The club outside Greenville, S.C. posted a sign on its clubhouse door announcing that “with sadness and deep regret, we will cease operation on July 1.” The club’s ownership secured zoning for high-density residential zoning for a neighboring 67-acre parcel last year, which it then sold to a developer.
After 57 years in business, the Bonnie Brae Golf Club outside Greenville, S.C. is shutting down, the Greenville News reported..
Club owner Charles Willimon Jr. could not be reached immediately for comment, but a sign posted on the door of the clubhouse on June 19th said the last day to play golf at the course would be June 30.
The sign posted at Bonnie Brae thanked patrons for their business, the News reported.
“It has been our pleasure to serve our members and the public,” the sign said. “With sadness and deep regret, we will cease operation on July 1, 2018. The last day of play will be Saturday, June 30.”
“I can’t believe it,” said Rick Shook, who lives nearby. “I’ve played here for 28 years.”
Rick Shook, who was playing with four friends on the morning of June 19 at Bonnie Brae, told the News that no one at the club had told him what might be replacing the course.
Shook said Bonnie Brae was affordable, with a weekday, 18-hole round of golf with a cart costing $34 there, and $41 on weekends.
“If they put in another golf course, that would be OK,” said fellow player Bob Pollow. “They cut enough trees down around here.”
The course sits on 198 acres zoned for low-density residential land use, the News reported, and public records indicate the Willimon family still owned the property as of June 19, and that no requests to redevelop the property have come up for a vote at county meetings.
Public records show the Willimon family secured high-density residential zoning last year for a neighboring 67-acre wooded parcel, the News reported. They then sold that parcel to Spartanburg, S.C. developer Mark III Properties for $1.6 million in July 2017, and it remains undeveloped.
There are about 300 golf courses across South Carolina, Biff Lathrop, Executive Director of the state’s golf association told the News, and the sport has recovered some since interest dropped off during the economic crash of 2008-2009.
Lathrop said he was surprised to hear that Bonnie Brae was shutting down.
“They’ve been a member of ours forever,” Lathrop said. “The area can always use a public facility golf course.”
Public courses, as opposed to private clubs, are often privately owned but do not require memberships to play, Lathrop said.
“In the last 10 years, we’ve seen kind of an uptick,” Lathrop said. “Participation has come back. A lot of clubs are seeing better numbers and membership. Some of the bigger clubs like the Country Club of Charleston [S.C.] and Greenville Country Club are close to capacity, as far as the number of members they can take.”
The announcement about Bonnie Brae’s closure came the same week that USGA golf pro Jay Haas and his sons, golf instructor Jay Jr. and USGA pro Bill, announced they were leading an investment group that had purchased The Eagle Zone golf training center in Greenville, the News reported. The Haases plan to invest $250,000 in improvements there.
Meanwhile, TopGolf is planning to open a venue in Greenville by summer of 2019.
“People have more discretionary income,” Rick Lucas, director of Clemson University’s professional golf management program, told the News. “They can enjoy more leisure activities like golf.”
“Obviously, the economy is doing a lot better,” Lucas added. “As a result, we have seen a lot of capital investment in golf.”
A busy public course can expect 35,000 to 40,000 rounds of golf annually, Lucas told the News.
“So we are looking at revenue of $1.6 million to $2 million for a fairly active course,” he said. “Maybe after capital expenditures, you are looking at $200,000 or $250,000 net.”
A course owner must make a business decision, Lucas said, comparing potential revenue of a sale of his or her land, including any restrictions to its development, against the annual revenue he or she can make from selling it. Another option, if the owner does not want to run a course anymore, is to lease it to a new management group.
“If a developer can re-purpose that land, it may be an incentive to sell,” he said.
For the News’ full report, go to https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/money/2018/06/19/after-57-years-greenvilles-bonnie-brae-golf-course-shut-down/714061002/
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