Closed Golf Courses

[DaveLeeNC]

Here is an interesting question. How many golf courses have you played in the past that are now closed. I am an old guy (but didn't play golf between 1975 and 2003) and I can count 9 if you include executive courses (2 in my case). I am guessing that older folks who have had continuous play throughout their adult life can count more.

 

So what is your count?

 

dave

[caniac6]

Offhand, I can think of four local courses, but there were a couple more that I never played that closed.

[Socrates]

Three.   One locally, one in Mexico and one in Augusta.  The local one was sold to a developer who later found out he couldn't develop it for housing so it sits - dead.  Mexico was closed due to political differences.  The Augusta one was repeatedly sold and couldn't make a go of it.

 

Edit: 4 now that I think of it.  A course in Ft. Lauderdale that I played in '86.

Edited January 3 by Socrates

[PostandGhost]

This might be because I love to slum it, I can think of at least 10 that I have played in my lifetime that have closed.  Probably a lot more if I really researched some of the ones I played in my junior days.  

[mshills]

Funny, I thought this was the annual question on here “if the course is closed it’s OK to trespass and play, right?”  😄

 

Would need to think carefully about this. These come to mind right away:

Orchard Hills, Newnan GA (now an Amazon DC)

Lanier Golf Club, Buford GA (now a subdivision I think)

Trophy Club of Atlanta, Alpharetta GA (also a subdivision)

Cotton Fields Golf Club, Henry County GA (not sure what happened)

Durham Lakes, Fairburn GA (not sure why it failed)

Hombre, Panama City FL (never recovered after a hurricane)

 

There is also a spot in Kendall, FL (Miami area) where OJ Simpson used to hang out.  I played it a couple times and it is long gone, I forget the name, but there was nothing memorable about it.

Edited January 3 by mshills

[buckrogers71]

I have 5 local and a few in Myrtle Beach (Gator Hole, Robbers Roost, I think that there were a couple others but they escape me)

[Roody]

8 by my count:

Shadow Pines GC
Seneca Lake CC

Bristol Harbour GC

Webster GC, West Course (East is still open)

Perinton GC 

Taranwould GC
St. John Fisher College Course 

Osprey Ridge (Disney course)
 

[GowerND11]

All in PA

 

Monroe Valley

Mahoning Valley

Mountain Laurel 

Locust Valley

Rolling Meadows

Fountain Springs Country Club

Edgewood in the Pines*

 

*Reduced from 18 to 9. 

Edited January 7 by GowerND11

[McMunch]

45 minutes ago, mshills said:

Funny, I thought this was the annual question on here “if the course is closed it’s OK to trespass and play, right?”  😄

 

me too..

[MattM97]

Where I am in SW Ontario area there have been a bunch that have closed for housing. There is a course right now called Woodington Lakes, has 2-18 hole tracks, holds Ontario Youth events, oddly not in Golf Canada so cannot enter scores here. Apparently they are currently in receivership for unpaid loans so might be interesting to see what happens with them. 

[gullwing81]

1 hour ago, buckrogers71 said:

I have 5 local and a few in Myrtle Beach (Gator Hole, Robbers Roost, I think that there were a couple others but they escape me)

They just closed Farmstead in Myrtle Beach area - great, fun course that had a 767 yd par 6 finishing hole. A few others closed in the area are Possum Trot, Marsh Harbor, Heather Glen, Bay Tree, Waterway Hills

[jwhite86]

1 in Florida

 

1 locally

 

and a couple that have closed/ reopened under new ownership 

[buckrogers71]

49 minutes ago, gullwing81 said:

They just closed Farmstead in Myrtle Beach area - great, fun course that had a 767 yd par 6 finishing hole. A few others closed in the area are Possum Trot, Marsh Harbor, Heather Glen, Bay Tree, Waterway Hills

Never played Farmstead but the to others I have

[SnowbirdTom]

None that come to mind.

