News

Last Update :1/28/2019

Area golf course sold for $800,000

Area golf course sold for $800,000

stonehouse sign

The Golf Club at Stonehouse in Toano has sold for $800,000. (Photos by Michael Schwartz)

The last of a trio of once-troubled golf courses east of Richmond is in the hands of a new owner who’s already fast at work on a seven-figure plan to revive the shuttered club.

Stonehouse Golf Club in Toano, which has been closed and left largely unkempt since fall 2017, sold last month for $800,000.

The buyer was Joe Sanders, a resident of nearby West Point and former member of Stonehouse and its neighboring sister courses, Brickshire and Royal New Kent, which Traditional Golf Properties owned until last year.

Traditional Golf put the three clubs up for sale in 2017 in the face of financial troubles and let Stonehouse and Royal New Kent go dark. Brickshire and Royal New Kent since have found new owners, while Stonehouse was left dormant until Sanders swooped in.

“I watched the courses go down over the last few years and it was frustrating,” Sanders said. “Stonehouse was one of my favorite courses.”

A shot of the overgrowth on hole No. 15 at Stonehouse.

Sanders, who closed on the purchase Dec. 11, said he was driven to the deal by both his lifelong love of golf and what he saw as a business risk worth taking.

“The more I did the math, the more I thought it was a good buy and a reasonable investment if the business is run correctly,” he said. “I think any business can be profitable if you run it correctly.”

Indeed, the $800,000 price tag was a far cry from the $5 million Traditional paid for Stonehouse in 2001 and the $16.3 million a previous owner paid in 1997, a year after it opened.

Sanders said the deal also works because he can use crews and equipment from his general contracting company, J. Sanders Construction Co., to help overhaul the overgrown course and its aged infrastructure.

“I’ve got heavy equipment and I’m negotiating deals all the time,” he said. “I’ve been in the construction business all my life, so estimating is my forte.”

$1.4 million estimated for fixes

He has several crews on site in the midst of what he estimates will be around $1.4 million in upgrades to the course and its grounds, all with the goal of reopening for play as a semiprivate club by July 1.

That work includes new pumps and controls for the irrigation system, drainage upgrades, removal of trees and – perhaps most noticeably – cutting the grass.

A more recent shot of No. 15 after Sanders’ crews went to work.

“When we started out there, the grass was three, four feet high,” Sanders said, adding that his crews also helped with drainage fixes at Royal New Kent when South Carolina-based Wingfield Golf bought it last year.

Both Stonehouse and Royal New Kent were designed by the late Mike Strantz, a course architect who designed only seven or eight courses before his death at 50.

Sanders said he has two of the three main hires for Stonehouse already in place, with Helen Ware as general manager and Jeffrey Yarborough as course superintendent. Yarborough previously was in that role at King Carter Golf Club in Irvington, Virginia.

He’s still looking for a head golf pro and a restaurateur to run the clubhouse’s food service. He’s also working on a deal to buy a fleet of new carts.

He said he’s had support and well wishes from the homeowners association of the surrounding subdivision. Its residents were worried about the course falling into the hands of someone who wanted to use the land for something other than golf.

While he said he’s fully aware of the risk of getting into the golf business, Sanders said he’s confident about moving forward.

“It’s been fun doing it because I love the golf course,” he said. “It’s coming together.”



[ More News ]


Join NGCOA Mid-Atlantic - Great Membership Benefits!

Click to Watch the Video - Lee Coble Receives USGA Dey Award

NGCOA MA Mouns the Loss of Frank Edward Herrelko Jr.

Lee Coble Honored by USGA

Members Take Charge at Lakeside Golf Club

NGCOA Seeking Events Manager - click for info

Middle Atlantic PGA Section Announces 2023 Special Award Winners

Partner News: Better Billy Bunker Buzz

NGCOA Announces Education Highlights for Golf Business Conference 2024

The Federal Club in Glen Allen, VA seeks General Manager

Bayville GC gains Audubon certification

Cost Versus Value - They're Not the Same - Why Does it Matter?

Williamsburg National GC (36 holes) Seeks Director of Agronomy and Grounds

Accountability & Fiscal Responsibility in Club Governance

Bunkers - Do They Really Matter?

