Tag: Course Closure

Coastal North Carolina golf course closed, future plans uncertain

Members, nearby residents left in the dark after North Carolina golf course closes.

A Brunswick County, North Carolina, golf course has closed following rumors of a developer interested in buying the course.

With a sign on the door stating the course is permanently closed and no trespassing signs scattered throughout the property, Carolina Shores Golf and Country Club in Calabash has shut its doors, possibly for good.

Asked if there are plans to sell the golf course or reopen it, property owner Philippe Bureau said no.

The 18-hole championship golf course designed by Tom Jackson opened in 1974. A driving range, pro shop, bar and grill and practice greens are also on the 156-acre property. Bureau was the director of golf at Ocean Ridge Plantation from 2005 to 2008 before taking over Carolina Shores Golf and Country Club in 2011.

Tax records list Lune De La Maison LLC as the owner of the course. Lune De La Maison LLC in May 2018 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy through the Eastern District of North Carolina Wilmington Division. Bureau confirmed he is the owner of Lune De La Maison LLC and said neither he, nor the LLC, has filed for bankruptcy following the course closure.

There have been rumors of Bureau selling the property to a developer to build houses. However, Bureau did not confirm the rumor nor say he plans to sell the property.

Carolina Shores Town Administrator Chad Hicks said the town, as of Nov. 19, has not received any proposed plans for the 156-acre property.

“It’s zoned Conservation Recreation District,” Hicks said.

The Conservation Recreation District, per the towns code of ordinances, is intended to preserve Carolina Shores’ open space areas and protect natural resources.

“Large lot zoning for single-family residential development is conditionally allowed as an effective way to preserve natural and community open space resources,” the code states.

Golf club members and Carolina Shores residents Don Olivero and Dennis Breen said they are still club members, despite the course being abandoned.

Existing members usually receive a member renewal letter in September, but no renewal letters were sent out this year, Olivero said. Members would pay early for their membership, he added, noting the membership would run January to January.

Both Breen and Olivero said Bureau has not reached out to current members about the club closure nor refunds.

On Nov. 21, Bureau said he has not reached out to existing members and that he does not plan to. Asked if he would like to make a comment to club members, he said no.

In October 2023, Bureau told the Wilmingston StarNews the course received a lot of local support, especially from the residents inside the club, and that the greens were in good shape earlier that year.

The greens may have grown well, but the business did not.

Breen said Bureau dropped prices to attract more customers around a year ago, noting he became a member – like other residents – to support Bureau and keep the course open.

The community effort to help failed.

“It’s unfortunate. … Nobody wants to hurt Phillipe and his wife, everybody likes them,” Breen said.

Olivero and Carolina Shores resident Rich Gagliano said the golf course and club have not been fully functional and upkept since they moved to the area.

Many members joined other golf clubs shortly after hearing about the Carolina Shores golf course closing, Gagliano said.

Gagliano, who played his last round of golf 10 days prior to closing, said the men’s bathroom in the golf club had several maintenance issues that were left unfixed.

Olivero moved into a house abutting the course five years ago. He has performed routine maintenance and added beautification where the course meets his backyard.

“From the day I moved in, I always kept up the property where he didn’t,” he said.

Bureau and golfers would notice the yard work, compliment the area and thank him for keeping the section clean and nice looking, Olivero said.

Now that the course is closed and no trespassing signs are posted, Olivero said Bureau has told him not to step foot on the golf course unless he wants to be arrested.

Bureau, in response, said people who step onto the property will be breaking the law by trespassing. He claimed he never threatened to have a resident arrested if they trespassed.

Olivero said his biggest concern is the portion behind his home becoming overgrown and welcoming unwanted animals and pests.

The closing of the course and club may have been posted on a sign and on the club’s website, but residents say Bureau is not wanting to talk about the future of the course.

“Nobody knows what is going on with this whole thing,” said Breen.

Breen and Olivero said they would like to keep the golf course alive for the community and that many residents would be willing to help.

Changing the course from 18 holes to nine and installing a neighborhood park would also be supported, Breen said.

Bureau added he has no plans to open up any other businesses.

Residents were stunned to hear a Kentucky golf course inside a state park might close

The course is in danger of being shuttered, something residents in the area were surprised to hear.

Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park Golf Course is located inside the state park of the same name about 90 minutes northwest of Nashville in a remote and wooded part of Kentucky.

The golf course’s original nine was designed by prolific architect Larry Packard, who had a hand in some 600 different courses during his career. A second nine was added in 2003 and winds along a small valley that carves through wooded hills.

But the course is in danger of being shuttered, something residents in the area were surprised to hear when a local politician mentioned it on a rural Kentucky radio talk show.

More: Golfweek’s list of the best public, private golf courses in KY

According to a story at the Madisonville (Ky.) Messenger, Christian County Judge-Executive Jerry Gilliam said the state is considering closing the course, noting that maintenance costs per round played average somewhere near $100.

“Here is what Commissioner Russ Meyer informed us: ‘Pennyrile Forest State Park’s golf course is the most costly course to maintain while it generates the least amount of revenue,’ ” Gilliam said. “ ‘With the significantly lower rounds of play, it simply is cost prohibitive to keep in operation.’ ”

According to a story at WEHT in Henderson, the decision has yet to be made, but losses are mounting.

A spokesperson with the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet explains since the golf course was built in a floodplain, it suffers from significant damage during rain events, washing out the cart path, damaging bridges and causing other damage, leading to long closures and expensive repairs to make the course safe and playable. With these challenges, the course is the least played and lowest quality among the Kentucky State Parks golf courses, requiring at least $2 to $3 million to be brought up to standards, yet persistent issues would remain.

Cabinet officials say Parks officials have not made a final decision on the Pennyrile golf course, and all options are being explored. Commissioner Meyer told local leaders he wanted to continue talking to them about future options and opportunities. Kentucky State Parks says it remains dedicated to its mission of making Kentucky’s parks a vibrant and welcoming space for all to enjoy.

According to officials, of the 5,862 “stay and play” rounds of golf played at all Kentucky state park courses in the 2023 fiscal year, just 13 of those were at Pennyrile. The golf course has just one full-time employee who, if the course were closed, would be moved into a similar role at the state park or another park course. The course brings in the least revenue and has the highest cost per round among the Kentucky Department of Parks courses.

Public New York golf course formerly on Air Force base slated to close at season’s end

The owner wasn’t prepared to close the course, but the county made him an offer.

A golf course in the Central New York region that was originally built for officers and civilian employees is slated to close at season’s end, according to a recent report.

Mohawk Glen Golf Course in Rome, New York, was built as a nine-hole course for those assigned to Griffiss Air Force Base, but once the base closed in 1995, a local owner maintained the property.

Now, according to a story in the Rome Daily Sentinel, the course will be permanently closed at the end of the season. Owner Michael DeSalvio said Oneida County will purchase the land.

The county and Mohawk Valley EDGE have been working in the area after receiving a $23 million grant in March to transform the nearby Triangle Site to be more industry-friendly.

“We’ll be open for the rest of the season,” DeSalvio said, usually closing when snow starts falling. He noted that he will not be selling Delta Knolls Golf Center on Elmer Hill Road.

When the base was still open, play was heavy on the par-36 track. During its operational years, Griffiss was its own community.

The base had barracks, its own church and numerous amenities that made it completely self-contained.

“It was a city within a city,” said state Senate Deputy Minority Leader Joseph Griffo, who served as Rome’s mayor from 1992 to 2003. “It had every amenity. Every amenity you would have in a city, it was there.”

So when Griffiss Air Base closed in 1995, it took approximately 8,000 jobs and 10,000 people with it, Griffo said. Suddenly, the “city within a city” now had a big question mark hanging over its future.

But because of the spark in commerce, the region has become attractive again, meaning the land had added value.

DeSalvio told the Sentinel he hadn’t planned on closing the golf course for another few years, but the county approached him with the offer.

“I was thinking I would go a little longer,” DeSalvio told the paper. “It’s been really good here.”

This Pennsylvania golf club (designed by Tillinghast) could be closed four years if purchase goes through

“(The members) weren’t surprised but they weren’t happy about it.”

Erie Golf Club likely will be closed for at least a year, and perhaps as long as four years, if the highest bidder for the Millcreek Township-owned golf course follows through with the purchase.

