Golf Courses Abandoned for Real Estate Development

[Steve Pozaric]

Cherry Hills in western St. Louis County, MO

Should be around here
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=16700+Manchester+Rd+Grover,+MO+63040&hl=en&fb=1&geocode=15787703825171184974,38.580180,-90.619136&t=h&z=16

St. Andrews Golf Course St. Peters MO
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=2121+st.+andrews+lane+63301&ll=38.791222,-90.539746&spn=0.024953,0.055575&gl=us&t=h&z=15

This page contains a list of course and notes which have closed and when
http://www.golfcourseranking.com/golf-course/USA/Missouri/MO/search-by-course-name-index.html

[Cliff Hamm]

Cliff:

I didn't mention Beechtree because there was no housing around it to start with.

For that matter, I'm not sure if the housing has even been built over it yet.  Just looked at Google Earth and the picture is old, the golf course is still being maintained there.  I haven't spoken to anyone who's been by there for some time.

Tom...only had the pleasure of playing Beechtree once (my only Doak course not counting your work at ACCC).  The timing of turning Beechtree to real estate could not have been worse.  Would love to see it come back from NLE.

[Scott Weersing]

Cahoon Plantation in Chesapeake, VA was 27 holes and is now 18.

Kempsville Greens in Virginia Beach had some condos built on the back nine which changed the routing.

Oakwood Country Club, Lynchburg, VA. http://www.wset.com/story/14972556/work-starting-on-new-lynchburg-housing-development

Here is a list I built of courses that closed in 2009. Some of them may have reopened.

Course name      Date closed
Sourwood Forest Golf Course   Alamance County, NC      
Northgate   Reno, NV   1/22/2009   
Hawk Ridge Golf Club   Wichita Falls, KS      
Mountain View Country Club   Corona, CA   1/15/2009   
Hyland Hills Golf Club   Southern Pines, NC   1/14/2009   1/14/2009
Porky Oliver Golf Course   Wilmington, DE   1/14/2009   
Bear Trace at Chickasaw   Henderson, TN   1/18/2009   
Osprey Meadows at Tamarack Resort   Idaho   3/3/2009   
The Bluffs Country Club   St. Francisville, LA   3/2/2009   
CreekSide Country Club   Athens, GA    1/10/2009   
High Pointe GC   Acme Township, MI   3/6/2009   3/6/2009
Waterwood National   Huntsville, Texas   5/19/2009   5/19/2009
Kings Crossings   Corpus Cristi, TX      8/1/2009

[Richard Chamberlain]

Robin
I hope all is well mate.

Take a look at nearmap.com and do a seach for Croydon in Vic.

You should be able to spot the site that was converted to housing in about 2008, and ongoing.
The club moved down the road to a new course called Yering Meadows.

[Jeff_Brauer]

Scott,

Did you mean Hawks Ridge in Wichita Falls, TX?  I may have helped put that one out of biz, using city money to upgrade Weeks Park......I toured the course, and saw it was well done, but no one seemed to know who designed the improvements.  Any info you can give me here or off line would be of interest.

[Tony_Muldoon]

This prompted me to have a look at St George's Hill where 9 holes were lost to housing.  Can Identify parts of two holes in what looks to be a rather extensive back garden!  Can't readily find the other 7.  I have put picutes of the holes up on here before.



Hanger Hill GC NLE  just to the SW of Hanger Lane gyratory system ahs the ususal 'Golf Road' etc

[Mark_Rowlinson]

Tony, There's still a pitch-and-putt course of about 1100 yards in Hanger Hill.

[Robin_Hiseman]

Richard:

That's a beaut.  Thanks mate.

On Monday i'll check through some of the recent links and post up here a few of the 'best' before and after horrors.  All very helpful indeed and much appreciated.

Robin

[Pat Burke]

Aliso Viejo Country Club.  Southern California.
May not be what you are looking for, but opened as 27 hole Nicklaus Company design.
In the real estate frenzy last decade, they decided to get rid of 9 holes and the driving range to
build homes.
Aliso Viejo, CA

[Jon Wiggett]

First post in a long time

West Bowling in Bradford, Yorkshire. Membership decided to take the money and run

[Tony_Muldoon]

Tony, There's still a pitch-and-putt course of about 1100 yards in Hanger Hill.

