This year’s best local business-of-golf stories include one course sold, plans to breathe new life into three former courses, plus news of golf belts and golf cocktails.
Fore! Local golf industry recap for 2022
Sports & Recreation
Marina dredging gives holiday boat parade a Lilly Pad landing
“We are dredging the marina to depths that haven’t been seen in more than 50 years,” said owner Max Walraven, who also owns two dredges and said he has spent over $100,000 on the effort.
$8M entertainment venue The Park at RVA opens this week
Marketed as “an indoor wonderland,” the 55,000-square-foot venue consists of an 18-lane duckpin bowling alley, an 18-hole mini golf course, three virtual golf bays, three bars, a food hall with six restaurants, a beer garden area with 30 self-pour taps, a 200-person banquet hall and a 200-seat auditorium.
Golf swing clinic Golftec adds second location in the region
“The Glen Allen location serves a bunch of nice clubs north of the river and there’s a lot untouched on this side,” said Zachary Martin, who runs the new shop at 11615 Midlothian Turnpike.
Cycling gym quietly spins into bigger space in Richmond
Hour Cycle Studio had trouble finding a landlord willing to put up with the loud music from its workouts. Owner Jenn Braswell found a more silent solution.
A return to racing at Southside Speedway? Not so fast, county consultant says
Martyn Thake said the shuttered racetrack needs “significant repair or replacement” to resume races with a potential cost of $10 million to $15 million.
Colonial Downs, Richmond Rosie’s sell to Kentucky Derby owner for $138M
The transactions followed Churchill Downs Inc.’s multibillion-dollar acquisition of Peninsula Pacific Entertainment, which reopened the New Kent County racetrack in 2019.
Texas-based escape room chain opens in Short Pump mall
Red Door Escape Room offers six room concepts, including fairy-tale adventure Once Upon A Time and Captain Maniacal’s Lair-Bratorium, in which participants build a robot for a mad scientist.
No Phil, no problem for this week’s PGA tournament at CCV
Ticket sales, sponsorships and other metrics are peaking for this year’s Dominion Energy Charity Classic, despite the absence of suspended marquee name Phil Mickelson.
Local M.D.’s golf cocktail startup in full swing with new distribution deals
“Sitting in the dark room reading x-rays and MRIs… I like it, it’s a great career. But being out on the golf course talking cocktails is a dream come true,” Turner Lewis said of his new side gig, Fore Craft Cocktails.