Golf Courses on Small Parcels of Land

[PCCraig]

Many smaller courses (including at least one mentioned above) are struggling with boundary issues.  Fairways are too close to the property lines and balls out of bounds are now causing legal troubles and court-mandated design changes, such as shortening par-4 holes to par-3's and putting up 100-foot fences along the property line. 


I love to see courses where playing areas overlap to save space, but I fear that many such places are doomed in the longer term because of legal troubles.  All it takes is one adverse neighbor in the wrong spot, and holes like 7 or 8 at Merion are toast.

Interesting. Our course is located right in the City of St. Paul and is bounded by decently busy roads on all 4 sides of the course. Perhaps because there are no homes directly on the course, but to my knowledge there hasn't been any time when the city has been worried about safety. I've seen people skull a bunker shot over a green and 1-hop it into a city bus...the bus driver gave us a smile and a thumbs up as he went by   


There is one neighbor who is not pleased that he has to look out from his home and see the club's maintenance dump across the street, but that's about it.

[David Amarnek]

In St. Louis, we have two courses, both of which are over 100 years old, which are on quite small properties.
Westborough Country Club is 5,751 yards long at a par of 68 on 73 acres.
Algonquin Golf Club is 6,222 yards long at a par of 71 on 93 acres.
Both were originally Bendelow designs.

[D_Malley]

The Everglades Club in Palm Beach
Par 70
85 acres and includes range

[Bill Crane]

SPRINGDALE G C - Princeton, NJ:   Using the same tool mentioned earlier, I came up with 108.75 acres for the golf course alone and not the land that the current clubhouse and range are located on.   Surprised that it is even that much.


By the way, the club was founded in 1895 (separate from Princeton University) and the founders put together 280 acres of land,  including the course - that they gave to Princeton University who is still our landlord. 


MUCH MORE on our Landlord relationship in the near future.


From a GCA perspective,  many have noted our relationship to Hugh Wilson who played his college golf at PU and joined our Green Committee when the course was moved from it's original site. The Wilson connection also led us to Wm Flynn who re-designed the course in 1927.

[Tim Martin]

Many smaller courses (including at least one mentioned above) are struggling with boundary issues.  Fairways are too close to the property lines and balls out of bounds are now causing legal troubles and court-mandated design changes, such as shortening par-4 holes to par-3's and putting up 100-foot fences along the property line. 


I love to see courses where playing areas overlap to save space, but I fear that many such places are doomed in the longer term because of legal troubles.  All it takes is one adverse neighbor in the wrong spot, and holes like 7 or 8 at Merion are toast.

Speaking of Merion their West course sits on a fairly small parcel and wonder if anyone has that statistic? Considering that the East course sits on only 126 acres and feels like it dwarfs the West in scale I am curious.

[Adam_Messix]

Cherokee Country Club in Knoxville is on something like 89 acres.  It is a Ross design that is really good.  The 12th is one of the most difficult par 3s I have seen. 

[Garland Bayley]

Many smaller courses (including at least one mentioned above) are struggling with boundary issues.  Fairways are too close to the property lines and balls out of bounds are now causing legal troubles and court-mandated design changes, such as shortening par-4 holes to par-3's and putting up 100-foot fences along the property line. 


I love to see courses where playing areas overlap to save space, but I fear that many such places are doomed in the longer term because of legal troubles.  All it takes is one adverse neighbor in the wrong spot, and holes like 7 or 8 at Merion are toast.

Speaking of Merion their West course sits on a fairly small parcel and wonder if anyone has that statistic? Considering that the East course sits on only 126 acres and feels like it dwarfs the West in scale I am curious.

I believe Merion has about 90 acres for the golf course. At first I thought it had the same acreage as my home course, but then found the measurement was for golf course only at Merion, as opposed to all property at my course.

[Thomas Dai]

In the UK I believe Stourbridge is on a very small acreage. I think I recall Adrian mentioning the small acreage of his Stranahan course.
Shame the ball goes so far these days.

Atb

[MJohnson]

Stourbridge covers 93 acres, I think. It was the course in the UK with the longest yardage on the smallest acreage at one time - according to the Guiness Book of Records.


I live 5 minutes walk from the course and when empty, it is a great course to play. Unfortunately, when busy, the many crossing holes cause danger and slow play.

[Mike_Clayton]

Royal Perth in Australia is on,I think 78 acres. It's tiny, jammed together, yet a quite decent course.

[Thomas Dai]

Stourbridge covers 93 acres, I think. It was the course in the UK with the longest yardage on the smallest acreage at one time - according to the Guiness Book of Records.
I live 5 minutes walk from the course and when empty, it is a great course to play. Unfortunately, when busy, the many crossing holes cause danger and slow play.

Irrespective of the acreage, there's lots to like at Stourbridge -http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,59608.msg1405079.html#msg1405079 - whether any records show it or not, I still reckon there's some MacK' there. If not the Dr then maybe Charles or site foreman who worked on the other local MacK' courses, eg Worcester/Boughton and/or The Worcestershire/Malvern.
Atb

[Phil McDade]

Two of the best in the Madison WI area are on very tight quarters:


The ultra-quirky Blackhawk, with some Tillinghast, is on about 99 acres:


http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,41775.msg887718.html#msg887718


Maple Bluff, on the other side of town, and a lesson in tight golfing corridors, sits on 100-105 acres at most:


http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,49270.msg1114016.html#msg1114016