Closed Courses You Formerly Played

[gbogey]

I've tried out 14 courses since I moved last summer and 2 just announced that they are closing.  Not crying over either but both were on my list to play more this year.  I wouldn't be surprised to see one or two more go as the courses here seem empty compared to NJ.  Apparently a lot of courses here have deeds restricting alternate uses for a number of years - that might be why a few are still hanging on.  

[FLOG4]

One of my faves that shut down was El Diablo....north of Tampa a bit. It was a very challenging course with like a 145 slope at 6800 yards. But a good story. A Mike Strantz gem that closed 2017 Royal New Kent...was bought and has been restored to as new conditions and is set to open in two months. I am set up to be there at the reopening. 

[gbogey]

Don't know what's going on around here but it was announced that another course is going up for auction in two weeks.  Surprising because this course had a lot of play, at least on weekends, and wasn't one I thought would be endangered.  Does anyone know how many rounds a public course needs to be healthy?  One article I read said that lower fee courses (under $40) are the ones most likely to go out of business.

[Caveman59]

I learned the game on several courses, but at one time my home course was named the Grove City Country Club.  It was a little 9 holes cow track with rock hard greens, a creek, a lake and a pool.  It did have a practice green with a trap.  It later changed ownership, name and expanded to 18 holes called Brookhaven.  Which I never played the new 9.  But it has since closed and Mount Carmel Hospital is there now.  Had a lot of fun there and some really good memories.

[3jacker]

Sugarloaf Mountain in Clermont, FL.  It was a Coore & Crenshaw design.  Undulating, great scenery, excellent layout and design.  Built in the middle of nowhere a little too far from the Orlando metro area and went under 5 or more years ago.  It was my favorite nearby course, too.  

[Herkimer]

On 9/19/2018 at 8:32 AM, Archie Bunker said:

Many years ago, I played a course called Cutter Sound outside of Stuart, Florida that was designed by Gary Player. Loved the design, but the developer eventually went bankrupt and the course was abandoned for a couple of years. Another developer took over and had Chi Chi Rodriguez come in and re-design the course. Chi Chi took the back nine and reversed most of the holes. That's right - you teed off where the greens used to be and you played to a green where the tees were. No modification to the land, so it was very, very weird to play this familiar course "backwards". But a lot of fun! Imagine your home course if you had to play it "backwards". Kind of interesting!

I loved Cutter Sound.  Is the revamped course still there.  If so, what is the name?

This is the most depressing thread I have ever seen.  Many courses in South Florida have closed or are closing and it's very upsetting.  And to see a deserted course can bring a tear to your eye I swear.

[Double Mocha Man]

A double whammy.  The first course I ever played as a kid has been turned into a mall.  And the course in Hawaii where I scored my only hole-in-one is now condominiums.  

[tehuti]

Back in the 80s and 90s when I was still in the Navy Reserves I really liked playing the course at the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station. It wasn’t a great course, but it was fun and challenging. It was pre-9/11 so getting civilian guests on base was not difficult and green fees were dirt cheap. I lost a lot of balls on the back nine, where the course paralleled part of the runway. And my civilian buddies were always willing to play there. If you played after 12 noon it was usually pretty wide open, especially on the back nine.

[iggywriter]

The City of Detroit courses always seem near death; but recently, Palmer Park was finally shutdown. I played it twice during its last season and both experiences were terrible. The course needed so much work that playing it seemed next to impossible! The back nine had been flooded and closed for at least three years before the city shut it down for good.

two of the three remaining courses in the city are jems; Rackham is where I first broke 100 and where I’ve shot my lowest round. But, given the lack of investment by the city in the courses, I’m afraid it’ll be gone one day soon.

Edited April 2, 2019 by iggywriter

[tehuti]

A couple of little 9 hole courses in Orange County, CA whose names I forgot. The one I really miss is the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station course. I was a Navy reservist in the late 80s and early 90s and I played there a lot. Since it was pre 9/11 I had no problem getting my civilian buddies on base and the rates were ridiculously low. Not the prettiest track, but challenging. On Saturday afternoons in the summer it was fairly wide open. No crowds.

[AmenCorner]

On 5/20/2018 at 5:31 PM, iSank said:

 

Saddest of all are the empty fairways of The Experience at Koele on Lanai. I usually play Cavendish every morning when on Lanai and sometimes I walk back across the quiet Koele course. Played that course the morning before my wedding. Really enjoyed that course. 

Aloha,

iSank

Oh shoot man. The Experience closed? Greg Norman course if I recall. That place was really neat. I didn't get to play but did go up to check out that hole with the huge drop. I believe that was #16? Biggest drop I've ever seen from a tee to fairway. 

