A local golf and country club soon will be under new ownership after the massive private equity buyout of one of the nation’s largest golf course owners.
Stonehenge Golf & Country Club in Chesterfield County is the lone Richmond-area course owned by ClubCorp, a publicly traded golf giant that announced Sunday it will be taken private in a $1.1 billion all-cash deal.
The pending buyer, private equity firm Apollo Global Management and its affiliate funds, will take ownership of ClubCorp’s more than 200 private golf courses and country clubs nationwide. The deal is expected to close later this year.
In addition to Stonehenge, which is private and sits on 200 acres at 1000 Farnham Drive, just off Midlothian Turnpike, Dallas-based ClubCorp’s Virginia holdings include Greenbrier Country Club in Chesapeake, Ford’s Colony Country Club in Williamsburg and several in Northern Virginia.
Calls to Stonehenge were referred to ClubCorp’s PR firm Joele Frank, which said the company had no comment beyond public statements.
ClubCorp said in letters to members and employees: “This announcement will have little impact on our day-to-day operations and it will remain business as usual in your club.”
Mike Hatch, who owns Brandermill Country Club and Birkdale Golf Club, both in Chesterfield, said on-the-ground effects at Stonehenge likely will be minimal.
“I do not think it will have much impact on the individual clubs apart from they will be held even more accountable for profits than before,” he said.
Hatch, who also consults for clubs through his firm Acumen Golf, said Apollo’s appetite for risk on golf bodes well for the business of golf clubs overall.
“I think the fact that someone is investing that much into golf is overall very positive for the industry,” Hatch said.
Stonehenge opened in the early ’70s and became part of ClubCorp in 1995, according to its website.
The course’s acreage most recently was assessed by the county at around $4.2 million and is bounded by the surrounding Stonehenge neighborhood.
Read more on the deal ClubCorp/Apollo deal:
Golf Digest: ClubCorp, owner of more than 200 private clubs, will be acquired for $1.1 billion
