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Members of the Lexington Golf and Country Club have voted overwhelmingly to approve a partnership between the club and Washington and Lee University.
Neal Lineberry, president of the country club’s board, said that this vote will allow the board to negotiate a final agreement with W&L on behalf of its members.
Once that agreement is finalized and signed, he said, “the partnership will commence.”
A Memorandum of Understanding, distributed to club members ahead of the vote, explains that W&L would make improvements to the club’s existing golf course to bring it up to Division III requirements.
In return, according to the MOU, “W&L will have priority use of the golf facilities during two 3-day Division III golf tournaments annually.”
And, “W&L will have priority rights to the golf facilities and event spaces during a reasonable number of specific dates and times to be determined, including during W&L Alumni Weekend, Young Alumni Weekend, and Parent’s Weekend.”
The university and the club have worked together in the past, and the MOU cites W&L’s support, particularly in the past five years, while emphasizing the importance of that support for the club going forward.
“A future without W&L would compromise the quality of the course and pose insurmountable financial challenges in the near term,” according to the document.
Lineberry said that 90% of those who voted were in favor of the agreement.
The next step in this process, which Lineberry said is “imminent,” is for the club’s board to negotiate a final agreement with W&L.
According to the MOU, renovations of the golf course are planned to start in January 2025 and finish in May of 2026.
“We’re definitely excited to be at the point to negotiate a final agreement and to move forward,” said Lineberry.