At school I used to run up and down the side of it for Rugby training.  Easily the steepest hill in the area, Pitsanger Park.  I don't think the course was there the roads I've seen are on the other side of the north circular.

When I read your thread I think Mark C. mentioned an NLE course at St Margaret's Bay.  Not long afterwards heading down to Deal and I decided to check it out.  Heading from Dover following the first sign to SMB and when you get to the crossroads the house opposite is named "Old Clubhouse". If only there was more time.

[Norbert P]

  Not abandoned but modified from an 18 (Top o' Scott GC) to 3 nines of pitch and putt with housing development the prime reason for change . . .

  As you can see the homes are not rampantly growing.  Perhaps they need to re-examine their fert program.

  Eagle Landing in Happy Valley (Clackamas - SE of Portland) Oregon.

  http://maps.google.com/maps?q=eagles+landing+golf+clackamas&hl=en&rlz=1T4TSHB_enUS313US313&prmd=ivns&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&biw=1280&bih=577&wrapid=tlif130971693090310&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl

[Carl Johnson]

Sharon Golf Course (9 holes), Charlotte, NC, USA.  Here's an out-of-date weblink: http://www.golfcharlotte.com/?view=view_course&courseid=4529K54380A&coursename=Sharon+Golf+Course

However, the course property was converted into a retirement community: http://www.thecypressofcharlotte.com/

I would say the conversion took place 10 to 15 years ago, but I could be wrong on either end.

[Robin_Hiseman]

First post in a long time

West Bowling in Bradford, Yorkshire. Membership decided to take the money and run

Jon:

Thank you.  An interesting one for me as I come from nearby Halifax.  Do you know if the club has developed a new course?  Looking at the current aerial you can just pick out the remants of one overgrown green in the north east corner.

[Andrew Mitchell]

First post in a long time

West Bowling in Bradford, Yorkshire. Membership decided to take the money and run

Jon:

Thank you.  An interesting one for me as I come from nearby Halifax.  Do you know if the club has developed a new course?  Looking at the current aerial you can just pick out the remants of one overgrown green in the north east corner.

Robin

No the members took the money (rumoured to be c£25,000 to £30,000 per full member) and ran - most in the direction of Cleckheation GC at the other end of the M606, some to other clubs in the Bradford area.

The NLE course now hosts the largest Marks & Spencer distribution centre in the UK.  It's location next to the top of the M606 always made it a prime development site.

[Marty Bonnar]

Robin,
Downfield in Dundee is still fairly highly regarded - for an inland track - despite having lost a huge chunk of ground and the original Braid holes to the expanding city.

Cool Blog with pics:
http://retrodundee.blogspot.com/2011/06/downfield-golf-course-early-60s.html

The Ardler housing scheme ate up all the ground where the map says 'Downfield Golf Co'. I've been in the area a lot with work, and try hard to spot any old tell-tales. Nothing so far, but I'm not giving up hope...
cheers,
MB.

[Ben Stephens]

Robin,
Downfield in Dundee is still fairly highly regarded - for an inland track - despite having lost a huge chunk of ground and the original Braid holes to the expanding city.

Cool Blog with pics:
http://retrodundee.blogspot.com/2011/06/downfield-golf-course-early-60s.html

The Ardler housing scheme ate up all the ground where the map says 'Downfield Golf Co'. I've been in the area a lot with work, and try hard to spot any old tell-tales. Nothing so far, but I'm not giving up hope...
cheers,
MB.

Robin/Marty

Downfield have updated their website and Course History shows 2 photos of the orginal course and the 1945 Google Map shows it. The current 10th and 11th are original holes. 11 is awesome short par 5 over the Gelly Burn.

My biggest beef about the Cotton layout is that the finish is so poor! 15 to 18. Originallly the 15th was a longer hole with an steep uphill drive rather than the flattish uphill drive. 16 is ridiculous as the dogleg turns 120 degs! I have found out that the 1945 map shows that the hole originally went left rather than right where the current 17th green is.

