The 10 Best Courses to Close in 2022

[Mike Worth]

https://www.golfpass.com/travel-advisor/articles/the-10-best-golf-courses-to-close-in-2022

[Tom_Doak]

That’s an important article.  Gives a sense of how hard it is to develop a profitable golf course

[Stewart Abramson]

I'm almost always sad and sometimes surprised to see courses close. Some of the ones on the list were pretty good. 


Regarding Grenelefe; for the past several years the two remaining courses there were not much more than pastures with 18 holes in the ground. The last time I played there it was $17 including cart, and wasn't even worth that. The Grenelefe courses had decent bones, but I guess the owners didn't want to throw good money after bad (or didn't have it). There are several courses in the same vicinity that are not any better designs, but with much better conditions that charge $30-$50 to play and have busy tee sheets. It's hard (for me at least) to understand why one course dies while a similar one nearby thrives.

[Tommy Williamsen]

I am very sad to hear that Vista Links is closing. I played it the year it opened and about ten years ago. It was fun and on good terrain. It filled a void in an area without good golf options.

[JohnVDB]

I am very sad to hear that Vista Links is closing. I played it the year it opened and about ten years ago. It was fun and on good terrain. It filled a void in an area without good golf options.

That is a shame. A good friend of my girlfriend built a house right alongside the course and retired there to play golf.

[Sam Morrow]

I think Great Southern has closed before and been brought back from the dead.

[MCirba]

Sadly, I've played 3 of these; Glenwood, Loch Nairn, and Great Southern.   


Each will be missed but I find a need to mention that I've found no evidence that Great Southern had any Donald Ross input.   Instead, most of what is there is Jack Daray from the early 20s although the club/course was originally called Mississippi Coast Country Club and opened in 1910 (oldest in Mississippi) on 50 acres, laid out by Charles Nieman of Buffalo and Leigh Carroll and W.P. Stewart from New Orleans.

[Marty Bonnar]

I'm almost always sad and sometimes surprised to see courses close. Some of the ones on the list were pretty good. 


Regarding Grenelefe; for the past several years the two remaining courses there were not much more than pastures with 18 holes in the ground. The last time I played there it was $17 including cart, and wasn't even worth that. The Grenelefe courses had decent bones, but I guess the owners didn't want to throw good money after bad (or didn't have it). There are several courses in the same vicinity that are not any better designs, but with much better conditions that charge $30-$50 to play and have busy tee sheets. It's hard (for me at least) to understand why one course dies while a similar one nearby thrives.

Back twenty and more years ago when we vacationed in Orlando every year, we played a bunch of courses in the Grenelefe vicinity. Diamondback, Sun-Air, Poinciana, Kissimmee, etc. All decent fun, holiday golf if nothing outstanding. I think they’ve all gone now. What happened? Just the general economic squeeze? Overheated market?
Cheers,
F.

[Brad Tufts]

Greenlefe was a place that my dad, uncle, and I went back to for a couple years running back in the late 90s to play right after Christmas for a couple days.  It fit the bill, and played a small part in my early architectural education as it was so much different from what I was used to in the Boston area.


I remember the West being a pretty good championship test, the East was too narrow, and the South was full of large sandy waste areas, which gave it its own feel.  We branched out to Diamondback across the street right after it was built, and it was very jungle-infused.  The highlight was the massive stuffed rattler in the temporary clubhouse.


Amazing that it held on until now, as it was clearly in decline as of our last visit in 99/00 or so.  I think it first went bankrupt in 2002.


Great Southern seems like a loss for MS golf history...always wanted to check it out but never made it to that corner of the US.

[MCirba]

Lots of celebs at Great Southern over the years including President Wilson staying multiple days in 1913 playing 18 each day.

[Tommy Williamsen]

I am very sad to hear that Vista Links is closing. I played it the year it opened and about ten years ago. It was fun and on good terrain. It filled a void in an area without good golf options.

