Portsmouth’s Bide-A-Wee Golf Course Wins the Mid-Atlantic Public Golf Leader Award

Bide-A-Wee Golf Course in Portsmouth, VA has won the NGCOA Mid-Atlantic’s 2021 Public Golf Leader Award, recognizing a public club for outstanding business success and the promotion of golf in the Mid-Atlantic (VA, MD, DC).

Adam Relan is Director of Golf and General Manager for City of Portsmouth’s two municipal courses – Bide-A-Wee and The Links at City Park, both popular courses for the area golfers. They have hosted up to 50,000 rounds per year including many charity and fundraiser tournaments, along with hosting VSGA tournaments. Adam has a passion for player development and junior golf. He teaches players of at all levels including high-level amateurs and professionals. He also coordinates the PGA Junior League, Ladies Only Clinics, and hosts Friday Night Mixers which are frequently sold out. Relan also has recently been elected as the Secretary of Mid Atlantic PGA Southern Chapter.

Bide-A-Wee was built in 1956, and former PGA Champion Chandler Harper leased the property and founded the private course. Later in the late 1980s, the course declined, and the city took possession and put substantial money into it. They hired renowned golf course architect Tom Clark and US Open Champion Curtis strange to redo the course in 1998-1999. Eighteen new holes were constructed at Bide-A-Wee, along with a 9- hole short course minutes down the road known at The Links at City Park.

Today, growing the game of golf is a high priority for Bide-A-Wee Golf Course. Since the renovation, innovative programs like the Friday Night Mixer, a laid-back 4-person Captain’s Choice 9-hole golf event has become a most popular activity among locals. The program has always been a hit with 60-70 players showing up weekly to wind down and enjoy a relaxed evening of social golf, with fun games and prizes. Since Relan’s arrival in 2014, the event has exploded and regularly sells out with 144 players, often with a waiting list. A big reason for the success comes from strategic promotions through social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Adam is constantly sharing pictures of the events, seemingly creating a sense of “missing out” if someone is unable to attend.

Other popular programs are the PGA Junior League, Youth on Course, and multiple junior clinics. Bide-A-Wee has plans to bring the PGA Family Cup program to the course in the future. The Links at City Park hosts three summer junior camps annually. The ladies-only clinics that take place one night a week are popular. These $10 clinics offer a fun learning environment for lady golfers, whether they are carrying a low handicap or picking up a club for the first time. Plans are to expand this program to different demographics such as men-only and junior-only clinics

One of the most popular annual events is the tournament benefitting Toys 4 Tots. This is a 2-person “tough day” event with pin locations in illegal positions and quirky rules, like having to drive on a hole with your non-dominate hand. The event is held at the end of the season in December and has been sold out for the past several years. It is a terrific way to drive revenue during the slow months while supporting a great cause. US Marines usually attend to accept the toys and even get a chance to play golf, oftentimes for the first time ever, sometimes creating a new golfer for life.

Staff and volunteers at Bide-A-Wee are equipped to be friendly and welcoming. The atmosphere at the course is always inviting, with an emphasis on making golfers feel as if they belong to a club, even though it is a public golf course. The philosophy of “membership” comes from Adam’s 12+ years of private club experience in South Carolina, prior to relocating to Bide-A-Wee. This philosophy encourages golfers of all backgrounds and abilities to feel welcome as if they are a member even though they are playing a public links.

When asked what it meant to the club to win this award, Adam Relan expressed, “We were not expecting to get this award. I am taken aback and extremely honored to be in the company of the past winners.”

NGCOA Mid-Atlantic | (804) 708-9760 |

15 Quail Run Drive, Manakin-Sabot, VA 23103

www.ngcoamidatlantic.org