Inexperienced Family Buys a Golf Course

[bkuehn1952]

We bought a golf course

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Stacey Sumners and her family have discovered many things about turf, business, life, people and themselves since acquiring a 107-acre Michigan property.

An interesting little article.  I am pretty sure I will never find my way to Dowagiac, MI, to play their course but one never knows.  I suspect many of us have briefly fantasized about owning a golf course.  I know I have but I also always knew running a golf operation was not fun & games.  They picked a good time to own a course in Michigan because after March, 2020, the business of golf has been booming.

[iacas]

The pictures didn't make it look like much of a place you'd want to visit. I realize that most of them were from the early years, but still… yow.

I don't need awesome conditions, but you need a base level of reasonable conditions.

[Bucki1968]

I think that course used to be called something else...I believe that I played there back in the late 90's?

[mcanadiens]

The riskiness of it all makes my wallet hurt, but it is good that people still chase their dreams.

From what I've heard, it sounds like we got a couple of similar resurrection efforts here in my area. Two courses that have been shut down for the last three or four years are supposed to re-open next spring. 

Going to make an effort to venture off the home course and pay them a visit. 

[chspeed]

Near my in-laws in Great Barrington, MA, there was a public course that finally closed a few years ago. They kept trying to sell the course (I think it was on the market for $1.5M-$2M) and then just closed down from lack of business. I heard  a solar developer bought the land but it's still just covered with weeds. I miss that place.

This course in MI is less than an hour from a friend's summer place on Lake Michigan. Maybe I'll check it out next time I'm out there.