New First Tee of Greater Richmond Update: Now Open -Love Design (was Belmont)

[Jonathan Mallard]

Henrico County has selected the First Tee of Greater Richmond to operate the soon to be NLE Belmont Golf course.


There will be a 12 hole course, a 9 hole short course, driving range, and a short game practice area. Elements of the work by Tillinghast and Ross will be retained/featured.


https://richmondbizsense.com/2019/12/10/breaking-news-belmont-golf-course-would-get-4m-transformation-at-hands-of-first-tee/

Link to First Tee main page on the project.


https://www.thefirstteegreaterrichmond.org/belmont/


Link to previous discussion thread.


https://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,65149.msg1617761.html#msg1617761

[Brian Ross]

I've been stewing over this since yesterday afternoon, trying to decide if it was worth it to post my thoughts. Obviously, I'm disappointed in the direction Henrico County has decided to go. I have no problem with the concepts of fewer holes, short courses, learning centers, etc. and/or the operator and architects chosen, this just wasn't the place for it. Belmont was never going to return to the level it was at when it hosted the PGA Championship in 1949, but it WAS a golf course worth restoring and preserving for future generations of Virginians as the only course in the Commonwealth to have hosted a major. Given the restoration trend on Golden Age courses, which has (slowly) been trickling into the municipal arena (heck, even the NPS is getting into the mix now), I was hopeful that would be the direction taken, but Henrico County could just never seem to get on board with the idea that Belmont was a special place already, just in need of a tune-up.

[Tom_Doak]

Where did the local First Tee come up with $4m ?


Oh, I just read the press release, they will pay the County that much over the 20 years of the lease.

[Bernie Bell]

I read it differently.
“First Tee is basically saying we’ll come in right now with $3.2 million in privately raised capital up front, leveraged with our $750,000. No operator could touch that,” Luther said. “No other private entity could make economic sense out of putting $4 million into that course up front.”

[Jonathan Mallard]

Gated article in today's paper.


https://www.richmond.com/news/plus/henrico-s-belmont-golf-course-closes-for-amid-mixed-reception/article_428d7ed9-29c3-5205-8e43-4e9c332de1f4.html

[Jonathan Mallard]

Update:


Here are the plans for the 6 hole short course.


https://twitter.com/Love3GolfDesign/status/1270140785049112578/photo/1

[Alex Miller]

Update:


Here are the plans for the 6 hole short course.


https://twitter.com/Love3GolfDesign/status/1270140785049112578/photo/1

Concept is neat in a vacuum. My first thought before I clicked the link was "I hope there aren't too many bunkers, this is the beginnerist course for a facility that fosters beginners." That is my concern.

[Mike Tanner]

Before it closed, I drove 180 miles roundtrip from Virginia Beach to Richmond on two different occasions to play play Belmont, just to see the layout and the Ross/Tillinghast architectural heritage. Despite the threadbare course conditions, the trips were worth it. Getting some Buz and Ned's BBQ afterwards was a bonus! Would have been cool to see the course rehabbed as an 18-hole layout; but a First Tee facility beats another office building or shopping center.

[John Emerson]

I have strong feelings about this project and one word comes to mind....travesty.

[Andy Shulman]

Here's an update on the work being done in Richmond - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hprG-V3T2hs&feature=youtu.be.  While it's a shame to lose part or all of any course with a Ross/Tillinghast pedigree, some of the alternatives considered sounded worse than what the First Tee settled on.


Like Mike Tanner, I drove down from DC to play Belmont many years ago and recall a cramped layout in very poor condition.


Can the GCAers who consider the First Tee plan a travesty share more of their thinking?  After all, not every da Vinci is the Mona Lisa.

[Pat Burke]

First Tee is non profit
999 forms should show all of this but not until all the spending is done


Most “chapters” raise their own money for operations.


I know of a great little course for sale. Would fit a first beautifully.
Think the First Tee might fund my deal?
I was never a PGa Tour policy board member so might not have the in!

