By Michela Worthington, ABR, SRS, SRES, REALM Certified — The OwnRVA Group, brokered by Real Broker, LLC
Golf is the single most misunderstood amenity in the Richmond 55+ market, because several communities widely described online as golf communities do not have a golf course. The demand behind the confusion is real: golfers 65 and older make up roughly 22 percent of on-course players and 27 percent of total spending, and participation in that age group has grown about 64 percent over the past decade, per the National Golf Foundation's 2025 research. As of August 2026, three active adult communities near Richmond put a course inside the neighborhood: Colonial Heritage in Williamsburg, with an 18-hole Arthur Hills design; The Cottages at Viniterra in New Kent County; and Magnolia Green's Charleston Club in Moseley, built around an 18-hole Jack Nicklaus course. Charter Colony offers golf through optional Brandermill Country Club membership instead. CrossRidge, despite frequent claims otherwise, has no course at all.
Which Richmond-Area 55+ Communities Have Golf on Site?
Three communities have a golf course within the community, and one offers golf through a separate club membership. Everything else in the Richmond 55+ market sends you off-site to play.
Community | Course | Location | Price range | Estimated HOA | Age structure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Colonial Heritage | 18-hole Arthur Hills design | Williamsburg (James City County) | $400,000 – $700,000 | $300 – $350/mo | Age-restricted |
The Cottages at Viniterra | 18-hole championship course at Viniterra | New Kent County | $450,000 – $735,000 | $310 – $350/mo | Age-restricted |
Magnolia Green – Charleston Club | 18-hole Jack Nicklaus design | Moseley (Chesterfield County) | $500,000 – $700,000 | $200 – $300/mo | Age-targeted |
Charter Colony | Brandermill Country Club — optional membership | Midlothian (Chesterfield County) | $425,000 – $625,000 | $250 – $500/mo + club dues | Age-targeted |
Pricing and HOA figures are my working estimates for the Richmond market as of August 2026.
What Makes Colonial Heritage the Value Play?
Colonial Heritage offers the strongest combination of golf, amenity depth, and price in the greater Richmond active adult market, and it does so by sitting an hour east of the city.
The Lennar-developed community in Williamsburg is built around an 18-hole course designed by Arthur Hills, one of the more prolific American course architects. The clubhouse runs about 25,000 square feet and functions as the community's real center of gravity — pickleball, tennis, bocce, a state-of-the-art wood shop, billiards, ping pong, card tables, arts and crafts facilities, a library, and meeting rooms, plus miles of walking trails and a full social calendar.
Pricing runs $400,000 to $700,000 with HOA fees of roughly $300 to $350 per month, which is unusually reasonable for that amenity load. The trade-off is geography: 30 to 40 minutes to downtown Richmond via I-64, with downtown Williamsburg only 15 minutes the other direction. Buyers who want Richmond proximity should look elsewhere. Buyers who want the most golf and clubhouse for the money, and who are happy in Williamsburg, do very well here.
James City County's 2026 real estate tax rate is $0.83 per $100 — the same as Henrico — so the lower pricing reflects location, not taxes. I cover the full county-by-county picture in Richmond senior property tax relief by county.
What Do You Get at The Cottages at Viniterra?
The Cottages at Viniterra is a maintenance-provided 55+ enclave by Mungo Homes set inside the larger gated Viniterra community in New Kent County, with access to Viniterra's 18-hole championship course.
What separates it from the other golf options is the winery. Viniterra is home to New Kent Winery, which produces eight handcrafted wines and hosts community events that have become a genuine tradition rather than a marketing line. For buyers whose ideal weekend is nine holes and a tasting, there is nothing else like it in this market.
Residents get resort-style amenities including the golf course, pool, clubhouse, and sidewalks, with pricing from $450,000 to $735,000 and HOA fees around $310 to $350 per month. Floor plans put the primary suite on the first floor with additional bedrooms upstairs — worth noting if you want true single-level living, since not every plan delivers it.
New Kent's 2026 equalized rate of roughly $0.54 per $100 puts Viniterra in the region's low-tax tier, which offsets a meaningful part of the purchase price relative to a Chesterfield equivalent.
Is Magnolia Green's Charleston Club Worth the Premium?
Magnolia Green's Charleston Club is the closest genuine golf option to the Richmond suburbs, built around an 18-hole Jack Nicklaus course, and it carries both the highest entry price and the lowest HOA of the three on-site options.
The full amenity complex is available to Charleston Club residents: the Nicklaus course, multiple swimming pools, a fitness center, tennis and pickleball courts, miles of paved trails, and a community center with regular programming. Homes are single-story and two-story designs with first-floor primary suites, covered porches, and low-maintenance exteriors, priced $500,000 to $700,000 with HOA fees of just $200 to $300 per month.