Club staff have already notified members and leagues about the possible closure, said Dale Stuhlmiller, who currently operates the course on a lease from the township.

“They weren’t surprised but they weren’t happy about it,” said Stuhlmiller, whose five-year lease expires later this year. “Many of the members have been playing here for 30 years or longer.”

On July 23, Millcreek Township supervisors awarded a bid for the purchase of the 175-acre property at 6050 Old Zuck Road to the Charles R. Van Eekeren Revocable Trust for $1,311,000.

Eekeren, who didn’t respond Wednesday afternoon to a message seeking his comment, has told township officials that he wants to return the course to the way it was in 1921 when celebrated golf course architect A.W. Tillinghast designed it.

That would entail moving or redesigning at least six holes, Stuhlmiller said.

“In 2025, there likely won’t be any golfing at Erie Golf Club,” said Jim Bock, Millcreek Township supervisor. “It could be longer.”

More: The best public-access and private golf courses in Pennsylvania, ranked

Golf course sale currently under due diligence

The sale to Eekeren’s trust isn’t complete. It remains under a 60-day due diligence period until late September for Eekeren to investigate property title matters and the condition of buildings, facilities and systems, and to survey the property and conduct a wetlands assessment.

“I know that Eekeren has taken soil samples, likely from the No. 2 fairway, which is where the city dump was located,” Bock said.

Once due diligence is completed, and if Eekeren still wants to buy the course, then the sale must be approved by the Erie County Orphans’ Court.

Erie Golf Club’s proximity is one reason why it is popular

Though there are about 20 public and private golf courses in Erie County, only a couple of them are located as close to the county’s population hub of the city of Erie and Millcreek.

“That was one of the things that made me interested in leasing Erie Golf Club five years ago,” Stuhlmiller said. “One was the course itself, but also how close it was to Erie. These members and leagues are going to have to drive farther away next year to play.”

Despite being one of the world’s richest nations per capita, this country just lost its last public 18-hole golf course

Even a COVID boost wasn’t enough to keep the facility open.

Singapore is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, ranking third on this 2018 USA Today list of highest nations per capita GDPs, a list led by oil-rich Qatar.

And with more than five million people and a wealthy standard of living, you’d expect golf to be among the nation’s pastimes, right?

Not so fast.

Fewer than a dozen private golf clubs remain, and as of July 1, Singapore is without an 18-hole public golf course as Marina Bay Golf Course has permanently closed.

According to a story from Bloomberg, even a COVID boost wasn’t enough to keep the facility open as land in the region continues to climb in value.

“Golf was never a factor to be in Singapore,” said Mohit Sagar, an expatriate from India who works for a content platform. Despite that, the golfer who has been playing in the city state for 16 years expressed regret at the closure of the Marina Bay site. “You can play golf in Singapore, but you won’t get this backdrop ever again.”

The Phil Jacobs-designed course won numerous awards, with a signature par-3 island hole and a rare, par-6 hole that challenged experts and duffers alike. It offered night golf, giving players relief from the year-round tropical heat. The government announced in 2014 that it would not be renewing the club’s lease when it expired in 2024.

Golfers flocked to the course during the pandemic, when much of the city-state was shut down. They could enjoy a round, followed by spicy Char Kway Teow noodles and espresso martinis while taking in the skyline from its elevated open-air restaurant. Golfers played up to 10,000 rounds a month at the peak, up from 7,800 pre-Covid. Demand was so great that players had to log on to the website at midnight to snag a tee-time when new slots became available.

“It’s obviously disappointing, but unsurprising because ever since I arrived, I’d known it would be closing,” said Tom Hawker, an expatriate who has lived in Singapore for over a decade. The 44-year-old business consultant was getting a last game of golf on Saturday at the course which he frequented once a week during the pandemic.

Marina Bay Golf Course in Singapore closed on June 30, 2024. (Photo courtesy of Marina Bay Golf Club)

Although an executive 9-hole course remains in the north part of the region, the options for playing golf have become extremely expensive. For example, Sentosa Golf Club has 36 holes, but membership starts at more than $350,000. The course was the host site for the 2024 LIV Golf Singapore event won by Brooks Koepka.

And for those coming in from outside the country, memberships can run closer to $1 million, according to Bloomberg.

