC, the event features around two dozen pros. It raises hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity each year.
Speaking of the DECC, the popular tournament was dealt a blow this month when it was informed that it will lose Dominion as its title sponsor and Country Club of Virginia as its host venue after the event’s 2025 installment. Its organizers said they have no intention of leaving Richmond and said their search for a new title sponsor and host golf course for 2026 and beyond “will begin immediately.”
Pickleball and more
Performance Pickleball RVA features 12 indoor play courts, as well as a bar-and-restaurant area and pro shop. (Courtesy of Heather Dodge/Performance Pickleball)
In other fitness and recreation industry news, Pickleball got a big boost this year with the opening of the region’s first two indoor facilities dedicated to the increasingly popular sport.
The first to open was Bangers and Dinks, which houses eight courts at 1516 Koger Center Blvd., near Chesterfield Towne Center. The second, Performance Pickleball RVA, opened this month at Regency with 18 courts.
The competitive local gym scene also got several doses of new competition this year.
Trainer Corey Iglesias moved beyond backyard fitness sessions and opened CoreFitness RVA at 2900 W. Clay St. in Scott’s Addition.
KidStrong, a children’s gym chain with more than 100 locations open or in the works nationwide, opened its first in the Richmond area at Gayton Crossing shopping center in western Henrico County.
RVA Iron Gym co-owner Brandon Garner outside the gym at 3910 Adams Road in Henrico County (Jack Jacobs photo)
Catering to local bodybuilders, RVA Iron Gym is planning to open a new outpost – its second – at 361 E. Hundred Road near Chester.
Stretching into extra square footage was Humble Haven Yoga, which took over a second storefront adjacent to its Henrico studio at 6980 Forest Ave.
Jake Rowell, who owns another gym called RVA Performance Training, and David Foster, co-owner of High Point Barbershop, joined forces to open Westwood Athletics opened last week at 1105 N. Arthur Ashe Blvd.
Local youth wrestlers have more room to maneuver, as River City Wrestling opened in an expanded space at 4100 W. Clay St. earlier this month. The club relocated from a spot in Lakeside.
A dedicated cornhole venue, NES Cornhole Lounge, launched this fall at 2443 Old Brick Road in West Broad Village.
In Shockoe Valley, Alicia Clift opened River City Airsoft, one of the only dedicated airsoft venues in the region. The business was born out of Valhalla Tactical, an airsoft venue that had been run by Clift’s former boss, who passed away. Clift’s facility spans 19,000 square feet and features a large warehouse transformed into an indoor airsoft stage with a maze of wooden structures, an old car and stacks of tires.
Lakeside Park Club is tucked away off Lakeside Avenue. (BizSense file)
The local golf industry started 2023 with a jolt, as news broke that Lakeside Park Club, formerly Jefferson Lakeside Country Club, was in talks to be sold to North Carolina-based McConnell Golf.
The deal, initiated by McConnell, would have brought the 127-acre Henrico club under ownership by someone other than its members for the first time in its 100-plus year history. But it was not to be. McConnell ultimately walked away from the transaction over the summer.
In the virtual golf world, the trend of indoor golf simulators continued to drive growth in the Richmond market this year.
Ryan Zylstra, a former VCU golfer and instructor at Richmond Country Club, opened Anytime Golf, a facility with TrackMan-powered hitting bays in Hanover County. It’s a second location for Anytime Golf, which originally opened in Charlottesville.
In Rocketts Landing, brothers Patrick and Doug Uhazie secured a spot for a new location for their Indoor Golf RVA, which also features simulator-powered hitting bays allowing members to play virtual versions of real-life courses. Their second spot will fill a ground floor space at 4501 E. Main St. in the Waterford at Rocketts Landing, the newest apartment development in the East End neighborhood.
Patrick Uhazie, left, and his brother Doug have opened Indoor Golf RVA, a golf simulator venue at 3920 W. Broad St.
In the realm of pro golf, the annual Dominion Energy Charity Classic was back in Richmond for its eighth year. And just before that PGA Tour Champions event teed off, some of the pro players got a warm-up in another, lesser-known annual golf tournament played at lesser-known local golf course.
The Fred Funk and Friends Golf Gala took place at Kanawha Club in Goochland. Held quietly each year as a sort of unofficial kickoff event for the DECC, the event features around two dozen pros. It raises hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity each year.
Speaking of the DECC, the popular tournament was dealt a blow this month when it was informed that it will lose Dominion as its title sponsor and Country Club of Virginia as its host venue after the event’s 2025 installment. Its organizers said they have no intention of leaving Richmond and said their search for a new title sponsor and host golf course for 2026 and beyond “will begin immediately.”
Pickleball and more
Performance Pickleball RVA features 12 indoor play courts, as well as a bar-and-restaurant area and pro shop. (Courtesy of Heather Dodge/Performance Pickleball)
In other fitness and recreation industry news, Pickleball got a big boost this year with the opening of the region’s first two indoor facilities dedicated to the increasingly popular sport.
The first to open was Bangers and Dinks, which houses eight courts at 1516 Koger Center Blvd., near Chesterfield Towne Center. The second, Performance Pickleball RVA, opened this month at Regency with 18 courts.
The competitive local gym scene also got several doses of new competition this year.
Trainer Corey Iglesias moved beyond backyard fitness sessions and opened CoreFitness RVA at 2900 W. Clay St. in Scott’s Addition.
KidStrong, a children’s gym chain with more than 100 locations open or in the works nationwide, opened its first in the Richmond area at Gayton Crossing shopping center in western Henrico County.
RVA Iron Gym co-owner Brandon Garner outside the gym at 3910 Adams Road in Henrico County (Jack Jacobs photo)
Catering to local bodybuilders, RVA Iron Gym is planning to open a new outpost – its second – at 361 E. Hundred Road near Chester.
Stretching into extra square footage was Humble Haven Yoga, which took over a second storefront adjacent to its Henrico studio at 6980 Forest Ave.
Jake Rowell, who owns another gym called RVA Performance Training, and David Foster, co-owner of High Point Barbershop, joined forces to open Westwood Athletics opened last week at 1105 N. Arthur Ashe Blvd.
Local youth wrestlers have more room to maneuver, as River City Wrestling opened in an expanded space at 4100 W. Clay St. earlier this month. The club relocated from a spot in Lakeside.
A dedicated cornhole venue, NES Cornhole Lounge, launched this fall at 2443 Old Brick Road in West Broad Village.
In Shockoe Valley, Alicia Clift opened River City Airsoft, one of the only dedicated airsoft venues in the region. The business was born out of Valhalla Tactical, an airsoft venue that had been run by Clift’s former boss, who passed away. Clift’s facility spans 19,000 square feet and features a large warehouse transformed into an indoor airsoft stage with a maze of wooden structures, an old car and stacks of tires.
Richmond has been a hub for Pickleball in the Mid-Atlantic for years now, and the opening of two new indoor facilities takes the RVA scene to the next level. Exciting times for pickleball.