On the heels of my blog post from June confirming that the firm Resort Development Partners had entered into a definitive agreement with the Beacon Hill Community Association to reopen the course originally called Golf Club of Virginia, Golf Week is confirming the story. RDP reportedly plans to reopen the facility as an 18 hole course named The Preserve at Beacon Hill, with a nine-hole family-style course, a new clubhouse and a practice facility. Soon, we’ll have another championship golf course in Leesburg!
The Golf Week article, Abandoned Johnny Miller-designed Beacon Hill to Be Reborn in Virginia, provides some background on Resort Development Partners.
Resort Development Partners has experience in operations and strategic planning for hotels, clubs, residential and resort communities in the United States. Its portfolio of clubs includes The Country Club of Indianapolis, Hidden Valley Country Club in Virginia, Pine Island Country Club in North Carolina, Out Door Country Club in Pennsylvania, Timacuan Club in Florida and Cat Island Club in South Carolina.”
The article also includes a quote from Beacon Hill Community Association president, Sid Rudolph:
The commitment and support to reinstate golf have led to this opportunity to finally fulfill the promise that Beacon Hill was founded upon more than 20 years ago.”
Photos from the Golf Club of Virginia at Beacon Hill
For those readers who don’t remember how special the course was before closing in 2006, here’s a review from the site foreTee.
The Golf Club of Virginia At Beacon Hill is a private 18-hole golf course located in Leesburg, Virginia.
The Golf Club of Virginia At Beacon Hill opened for play in the Fall of 2001. The course was designed by Johnny Miller. From the tips, the Johnny Miller design measures 7,155 yards and plays to a 76.3 rating and slope of 146.
Beacon Hill, sits on the 1,100-acre Arthur Godfrey estate. The course is set on rolling hills that offer dramatic changes in elevation and sweeping views of the surrounding woodlands and Blue Ridge Mountains. Streams and ponds are in play on 12 of the 18 holes, and wildlife is visible throughout. Each hole provides excitement and a new challenge. There are uphill and downhill tee shots. There are forced carries.
For sheer beauty, how about the 428-yard par-4 13th? It starts from a slightly elevated tee box and plays to a narrow fairway guarded on the right by trees and thick woods on the left. A stream also runs up the left side of the fairway, bending into the short grass near the landing area and then sliding in front and up the right side of a deep but narrow green.
For excitement, simply walk up the hill to the next hole. The 168-yard par-3 14th plays from an elevated tee box to a green guarded in front by a stream that feeds into a pond to the back and right of the green.
For adventure, try the 362-yard par-4 15th – as unique a hole as you will find in the Washington area. Again, you start from an elevated tee. The hole goes slightly to the left, and offers three parallel tiers of fairways to choose from. From right to left, the fairways get closer to sea level. The further left you choose to play your ball, the shorter and more level your approach shot will be. However, a lake banks the entire left side of the hole and makes cutting the corner a risk-reward decision. A single tree between the lowest and second-lowest fairway also must be avoided.
The par-4 seventh is the course’s No. 1 handicap hole. It plays 497 yards with a series of bunkers on the right side of the landing area and out of bounds to the left. The approach is even more demanding as players must fly an environmental hazard and hit a shallow green that slopes back to front and is guarded in the back by bunkers. The 2003 Northern Virginia Amateur, held at Beacon Hill, turned on this hole when the leader took a quadruple-bogey eight.
The 453-yard par-4 16th is the course’s No. 2 handicap hole. It doglegs to the left, but a lake on the left side of the fairway makes cutting the corner almost impossible.
The course finishes with another monster — a 585-yard par-5 that plays uphill and along a narrow fairway with trouble on either side.
As difficult as the course appears at first glance, there are no tricks. Nearly every shot is right out in front of the player, meaning the danger is always avoidable with a well managed club selection.
In it’s heyday, the course received enormous praise for how elegantly it blended into the natural landscape, leveraging the elevation changes of Catoctin Mountain and preserving open space filled with chest-high orchard grass and native plants. The site GolfTheUnitedStates.com bestowed the (unoffical) award for “Best Visual Presentation”. The course was also known for being a strong test for amateur golfers. Although fair, a good score demanded course management and thoughtful shot selection.