[RayGorman]

Exact number- not sure. But it would be around 10. Mostly courses in Myrtle Beach, Tampa Area and a couple here on Long Island. MB ones I can remember would be Raccoon Run, Possum Trot, Gator Hole, Robbers Roost and Waterway Hills(?)- the one with the Tramway over the Intercoastal Waterway. Tampa area would be Magnolia Valley, Ironwood and I would consider World Woods (both courses) in there as well, since it has been completely renovated and isn't anything like it was, as well as the nearby Dunes Golf Club. On Long Island, there was Tall Grass (which was converted to a Solar Farm) and The Links at Shirley- Which, was a very good design, but it was built and opened much too soon. Did not give the turf enough time to bed in and the turf got pretty much destroyed. But they still insisted on charging ridiculous fees for the area promising a 'Premium experience' and not delivering. It didn't last very long since they never adjusted their approach. Sold off for a development within 10 years. 

 

I'm sure there might be a couple that I've played that I haven't kept track of... now that I think about it, even a couple in Hawaii that I think have closed or have been taken over and completely redone or absorbed into other courses. 

[jimb6golf]

There's been quite a few in the area around Boston that have closed.  Lots of competition for the land, for housing, solar fields, etc.  In the past 5 years alone I know of 4-5 courses that have closed.  As one course owner noted, it's hard to say no to a large number even though the course is dependably earning money each year.  It's already hard to get a tee time on the weekend and it's only going to get worse and more costly. 

[LUMA]

Gainesville, FL has a SERIOUS golf issue. I don't know what the problem is.

 

We have some really unique courses there.

 

West End - The longest lit night golf course in the nation - CLOSED

Meadowbrook - REALLY fun and challenging track that used to hold LPGA tournaments in the 90's - Closed

Gainesville Country Club - In its hay day of the 80's and 90's it was prime and the place to be - Closed. Recently purchased again, but no progress made to revitalize.

UF course / Mark Bostick - Where the UF team plays and practices, conditions are prime. Not closed, but it is in desperate need of a new course. It's simply too short and narrow for the modern game. Some investors and UF were planning to build 36 holes for the new course, but the investors backed out last minute.

 

Gainesville is starving for golf. If I had a ton of money, I would purchase these courses and bring them back to life for good.

 

 

Edited January 3 by LUMA

[bcjim]

6 hours ago, Roody said:

8 by my count:

 

Osprey Ridge (Disney course)
 

Eagle Pines too.  They were both nice enough.

 

Here around DC I know of 5 at least that have closed. 4 are now houses. 1 was in, and still is in, a housing development. Its just not a GC anymore.   Forget what it was called but it was by Gunpowder (which is amazingly still there I think)... It was like hitting ball down a narrow hallway and you had to respect every bush bordering any hole as an "environmental area" lest you be dragged off. LOL. I knew it was doomed from the start.  It was a half dozen lost balls at least every time. This was like 15+ years ago.

[Nickb333]

Closed:
Osbrinks, Escondido 

Escondido CC

San Luis Rey Downs, Bonsal

Fallbrook CC

Carmel Mt Ranch, San Diego

Penasquitos Highlands, Penasquitos 

The Mountain course, Kapalua

Stoneridge CC, San Diego

 

On a death spiral:

Castle Creek

 

Probably not going to make it:

Bolder Oaks (formerly Meadow Lake) 

 

So 8 that I can remember. I’m sure there are more. 

Edited January 4 by Nickb333

[ArtMBgolf]

I played 35 closed Myrtle Beach courses.   Most of these were due to developers offering a lot of $ to 
build houses.   Some good/popular courses, like Farmstead above were due to the owner ready 
to retire.    
 
Around home about 6 courses. 

[Bonneville85308]

.

Edited January 4 by Bonneville85308

[Bonneville85308]

Good topic. I started playing around 1996-1997. I've saved a scorecard from every course I've ever played with few exceptions. Here are the courses that have closed since I've played them, I could be missing one:

 

AZ:

ASU Karsten, Tempe - First course I ever played in AZ, 2 hours after I got off the plane. Totally hated it, no big loss.

