Southwood is my local course, only 3 miles from my door. It's not a very good course and I've only played it three times in 13 years of living here. The last time was earlier this summer on a warm Sunday evening. The quality of maintenance reflected the financial difficulties it faced, with fairways mown (infrequently) at a thick semi-rough height and the semi thick enough to lose balls. It was a £12-15 green fee course and it showed. I thought at that time that it would be the last time I played it and so it seems.
I read this thread earlier this morning and have had occasion to drive past the course since. The tee plates and flagsticks have been pulled out, but outwardly all seems normal. Today is a particularly dark and rainy day and I saw a couple of bright golf umbrellas over the bushes, approaching the 18th green. Clearly, a few of the stalwarts are taking the opportunity to get in a final round in the pouring rain before the grass grows too long to putt out on the greens. There's nobody there to collect a green fee, so they have a short window of opportunity before the decay sets in. They may be the last golfers I ever see out there.
It won't take long for Southwood to disappear into the undergrowth and as the course was already scheduled for closure, I doubt another operator will come forward to save it. Justin Rose played it regularly as a kid and had voiced his opposition to the closure. His multi-millions may be the only hope for it, but even the most faithful Southwood regulars hold out little hope of him stepping in with an altruistic rescue package. He's back in town for the British Masters this coming week, so will be interesting to see if he is questioned about it.
Southwood is an unremarkable, ordinary and unkempt public course, whose passing will be mourned by few, but I will miss it, if only for the fact I cycle past it regularly and often pause for a lean on the boundary fence and to watch play for a few moments. We've plenty of parkland and woods around here to walk the dog. Southwood is better served as a golf course for the considerable number who did call it their golfing home and for whom it was an affordable entry level golf course.