Plans revealed for The Preserve at Beacon Hill

The former Beacon Hill Golf Course, which included 27 holes designed on a 1,700-acre Virginia site, is being revived by golf course architect Tom Clark. Located west of Leesburg, the course opened in 2003 and closed in 2006, sitting dormant and minimally preserved throughout the last 17 years. Renamed The Preserve at Beacon Hill, a revamped 18-hole layout could open as early as 2024.   

For Clark, a past ASGCA president whose career includes more than 300 designed or redesigned courses, the Beacon Hill project is deep and personal. The Virginia resident was involved with the inception of the course’s home site development on the property as far back as the late 1970s when a group led by former U.S. Secretary of State Alexander Haig had an initial option on the land. But that group never moved forward, and the project never started until the 1990s. 

Odyssey Development discovered Clark’s plans in 1998 and engaged him to design a 27-hole course with more than 300 units. 

“The real trick was dodging all the septic fields, which were needed to support the development,” said Clark, who was then asked by the developer to recommend firms who would own build and operate the course if given the land — a common practice during the late 1990s. Clark subsequently presented multiple reputable firms, but a Massachusetts group learned of the offering and persisted with the developer until they together solidified their eventual selection. After completion of all the plans and specs permitting and bidding, Ault, Clark and Associates received the contract and started construction in 2001. 

Clark later learned he would need to work with a design consultant — originally Sam Snead and eventually Johnny Miller and his architecture group. 

The course at Beacon Hill finally opened in 2003, operating out of a temporary trailer. Clubhouse construction never started before differences in business approaches prompted the abandonment of the project. Clark remembers the course being littered with golf carts, maintenance equipment and a mess for the lender. 

“They did try to resell the property a number of times,” Clark said, “but the acreage where the clubhouse was supposed to go had been deeded to one of the partners who was not giving it up easily.” 

The venue closed in 2006 and was partially maintained to resemble a golf course for several years. Though the greens, tees and bunkers were eventually ignored, the fairways and primary rough have been mowed throughout the ensuing 17 years. Clark went on to design other courses in Virginia, including Magnolia Green Golf Course in Mosley with Nicklaus Design and the Cutalong Club in Mineral with Ron Whitten. All the while, the Beacon Hill HOA worked to regain possession of the club, finally succeeding and beginning the potential golf course resurrection in 2013. Clark worked with several groups who were awarded that prestigious honor but were unable to complete the turnaround. Finally, in 2020, Resort Development Partners emerged and eventually announced a lease agreement in June 2023.  

“We are hoping to have the course back and playable in 2024,” Clark said. “I have selected the best 18 holes and provided a routing that, from the back tips, tops out at around 7,200 yards at a par of 72 with six sets of tees, including a family tee. The remaining nine holes will be converted in the future to an executive par-3 layout.” 

The new course will consist of bentgrass greens, fairways and tees with fescue/bluegrass roughs. The secondary rough will be made up of various native mixes along with wildflowers. 

“It’s not often that you get an opportunity to bring back a course you had originally routed and one that has so much of your handiwork there still intact,” Clark said. “I am certain The Preserve at Beacon Hill will one day again find its place in the Northern Virginia market and be more than competitive with my own creation at River Creek on the Potomac along with Creighton Farms, Trump National and other high-end layouts in the surrounding area.”