Killearn Country Club has closed its nine-hole North course for redevelopment, with plans to use the proceeds to revitalize the rest of the 50-year-old property. Capital City Country Club is returning to private status, after going semiprivate under Integrity Golf in January 2015.
Two golf properties in Tallahassee, Fla., have made big changes in 2016. Killearn Country Club has closed its nine-hole North course for redevelopment, and Capital City Country Club has returned to private status, the Tallahassee Democrat reported.
At Killearn Country Club, proceeds from the sale of the nine holes will be used to revitalize the rest of the 50-year-old course. The move has been met with concern by some locals, but owner Barton Tuck is pleased with the current direction of the course. Last week, he sent out a letter detailing the North course closure and assured club members it would lead to improvements for the course and clubhouse, the Democrat reported.
“You may recall back in October, I stated that we would create a new covenant in the event we closed the North course,” Tuck said in the letter to members. “On January 11, 2016, the North course officially closed and true to my word we filed the new covenant last week.
“I hope you will be pleased to know that in the new covenant we pushed back the closure date of the course from 2021 to 2061—Killearn’s golfing future is secured. The covenant went farther though and it requires us to reinvest all sales proceeds from any sale of the North property back into the club.”
Barry Moline, a longtime member of the club, said the letter was a step in the right direction in terms of opening communication between the owner and the club’s members. In previous years, he said, Tuck’s transparency was lacking, which led to frustration among members, the Democrat reported.
Moline said the club has “deteriorated” over the years, and he is eager to see the improvement plans. “I was delighted to see that letter,” he said. “Now we’re building some bridges and (Tuck is) achieving a higher level of trust. It’ll be nice to see what he has planned for the future of the club.”
But not everyone is pleased. Some who live on the North course property are upset by Tuck’s decision, the Democrat reported.
“I feel heartbroken,” said Claire Duchemin, a local attorney who won an injunction in December of 2014 that delayed the closing of the North course. “I feel sorry for everyone like me who bought a house on a golf course only to discover the owner doesn’t care.”
Earlier this month, Capital City Country Club—now owned by Orlando-based Integrity Golf Co.—went back to being a private club, switching from the semiprivate status Integrity established when it took over the club in January 2015, the Democrat reported.
“It’s a privilege for our company to be associated with Capital City’s committed membership and this one-of-a-kind property,” Integrity Golf President/CEO Gene Garrote said. “Now that the club has been restored to its rightful place, we’re even more excited about the future of this historic property and committed to making Capital City one of the most desirable clubs in the South.”
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