More Than A Club
We welcome you to Salisbury - a place that feels like home, where you and your family come first. If you are joining our community to play tennis, enjoy our course, or work out, you will find that Salisbury is much more. A private member-owned club, Salisbury offers incredible social and athletic opportunities for all ages, including specialty fitness classes, travel opportunities, athletic competitions, kid-friendly activities and much more. All of this is supported by some of Virginia's best facilities and friendliest members around.
Our Vision
Salisbury Country Club is a family-oriented private club providing exceptional golf, tennis, fitness, aquatic, dining and social amenities, with a focus on providing exceptional service in every facet of the member experience while upholding the history and traditions of the club and maintaining strong financial health. Our vision: to be one of the finest, family-friendly social and recreational clubs in the Commonwealth of Virginia with an unwavering commitment to exceeding member expectations.
Our Story
Rural Beginnings
Although the original date is debated by scholars, Salisbury was likely founded as a plantation by Abraham Salle around 1760. A first descendant of Huguenot refugees fleeing persecution in France, Salle established himself as a prominent Virginian and later became the Justice of the Peace of Chesterfield County. But he is not the only statesman to call Salisbury home.
History of Relaxation
Salle sold the plantation in 1777 to Thomas Randolph. Adjacent to his current plantation, the famed Tuckahoe plantation, Randolph saw Salisbury and its natural beauty as a place of rest and transformed the plantation house into a hunting lodge. Thomas Randolph would later become the 21st governor of Virginia and would go on to marry Thomas Jefferson’s daughter.
Storied Guests
Throughout the years, Salisbury continued to evolve as a home for storied tenants. In 1784, famed statesman Patrick Henry, used it as his home during his tenure as governor, finding it more spacious than the governor’s mansion and better suited to his large family. Scholar Dr. Phillip Turpin later called Salisbury home during the height of the revolutionary war. Other famous tenants include Edward Johnson, Dr. Joseph W. Johnson, George Arents and Thomas F. Jeffress.
Fire at Salisbury
The original plantation house, which boasted large central halls, airy spacious rooms, and porches shaded by a grove of pecan trees burned down as a result of a fire in 1923. A new house was constructed in its place. This central section, which still stands today, was built to resemble this original house.
Salisbury Country Club
Established in 1963, J.K. Timmons, W. Henry Jones, Jr., William P. Morrissette, M.D., and others signed the Article of Incorporation for the Country Club. Within the first few years, facilities included a colonial-designed Clubhouse, Olympic swimming pool, two tennis courts, one clay and one all-weather, beautifully kept lawns, shrubs, and picnic tables.
Teeing Off
Originally designed in 1968 as an 18 hole course by renowned architect Edward Ault, Salisbury’s golf course opened in 1969, with our Pro Shop being constructed the following year in 1970. Our first annual golf tournament, the Men’s Member/Guest tournament came the next year in 1970. This tournament, which occurs annually in the spring, is a staple of our golf season and continues to this day.
A Changing Landscape
Updating ourselves with the current sports landscape, Salisbury jazzercised into the 1980s constructing a state of the art Indoor Sports Facility. The facility featured indoor tennis courts, a fitness center, Locker Rooms and of course, space for group fitness classes like Jazzercise, which had grown in popularity in the 1980s.Our Indoor Sports Facility still stands today, and offers three indoor USTA regulated courts, a fitness center, group fitness rooms and an indoor golf simulator.
A Growing Course
Continuing to evolve to meet member expectations and to better serve our growing membership base, the course was updated to include our practice facilities and final 9 in 2002 by nationally recognized architect Lester George. Our practice areas feature four USGA greens complexes, three practice bunkers, and a year round double tee driving range.
Constant Evolution
Salisbury remains dedicated to constant evolution to meet member expectations and changing landscapes in the sports and hospitality sectors. In 2006 we updated our aquatics facility to better serve our membership base which had evolved to include younger families. In the same vein, in 2010, we added a separate child minding space to our facilities, the Shark Shack. In 2008, we moved into the new millennium and adopted a new point of sale system. In 2010, to better serve the popularity of tennis and our annual Mid-Atlantic Clay Court Championship, we constructed the Sky Box viewing facilities by our Clay Courts. In 2014, we fully renovated our kitchen. These state of the art facilities increased quality of food, service times and employee retention. In 2020, our team made creative efforts to continue to serve membership throughout the pandemic, including the use of virtual fitness classes, outdoor low contact events, and increased to go meals. This dedication to constant evolution in service our membership remains a building block of Salisbury today.
A New Salisbury
Operating from a position of strength, confidence and optimism, the Board elected to renovate the interior of the main clubhouse as phase one of their clubhouse modernization initiative. This decision was a first step in a long range plan to bring the facilities of Salisbury to the level of the quality of our membership. The clubhouse was designed and renovated by architect Hicok Cole and General Contractor L.F. Jennings. The space was renovated under a conservatively modern aesthetic that branched together our history as a beacon of Southern Hospitality while keeping our facilities up to date. It features an inviting lobby, a main dining room with dance floor, a restaurant, a mixed-use lounge space with a bar, two private dining rooms, mixed-use meeting space and a gallery that features local Richmond artists and spans the length of the clubhouse. Its flexible design is utilized through teleworking members, weekly happy hours, weddings and private events, and featured member events.
Today
The Club has come a long way since 1963. Today, Salisbury is a full-service golf and country club that has captured Southern hospitality and continues to provide its members with the finest facilities available in a beautifully maintained environment.
