Valley Country Club in Warwick has been sold to LaCroix Holdings LLC for $2.9 million.
The group that purchased Valley includes current members Roy and Joe LaCroix.
Roy joined the club back in 2022 through a golf league he has been part of for 30 years, and then the opportunity to own it arrived this past year.
“A year ago when Valley was in trouble, Mike DeCesare had called a meeting of the members. They were looking for some investments, but we kind of felt that wasn’t the way to go, as far as, putting a full board together again. His heart was in the right place and they were trying to make it work, but we got pretty close to a deal and they decided not to take it back then. Now this year, when they lost the greens, we started the conversation back up and after a lot of due diligence and checking things out, we were able to make an offer and come to a number,” Roy told GolfNewsRI on Tuesday morning (December 30), the day after the sale was finalized.
PHOTO: Valley Country Club
Despite speculation about development, LaCroix says the plan is for Valley to remain a golf course.
“100%. That is our goal to do that and get it back to a fully private club,” he told GolfNewsRI.
Valley is currently semi-private, and has been since 2021.
LaCroix adds, “The other part of that is with our background, we bought the old West Valley Inn and built 66 condos there. I’m sure the impression is well, they’re gonna come in, they’re gonna clear everything out and build condos. That’s a giant job, we have no desire to do that. This is a different business for us to get into, but we’re excited for it.”
Valley is the second Rhode Island golf course to be sold in 2025 following Harbor Lights back in October.
Valley Rollercoaster
GolfNewsRI has reported extensively on the rollercoaster that has been Valley Country Club over the last several years, dating back to 2021.
That continued this past summer when nematodes invaded the greens, causing the Rhode Island Golf Association (RIGA) to move the RI Open from Valley to Ledgemont, just days before the tournament.
GNRI asked LaCroix about some of the challenges ahead for this ownership and Valley CC, in general.
“So, it looks like, the majority of the issues have to do with the course. There’s drainage issues, there’s water retainage issues, as well as, making sure there’s enough water for the whole season. I mean those are the two primary issues. We’ve already met with a golf course architect, which I’m not sure we’re moving forward, but we have met with one, we have met with our site work guy that has an excavator, we’ve met with our engineers, all people we do business with already, except for the architect, to identify the areas and come up with a plan,” said LaCroix.
LaCroix adds, “I guess it goes back to the adage of you build it and they will come. If we get the golf course, and I say if, I mean you know we’re willing to put the money, the time, the effort into doing this, get the course to where it needs to be, whether it comes in one year or two years or whatever, we’re gonna do what needs to be done. But we’re also working on some interior things as well, so it’s not just, ‘hey, we’re gonna take care of the golf course and everything else is going to go to hell in a hand basket. It’s my two brothers and I. We all have different skill levels and focuses, so, between the three of us we’ll be there.”
Roy told GolfNewsRI that he is moving his office to Valley so that he will be there on more of a full-time basis.
GNRI also asked LaCroix about the status of current staff members, management etc..
The question was asked, and answered, in more of a general sense, not necessarily about a specific person or specific people.
“It’s a fair question. We kind of look at it as, when you put somebody in a position, but don’t give them the tools to make the job accessible or able to be completed, you can’t judge them based off that. So with us giving the resources and support, if at that point they’re not succeeding, then there could be a change. We’d shoot ourselves in the foot if we just came in and cleared everybody out, because we don’t know the day-to-day stuff and quite honestly, there are some very good people here. I think they have great ideas. I think that they’ve had a lack of ability to enforce those. I mean, a lot of the things have happened, their fear of losing members, they made decisions that probably weren’t best for the golf course just out of fear. We’re not gonna operate from fear. We’re gonna operate from a standpoint of being strong, giving the support, the financial needs, and so forth,” said LaCroix.
2026 Membership Rates (taken from Valley website)
Valley’s 2026 membership rates are as follows:
Single – $5,100
Family – $6,000
Young Executive – $3,960
Junior Executive – $2,940
Junior Membership – $1,320
Social – $1,500
For more information, Click HERE
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