Another Obituary for some more courses....

[Steve_ Shaffer]

...the most notable of which is one of the 2 courses at Royce Brook in Central NJ , both designed by Steve Smyers. Another case of the land being too valuable for golf .


– Phoenix Lake Golf Course, a nine-hole, Bert Stamp-designed layout in Sonora, California, will shut its doors next month. “I’m getting older, and it’s time to move on,” one of the owners told the Sonora Union Democrat. The 50-year-old venue, which is said to be debt free, is for sale.   
– Royce Brook Golf Course, a 36-hole facility outside New Brunswick, New Jersey, needs a financial jolt, and it aims to get one by selling one of its Steve Smyers-designed 18s to a home builder. Billy Casper Golf, which bought Royce Brook in 2007, says the transaction, if completed, will “insure long-term operation.”     
– Glenn Dale Golf Club and its 18-hole, George Cobb-designed golf course have gone dark, following what the Washington Post describes as “years of financial woes.” Glenn Dale opened in 1956, as Prospect Hill Country Club, and its 125 acres are now owed by a home builder.     
– Swan Lakes Golf Course, a nine-hole, executive-length track in Layton, Utah, closed earlier this month, after being sold to a local development group. Swan Lakes’ owners say the course was designed by “the Arnold Palmer group,” but the group doesn’t list it on its website.     
– High Lands Golf Club, a 62-year-old venue in the outer suburbs of Columbus, Ohio, turned out its lights last month. An entity tied to Kassel Property Management bought the former member-owned club and its 18-hole, “Scottish-style” course in 2014, promising to “preserve the atmosphere that attracted people to the club for decades.”   
– The Ponds at Battle Creek, which is said to be one of the top nine-hole tracks in Minnesota, will be shuttered at the end of the 2020 golf season. The Garrett Gill-designed course in suburban St. Paul, reportedly the worst performer in Ramsey County’s golf portfolio, has lost money in eight of the past 10 years.     
– Cypress Creek Golf Course may not officially be among the dearly departed, but the 18-hole track in Laurinburg, North Carolina hasn’t operated since this time last year, when Hurricane Florence blew through the area. The Laurinburg Exchange reports that the venue “remains padlocked and visibly neglected.”   
– Old Orchard Golf Course, an 18-hole, executive-length layout in Elkhart, Indiana that’s filled “a niche for beginners and women players” since 1966, will close next month. WSBT-TV reports that Coleman Davis has sold his under-performing, 53-year-old property to a developer.     
– Sedgewood Country Club, a 187-acre spread in suburban Columbia, South Carolina, has been sold to a pick-your-own farm operation. The club, which features an 18-hole, Russell Breeden-designed golf course, opened in 1965 and reportedly “fell on hard times” in recent decades.

From Robert Vasilak's http://worldgolfreport.blogspot.com/

[Steve_ Shaffer]

Royce Brook's 2 courses are probably the most architecturally  significant. Both were designed by Steve Smyers. One will be his second NJ course to close.  The other was Blue Heron Pines East built in 2001 and closed in 2007 for development that never happened. I don't know yet which of the 2 courses will be closing.


Royce Brook East: The East Course, open to both the public and members of the Club,  and is rated as one of GolfWeek's "Top 10 Golf Courses" among public courses in the state of New Jersey.  Featuring a 6,946-yard, par 72, parkland-style layout, the course's wetlands and wild native grasses intertwine with abundant wooded areas, traditional shallow bunkers, and wide fairways.


Royce Brook West:  The West Course is restricted to member play, and features a 7,158-yard, par 72, rugged links-style layout with open terrain, fescue grass, and dramatic bunkering style.  The course is ranked among Golf Digest's Top 20 Golf Courses - private and public - in the state of New Jersey.

From www.roycebrook.com

[Bernie Bell]

Glenn Dale will be missed.  I don't know if it was "significant," etc., but it was a lot of sporty fun on a small parcel.  An abundance of  character and complete absence of pretense.

[MCirba]

Both courses at Royce Brook are quite good and it will be a shame to lose either.  Such was also the case at Smyers' Blue Heron Pines course a few years back which was rather distinctive for south Jersey and had one of the best Eden holes I've ever seen.

[Chad Anderson (Tennessee)]

Another closure:  https://www.citizentribune.com/news/local/public-golf-course-to-close-effective-oct/article_fc2d07d8-de1d-11e9-b1df-eb183c416a68.html


Millstone Golf Club (public) in Morristown, TN.