What was the reason that Virginia National went under?
Ron Whitten is building a new course in Lake Anna called Cutalong. Are they close to each other?
Interesting question. I actually considered making an offer on the course when an auction was scheduled & did some research. Being retired, I thought I might be able turn it around. The financial model simply does not work.
(I requested membership in GolfClubAtlas in hopes of participating in exactly this kind of discussion – How do we save existing golf architecture in these tough times?, - So forgive me if I get into too many details.)
Virginia National is doomed by location. 90+ minutes west of DC, some of which is high-toll road, pretty much eliminates regular players from DC. 20 miles to the west is low-priced, good value, competition from 5 other public courses. Population within 15-20 miles is very sparse – no cities.
On the western side of a mountain, sunrise is late, meaning reduced playability, in terms of both frost delays and season length.
Looking at competition within 30 miles, weekend prime-time rates would end up around $70 with cart. While weekday play would be near non-existent, even with rates under $30.
As discussed in this thread, the course setting is magnificent, and the layout above average. However, the place just cannot generate the number of rounds needed to break even.
The initial owner kept the course in immaculate shape with, in my opinion, the best public course greens in the DC area. Before the recession and gas price jump, the course commanded $80+ prime rates and likely did 15K rounds per year. This probably came close to break-even.
After a sale, which was just prior to the recession, the new (absentee) owner cut maintenance spending in response to lower play. This resulted in a few periods of very poor course conditions (loss of greens & fairways), which in turn, reduced play even more. The resulting death-spiral ended with the note-holder (Textron) taking back the course & being unable to sell or auction at an acceptable price. It was operated on contract by Love Golf for one season. Even with prime time fees slashed to under $40, it generated what I estimate to be under 10K rounds per year, largely due to poor course conditions that resulted from a dramatically reduced maintenance budget.
Textron finally gave up & ceased operation. The course was offered to a civil war trust nonprofit for what I have heard was $1M. Last I heard, the trust had not made the purchase as they could find no park authority willing to convert it to a park and operate it. The course continues to be listed on several golf course real estate sites. I have no firm knowledge of the price. I would expect it to be in the $2M price range.
Anyone with more course operating experience than me who cares to comment on the viability of the business?
While some closed courses are no loss, I've seen too many worthwhile ones go. Virginia National will be missed by those of us who played there frequently. Is there hope for some of these troubled courses, with new owners applying better management & operating techniques?