A Golf Club Where Business Is Par for the Course

Presidential's Game Plan Is Corporate Exclusivity

John C. Lee, chairman and chief executive of Lee Technologies, belongs to four golf clubs. Unfortunately, Lee said, country clubs full of parents, kids and retirees aren't the best environments for entertaining clients and doing business.

His solution: add a fifth membership at the Presidential, a new private club in Dulles that promises serious executive hobnobbing without the hassle of weekend hackers.

"It's kind of like the golfing version of the Tower Club," Lee said.

The Presidential, which opens this spring, is the brainchild of landowner Lerner Enterprises and developer Eric R. Wells, chief executive of WestDulles Properties -- both of whom own developments surrounding the new complex. Their plug for the golf course is corporate exclusivity. Membership is limited to 150 companies, which pay $60,000 a year, then allocate golf rounds and clubhouse privileges to their employees and clients. No corporate affiliation, no tee time.

Already, a number of Washington's key business leaders and personalities -- including Bill Dean of M.C. Dean and Ted Leonsis of Revolution Money, and former Washington Redskins player Darrell Green -- have invested in or joined the Presidential. Golf clubs have always been a place to do business and talk deals, but by keeping non-business people away from the greens, the Presidential aims to truly become an annex to the office.

"I like what they're doing to encourage business," said Leonsis, who has watched construction from his AOL perch across the street for years. "That's a unique position and they're making no bones about it -- come and do business here, use it as your business's office if you want, come and bring clients. Some of the family, private-owned clubs discourage that."

The $40 million first phase of the project -- a clubhouse, golf academy, driving range, restaurant, pro shop and 18-hole course -- is a few months from completion. The second phase, to be completed by 2010, will cost $30 million. It includes additional nine holes and a 60,000-square-foot clubhouse complete with a ballroom, wine cellar and libraries.

Wells said the Presidential will be a place to hold meetings and seminars, where the staff greets executives by name and the bartender knows their favorite drinks. For many of the big employers lining the Greenway, the clubhouse restaurant could be a nearby alternative to the popular high-end Reston Town Center eateries. Dulles Airport is down the street.

"You're in a situation where you could have clients just 10 minutes away from golf," said Lee, one of 14 local businessmen who invested in the venture as a partner.

Northern Virginia's economy has seen better days. Golf is closely tied to market ups and downs, said Tony Mobasser, general manager of Chantilly National Golf & Country Club. "This is luxury item, not a necessity," Mobasser said. "When things get tight, we feel it before anybody."

But even in economic decline, sometimes it's vital to increase spending on business development and networking, Wells said. The management team argues that executives will be frequenting the Presidential to network with one another at the clubhouse.

"Golf is really a backdrop," said Scott Stephens, vice president of membership. "It's more about business-to-business relationships."