The 16-year-old course in Tallahassee, Fla. was once named one of the top 35 new courses in the U.S., but has suffered from neglect in recent years. A group of 23 local investors purchased the course for around $1 million and the club is now trying to attract new members after restructuring membership levels with incentives.

 

For many golfers, watching the demise of the Southwood Golf Club in Tallahassee, Fla. golf course was sad, the Tallahassee Democrat reported. Once named one of the top 35 new courses in America by Golf Magazine, the 16-year-old course has seen better days.

But now a group of 23 local investors, who purchased the course July 20 for around $1 million, are determined to return this once-proud layout into a premier facility for Tallahassee and the region, the Democrat reported.

“I have always enjoyed playing out there, because it has been a great course,” Don Foulke, 65, a former golfer at Tallahassee’s Godby High School and among the local investors, told the Democrat.

“It had a lot of synergy and money was being put into it and it did well,” Foulke added. “A lot of us felt like it was a crown jewel in the area. But most definitely the last three or four years the course hasn’t been shown any love.”

The 18-hole course was originally owned by the St. Joe Company and built in 2002, the Democrat reported. Designed by Fred Couples and Gene Bates, the par-72, 7,172 course is built among rolling hills and oak trees and was once described as “a celebrated layout.”

Janine Thomas, Southwood’s Membership Director, told the Democrat that the current staff and new management team are working together to attract new members to the club.

Current membership levels have been restructured with incentives, Thomas said, to encourage members to “to help us succeed in making Southwood the premier golf course it once was not all that long ago.”

The new management has also started a wide sweeping cosmetic renovation of the facilities and course, Thomas said. “We are grateful with the current members for their excitement and loyalty about the new changes and helping us through our progress,” she said.

The feedback has been very positive on the club’s new ownership, Thomas added.

Local dentist Chip Chaney, a successful dentist and avid golfer, is the group’s principal owner, the Democrat reported.

Foulke is excited about the course’s potential, believing it’s a good investment in the local community. The club also hopes to see an upswing of golfers on the course with the upcoming closing of the Don Veller Seminole Golf Course on August 13th for a redesign that will keep that course closed through September of 2019 (http://clubandresortbusiness.com/2018/07/don-veller-seminole-gc-club-close-8m-renovation/).

“There’s a whole group of us who play the game, love the game and love the course,” Foulke said of Southwood. “We want to see it prosper and be a jewel for the community.”