[Conley Hurst]

I have strong feelings about this project and one word comes to mind....travesty.

Seems to me that this is an unrealistic perspective. This project will 1) save at least part of a Tillinghast design from destruction, 2) provide a high-quality, affordable public golf option for Richmond, and 3) allow young people to learn the game at a first-rate facility on good golf holes.


This kind of project will grow the game. A full restoration and $150 greens fees would likely not.

[Jonathan Mallard]

I have strong feelings about this project and one word comes to mind....travesty.

Seems to me that this is an unrealistic perspective. This project will 1) save at least part of a Tillinghast design from destruction, 2) provide a high-quality, affordable public golf option for Richmond, and 3) allow young people to learn the game at a first-rate facility on good golf holes.


This kind of project will grow the game. A full restoration and $150 greens fees would likely not.

Green fees used to be $18 for Henrico County Residents and $21 for the general public. In other words, your point #2 was already in place.


Unless, of course, the First Tee will provide improvements by orders of magnitude to the course maintenance.

[Jonathan Mallard]

Update: The courses are now open.


https://richmondbizsense.com/2021/05/25/this-is-the-future-of-golf-reinvented-belmont-golf-course-ready-to-tee-off/

https://richmond.com/sports/golf/teel-belmont-is-a-storied-part-of-golfs-history-as-it-reopens-it-aims-to/article_a6e99b70-1a8c-5233-a967-41a2d318b184.html

Interview with Davis Love, III:

https://richmond.com/davis-love-iii-explains-how-he-transformed-belmont-golf-course/video_451f591e-4030-57a0-a52e-e0bbbd53641b.html

[Brad Lawrence]

For about 250% more, you can play two thirds of the only golf course in Virginia to host a major championship rather than the original eighteen.


They did some neat things with the twelve holes they kept and the six short holes they added. No driving range to a very nice driving range, but I think I would rather have the deteriorating original eighteen than the new and  improved twelve.  It’s like losing an old friend.

[Steve_ Shaffer]

Matt Ginella chimes in:




“They were about to turn this into a park,”(Vinny)  Giles told me. “And with the support of the First Tee, the Goodwins and Fred Tattersall, they brought back more than a golf course—they brought back an eight-door entertainment center. They’re going to keep kids, and people in general, very active in golf.”


https://firepitcollective.com/belmont




https://www.playbelmontrva.org/

[Dave Givnish]

I played Belmont when I was back in Richmond early this month. We did the whole thing - 12 hole traditional, 6 hole short, hit some balls on the range, and rolled a few on the green - for about $40 each. The 12 hole course is well done and it took about 2 1/2 hours to play. The short course is just right for beginners and outings. The range was full on a middle-of-the-week afternoon.


Some of the posts here mirror some of the conversation that I've seen about Papago and Grand Canyon in Phoenix during and after their updates. The changes that were made dramatically weren't popular with the long time players, but in the end, both facilities are experiencing large increases in their use and revenue. Phoenix was losing money regularly and I think considered selling both in the early '00's.


I talked with the Belmont starter for a while, and I think that they may be a bit surprised by how good the reception to the new facility has been in terms of play this quickly.

[MCirba]

I played Belmont when I was back in Richmond early this month. We did the whole thing - 12 hole traditional, 6 hole short, hit some balls on the range, and rolled a few on the green - for about $40 each. The 12 hole course is well done and it took about 2 1/2 hours to play. The short course is just right for beginners and outings. The range was full on a middle-of-the-week afternoon.


Some of the posts here mirror some of the conversation that I've seen about Papago and Grand Canyon in Phoenix during and after their updates. The changes that were made dramatically weren't popular with the long time players, but in the end, both facilities are experiencing large increases in their use and revenue. Phoenix was losing money regularly and I think considered selling both in the early '00's.


I talked with the Belmont starter for a while, and I think that they may be a bit surprised by how good the reception to the new facility has been in terms of play this quickly.

Dave,


That's really encouraging to hear.  Thanks for sharing