McConnell Golf now owns 15 clubs and operates 17 courses with the addition of both Virginia properties on the shores of Smith Mountain Lake. The company also added Porters Neck CC in Wilmington, N.C. to its portfolio in 2020, and unveiled a $5.5 million restoration of Raleigh Country Club.
McConnell Golf has purchased a pair of clubs on Virginia’s Smith Mountain Lake—The Water’s Edge Country Club in Penhook, Va. and The Westlake in Hardy, Va.
McConnell Golf Virginia Club Management, LLC, a McConnell Golf affiliate, will operate both clubs.
C+RB reported on the clubs going up for sale in February 2019.
McConnell Golf President & CEO John McConnell first started playing The Water’s Edge with friends in the early 1990’s. McConnell says he almost immediately, “Fell in love with the golf course and Smith Mountain Lake.”
“In 1994, I bought my first property in The Water’s Edge and my family has enjoyed our ‘home away from home’ for 25 years,” said McConnell.
Established in 1988, The Water’s Edge Country Club features a private, 18-hole golf course designed by R.F. Loving, Jr. Encompassing 13.5 miles of Smith Mountain Lake shoreline, The Water’s Edge provides mountain views, in addition to lake vistas on 15 holes. In 2007, the golf course was fully renovated by Pinehurst-based golf course architect Richard Mandell, who also renovated the Country Club of Asheville for McConnell Golf.
Beyond its 36,000-sq. ft. clubhouse, The Water’s Edge offers a variety of amenities including golf, tennis, swimming, fitness, boating, fishing and horseback riding. The community is almost fully constructed.
“The Water’s Edge residents comprise 100 percent of the club’s membership roster,” said McConnell Golf Chief Operating Officer Christian Anastasiadis. “Although The Water’s Edge is a second-home community, with beautiful vistas on the lake and the Blue Ridge Mountains, many members have resided full-time at the retreat during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Also previously owned by the Willard family and designed by Virginia native Russell Breeden, The Westlake is an enjoyable, public golf course in Hardy, Va., that offers a memorable layout, along with all zoysia fairways.
“The Westlake Golf Course gives you the feel of playing in the mountains, with some good elevation changes,” said McConnell Golf VP of Golf Operations Brian Kittler. “The golf course, especially from the fairway perspective with zoysia, is in great shape and enjoyable to play.”
McConnell Golf now owns 15 clubs and operates 17 courses—a total of 324 holes, as two courses offer 27 holes. This includes Greensboro’s Sedgefield Country Club, the longtime home of the PGA Tour’s Wyndham Championship, designed by late golf course architect Donald Ross. McConnell Golf is the only individual golf course proprietor in the world that owns four Ross-designed courses.
“McConnell Golf is a company that has set its vision on building clubs of the future,” said Anastasiadis. “We see things differently than other clubs or operators, focusing on the little nuances that make a trip to the club memorable for the customer.”
The McConnell Golf portfolio throughout the Carolinas, Tennessee and now Virginia includes courses designed by Pete Dye, Tom Fazio, Arnold Palmer, Greg Norman, Hale Irwin and Ellis Maples.
“The Willard family has built impressive golf and country clubs in the Smith Mountain Lake region,” said McConnell. “We look forward to being good stewards of these wonderful properties that are great additions to our portfolio.”
McConnell Golf had an eventful 2020. In addition to the company’s expansion in southwest Virginia with The Water’s Edge and The Westlake, C+RB reported on the addition of Porters Neck Country Club in Wilmington, N.C., and Raleigh Country Club recently unveiled a $5.5 million restoration of Donald Ross’ last design by architect Kyle Franz.
Tell Us What You Think!
You must be logged in to post a comment.