2023 NGCOA MA Annual Award Winners Press Release

NGCOA MA Annual Meeting Registration Open, The Crossvines Winery and Poolesville Golf Cousre, Wednesday, October 4th

Current Golfer Mindset and it’s impact on Facility Planning

Sagacity Golf Partners with NC GCOA

Virginia Beach Golf Trips Made Easy

Custom Williamsburg Golf Trips with Golden Horseshoe, Kingsmill & Condos

Ready to Sell?, Aerification and Prof. Jakubowski on Golf Turf and Water

For Sale: The Crossings Golf Club, Durham, NC - Hilda W. Allen Real Estate

Save the Date - October 4th, NGCOA MA Annual Meeting at Poolesville GC

Club Tax Assessments, The Concept of Value and RSM's Phil Newman on Finances

NGCOA MA / NC Summer Newsletter - click here to read

Reminder: The Latest from Golf Business Advisors!

Call for Offers - Westchester CC (FL)

Golf Acquisition Opportunities (3) - FL, PA, & NY

National Golf Day - 2023 - Outside the Box

Golf Course Acquisition Opportunity - Country Club of Otterkill (NY)

Debt - The (not so) Silent Club Killer

The Cost of Golf - Is it $ustainable?

National Golf Day Registration Open

​Private Club Governance & Management - Defining Roles

Virginia Golf Colleagues Mourn the Loss of Paul Michaelian

NCA Webinar on Your Club's Real Estate Tax Assessment

Golf Property Analysis & Valuation - 2nd Edition Now Available

Erik Larsen incorporates traditional elements into St. Johns (FL) Golf Course to Rave Reviews

Choosing the Best Management for Your Club or Golf Course

Measuring Performance, Selling Solutions, Clubs, Fraud & a Hotline, & The GPA Practice Tee

Fall Issue of Mid-Atlantic Golf Business Newsletter Joint with NC GCOA - Click Here to Read

Register for the 2022 NGCOA MA Annual Meeting, November 2

Selling in Uncertain Times - Develop a Strategy

Just Listed by Hilda W. Allen Real Estate, Inc.

Some Reponse to Why Clubs are Closed on Mondays

Save the Date NOW for Golf Business Conference 2023

Summer Issue of Mid-Atlantic Golf Business Newsletter Joint with North Carolina GCOA - Click Here to Read!

Golf Property Analysts - Private Club Planning, Golf as it was meant to be, Is It Time to Sell?

A Consumer/Culture Based Approach to Private Club Planning

Transparency at Private Clubs

The Golf Pro Crisis & Its Impact on Clubs

Golf Property Analysts - Your Club's Tax Assessment

Hilda Allen - the source for golf course sales and advising owners

NGCOA Mid-Atlantic Annual Meeting Set for Nov. 2 at Independence GC in Richmond

Fairfax County Park Authority seeks Golf Course General Manager

Announcing Facility BMP Virtual Workshop and Prize Contest

Another Beautiful Listing by Hilda Allen Real Estate!

Just Listed by Hilda Allen - The Frog GC in Georgia, a Fazio Design

National Golf Day 2022 - Information and Registration

Mattaponi Springs Golf Club in Ruther Glen, VA Seeks General Manager

Larry's Interview on TurfNet Renovation report Podcast

Golf Leagues - A Lightspeed Guide to Growing Business

Register your course for Women's Golf Day - June 7th

Download the Pellucid Presentation at the Annual Meeting

Golf Property Analysts - Time to Sell?

New Listings and Recent Sales from Hilda Allen Real Estate

Hanover Golf Club sold to unidentified local buyer

Club Master Planning - A Market Based Approach

January Abstract OtR: '21 Sol Scorecard is 6 birdies, 2 pars!

Damon DeVito Named the 2021 Mid-Atlantic Golf Leader

Golf Course Acquisition Opportunity - Maryland - For Sale By Auction

Sep Weather, Aug Util; steady, solid results against strong "20 comps"

Employee Retention Tax Credit May Save You Thousands $

Glenwood Golf Course redevelopment gets planning commission approval

Google's New "Local" Ads Provide Big Advantages to Golf Courses

The Appraisal Journal - Valuation of Private Clubs for Tax Assessments

Morning Read and Sports Illustrated Announce Editorial Partnership

Is it Time to Review Your Golf Property Tax Assessment?

 



Join Our Email List