Virginia Beach explores selling Virginia Beach National Golf Course

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Virginia Beach is exploring the possibility of selling the Virginia Beach National Golf Club.

The city is currently accepting proposals for the 350 acres off Princess Anne Road near the municipal center that is not only home to the 18-hole public golf course, but also the nine-hole “First Tee” nonprofit that is a part of the YMCA of South Hampton Roads.

Any developer planning to submit a proposal must plan to honor the First Tee lease through 2030 and continue to operate an 18-hole course for the public, according to bid documents.

The idea to look for buyers came about after the city received interest from a developer in September about acquiring the property, according to Vice Mayor Rosemary Wilson.

While Wilson said the city is simply “looking at options,” current users on the property are fore-warning golfers that they think any sale might be out of bounds.

The Virginia Beach National Golf Club originally opened in 1999 as the Tournament Players Club of Virginia Beach. Designed by Pete Dye, the course cost $15 million, with the city of Virginia Beach pitching in the land and $3.5 million. At the time, the city had a goal of drawing tourists with a “tier III level golf course.”

However by 2006, the former managers were losing money. The city spent $4.5 million to buy out the lease. The Virginia Beach Development Authority then hired Virginia Beach Golf Club LLC to manage the course.

The course turns a profit, with the VBDA reporting more $320,000 in income in the 2024-2025 fiscal year.

However in 2023, the city auditor found that no formal process was in place to identify and track maintenance needs and that several ponds were given “serious” and “degraded” grades, the clubhouse had rotting eaves and fascia boards on the roofline, mold was present in the restaurant and the ceiling was deteriorating.

Last year a study determined the course needed nearly $8 million worth of work, with the majority of the money going towards bringing the ponds up to Department of Environmental Quality standards.

While golf course management fees fund capital improvements, only $2.1 million is currently in the account for repairs.

The VBDA has given the go ahead for $1.8 million worth of the repairs to occur, Wilson, who serves as on of the City Council liaison’s to the VBDA, wonders if the private sector could be better positioned to meet the course’s needs.

“Our residents want us to be affordable,” Wilson said. “We’ve got to be an affordable city and kind of keep our taxes low … if we can get someone else who will do that and still be able to have it available to the public, I think it’s worth looking at.”

However, in a letter to members, Virginia Beach Golf Club management disagrees.

“The Council agreed to issue the RFP based on an offer to purchase the courses from a developer and receiving very misleading information stating that the City needs to spend between $5 million and $10 million on the golf courses,” the email titled “Protect Virginia Beach National” stated. “There is no reason that the city should give up control of the approximately 350 acres which comprise both the VB National and First Tee golf courses to a developer. Our strong belief is that the city should retain ownership of this property and protect the integrity of these two golf courses as well as ensuring public, affordable access.”

Virginia Beach Golf Club is jointly owned by Duncan McDuff, Glen Pierce, Thomas C. Broyles and Michael Rashkind. The same group manages Heron Ridge Golf Club. Broyles is also part of the ownership group for Riverfront Golf Club in Suffolk. They have a lease to operate the course through next year.

“If Council accepts a proposal to purchase VB National from a developer, surely they will build housing on golf holes 12, 13 and perhaps parts of holes 14 and 11,” the letter states. “The RFP requires that the successful purchaser maintain an 18 hole public golf course, however the resulting 18 holes will probably be of less quality and character than the current Pete Dye designed course.”

Building homes on the property would likely be controversial.

Previously: VB approves apartment project that’ll include ‘workforce housing,’ near municipal center

The entire property lies within what is known as the interfacility traffic area, or ITA. The ITA is land that sits between what’s known as the “green line” and the boundary where city water services end, south of Indian River Road.

The green line is what is known as an “urban growth boundary” meant to help push development to the northern part of the city and protect the agricultural nature of the south.

However Mayor Bobby Dyer has frequently repeated that Virginia Beach is running out of developable land under that policy.

While the ITA also limits “people-intensive” developments, just in case something were to go wrong in military flight operations at NAS Oceana, residential development is allowed in the form of single-family dwellings at no more than one per 15 acres of developable land.

Ian Checcio, a board member with Fire Tee, suggested anyone concerned write to City Council.

“The 350 acres that comprise Virginia Beach National and First Tee represent one of the few remaining public golf corridors of this caliber in the region – a green space that should be protected, not privatized,” Checcio wrote in a suggested prompt.

Wilson said she has already been flooded with emails and want people to know, no decision has been made.

“Please don’ be concerned,” Wilson said. “We’re just looking at options. There’s nothing that’s been formulated. There’s no big push against any particular proposal. We want to see what’s out there. And if there’s a way that we can have a wonderful golf course and also have it, maintained so that the taxpayers don’t have to pay for it. Let’s take a look.”

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