While foreigners can join the private clubs, a limited supply of memberships will drive up prices, said Singolf owner Lee Lee Langdale.

“It’s well-known in Singapore that land, especially golf courses, will be taken by the government to build other facilities in demand,” said Langdale, who doesn’t think this will make Singapore any less attractive for foreigners. “Most expats don’t have much time to play golf anyway.”

Many of those who do want to continue playing are choosing to go overseas for a game, she said.

“The easy option is to go away,” said Hawker, the British expat, whose visits to Marina Bay Golf Course dwindled to once a month lately as he opted to play more rounds abroad. “I’m nowhere near justifying the cost of a private club.”

Photographer says adieu to Ohio golf course before auction with radiant photo gallery

“I thought maybe you could bring back some great memories … since it will now most likely be housing parcels.”

LAKE TOWNSHIP, Ohio − This week’s auction of the former Seven Hills Country Club is stirring a last ripple of remorse in the requiem for a golf course.

In theory, the winning bid can come from someone wishing to reopen Seven Hills as a golf course.

However, numerous conversations with people tied to the local golf industry yield a clear consensus: When Seven Hills abruptly closed in the fall of 2022, it was finished for golf purposes in an era of local course closings.

The Sanctuary in Plain Township was the latest to cease operations.

As for Seven Hills, Mike Criswell has resigned himself to the “sorry to see it go” group.

Criswell graduated from Perry High School in 1982 and has traveled in his adult life, working in Australia and Louisville, Kentucky. He resettled in Stark County and played in a league at Seven Hills for 20 years until it closed.

Years ago, he befriended the Gran family, which operated Seven Hills for most of its 50-plus years. The course lasted less than three seasons after the Grans sold it in 2020.

In 2014, Criswell, an avid photographer, asked the Grans to turn him loose with a golf cart and a camera. He embarked in a morning mist, ahead of early bird customers.

More: Golfweek’s Best top public and private courses in Ohio

His resulting pictures, dormant until now, capture the essence of why Seven Hills spent decades as a local and regional favorite.

“I was in a Thursday night league with my partner, Craig Yoder, who helped build Seven Hills when he was growing up,” Criswell said. “He passed away last December after a fight with cancer. I miss the place and I miss my partner. I am still in the the original league, the Sylvester’s league, which is at Sable Creek now after Seven Hills shuttered the gates.

“The photographs sat on my hard drive, which is a shame, because the place was beautiful … pristine. I thought maybe you could bring back some great memories around Stark County, since it will now most likely be housing parcels.”

One of Criswell’s favorite holes was No. 15, dissected by a creek adorned with a covered bridge.

“I dream of going to Augusta,” he said. “When I framed this I was thinking of the morning shots I have seen there.”

The most striking “water hole” might be the par 4 No. 17.

“The view speaks for itself,” he said.

The former Seven Hills Country Club, which closed at the end of the 2022 season, is up for auction this week. The 18-hole course just outside Hartville was once considered one of the premier courses in Stark County.
Countless golfers who deposited a ball in a greenside pond may recognize Criswell’s shot of No. 1.

“It was a great par 5,” he said.

His picture of No. 17, with mist rising, strikes a ghostly chord as the course goes to auction.

The heyday of Seven Hills lasted a long time.

A review by Chris Racic on 3jackalmanac.com — the same year as Criswell’s photo shoot — captured some of the spirit.

An excerpt: “Tell me Seven Hills is your favorite golf course and I’ll compliment you for having good taste. Tell me it’s the best public course in the area and I would have a hard time picking one that’s better.”

The land is tucked on a tract a few miles southeast of the center of Hartville.

The auction, operated by Kaufman Realty & Auctions of Sugarcreek, will be conducted Friday and Saturday. It will include a house that wasn’t part of the golf course, maintenance equipment and the land that used to be 18 golf holes.

An auction of maintenance equipment and other items at The Sanctuary was conducted last month.

Reach Steve at steve.doerschuk@cantonrep.com.

Residents working against development of closed Florida golf course that could become housing

Plans currently show 800 new homes, including apartments and townhomes, would be built at the site.

