By Brandon Martin
Local and state representatives gathered at Beaver Hills Golf Course on April 30 to commemorate a new era at Henry County’s only public course.
After entering into a lease agreement with The Lester Group, the new owners Greg Haley and Brian Whitehead are hoping to turn things around at the course which has had a tumultuous couple of years.
Andrew Palmer, a commercial leasing manager for The Lester Group, provided remarks for the event.
“People probably remember the Haley name from Lynnwood Golf and Country Club,” he said. “Greg has returned to the area and reached out to us. Brian was the previous lessee here at the golf course and they want to bring it back to its glory days.”
Before that can happen, the land will need a little tender love and care, according to Palmer.
“They are going to be redoing the greens and that’s going to take some time before opening around September,” he said. “We are just pleased that we were able to work this out. This golf course has been a public golf course since the 1940s. It started out as a 9-hole golf course and now it’s 18 holes. We are pleased to have this for the community. It’s going to be a community-oriented golf course and we just want to make sure we can keep it here for years to come.”
Martinsville City Council Member Danny Turner said, “the course will be a great asset to Martinsville and Henry County.”
A similar ceremony was held in January 2020 when Michael Hendricks and William McLawhorn took over as co-managers, saving the course from closure.
As their one-year lease ended, The Lester Group chose to pursue plans for a solar farm at the location, but the project was ultimately denied by the Henry County Board of Zoning Appeals.
With renewed interest in seeing the land succeed as a golf course, a new American flag was hoisted to illustrate the changing of the guard.
Carl Wright, from AMVETs of Martinsville and Henry County Post 35, helped Haley and Whitehead raise the flag before taking the old ensign to be retired.
Del. Charles Poindexter, R-Glade Hill, and Shani Shorter, the legislative assistant to Del. Les Adams, R-Chatham, also attended the ceremony.