That being said, it was a bit of an anomaly. Being up in the hills of Lanai with no Ocean in sight. Shame that it closed. 

On 3/9/2019 at 4:04 PM, Herkimer said:

I loved Cutter Sound.  Is the revamped course still there.  If so, what is the name?

This is the most depressing thread I have ever seen.  Many courses in South Florida have closed or are closing and it's very upsetting.  And to see a deserted course can bring a tear to your eye I swear.

Course I learned to play at, American Golf Club. Driving range, pitch and putt, and executive all gone. Also, Oak Tree in Tamarac. Great course, underrated, and difficult. Unfortunately got caught up in the great recession. Was going to be a part of a Four Seasons development that never happened. 

Polo Trace in Delray getting carved up too. Front 9 there was special. 

[iSank]

2 hours ago, AmenCorner said:

Oh shoot man. The Experience closed? Greg Norman course if I recall. That place was really neat. I didn't get to play but did go up to check out that hole with the huge drop. I believe that was #16? Biggest drop I've ever seen from a tee to fairway. 

That being said, it was a bit of an anomaly. Being up in the hills of Lanai with no Ocean in sight. Shame that it closed. 

There’s still some hope, I was just over there and did my usual walk back, and it looks like the course is getting some attention. It’s getting mowed and sprinklers have been set up. Now that the Manele Hotel is finished I saw scaffolding around the Lodge. 

The 17th was a riot to tee off from, as a par 4 once you hit the ball you swear your going over the green and then it would start dropping ending up 100+ short. All the stone carvings for each hole are by the parking at Cavendish. 

[Herkimer]

7 hours ago, AmenCorner said:

Oh shoot man. The Experience closed? Greg Norman course if I recall. That place was really neat. I didn't get to play but did go up to check out that hole with the huge drop. I believe that was #16? Biggest drop I've ever seen from a tee to fairway. 

That being said, it was a bit of an anomaly. Being up in the hills of Lanai with no Ocean in sight. Shame that it closed. 

Course I learned to play at, American Golf Club. Driving range, pitch and putt, and executive all gone. Also, Oak Tree in Tamarac. Great course, underrated, and difficult. Unfortunately got caught up in the great recession. Was going to be a part of a Four Seasons development that never happened. 

Polo Trace in Delray getting carved up too. Front 9 there was special. 

I played Polo Trace many times. Great course.  I was shocked when I heard that they closed. Very depressing, as I mentioned.  

[bwdial]

The two courses that I cut my teeth on as a new golfer have both closed.

Hall of Fame Golf Course in Tampa, Florida was rumored to be on the chopping block for decades, but it soldiered on into the early 1990s.  It was no Augusta National, but it had a variety of holes to keep things interesting.  Its big par fives were in the 560-plus range, but it also had one that measured less than 500 yards.  It was also cheap, and usually wide open, which was really pleasant for a beginner.  Sadly, the push to build a mall - roughly two miles from another mall - finally killed it off.

Harry Pritchett Golf Course was the University of Alabama's golf course, and I spent many days there during college - many of which should have been spent in actual classes - learning the game.  It was closed in November of 2003 because it was unable to suffer the loss of revenue from me being kicked out of school in the mid-1990s, and turned into a running course for the cross country team.

[bwdial]

Well... I'm apparently the Grim Reaper of golf courses, because three more have bitten the dust.

The Hooch was an executive course that, admittedly was overpriced, but still provided a place to play when everywhere else was packed.  It had a nice little mix of holes, and I regret not having played there more.

Next door to The Hooch was a place I frequented a lot, the Peachtree Golf Center.  It was a Par-Three course that had holes ranging from a little over 100, to 190 yards, and it really let you work on your iron play.  It was also cheap, and it was lit, so that you could play it after dark.

I only got to play Lanier Golf Club once, but I really enjoyed it.  It was designed by Joe Lee, and was a really neat old school course.

All of them are gone... gone to the bulldozers of the developers to build more houses in the Atlanta area.

[tehuti]

El Toro GC on the former Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, CA was a favorite of mine. The base and the course are now long gone.

There was a little executive course in San Diego on the Navy Recruit station that is probably gone. I haven’t been there since the 1990s.

[David in FL]

1 hour ago, tehuti said:

El Toro GC on the former Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, CA was a favorite of mine. The base and the course are now long gone.

 

Come on!   El Toro was a miserable little dog track.  Second only to 29 Palms as the worst course in all of the U.S. military.  

[tehuti]

45 minutes ago, David in FL said:

Come on!   El Toro was a miserable little dog track.  Second only to 29 Palms as the worst course in all of the U.S. military.  

I liked playing there so....