TITUSVILLE, Fla. – Hundreds of residents in the North Brevard County neighborhoods around the defunct Sherwood Golf Course are working to stop the development of 800 homes on the property.

Many of those who live in the neighborhoods off Carpenter Road near Mims have said traffic, environmental and home value concerns have motivated them to stop the disused golf course from being rezoned for multifamily residential.

Plans currently show 800 new homes, including apartments and townhomes, would be built at the site, creating further concerns over property values based on the proximity to the golf course.

Sherwood Golf Course opened in the 1960s and was facing bankruptcy five decades later before ultimately falling into complete disuse in recent years. The roughly 100-acre course at 4335 London Town Road, in an unincorporated area west of Titusville, was last sold for around $1 million in 2018. At that time, the course had been in an ongoing process of being restored before closing completely.

Sherwood is far from the only golf course in the county to face financial woes over the last several years. One course in Cocoa was turned into a 224-home subdivision beginning in 2016.

Tom Erdman, a resident of the area for over 30 years, is among those leading the charge against the development.

He has organized multiple community meetings over the past year, hoping to stop the rezoning or at least mitigate the scope of the hundreds of homes planned for the golf course, including starting the website SaveSherwood.com.

One of the primary apprehensions among residents revolves around the potential impact on local infrastructure, with flooding being a key fear, especially after Hurricane Ian left many residential streets in the areas around the golf course completely inundated.

Golfweek’s Best: Top public and private courses in Florida

“What are we going to do when we get flooding and the developers are gone?” Erdman said. “These guys will make millions and we get screwed.”

Erdman estimates that an overwhelming majority of homeowners in the neighborhoods surrounding the golf course are against the project. Earlier this year, he was able to gather 600 signatures opposing the project as it is currently designed. Also, community meetings on the issue regularly draw more than 100 people, he said.

Developers with the Ballarena Group, the firm hoping to develop the land, did not return a request for comment. District 1 County Commissioner Rita Pritchett, who represents the area, also did not return a request for comment.

County planning staff have said they are still reviewing the developer’s “latest submittal.”

“At this point, the application is not scheduled for any public hearings,” Planning and Development Director Tad Calkins wrote in an email.

Although no final decision has yet been made, Erdman said he and other residents have not had their concerns abated, especially over traffic. According to plans submitted by the developer, the new housing could nearly double traffic in the area, pushing the current estimated 7,000 daily trips to 13,000 if the new homes are added. Carpenter Road, the two-lane through road that connects the neighborhoods to State Road 46, is going to quickly become clogged, Erdman said.

“This neighborhood isn’t set up for that kind of traffic,” Erdman added.

Homeowners are currently researching what options they might have, he said. “We’re looking into options for the homeowners to maybe buy some of the property. Or some houses could be built while also maintaining some green space.”

Tyler Vazquez is the North Brevard and Brevard County government watchdog reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Vazquez at 321-480-0854 or tvazquez@floridatoday.com

[lawrence-auto-related count=1 tag=451190629]

Firm proposes reopening Augusta-area golf course, but there’s a catch

Plans to revive the course could fall into jeopardy unless its former clubhouse becomes part of the development deal.

Plans to revive the former Jones Creek Golf Club course could fall into jeopardy unless its former clubhouse, under separate ownership, becomes part of the development deal.

The course in Evans’ Jones Creek subdivision closed in September 2018. In 2019 the course’s clubhouse and adjoining parking lot was purchased by homebuilder Mark Herbert’s company MBH Holdings, and the building continued to be rented to a catering business while the course itself, still seeking a new owner, fell into disuse and later foreclosure. The course failed to sell at public auction in October 2020.

Now Herbert is asking Columbia County to change the zoning designation of his property so it can be used only as “event, hospitality and meeting space; restaurant space; and catering space and kitchen.” Under the request, the building could not legally be permitted to operate as a golf clubhouse.

But golf event services company Bond Golf Global has told the Jones Creek HOA about its interest in helping rebuild the 48-year-old course into a “full-scale training facility” to open by September, partnering with veteran golf pro Darren May of golf development company Black Cat Athlete. The plan is to “have Jones Creek in full functionality by the end of 2024” with a reopened golf course, Bond Golf founder Andrew Brooks wrote in a letter to the HOA.

