you’ re going to pump a bunch of money into it, you 100 percent should rebrand.”
Robinett, whose grandparents were founding members of Cedar Point and parents have been members for more than 50 years, was part of a group that acquired the club in 2011. About seven years later, the owners began making improvements to the property at the confluence of the James and Nansemond rivers, including a new aquatic center and renovation of both the clubhouse and tennis facility. They also started on a rebranding project in 2021, dropping the word“ country” from the club’ s title and modernizing the tree logo that honors the property’ s original use as a cedar tree farm.
“ Part of our desire in rebranding was going back to our roots— the word‘ country’ was never part of the original name and we didn’ t need it. It was very much deliberate to pay homage to our founders and recognize where we came from,” Robinett added.
It can take time for a rebrand to take root, particularly with frequent changes. Originally known as Fincastle Country Club, the Bluefield property was purchased in 2013 by a private owner who renamed it Fincastle on the Mountain. Following its sale to the town of Bluefield in 2019, the now-public course is known simply as Fincastle.
“ The term‘ country club’ has been the hardest thing to get dropped as part of this change. Everyone over the age of 50, I feel like, still calls it the country club,” said Hunter O’ Neal, Fincastle’ s director of golf, who designed its new logo himself in 2020.“ Even people who know we’ re open to the public still call it the country club. It’ s just one of those things— it’ s probably going to take a generation to change that.”
At the same time, O’ Neal noted Bluefield residents have embraced the facility’ s“ fresh start” as a community recreational
asset. The golf club had just 34 members when the town acquired it, but now has 300 annual pass holders, in addition to daily-fee players. Merchandise sales also have increased significantly.
“ We do a lot of merchandise here for a municipal course. People definitely like to get their hands on stuff and wear the logo, which is nice,” he added.
Whether it’ s shirts, hats, or the ubiquitous Q-zip pullovers, golf swag has never been hotter than it is today. The Association of Golf Merchandisers estimates golf shops generate annual sales of over $ 1 billion a year. Rebranding with an eye-catching new logo can be a way for clubs to capitalize on the sport’ s renaissance and grab a larger slice of that pie.
After nine years with the fox-in-trenchcoat logo, Benton reported River Bend’ s apparel sales remain“ through the roof.”
“ Everyone loves it. It’ s just something you wear on your sleeve, but now everybody has 10 different shirts and everybody has the logo on their golf bag,” he said.“ When our members visit other courses around the country, somebody invariably sees the logo and asks‘ What club is that?’ It invigorates conversation and, ultimately, that’ s what elevates your brand.”
Cedar Point Club has hosted both the VSGA Amateur and VSGA Women’ s Amateur this decade.
VSGA LOGO EVOLUTION
In the early 1960s, the VSGA introduced a new logo that would eventually evolve into the logo of today. Over the years, the position of the flagstick in Virginia has shifted around the state to where it sits today, near Hot Springs. Considering the Homestead Resort has hosted nearly 300 VSGA championships and numerous USGA championships, the flagstick’ s position denotes the resort’ s significance to golf in Virginia.
vsga. org J ULY / A UGUST 2026 | V IRGINIA G OLFER 23