Founders Group International said the Myrtle Beach property will close in December—despite being profitable—to make way for a housing development. The golf course is currently zoned SF6, which allows for single-family homes with minimum lot sizes of 6,000 sq. ft. – the equivalent of about seven homes per acre. Residents of developments around the course have organized protests against development stating concerns that include potential flooding, traffic, stress on emergency personnel, and loss of green space and wildlife habitat.
Indian Wells Golf Club in Garden City, S.C. is expected to close in late December in advance of an anticipated housing development being built on the 150-acre property, The Sun News out of Myrtle Beach reported. The layout will be the first of the 22 courses purchased in the past five years by the China-based company Founders Group International to close – despite turning a profit – and be redeveloped.
In a letter to Grand Strand golf package providers, FGI president Steve Mays said the course will close and be sold, The Sun News reported.
“Indian Wells Golf Club has been a profitable member of the Founders Group International family for the last five years, but we’ve made the decision to close the course near the end of December of 2019,” FGI said in a statement to The Sun News. “Indian Wells was zoned for residential development many years prior to FGI taking ownership, making this decision the next step for a property that has long been earmarked for a different purpose.”
Indian Wells is zoned for housing, and a vote on a request to rezone for a specific housing project has been deferred by Horry County Council, The Sun News reported.
The 6,624-yard, par-72 Gene Hamm design opened in 1984, and it was part of FGI’s first golf-related purchase on the Grand Strand as one of three courses bought for about $11 million in September 2014 from Classic Golf Group, The Sun News reported. The sale also included Founders Club at Pawleys Island and Burning Ridge Golf Club. C+RB reported on the purchase at the time.
The golf course is currently zoned SF6, which allows for single-family homes with minimum lot sizes of 6,000 sq. ft. – the equivalent of about seven homes per acre, The Sun News reported. Potential developers are seeking a rezoning to MRD2, a zoning code that allows for single-family and multifamily houses, with additional commercial zoning. Under MRD2, fewer homes could be built compared to SF6.
Previously, Horry County Planning Director David Schwerd said the benefit of MRD zoning was it locks in the plans, which must include sidewalks and other internal enhancements, The Sun News reported.
The MRD2 proposal allows for 520 total units – 253 single family and 267 townhouse – and was the second submitted to the county by the Thomas & Hutton engineering firm on behalf of the potential developer, The Sun News reported. The first, submitted in December, featured a housing development with 512 total housing units – 255 single-family and 257 townhomes.
Residents of developments around the course, which include the Woodlake Village 55-and-older adult community that consists of 448 mostly single-family homes with a few duplexes, Sweetwater at Indian Wells, and The Villas, have organized protests against development on the Garden City Connector and at county planning commission and council meetings, The Sun News reported. Their concerns include potential flooding, traffic, stress on emergency personnel and loss of green space and wildlife habitat.
“We are not against development, but we are for responsible development, which is why we started the coalition we have … and putting more than 500 houses out there is not responsible development,” said Kathy Jellison, a Woodlake Village resident and president of the recently formed Coalition for Responsible Development in Horry County. “I think it’s a FEMA disaster waiting to happen.”
FGI declined comment on the Indian Wells closing aside from its statement, The Sun News reported. The company has made significant renovations to six of its courses over the past two years, and no other FGI courses have proposals submitted for redevelopment.
“The closing of Indian Wells is a business decision that will further strengthen FGI’s golf operations,” the statement read. “… Our commitment to the golf industry and helping Myrtle Beach build on its reputation as the Golf Capital of the World is stronger than ever.”
FGI said it will maintain the course to a high standard until the closing and will offer all employees in good standing jobs at other FGI properties, The Sun News reported.
FGI-owned courses in Horry County include: Aberdeen Country Club, Burning Ridge Golf Club, Colonial Charters Golf Club, Grande Dunes Resort Course, Indian Wells Golf Club, International World Tour Golf Links, Long Bay Club, Myrtlewood Palmetto, Myrtlewood PineHills, Myrtle Beach National West, Myrtle Beach National SouthCreek, Myrtle Beach National King’s North, Pine Lakes Country Club, River Hills Golf & Country Club, and Wild Wing Plantation.
FGI-owned courses in neighboring Georgetown County include: TPC Myrtle Beach (parts in both counties), Founders Club at Pawleys Island, Litchfield Country Club, Pawleys Plantation, River Club, Tradition Club, and Willbrook Plantation.
The Indian Wells announcement comes at a time when many college students are attending classes to prepare them for careers in the golf industry.
The Grand Strand is the “golfing capital of the world,” which is why it is no surprise the PGA Golf Management Program at Coastal Carolina University is one of the premier programs in the country, WDPE out of Myrtle Beach reported. There are about 250 students enrolled in the PGA Management Program and officials say changes to the curriculum are keeping the program alive.
“Our program continues to evolve and grow and change every year to reflect the industry and the technology our kids need to be successful out there in the world of golf,” said Program Director, and former PGA of America President, Will Mann.
CCU is one of only 18 golf management programs in the country and Mann told WDPE closing golf courses is just part of the business.
“You have properties around the country, here in Myrtle Beach and elsewhere, that maybe are not reaching their rounds played they’d like to have and or that’s the high and best use of their property. They could return a greater value to the owner,” said Mann.
The National Golf Foundation reports an estimated 800 golf courses have closed within the last decade.
“We talk to our students about the state of the industry and its something that we’ve seen throughout the country,” said Mann.
That is why Mann says the golf industry is changing and those at CCU have to change with it, WDPE reported.
“We talk to them about the fact that it’s a business dynamic. A golf course is a business just like any other business and all business goes through flows, ups and downs, so you have to have a strategic plan, an exit plan many times,” Man said. “How am I going to exit out of this business this golf course?”
As the curriculum evolves, Mann told WDPE so do the programs’ partnerships in the golfing capital.
“The Myrtle Beach Golf Course owners association has been a great strategic partner to our program and to our university,” said Mann.
The unique thing about the program is that most students are business majors and will leave with a business degree, as well, WDPE reported. Myrtle Beach Golf reports that since 1998 there have been 22 courses closed and the loss of over two-thousand golf industry jobs.
Tell Us What You Think!
You must be logged in to post a comment.