That course, Brooks said, will need a clubhouse.

The clubhouse “is the nucleus of the golf course, providing a natural center and meeting place for golfers and the community, with its parking and storage areas designed for the golf course,” he noted. “It would be very important for the clubhouse to be part of the development plans. If the clubhouse separates and gets rezoning away from the facility, it makes the sale of the golf course and existing plans for the academy very difficult to navigate, thus reducing the potential of a future for Jones Creek golf course.”

Harry Revell, attorney for current course owner Julian Saul, agreed. Many legitimate buyers and “a lot of bottom-feeders” have expressed interest in buying the property over the years but all negotiations had stalled. Bond Global had emerged as a new bright spot, and Saul has been supportive of the company’s work so far in trying to refurbish the Jones Creek golf facilities.

“We were very optimistic we would have a deal but the clubhouse killed it, because without exception everybody who expressed interest in buying the property must have the clubhouse,” Revell said Sunday. “It just will not go without the clubhouse.”

The clubhouse at Jones Creek Golf Club in Augusta, Ga., will not be part of the auction. (Augusta Chronicle file photo)

What are the complications?

Dozens of members of the Jones Creek Homeowners Association filled chambers Sunday afternoon at the Evans Government Complex to learn more about Herbert’s rezoning request and its possible impact on the golf course’s future.

County Manager Scott Johnson, whom the HOA invited to its meeting, told residents it was “almost incumbent” on Herbert as the new property owner to seek rezoning of the property so he can use it how he likes.

Other ownership factors complicate the property. While the golf course has one owner, Saul, and the clubhouse has another owner, Herbert, Jones Creeks’ swimming pool and tennis courts are owned by the HOA. The only access to those amenities is through vaguely defined easements through the private clubhouse property.

“To the best of my knowledge that easement is not defined. That’s a problem, and I’m telling you all this upfront because I feel like that’s a problem for you guys,” Johnson said. “If you really wanted to get down to brass tacks, if MBH Holding said, ‘You cannot trespass on my property to get to the pool or the tennis courts’ and he put up gates, I don’t know there’s a whole lot you could do. You have an easement but it’s not a defined easement. What we really need is a defined easement.”

Tripp Nanney, president of the Jones Creek HOA, said 79% of respondents disapproved of the clubhouse’s proposed rezoning, according to a poll he sent recently to residents. He said he will present those results to members of the Columbia County Planning Commission, who will vote to approve or deny Herbert’s rezoning request Feb. 2, and members of the full Board of Commissioners, who are expected to render final approval or denial on the request Feb. 21.

“I’d like to think our collective voice would make a big difference on that,” Nanney said. “We’ll see.”

Revels said that in his professional dealings with the county, “I’m convinced that commissioners, all of them, want to see a golf course back at Jones Creek.” However, adding his opinion outside of his professional capacity, “if another person buys this property, is successful in getting it rezoned and puts something in there that’s commercially viable, whatever that might be, you will never have a golf course here – ever.”

[listicle id=778293599]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=]

A second golf course in this small Michigan town is being discussed for development

The golf course has been a fixture in the community for more than 30 years.

Developers are teeing up plans to turn another Lyon Township golf course into a subdivision of single-family homes.

A conceptual plan to put 182 single-family homes on the 160-acre Cattails Golf Club site was presented to the Lyon Township Board during its first meeting of 2023.

The golf course at 57737 West 9 Mile Road has been a fixture in the community for more than 30 years. Mario Moscone acquired the property in 1989 and opened Cattails two years later, operating it with brothers Frank and Tony.

Now, with the deaths of both his brothers in the past 14 months, Tony Moscone told the board he is the only one left.

“I’m looking at Cattails moving into the next phase,” Moscone said. “I want to continue with the original plan — to make the property attractive to a variety of folks … Cattails Preserve, or Cove, I’m not sure on the name, will go from golf and recreation to a one-of-a-kind development that will benefit Lyon Township for many years to come.”

Moscone noted the property, which is located on the south side of 9 Mile Road, east of Griswold, is gorgeous. It is also directly across from the Woodlands of Lyon, a planned 103-home development on 120 acres.

Planner Brian Keesey said township officials had expected changes to the Cattails property for at least 10 years, citing the 2012 master plan.