Two things to understand before you fall for the numbers. First, the Charleston Club is age-targeted, not age-restricted — there is no enforced 55+ occupancy rule, so the neighborhood character is not legally protected the way it is at Colonial Heritage or Viniterra. If that matters to you, read age-restricted vs. age-targeted communities before touring.
Second, an older claim circulating online describes Magnolia Green as having two 18-hole courses. It has one. The Nicklaus course is excellent, but plan around 18 holes, not 36.
The location off Route 360 in Moseley puts you near Westchester Commons and Winterfield Crossing, with a Wegmans and a Fresh Market up 360, and the Powhatan County countryside minutes west. Chesterfield's $0.89 rate is the region's highest, so run the tax math alongside that attractive HOA.
Should You Buy in a Golf Community If You Only Play Occasionally?
Probably not — you are usually better off buying the community you actually want to live in and playing at one of the many public and private courses nearby.
This is the advice that saves my clients the most money. Golf communities price the course into the home and, at Magnolia Green and Colonial Heritage, into the association structure. If you play twice a month, the math rarely works. If you play twice a week, it almost always does.
The Richmond area has strong off-site options. Mosaic at West Creek buyers sit close to Hermitage Country Club and Richmond Country Club, and Twin Hickory residents are near the Dominion Club — both communities where you can live in an excellent active adult neighborhood and drive ten minutes to play. That structure lets you pay for golf when you use it rather than every month.
The one genuine exception is the walk-out-your-door factor. Buyers who have organized their retirement around golf tell me consistently that living on the course changes how much they play. If that is you, buy the golf community and do not overthink it.
Which Golf Community Should You Choose?
Choose Colonial Heritage for the deepest total amenity package and the best price-to-value ratio, accepting a Williamsburg address. Choose The Cottages at Viniterra for golf plus the winery and New Kent's low tax rate, in a gated setting. Choose Magnolia Green's Charleston Club for a Nicklaus course closest to the Richmond suburbs and the lowest HOA, accepting age-targeted rather than age-restricted status and Chesterfield's higher tax rate. Choose Charter Colony if you want a broader community with golf available through optional Brandermill Country Club membership rather than bundled into your monthly fee.
If none of those fit, the honest answer may be that golf should not be the organizing factor. Communities like CrossRidge, Chickahominy Falls, Mosaic at West Creek, and Heron Pointe at Swift Creek deliver better on other dimensions, and the courses are still a short drive away. I compare the two most-asked-about non-golf options in CrossRidge vs. Chickahominy Falls.
Want to Play Before You Buy?
The best way to evaluate a golf community is to play the course and eat lunch in the clubhouse on an ordinary weekday, not a tour day. I arrange that for clients regularly. Start with my guide to the best 55+ communities in Richmond VA for the full landscape, and get a free valuation of your current home so we know your budget before we tour.
Michela Worthington, ABR, SRS, SRES, REALM Certified The OwnRVA Group, brokered by Real Broker, LLC Phone: (804) 391-9294 Email: michela@ownrva.com
Frequently Asked Questions
Does CrossRidge have a golf course?
No. CrossRidge in Glen Allen does not have a golf course, despite older articles and listings that claim it does. Its amenities are indoor and outdoor pools, a fitness center, pickleball courts, an art studio, a billiards room, a grand ballroom, and more than 30 resident clubs.
Which 55+ community near Richmond has the best golf?
Colonial Heritage offers the strongest overall package — an 18-hole Arthur Hills course plus a 25,000-square-foot clubhouse — at $400,000 to $700,000 with HOA fees of roughly $300 to $350 per month. Magnolia Green's Charleston Club has the Jack Nicklaus course closest to the Richmond suburbs.
Does Magnolia Green have two golf courses?
No. Magnolia Green has one 18-hole course, designed by Jack Nicklaus. Some older write-ups describe two courses totaling 36 holes; that is inaccurate as of August 2026.
Is golf included in the HOA fee at these communities?
It varies, and you should confirm in writing. At Charter Colony, golf comes through a separate optional Brandermill Country Club membership on top of the base HOA. At the on-site golf communities, the course is part of the community structure but course access, cart fees, and membership tiers still differ — read the association documents and the club's fee schedule together.
Are Richmond's 55+ golf communities age-restricted?
Colonial Heritage and The Cottages at Viniterra are age-restricted under the federal 80 percent rule. Magnolia Green's Charleston Club and Charter Colony are age-targeted, meaning they are designed for active adults but carry no enforceable age requirement.
Can I live in a 55+ community near Richmond and golf off-site?
Yes, and for occasional players it is usually the better financial decision. Mosaic at West Creek sits near Hermitage Country Club and Richmond Country Club, and Twin Hickory is close to the Dominion Club, so you can choose the community on its own merits and pay for golf only when you play.