Virginia course to be brought back to life 16 years after closure

Resort Development Partners recently finalized on the acquisition of Beacon Hill Golf Club in Loudon County, Va., a golf course that has been closed since 2006. The ownership group plans to revive the 27-hole course and reopen it as The Preserve at Beacon Hill in 2024.

The Johnny Miller-designed course opened in 2001 as the Golf Club of Virginia in Leesburg, but quickly fell into financial trouble. It was sold to Senior Tour Players Fund I LLP and the new owners changed the name to Beacon Hill Golf Club. Those owners closed the course due to financial difficulties just a few years later in 2006.

In 2010, Brett Amendola persuaded investors to provide him with short-term funding to buy the course. But it was a Ponzi scheme and he was later arrested and sentenced to seven years in prison.

The Beacon Hill Community Association finally acquired the course in 2014 with plans to preserve it as open space. The HOA paid $1 and paid off $25,000 in back taxes. Beacon Hill is a high-end community on the outskirts of Leesburg.

Resort Development Partners had been negotiation with the community association for the past year.

“Our sleeves are rolled up and work begins immediately to transform this property into an extraordinary golf experience commensurate with the beauty and prestige of the community,” said Frank Denniston, Resort Development Partners co-founder and managing partner.

Plans include converting the 27-hole golf course to 18 holes.  Later scheduled improvements will be the addition of a 9-hole family course, a new clubhouse and a golf practice and improvement center.

“The commitment and support to reinstate golf have led to this opportunity to finally fulfill the promise that Beacon Hill was founded upon more than 20 years ago,” said Sid Rudolph, Beacon Hill Community Association president.

Resort Development Partners was founded by Denniston and Doug White, both formerly with Billy Casper Golf Management. They started their company in 2017. Their portfolio of clubs includes six courses spread across the Eastern seaboard, from Pennsylvania to Florida. Their main office is in Haymarket, Virginia, 35 minutes south of Leesburg.