Kingsmill Resort

Kingsmill Resort

18th green at River Course in 2014
Club information
Coordinates	37.225°N 76.668°W/37.225; -76.668
Location	Williamsburg, Virginia,U.S.
Elevation	50 feet (15 m)
Established	1975(1975)
Type	Resort (River, Plantation) Private (Woods)
Total holes	37
Events hosted	Kingsmill Championship (2012–present) Michelob ULTRA Open (2003–2009) Michelob Championship (1981–2002)
Greens	Bentgrass
Fairways	Bermuda/Ryegrass
Website	kingsmill /golf
River Course
Designed by	Pete Dye(1975, 2004)
Par	71
Length	6,831 yards (6,246 m)
Course rating	73.2
Slope rating	136
Plantation Course
Designed by	Arnold Palmer,Ed Seay
Par	71
Length	6,254 yards (5,719 m)
Course rating	70.7
Slope rating	129
Woods Course
Designed by	Tom Clark,Curtis Strange
Par	72
Length	6,659 yards (6,089 m)
Course rating	72.2
Slope rating	133

Kingsmill Resortis a vacation, conference, andgolf resortin theeasternUnited States,located inJames City County, Virginia,southeast ofWilliamsburg.It is located on a portion of theKingsmill Plantation;the original plantation structures and their successors have long been in ruins. It was founded in the 1970s byAnheuser-Buschas part of related developments nearColonial Williamsburg.In 2010, Kingsmill Resort, which sits within a large residentialplanned communityof the same name, was slated to become a vital piece of the entertainment and hospitality system operated byXanterra Parks and Resorts,one of many enterprises owned by Denver-based billionairePhilip Anschutz.Anschutz bought Xanterra in 2008 after it was a Fred Harvey hospitality company dating to 1876.

The Kingsmill Resort has 425 rooms, five restaurants, 17,000 square feet (1,600 m²) of conference space, a spa and fitness center, marina, and a 15-court tennis center. Three championship golf courses (two at the resort, one private) surround the resort and are nestled within a largeplanned community(management of which is not part of the Kingsmill Resort). The resort has hosted a total of 29 professional golf tournaments from 1981 until 2009, among themLPGAandPGA Tourevents.The resort has also been a perennial venue for political conferences, such as national governors conferences and congressional caucuses.

The area features the three main sites of theHistoric Triangle of Colonial Virginiawhich are linked by theColonial Parkway(Jamestown, Colonial Williamsburg, and Yorktown), as well as theBusch Gardens WilliamsburgandWater Country USAtheme parks,joined by smaller attractions, hotels, time-sharing developments, restaurants, retirement complexes, and other venues.

Development history

Beginning in the early 1970s, largely on a 2,900-acre (12 km²) tract of property which was formerly part of theKingsmill Plantation,the Kingsmill Resort was developed by Anheuser-Busch (A-B) as a portion of the brewing company's development of diversified activities in the Williamsburg area, which grew to include not only the brewery, but theBusch Gardens Williamsburgtheme park,and large upscale developments of residential and office park properties such as that atMcLaws Circle.

The St. Louis-based brewer invested in the area following negotiations held betweenAugust Busch, IIandWinthrop Rockefeller,a son of Colonial Williamsburg's initial chief mentor,John D. Rockefeller Jr.Winthrop Rockefeller had been serving as both governor of Arkansas and chairman ofColonial Williamsburgin the 1960s and 1970s. (Water Country USA,a localwater park,was acquired by A-B in the 1990s, and added to the company's theme park activities, which include a number ofSeaWorldproperties in other states as well).

Divestiture by A-B, InBev

In the last part of the 20th and early into the 21st century, as a brewer, A-B found itself increasingly in tough competition in an increasingly global market.

In 2008, after initially resisting an unsolicited stock bid, A-B announced it had reached an agreement to be acquired by the even larger Belgium-basedInBev,the world's largest brewing company. The newer owners announced plans to sell-off the portions of A-B activities which were not part of the core beverage business as it worked to reduce debt incurred to fund the acquisition.

As A-B had been a major employer and strong community supporter for many years, there was widespread speculation and more than a little apprehension about who might ultimately acquire and control the theme parks, the resort, and other Busch developments in the region.

New owners, future

Since then, theBlackstone Groupacquired the company's 10 theme parks, including two near Williamsburg.

In July 2010, it was announced that Xanterra had entered into an agreement,to purchase and operate the Kingsmill Resort. In 1968, Xanterra became the successor to theFred Harvey Companyestablished by entrepreneurFred Harveyin 1875.Xanterra was acquired by Denver-based billionairePhilip Anschutzin 2008 and has operated in national and state parks across the United States, especially in the Western regions.

In March 2017, Fort Worth-based Escalante Golf acquired Kingsmill Resort.

External links

• Official website