Cannon Ridge GC to Reopen 4 Years Later

The Fredericksburg, Va., property closed in 2012 when previous operator Washington National Golf declined to renew its lease. Don Long purchased the semi-private golf course, and is working on getting it and The Battlefield Grill ready by the grand reopening on June 25.

Four years after it closed, Cannon Ridge Golf Club in Fredericksburg, Va., will re-open, the Fredericksburg-based Free Lance-Star reported.

Don Long, who has made a career managing golf courses along the East Coast, has purchased the business and leased the buildings and land from an affiliate of the Silver Cos., which owns the course. He said he has “a dream of making a course like Cannon Ridge the best it can be,” the Free Lance-Star reported.

The course will be semi-private. Long said the course “designed like a links course,” is unique to the area for its open layout and long greens, the Free Lance-Star reported.

The course opened in 2003 but has been closed since the end of 2012, when previous operator, Washington National Golf, declined to renew its lease. The Silver Cos. has been working since then to find an operator, the Free Lance-Star reported.

Jud Honaker, president of the Silver Cos. commercial development division, said the company recently remodeled the course, replacing the grass with a hardier variety and maintaining the greens for the next tenant. He said golfers should expect lower rates than Cannon Ridge typically had, the Free Lance-Star reported.

Honaker said with Long’s experience in the industry, he “made a compelling sales pitch for the lease.” Long is now working on getting the course play-ready and ordering new golf carts for the grand re-opening, which will be held on June 25 at 11 a.m., the Free Lance-Star reported.

Along with the golf course opening, the club’s restaurant The Battlefield Grill will be open to the public, serving sandwiches, salads, barbecue, hot dogs and hamburgers, the Free Lance-Star reported.