Personally I would put the 16 downwards from the 16th tee to the 18th green and then make 17 a short par 4 and 18 a long par 3 and then swap over the 2 nines so that it finishes on Hole 9. I think 7, 8, 9 is a stronger finish. You would think after 14 hole is it the best inland parkland course in Scotland! Paul Lawrie qualified here on his way to winning the 1999 Open!!

DJ Russell + RAW Design have been working at Downfield recently to improve the course.

Cheers
Ben

[Scott Weersing]

I just remember another one...

Cypress Golf Club in Cypress, CA. It was converted into a Costco after closing in 2004. http://www.playocgolf.com/cypress.htm

Also, "Northwood Golf Center in Irvine and Buena Park Golf Center closed last year."

[Robin_Hiseman]

Thank you again to all contributors.  I'm looking at every link you give me and bookmarking the most relevent ones for the study I am doing.  I just wanted to share with you all the most horrific one so far, which may be a precursor of the future for a fair number of residential golf courses if the industry doesn't recover from the current trough in which we wallow.  Prepare yourself...this will make you gasp!

Courtesy of Jeff Brauer, this is/was The Course at Westland in Jacksonville. 

Before....


and after....!



Don't ever assume that a golf view is forever!

[Lester George]

Mike Hamilton,

I did a Master Plan for Bermuda Hundred in Chester to convert it to an 18 hole facility.  The land to the east was looked at.  I often wonder how hard it would have been to close it if it had been converted to 18 holes.

My Sundance Golf Course in New Braunfels, Texas has been closed and sold off for real estate.  If you look at Google Earth you can still see the old course along with the housing development that is there now.

Scott Weersing,

Are you sure Porky Oliver is closed?  I thought Billy Casper took it over and is runniong it now for the city?

Lester

[Doug Braunsdorf]

http://www.blueheronpines.com/

Developer sold off 18 or 36 holes before the real estate market turned.

Mike,
 
I drive past it 2-3X a week (I live about 15 mins, north of there, now) and there hasn't been any development as of yet-if you google a bit, you could get more news. 

I wonder what it would have cost to keep it open and if daily play would have covered those operation and maintenance expenses rather than just letting it sit fallow for what-4 years now? 

[Steve_ Shaffer]

Ashbourne (1915, Park,Jr.) in the Philly 'burbs is NLE but the owner is presenting plans for development:

http://www.montgomerynews.com/articles/2011/02/21/glenside_news_globe_times_chronicle/news/doc4d6298282eb77276915573.txt

[Doug Wright]

Robin-
According to a recent article (link below) in Denver Business Journal, Green Gables CC, an old Denver-area club, has been sold to developers, and speculation is that it will soon close for redevelopment. May not be strictly what you're looking for, and obviously changes would be still in future, but it might be of interest to you to follow its progress.

http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2011/06/17/green-gables-country-club-sold.html?s=print

FYI Green Gables CC in the Denver suburb of Lakewood has in fact closed and will be redeveloped as housing.  Too bad because it was a nice club--dating back to the 1920s and a home for Paul Runyan for many years--that badly mismanaged its way out of business. The $6 million Art Hills renovation in 2003-2005 was really dumb (not just financially--IMO only one hole was marginally improved, and many were butchered), and the club and its members paid the price. See the quote below from the Colorado Golf Association newsletter. Litigation has, of course, ensued among members and the club regarding divvying up the sale proceeds.

"It was a matter of a couple of things coming together at the same time," Vlosich said. "When they did the renovation they took on some debt, then the economy tanked in '07 and '08. They couldn't at least break even anymore."

[Mark McKeever]

Upper Perk Golf Course here in Southeast PA was abandoned and developed.

Mark

[Bill_McBride]

My Sundance Golf Course in New Braunfels, Texas has been closed and sold off for real estate.  If you look at Google Earth you can still see the old course along with the housing development that is there now.

I have played Keith Foster's The Bandit a couple of times, would love to have played Sundance.  How long has it been gone?