Comments on: Golf course files bankruptcy

By: Jerry

Jerry — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 18:00:29 +0000

I just saw where the Federal Club went to a daily fee golf course which I guess is good news if you can afford 95.00 for a round of golf on the weekend. This rate is like all other golf courses in the Richmond area with the acception of a few that are way over priced for course conditions. I have played the Federal Club one time and I must say this is the nicest golf course I have ever played but spending 95.00 for a round of golf on a weekend morning it out rageous. If I lived closer to the Federal club I would be all over a membership with the deals they have in place. Good luck to them and I hope they make it

By: David Bruce

David Bruce — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:52:47 +0000

Long term the club/course and the development will be fine. This is a case of poor timing for sure. This is not the typical country club/housing development. With only 99 or so lots in the Mountain Run development the club must draw from surrounding areas. This is not a Wyndham or Salisbury type model.

From a real estate location standpoint the development is not in a bad location. It’s 15 minutes or so from Short Pump and the Staples Mill Rd corridor to the east will grow significantly in the next 3-5 years as the new high school comes on line. This will be an area the club will easily draw from as the economy improves.

In the short term the club could go semi-public. Given the course condition I think it could attract players willing to pay $80-$100 a round. Perhaps the model from the start should have been more like Spring Creek to the west of Richmond?

I think the long trem viability for both the course, club and development are good.

By: Ned Herod

Ned Herod — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:23:23 +0000

There is a mistake here. I have never heard of nor conducted business with Mountain Run Golf or The Federal Club. All of my business was applied for, signed for, and conducted with Mountain Run LLC.

By: Captain Bogey

Captain Bogey — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:45:16 +0000

Country clubs dues are the definition of discretionary spending, so its no surprise that in the greatest eceonmic downturn in 75 years, that The Federal Club is struggling to make their debt payments. It will be very difficult for a number of clubs to continue to operate under the model that they flourished under over the last 30 years. Some clubs recognized this earlier and forged partnerships with neighboring courses (Jefferson Lakeside / Richmond CC / Stonehenge/ etc) as a means of retaining existing members by increasing privileges, and also as a motivational tool to attract new members.

I would like to see The Federal Club and others reorganize under the semi-private umbrella. I may be wrong, but I don’t believe there are that many jimbo’s in Hanover that can afford the 30K initation fees and $350 per month minimums. Any club that took on major debt in the last 5 years could experience this as well, i.e.- Willow Oaks and Salisbury (Although both are much more well capitalized than The Federal Club, the downturn doesn’t make them immune to the local economic problems either.

By: james

james — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:56:59 +0000

Unfortunately, this one’s not surprising. The course is terrific. The location is abysmal. In good economic times this place could make it. But not now. They need to renegotiate all their outstanding debt and come in with a new membership plan that will let those other than the elite join. If they made it feasible I’d join so I could play that golf course.

By: chris

chris — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:49:07 +0000

Unfortunate but not uncommon.