That is a shame. A good friend of my girlfriend built a house right alongside the course and retired there to play golf.

It is hard to know what the future might bring when you purchase a house on a course. I know folks that lost their shirts by buying in the wrong place. There are few sure things.

[Stewart Abramson]

I'm almost always sad and sometimes surprised to see courses close. Some of the ones on the list were pretty good. 


Regarding Grenelefe; for the past several years the two remaining courses there were not much more than pastures with 18 holes in the ground. The last time I played there it was $17 including cart, and wasn't even worth that. The Grenelefe courses had decent bones, but I guess the owners didn't want to throw good money after bad (or didn't have it). There are several courses in the same vicinity that are not any better designs, but with much better conditions that charge $30-$50 to play and have busy tee sheets. It's hard (for me at least) to understand why one course dies while a similar one nearby thrives.

Back twenty and more years ago when we vacationed in Orlando every year, we played a bunch of courses in the Grenelefe vicinity. Diamondback, Sun-Air, Poinciana, Kissimmee, etc. All decent fun, holiday golf if nothing outstanding. I think they’ve all gone now. What happened? Just the general economic squeeze? Overheated market?
Cheers,
F.

Diamondback, Poinciana and Sun-air are long gone. Kissimmee Bay and Kissimmee Oaks (now Oaks National) are still around. Kissimmee Bay is in the category of the $30-$60 green fee and not a bad course. There are several others in the general area in that category of under $60 green fees, decent course w/decent conditions and apparently doing a solid business e.g. Cypresswood, Willowbrook, Sandpiper, Big Cypress, Shalamar, White Heron (f/k/a Ridgewood Lakes) and Highlands Reserve. Highlands Reserve of that group is well worth playing. 


Hard to explain why a particular course can't make a go of it while a similar course has a full tee sheet. Polk County is growing like crazy, especially with retirees who are a large golf demographic. Every week orange groves are being razed and replaced with residential housing.


Diamondback closed in 2014. Sun air closed before that. For nostalgia, here's a link to photos of Diamondback from 2009. Cattle now graze on the Diamondback site, but I'd bet it will soon be houses

https://www.flickr.com/photos/golfcoursepix/albums/72157631963458326

[Marty Bonnar]

Thanks for the link, Stewart. That was a lovely reminder of some very happy times.
What was the name of the course just off 192 that was beside the airfield with the historic aircraft? Kissimmee Country Club, maybe?
Cheers,
F.


PS we played Highlands Reserve with a small group of GCAers eight years ago. Redanman and I also then went to Streamsong.

[Stewart Abramson]

What was the name of the course just off 192 that was beside the airfield with the historic aircraft? Kissimmee Country Club, maybe?
Cheers,

Sorry, I don't know. The only airfields I can think of with historic aircraft are "Worlds Greatest Aircraft Collection" near Polk City and the Lakeland Airport, both of which are 45 minutes from Kissimmee. I'm not aware of a Kissimmee Country Club. There is Kissimmee Bay Country Club which at one point in time may have been a private club, but is now public.

[Edward Glidewell]

My guess is the courses around Orlando close because the land is too valuable. That's why some of the courses in the Myrtle Beach area have closed -- whoever owns the land can make so much selling it to a real estate developer that they'd rather do that than run a course (and some of the courses were on leased land rather than owned land anyways).

[Marty Bonnar]

Found it on Tripadvisor. Looks like it was just called Kissimmee Golf Club. If you look at the photos you can see the airfield and some of the planes. Maybe they moved too.
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g34352-d653061-Reviews-Kissimmee_Golf_Club-Kissimmee_Florida.html



Google Earth Linkhttps://earth.app.goo.gl/Fjgazm
#Google Earth

[Tom_Doak]

Each will be missed but I find a need to mention that I've found no evidence that Great Southern had any Donald Ross input.   Instead, most of what is there is Jack Daray from the early 20s although the club/course was originally called Mississippi Coast Country Club and opened in 1910 (oldest in Mississippi) on 50 acres, laid out by Charles Nieman of Buffalo and Leigh Carroll and W.P. Stewart from New Orleans.

