With four new courses, Blue Ridge Shadows, Williamsburg National’s (Yorktown), Oak Creek, and Creekmoor opening in 2007, and two complete redesigns, Indian Creek Yacht and Country Club and Hanover Country Club poised to debut, Tom Clark says the remainder of the year looks to be busier than 2006.
Magnolia Green, Chesterfield, Va.
Tom Clark of Ault Clark & Associates along with Nicklaus Design has been selected to co-design the new course at the Magnolia Green development in Chesterfield, Virginia. This 2,000-acre tract, when completed, will boast more than 3,500 units along with more than 200 acres of commercial development. The project is being developed by Lifestyle Homes, a nine year old real estate development company based in Norfolk, Virginia.
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The course will be more than 7,500 yards from the back tees with four intermediate tees culminating at the 5,000-yard forward tee, and playing to a par 72. The site is heavily wooded with some beautiful topography that will add definition and character to the course. The holes will meander to upland areas and cascade down to majestic stream valleys to provide the golfer a variety of shot values.
A golf developer has not yet been selected but the owner hopes to have the clearing underway this year with the construction completed in 2008 and a course opening in 2009.
Clark, who has completed designs on such courses as the Woods Course at Kingsmill in Williamsburg, River Creek in Leesburg and the recently opened Blue Ridge Shadows in Front Royal, looks forward to the opportunity in providing a new product in the Richmond market.
“The last involvement I had locally was the Dominion Club along with Curtis Strange, which was over 20 years ago,” Clark said. "I look forward to working with Nicklaus Design, who has been producing some terrific courses throughout the Mid-Atlantic over the last five years.
“With our combined experience and familiarity with the region, I fully expect the Magnolia Green course will be a flagship, not only in Richmond, but throughout the state.”
For further information, contact Tom Clark 540-364-7665 or Steve Valdivieso 757-962-5299
Lee Park Golf Course, Petersburg, Va.
Clark has been engaged to design a new 18 hole course on the site of the abandoned Lee Park Golf Course in Petersburg, Va. The Lee Park Course has been closed since 2003, and after the city acquired the back nine holes they elected to move forward and put the course back in operation.
The front nine holes were designed by the late Fred Finley where Clark hopefully can continue his string of remodeling successes. Finley designed Bide-a-Wee and Pine Lakes in Elizabeth City which were two courses which Tom remodeled in 2003 and 2005, respectively.
City officials have recently approved a plan which will stretch the course to approximately 6,800 yards, par 72 and add a practice and short game area.
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“This will make the course appealing to all caliber of players and with the inclusion of the practice facilities, we can introduce the game to new players in the surrounding schools and patrons throughout the Petersburg metropolitan area,” Clark says.
Portions of the site are relatively flat, so drainage will be a key issue, and with the enlargement of some existing ponds and the development of a new irrigation lake, the course should have plenty of challenge and character. The town council approved the project Feb. 20 and awarded the construction contract to United Golf of Tulsa, Okla., who last year completed Blue Ridge Shadows Golf Course in Front Royal, Va., and the complete remodeling of Hanover Country Club in Ashland, Va., both designed by Tom Clark. Construction is to begin immediately and they hope to have it reopened later this year or in the spring of 2008.
For further information contact Tom Clark 540-364-7665 or Jeff Fleishman 757-229-0845.
Staffordshire Country Club, Stafford County, Va.
Tom Clark has been selected to design the new Staffordshire Country Club on a 1,000 acre site adjacent to Able Reservoir in Stafford County, Va. The project is being developed by Richard Ward of Ellis Denning Development in Rockville, Md. The land plan had been developed and approved over 15 years ago and is very much a low-density plan with only 500 units proposed on the 1,000 acre site.
“This will make a terrific golf course where we have very little competition from the surrounding home sites and can offer golfers a unique and pristine setting with views of Able Reservoir and the surrounding flora and fauna”, Clark says.
There are tentative plans to include a nine-hole par 3 as part of the country club, which will be similar in stature to Cedar Point Country Club in Suffolk, Va., which Clark recently rebuilt and added a nine-hole par 3.
The first phase of development hopes to begin later this year and the course will not complete construction until 2008.
For further information contact Clark 540-364-7665 or Rich Ward 301-948-0523
Woodhaven Golf Course, Glade Springs Village, Daniels, W.Va.
The new Woodhaven Golf Course is currently under construction and scheduled to be completed in 2008. This will be the third course at the Glade Springs Village and Resort, which currently features the Cobb Course and Stonehaven. Clark designed Stonehaven in 2004 and redesigned the Cobb Course in 2005, where they are currently ranked the No. 3 and No. 4 courses respectively in W.Va.
The Woodhaven Course will be a completely different style than Stonehaven, which featured black waste bunkers, contrasted by large white sand formal bunkers, big greens, and spacious fairways. Woodhaven will be more of a players course, with small greens, grass faced bunkers, and tighter fairways and will operate out of a completely separate club area on the east side of Glade Creek, with several holes hanging over the famed Glad Creek Gorge. We are also emulating many famous design characteristics such as the Redan, Biarritz, and Punchbowl greens, produced by Charles Blair McDonald on the famed Old White Course at the Greenbrier. The course plans to open for play in the spring of 2009.
For further information contact Clark 540-364-7665 or Kevin Hodges 479-246-6801
Other Projects
Other projects Clark is involved that plan to break ground in 2007 include the Cutalong Club in Louisa, Va., a thousand acre home site development on the shores of Lake Anna where Tom is collaborating with Ron Whitten, architectural editor of Golf Digest, to produce a course similar to the National Golf Links on Long Island.
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The Hermitage Club at Heritage Green in LaPlata, Md. hopes to break ground on this 3,500 unit golf course home site community this summer or fall once all their permits are all in place. This project is being developed by GP Homes in McLean, Va. Clark has been involved in this project for over 26 years.
Briery Creek Golf Club in Lynch Station, Va., hopes to get under construction this summer or early fall. Scott and Mike Frazier hope to develop the family farm into a destination course that will raise the bar in central Virginia and attract not only players from Lynchburg and Smith Mountain Lake, but all across the state.
The Links at Coffee Bay in Coffee Bay, South Africa hopes to break ground in May/June of 2007. Clark is being assisted in the design and construction of the course by longtime associate, Jim Cervone of Cervone Golf Design, Steve Geller of Personal Property Management, and T.J. Young, general manager and golf professional at Cedar Point Country Club.
“The site is more spectacular than Pebble Beach and our Virginia contingent hopes to bring a world class facility to the shores of the Indian Ocean,” Clark says.
The site had featured an existing course developed in the 1940s that had been abandoned for over 20 years. The new layout will take advantage of the 300-foot cliffs and feature some holes that drop down closer to sea level, with every hole featuring a view of the Indian Ocean. The course hopes to open its doors for play late in the year in 2008.