Henry Luken, who owns and operates several other clubs in the Chattanooga, Tenn. area, closed the Harrison, Tenn. course, claiming that the Eagle Bluff homeowners association was devaluing the property by attempting to thwart any sale to a developer. The homeowners, who claim that the golf course must be reserved for recreational use, say they…
Poor Conditions at Maple Moor GC Blamed On Premature Opening After Renovation
(Photo by John Meore/The Journal News) The $5.5 million project at the White Plains, N.Y. course sought to improve longtime drainage issues while installing a new irrigation system, upgrading cart paths and renovating bunkers and select tee boxes. The course was opened on July 4 to try to take advantage of the holiday weekend, but…
Trump’s Bronx Course Loses Money for First Time in Four Years
(Photo by Norman Y. Logo, New York Daily News) After posting profits of about $500,000 a year since opening in 2015, Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point reported a loss of $122,000 for the operating year that ended in March 2019. The Trump Organization blamed the loss on the city of New York, for installing…
Demise of Private Club Industry Is Greatly Exaggerated
“The Death of The Country Club” made no mention, of course, of how many properties, including some that are 100-plus years old, continue to find fresh ways to reassert their relevance and reenergize both their memberships and their staffs.
Franklin Hills CC Opens “Subterranean” Golf Training Facility, Renovated Pro Shop
The 92-year-old Franklin, Mich. club created the new year-round training facility under its driving-range tee box, to avoid distruptions to its historic natural grounds. Design features for both the training center and the renovated pro shop include the use of materials that match the club’s Albert Kahn-designed, English Tudor-style clubhouse.
Brookstone Park Selects Troon
The Derry, N.H. facility includes a wedding and events center, 9-hole, par-3 daily-fee golf course, fully lit golf practice facility and 18-hole miniature golf course. The 25,000-sq. ft. event center is one of southern New Hampshire’s most popular wedding sites and private-event facilities, featuring both indoor and outdoor venues.
Wanaki GC to Close After 2019 Season
Waukesha County (Wis.) has decided to close the 49-year-old Menomonee Falls property, which it says has been losing an average of $100,000 annually, in the hopes of providing a revenue boost for the county’s other two courses. County executives are open to private ownership of Wanaki, which they say could offer a better chance of…
Halifax (Va.) CC Adds Pickleball
With tennis participation dwindling at the club, one of three tennis courts has been resurfaced and turned into two pickleball courts. The club, which is not aware of any other courts in Halifax County, has held two pickleball outings to help introduce the sport to members, and reports that it has heard from prospective members…
Michael Jordan’s Grove GC Begins to Take Shape
(AP Photo/Julie Jacobson) Aerial images now show the rough outline of an 18-hole course, bunkers and areas for water hazards on the property on Florida’s Treasure Coast. Developers are now expected to seek permission for four golf cottages that weren’t part of the original site plan.
Brookside CC Looks to Add Non-Member Homeowners Through Monthly Fee
(Photo by Calixtro Romias, The Record) The Stockton, Calif. club is hoping for approval of an upcoming vote that would assess all homeowners behind the gates of the community, where currently only 30 percent are members, with a $50 monthly fee that would go directly to the club, raising an additional $560,000 a year. In…
Investigative Report Prompts Curbing of “Encouragement” to Hit Balls into Lake Michigan
(Photo of Arcadia Bluffs 12th hole by Mandi Wright and Junfu Han, Detroit Free Press) After being alerted to language on the website of Arcadia Bluffs GC that told golfers to first “launch a ball” into the lake “on purpose” when playing its 12th hole, the Detroit Free Press commissioned a diver and reported that hundreds…
Valley Hill CC Files Suit Over Damaged Greens
The Huntsville, Ala. club’s filing claims that a large majority of the greens on its three nine-hole courses were damaged beyond repair and will need to be replaced, after a contractor hired to manage its irrigation ponds sprayed the course with a chemical clearly labeled for non-irrigated vegetation only. The club says it has had…
Development of Fountains CC Moves Forward
Approval was granted by county commissioners for development of 318 apartments on the 63-acre site that was used for nine holes of the northern golf course of the Lake Worth, Fla. property, before those holes were closed a year ago. The other nine holes of that course remain open, along with a separate 18-hole course.…
After Taking Up Golf at Age 55, He Now Owns Wildfire GC
(Photo of Karen and Tim Messerschmidt by Chris Crook, Zanesville (Ohio) Times Recorder) Tim Messerschmidt didn’t have time for golf while running his excavation/construction company for 40 years. But then he took up the game and liked it so much, he made an on-the-spot offer to buy the New Concord, Ohio club four years ago,…
New Wisconsin Course Investigated for Environmental Permit Violations
The state’s Department of Natural Resources has issued citations to the Prestwick Group, which is building the new Club at Lac La Belle course in Oconomowoc, Wis., for failing to submit required erosion-control plans and use best practices to prevent stormwater from flowing from construction sites into nearby Lake Lac La Belle. The village of…