So, karma bit them in the butt for lying about its provenance.  Mr. Ross is probably up there smiling.

[David Kelly]

In the late 1980s you couldn't open an issue of Golf DIgest, Golf Illustrated, Golf World, etc.  without seeing a large ad for Grenelefe Golf & Tennis Resort.  I finally got around to playing it in the early to mid 90s when it had obviously peaked as a golf destination. 

[MCirba]

Each will be missed but I find a need to mention that I've found no evidence that Great Southern had any Donald Ross input.   Instead, most of what is there is Jack Daray from the early 20s although the club/course was originally called Mississippi Coast Country Club and opened in 1910 (oldest in Mississippi) on 50 acres, laid out by Charles Nieman of Buffalo and Leigh Carroll and W.P. Stewart from New Orleans.

So, karma bit them in the butt for lying about its provenance.  Mr. Ross is probably up there smiling.

Yeah, it was a decent course in a terrific scenic setting with a few balky holes but it had a wonderful old vibe with a train running through it, along with very reasonable costs for a tourist area that was probably the downfall.

[Chris_Blakely]

I have played four of these courses:  Vista Links, Hawk's Nest, Gleneagles - Red & Gleneagles - White.


Vista Links was a top 25 public course in Virginia (in a remote area /a little too far away to sustain), Hawk's Nest was a top 10 public course in Ohio and also in a remote area,  Gleneagles was two of only a handful of Charles Maddox and Frank MacDonald courses that I have played.

[Peter Flory]

If Gleneagles is #3 on the list, we're in pretty good shape. 

[Mark Smolens]

Played multiple alcohol-infested outings at Gleneagles over the years. Could be one of the most dangerous pairs of courses anywhere. Almost every hole parallels another, and balls flying over the trees into adjoining holes with belated cries of "fore" happens all day long. Hard hats highly recommended. The courses have been rumored to be on the blocks for ever, but I drove by there last week and the dozers were out tearing up fairways for yet another SW side housing development...

[Criss Titschinger]

Sad to hear about Hawks Nest. I was hoping with the support of OSU that the course would be on more solid footing. Maybe a new buyer can salvage it, but sounds optimistic.

[Kyle Harris]

Polk County is much more underserved in the private market than public. The recent Lone Palm reno/resto is excellent but apart from that, the lovely CC Winter Haven, and Mountain Lake, there isn't much worth joining. I had a soft spot for Diamondback because it was a place I frequented when I lived down here from 2006-2008. Interesting to hear mention of Sandpiper, which was very near my old apartment and I belive the first Smyers design. New ownership has added some terrible ponds and completely re-imagined the quirky back nine to accomodate some housing. Prior to that work I'd recommend it but now I can't.

Just played Highland Reserve this past weekend. They've redone the greens and the work needs some time to marinate but it's still extremely fun. I was a bit put off that the biarritz-style green on the 7th was completely reworked but a similar idea is now on the 10th green. They've flipped the nines.

The true Polk County "boundary" is US27. Anything east - which includes the Greenlefe/Diamondback/Southern Dunes area is more tied to Orlando and anything west is getting into the Lakeland/Winter Haven/Eastern Tampa area.

[Keith Williams]

Kyle,


I'm really surprised to hear about work getting done at Highlands Reserve.  I first heard about the course here (in the old days) and made it a regular stop when in the area, playing there  a number of times in the mid 2000's.  I made my first return trip, though, in over 10 years last fall.  It was disappointing seeing the course in such poor conditions, bunkers and waste areas abandoned, neglected mowing lines, poor turf conditions.  I got the impression that the course sat on the delicate tipping point that it needed a significant injection of capital to reverse the ongoing deterioration, but at the same time had absolutely no grounds by which to increase fees or generate revenue.