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by JIM McCONNELL
IN THE EARLY 1920S , a civil engineer named David Janney Howell and three partners acquired a large tract of Alexandria real estate , with plans to develop part of it for a residential community and the remainder for a private club . Belle Haven Country Club was established in May 1924 — new members paid a $ 100 initiation fee and $ 50 in annual dues — and its nine-hole golf course opened in March 1925 . The original Leonard Macomber design cost $ 5,000 to build and it wouldn ’ t become an 18-hole layout for another 23 years . Tom Ryan was the club ’ s first golf professional and course superintendent .
A century later , despite such cataclysmic global events as the Great Depression , multiple wars , the September 11th terrorist attacks and the COVID-19 pandemic , Belle Haven continues to thrive on the banks of the Potomac River .
From June 24-28 , as part of its centennial celebration , Belle Haven will host the 111th Virginia State Golf Association Amateur Championship on its parkland-style par-72 course that stretches just past 7,000 yards from the tips .
with a view
Belle Haven began as a modest nine-hole course and clubhouse . It has grown into a private , full-service country club with an 18-hole course and an impressive
64,000-square-foot clubhouse .
vsga . org V IRGINIA G OLFER 17