Falcon, Litchfield Park - Reasonably priced decent layout with no houses surrounding it. Closed for industrial development.

 

CA:

Desert Dunes, Desert Hot Springs - Just closed late last year.

 

FL:

Carolina Club, Margate - This was a really nice CCFAD type facility back in the day. Closed for development.

Continental, Coral Springs - I don't remember much about this one.

Forest Oaks, Lake Worth - Mediocre housing development course closed for more development.

Inverrary - 54-hole facility that used to be a big deal back in the day. Closed for development. 

Sabal Palm, Tamarac - Another mediocre course that closed for development.

TPC Heron Bay, Coral Springs - Bunker city. Didn't like it at all.

Woodmont CC, Tamarac (Pines couse) - Believe they closed 9 and maybe reconfigured the other 9 to accommodate development.

 

NJ:

Apple Mountain, Belvidere - Had a par 6! Not sure why it closed. Unconfirmed rumor was the old owner died and the people who took over had no idea what they were doing.

Fernwood, Roseland - Pitch and putt course that closed for reasons unknown to me.

Green Pond, Rockaway - Closed down and sold to the government as open space.

Private individual's 7-hole par 3 estate course I'm not going to name - Owner who had it built died and his kids weren't interested in golf so they let it grow over.

Rolling Greens, Newton - Don't remember much about this one other than it was cheap and low-end.

 

NV:

Primm Valley, Primm (Lake course) - Played it in its second to last year of existence, wasn't in good condition but had great bones and I really liked it.

 

PA:

Blue Ridge CC, Harrisburg - I think this closed due to some combination of declining membership/great recession and redevelopment.

Center Square: I believe this is now or was going to be turned into housing.

Center Valley Club, Center Valley - 90s CCFAD with two different style nines, was the "high end" public course in the area.

Fern Hall, Carbondale, PA - 9 holer, believe it is now farmland.

Loch Narn, Avondale - Decent parkland layout.

Locust Valley, Coopersburg - Great layout and always reasonably priced on a beautiful piece of land. Now an age 55+ housing development.

Mahoning Valley, Lehighton - Played it right before it closed, a shame because I enjoyed it.

Melrose CC, Cheltenham - This just closed a month or so ago.

Silver Creek CC/Steel Club (Hill Nine) - Tough but fun Donald Ross 9-holer on the side of a hill that got little play; the other less quirky 18 holes at this club remain open.

Tumblebrook, Coopersburg - Sitting dormant, a new group was supposed to take it over and reopen it last year but I don't think anything has happened yet.

Upper Perk, Pennsburg - Closed for residential development mid 2000s.

Valley Forge, King of Prussia - Mediocre course on an extremely valuable piece of land for redevelopment.

Water Gap CC, Water Gap - Lots of history, but a quirky layout.

Willow Brook, Catasauqua - Course downsized from 18 to 9 holes years after I played it, to accommodate development.

Woodbridge, Kutztown - This course was open for less than 10 years and was doomed from the start. Goofy layout self-designed by one of the owners who died in an accident on the course during construction. Never did much business, it's now returned to farmland. 

 

WI:

Riversbend, Greentown: Short course that had a very memorably awful hole with about a long 20' wide chute through trees off the tee. Not sure what it is now.

Edited January 6 by Bonneville85308

[Looper34]

20 hours ago, gullwing81 said:

They just closed Farmstead in Myrtle Beach area - great, fun course that had a 767 yd par 6 finishing hole. A few others closed in the area are Possum Trot, Marsh Harbor, Heather Glen, Bay Tree, Waterway Hills

Marsh Harbor was a good course that I was fortunate to play a couple times. The par 5 17th hole, where you had to clear the water twice was great. I was down there a couple months ago and the old sign at the entrance was still there. 

[carrera]

I just looked through this list of closed California courses on GCA and I came up with nine for me....mostly NorCal.

