The Water's Edge Country Club
Penhook, Franklin County, Virginia · Smith Mountain Lake golf market
- Access
- non equity
- Holes
- 18
- Architect(s)
- R.F. Loving Jr., Richard Mandell (2007 renovation)
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The Water's Edge Country Club is a private, members-only golf club and residential development on the southern shore of Smith Mountain Lake in Penhook, Franklin County, established in 1988. The 712-acre community stretches along 13.5 miles of shoreline and combines waterfront single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and golf-course homes with a 36,000-square-foot clubhouse and a 36-acre equestrian center -- a broader amenity mix than most other Smith Mountain Lake golf communities. The par-72, 6,967-yard course was designed by R.F. Loving Jr. and renovated in 2007 by Pinehurst-based architect Richard Mandell; 15 of its 18 holes offer lake or mountain views. Since late 2020/early 2021, the club has operated as a McConnell Golf property, part of the same North Carolina-based multi-club operating group that owns Tennessee's Holston Hills Country Club (Knoxville) and Fox Den Country Club (Knoxville), both already researched and published in this platform's Tennessee coverage -- a real, useful cross-reference for a buyer comparing reciprocal-access private-club networks across states, not a naming collision.
Golf & Course
The Water's Edge's 18-hole, par-72 course (6,967 yards) was designed by R.F. Loving Jr. and opened with the club in 1988, then significantly renovated in 2007 by Richard Mandell, a Pinehurst, NC-based golf course architect. Fifteen of the eighteen holes offer views of Smith Mountain Lake or the surrounding Blue Ridge foothills, and the course is marketed as PGA Championship caliber.
Membership & Access
Does buying a home here include club membership?
The Water's Edge is a private club -- golf is not open to the public -- operated since late 2020/early 2021 by McConnell Golf, which runs a reciprocal-access network across its portfolio of private clubs (including Tennessee's Holston Hills and Fox Den Country Clubs). Whether homeownership within the 712-acre Water's Edge community requires, includes, or merely allows applying for club membership was not conclusively confirmed this session -- treat this as an open item to verify directly with the club and the community's HOA/POA before assuming any specific bundling arrangement.
Living in The Water's Edge Country Club
The surrounding 712-acre Water's Edge community offers a broad range of housing types -- waterfront single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and homes situated directly on the golf course -- along 13.5 miles of Smith Mountain Lake shoreline. A 36-acre equestrian center adds a non-golf residential amenity uncommon among this market's other golf communities.
Lifestyle & Amenities
The 36,000-square-foot clubhouse includes multiple dining rooms, a bar area, a men's lounge, and a fitness center. Additional amenities include tennis courts, a junior Olympic-size pool, a pro shop, a 48-seat historic chapel, and the 36-acre equestrian center.
Location & Surrounding Area
The Water's Edge sits in Penhook, Franklin County, on the southern arm of Smith Mountain Lake, roughly across the lake from The Waterfront Country Club (Moneta) and within the same broader lake corridor as Copper Cove Golf Club (Hardy) and Mariners Landing (Huddleston).
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What Buyers Should Verify
- Confirm current club ownership directly (watersedgecountryclub.com still brands as 'A McConnell Golf Property' as of this research, but ownership in this market has changed hands more than once recently).
- Confirm current initiation fee and dues directly -- two conflicting third-party estimates were found and neither matches a first-party rate sheet.
- Confirm whether club membership is required, included, or merely available for homeowners in the surrounding 712-acre Water's Edge community.
- Confirm gated status directly.
Notable
- Established 1988; 18-hole, par-72 course designed by R.F. Loving Jr., renovated 2007 by Richard Mandell.
- 712-acre community along 13.5 miles of shoreline, with a 36-acre equestrian center -- an unusually broad amenity mix for this market.
- Sold to McConnell Golf in a deal announced December 31, 2020, as part of a two-club Smith Mountain Lake acquisition that also included the club now known as Copper Cove Golf Club -- McConnell Golf kept only The Water's Edge, selling the other course within about two months.
- McConnell Golf's broader portfolio includes Tennessee's already-published Holston Hills Country Club and Fox Den Country Club (both Knoxville) -- a genuine reciprocal-network cross-reference.
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US Golf Living provides independent real-estate research and can connect consumers with real-estate professionals. Golf membership, availability, fees and approval are determined independently by the applicable club.