The Takeaway
Pros Inc. Completes
the Acquisition of the
VSGA Foundation’s
Independence Golf Club
C
entral Virginia’s Independence
Golf Club has been acquired by
Richmond-based golf management
firm Pros Inc.
A sports marketing company, Pros Inc.
has entered into new areas of growth and
strategic initiatives with the purchase of
Independence Golf Club, a daily-fee golf
course owned by the Virginia State Golf
Association Foundation and located in
Midlothian, Va.
Giff Breed, president and CEO of Pros
Inc., and his brothers, Alan, and Michael,
of Golf Channel’s “The Golf Fix” fame,
helped to complete the purchase on the
business side. Alan is president and CEO
of Edgewood Management LLC, an
employee-owned investment firm based in
Greenwich, Conn.
“We are absolutely thrilled about this
opportunity,” Giff says. “To be part of a
team that is dedicated to providing a firstrate and all-encompassing golf and service
experience is very exciting. Growing the
game and continuing to build on its
successes at Independence will be at the
forefront of our mission.”
“Under this new ownership, we’re
confident the leadership will continue to
provide guests at Independence with quality,
comprehensive service,” says Scott DeRosier,
president of what formerly was known as
the VSGA Foundation, which will assume a
new name going forward. “We are excited
about working cooperatively with Pros Inc.
to meet the club’s original objectives while
introducing new initiatives and enhancing the
programs that are in place today.
“With the acquisition of Independence by
Pros Inc., the foundation will be able to focus
solely on its core mission of teaching life skills
to youth through the game of golf. It truly is
a ‘win-win’ situation for both organizations.”
The VSGA, as well as the VSGA board
of directors and VSGA staff, will remain an
entirely separate entity from Independence,
as has always been the case.
“We’re pleased that Pros Inc. has acquired
Independence,” says VSGA President E. Lee
Coble. “The VSGA is delighted that Pros Inc.
and the foundation together will become the
stewards of the dream of past VSGA boards of
directors and, in particular, of former VSGA
and USGA President Harry Easterly.”
The club will continue to honor the
principles of its founders and contributors—
to champion junior golf initiatives, particularly
those that benefit at-risk children. The junior
program camps and clinics not only teach
the fundamentals of the game, but also
empowering life lessons.
REBRANDING A CLASSIC RETREAT
MARK GORMUS/RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH PHOTO ARCHIVES
THE HOMESTEAD UNDERGOING CHANGES, UPGRADES
UNDER NEW OWNERSHIP | by RANDY KING
The Homestead resort has long been established as one of the
country’s most revered golfing destinations.
The Hot Springs resort’s new owner, Texas-based Omni Hotels &
Resorts, hopes to maintain that longtime calling card as it continues a
multimillion dollar makeover that focuses on turning the 247-year-old
mountain getaway into more of a family-oriented resort.
That, of course, means providing all kinds of options for the entire
family. For instance, while Dad plays golf and Mom hits the spa, young
children can now spend time at KidsClub. The area acts as a day care
that lets children paint, read, make crafts and play outdoors, plus hit the
Adventure Camp that includes hiking, swimming and team sports.
Allegheny Springs, a new water park that includes a 400-foot lazy
river, features 100-foot slides, a swimming pool and a shallow-water kids’
pool with a sandy beach, was a big hit this past summer. A miniature golf
course, as well as a new game center that includes bowling, shuffleboard
and other activities that interest the young clientele, has also been a hit.
“We had the best July and August we’ve ever had,” says Peter Faraone,
w w w. v s g a . o r g
“We want to continue the mission of the
VSGA and the VSGA Foundation. We think
it’s incredibly important that we get kids
and the community involved in the great
game of golf,” Giff says. “In getting to this
point, there’s been tremendous leadership
and vision from a variety of individuals—Mr.
Easterly and E. Claiborne Robins Jr., as
well as people like Wayne Sawyer and Rick
Sharp—and so many others.”
Independence Golf Club features a
22,000-square-foot clubhouse, an 18-hole
Tom Fazio-designed championship course
and a nine-hole Fazio-designed short
course. In addition, the club includes two
dedicated junior clubhouses with three
existing dormitories for junior golfers.
Breed says he envisions multiple uses for
the facility beyond just golf.
“There are ways we can monetize the
existing assets that will make a major
contribution to the surrounding community,”
Giff says. “We really think we can develop
this ‘public country club’ concept by offering
more amenities than maybe had been offered
in the past—and trying to figure out things
like culinary school, art camps, renting holes
(on the short course) for an afternoon or by
the hour and other things. That’s where our
enthusiasm is coming from.”
Independence has welcomed a host of
VSGA and state championships, including
the State Open of Virginia from 2007-13, the
VSGA Foundation High School Invitational,
as well as USGA qualifying rounds and other
high school and college events.
The Homestead’s vice president and general manager. “They’re the best
numbers we’ve ever experienced from a leisure guest perspective. We’re
totally committed to making it the very best resort it can be.”
In yet another sign of struggling economic times in the nation’s golf
industry, former owner KSL Capital Partners LLC permanently closed
The Homestead’s Lower Cascades Course 14 months ago.
“It’s just a matter of numbers,” Faraone explains. “From the local
perception everybody was sad to see the [Lower Cascades] go, but
from a financial situation it just didn’t make sense. You have to change in
order to give the guest what they want. Unfortunately, as you see around
the country, golf is just not what it used to be. It’s interesting: Th is is the
first year we’ve had only 36 holes and we’ve not seen a decline in our
golf rounds.”
Faraone says immediate plans call for some enhancements for the
Cascades Course and the Old Course.
“We’re going to fix them up,” Farone says. “The Cascades is going
to get work with the greens and bunkers. We’re going to make it as
good as we possibly can to make it the best course in Virginia.”
Author Randy King is a sportswriter for The Roanoke Times and
a regular contributor to Virginia Golfer.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013 | VIRGINIA GOLFER
5