The owners of the 18-hole public golf course in Plain Township, Ohio, said the facility was never profitable and is facing increased staffing issues and significant capital investment because of aging equipment. McKinley Development Co., a partnership of DeHoff Development Co. and Lemmon Development, acquired the course in 2001 when it purchased the land from the Paul Weber family. “Although we tried our best to make it work, it was no longer sustainable,” says Bill Lemmon, one of the course’s owners.

The owners of the Sanctuary Golf Club in Plain Township, Ohio, announced Aug. 1 that the course will close in October, the Canton Repository reported.

McKinley Development Co., a partnership of DeHoff Development Co. and Lemmon Development, said the 18-hole public golf course was never profitable and is facing increased staffing issues and significant capital investment because of aging equipment, the Canton Repository reported.

“The economics of running a golf course has changed dramatically over these last several years,” Bill Lemmon, one of the course’s owners, said in a prepared statement. “Although we tried our best to make it work, it was no longer sustainable.”

McKinley Development acquired the Sanctuary, formally known as the Bob-O-Link Course, in 2001 when it purchased the land from the Paul Weber family, the Canton Repository reported.

The south golf course, purchased a few years later, was developed into a mixed-use residential development for single-family homes, villa homes and multifamily units.

According to Stark County property records, the golf course today is slightly more than 142 acres.

Lemmon came up with the name change to The Sanctuary when the north course was reconfigured in 2003 and 2004, the Canton Repository reported. The name alludes to a back-to-nature feel of wetlands on the back nine.

The plan is to maintain the course through the 2023 golf season, then close the course permanently in October, the company said.

Employees at the Sanctuary Golf Club said they were told the club would close on Oct. 15, the Canton Repository reported.

The Sanctuary will be one of several golf courses that have closed in recent years in Stark County. Others include Skyland Pines, Edgewood, Seven Hills and Tam O’Shanter.