 

https://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,63867.0.html

 

I miss Roddy Ranch and San Geronimo the most.  Grayson Woods was where my kids learned to play a "course".

[Yoshifan151]

Only 2, Malibu Golf Club and Lost Canyons. A few that I never got to play but would've loved to are Stevinson Ranch, Elkins Ranch, and Rancho San Marcos.

[CCTxGolf]

Interesting Exercise!

 

Pharaoh CC, Corpus Christi, TX

Kings Crossing CC, Corpus Christi, TX

Palmilla Beach (Newport Dunes), Port Aransas, TX

La Cantera, Palmer Course, San Antonio, TX

The Republic, San Antonio, TX

 

 

[ATXGolferGuy]

1 hour ago, CCTxGolf said:

Palmilla Beach (Newport Dunes), Port Aransas, TX

The course is still open for play, just without all the original holes thanks to the hurricane. 

 

My list includes :

Spicewood Course at Balcones Country Club, Austin TX

Bluebonnet Hills Golf Course, Austin, TX

Colovista Golf Course, Bastrop (though I think they are trying to or have already reopened it)

Bergstrom AFB Golf Course, Austin TX (now part of the Austin ABIA airport)

Lost Pines Golf Course (Bastrop State Park), Closed after the huge fire in 2011, Bastrop TX

Highland Lakes Golf Course, Inks Lake State Park, Burnet TX

Bryan Municipal Golf Course, Bryan TX

Quail Creek Country Club, San Marcos TX

Texas State University Golf Course San Marcos TX 

The Republic Golf Club, San Antonio TX

La Canterra Palmer Course, San Antonio TX

Woodlake Golf Club, San Antonio TX (I qualified for the US Junior AM at this course a LOOONGG time ago)

Pecan Valley Golf Club, San Antonio TX (site of 1968 PGA Championship, and many failed US AM qualifying attempts for me)

Northcliffe Golf Club, Shertz TX

Seven Oaks Hotel & Golf Course, San Antonio TX a 9 hole par 3 pitch & putt in the hood (our HS team stayed here my Sr year along with the Bastrop girls team for our regional finals....good times)

Houston Hills Golf Course, Houston TX

Bear Creek Golf World, Houston TX (another Hurricane victim)

Raveneaux Country Club, Spring TX (Hurricane Victim)

Glenbrook Park Golf Course, Houston TX

Heron Lakes Golf Course, Houston TX

Village Course Kapalua HI

The Prince Course, Princeville HI 

 

22ish total, and there might be one or two in Florida & Colorado that I'm missing but I was a really little kid when we visited those courses. Some, like the pitch & putt place in San Antonio, were absolute goat tracks, but others like the two in Hawaii were great. 

 

 

 

[sabram]

I've played more than 100 courses that no longer exist. At least 20 in the Myrtle Beach area

[CCTxGolf]

1 hour ago, ATXGolferGuy said:

The course is still open for play, just without all the original holes thanks to the hurricane. 

 

 

 

 

 

With only 4-5 of the original holes. They took it down to a 9 hole executive style course after Harvey. Harvey was just really an excuse as staff said they could have had it opened for play within two weeks of the storm. It was originally an Arnold Palmer design, troon managed, and really a great course. Even had pictures of Palmer on site during construction.

 

Ownership (McComb), decided the original front nine would be worth more as a housing development. While probably true it’s still a shame as it was fun to play.

Edited January 4 by CCTxGolf

[martin35sg]

At different times during the 80's & 90's I was a member of 3 golf clubs around London, of which 2 are now closed. 

 

Woodlands Manor Golf Club - I was club champion in 1984. It closed in 2019, but don't know why.

Broke Hill Golf Club - it was sold to be re-developed, but nothing has happened to my knowledge.

 

Kind of sad given that I learned to play golf at Woodlands and re-kindled my enthusiasm at Broke Hill. Thankfully, the 3rd club, Langley Park GC is still going strong...and best located for when I visit family in London.