This is not the first housing development proposed to replace an existing golf course in Lyon Township. Last year, developers proposed a 310-home development on the 201-acre Coyote Golf Club property on the east side of Milford Road, north of 12 Mile Road. This was a reduction from a 2019 proposal of a 477-unit development at that location.

“With the anticipation of golf courses getting redeveloped into single-family properties, it’s not a surprise for the township, but what is proposed is 182 single-family homes with lots of 55 and 65 feet,” Keesey said of the Cattails plan.

Cattails Golf Club in Lyon Township has been proposed to be converted into a housing development. (Photo by Susan Bromley/USA Today Network)

While more than half of the land would be preserved as open space in the conceptual plan, the proposed density is more than double what is allowed by ordinance.

“The big question is whether the proposed density is something the township can accommodate,” Keesey said, noting the planning commission has already voiced their objections on this point. “81 units is allowed on density, and 182 homes are proposed.”

Another major sticking point is the distance between homes. The township ordinances require at least 30 feet in sideyard setbacks. The conceptual plan for the Cattails development calls for a minimum of 15 feet between houses.

MKSK Planner Brad Strader told the township board that density for the project had been reduced by eliminating development on the southwest corner of the property and improving the layout. He said allowing a minimum of 15 feet between houses was necessary to keep the open space behind the homes.

“They (homeowners) don’t enjoy side yards, they enjoy the rear yard,” Strader said. “We can’t get open space if there is 30 feet between units.”

He noted e had looked at projects in Novi that had only 10 or 15 feet between units and 25% open space, as well as some developments in West Bloomfield with only 10 feet between buildings.

These were not good selling points to the Lyon Township Board.

Trustee Lise Blades said she cringes when she sees the very narrow setbacks in Novi. She advised the developers to get closer to the 30-foot side yard setback in the township’s planned development requirements, and also closer to the density requirement. Trustee Kristofer Enlow said he was “dead set” against the density as proposed, and both he and Trustee Sean O’Neil referred to a target number of 127 units for density.

“Look at that and meet the setback requirements and you’re on your way to a good development,” Enlow said.

Board members also discussed traffic considerations, including paving of 9 Mile along the frontage of the development, curving a long straightaway entrance into the development to reduce speeding, and a street connection to an adjacent development.

Supervisor John Dolan wrapped up the discussion by telling the developers the biggest hurdle he saw was the distance between buildings.

“It makes it look like alleyways,” he said. “It’s a beautiful golf course, it could be put together very well … but getting to the end result, we need to get to a point where it works for everybody; 160 to 180 homes would be tough to chew. I’m not sure what you can do to drop density, but that is the takeaway, the biggie. Hopefully, that is helpful in moving you forward.”

The board does not take action on conceptual plans. Strader said the dialogue was beneficial and they would return with a plan that addresses all or most of the comments.

A flag on the Cattails Golf Club course on Jan. 4, 2023, could soon be just a memory if a proposed housing development at the site in Lyon Township comes to pass.

Contact reporter Susan Bromley at sbromley@hometownlife.com or 517-281-2412. Follow her on Twitter @SusanBromley10.

[listicle id=778302248]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=]

This 90-year-old Florida golf course that hosted Gene Sarazen and Sam Snead expected to be turned into 1,400 homes

One of Central Florida’s oldest golf courses has been sold to possibly make way for development.

LAKELAND, Florida — One of Central Florida’s oldest golf courses, Wedgewood Golf Course, has been sold to possibly make way for a 1,400-home development, according to a report in the Lakeland Ledger, part of the USA Today Network.

Here’s more from the Ledger:

According to the paper, Mulberry-based SJD Development LLC purchased the 117-acre property for $4.5 million in December from Kanes Golf of Florida, owned by Sun Shin, according to records from the Polk County Property Appraiser’s Office.

Former Polk County Commissioner John Hall and Jonathan Hall, a partner with Ronin Assets, filed a request with the City of Lakeland on April 1 to have nearly 111 acres rezoned under a Planned Unit Development for a residential community. The father-son duo hope to mix single-family homes, townhouses, multifamily apartments and a 150-bed assisted living facility in a project dubbed “Gibson Trails.”

“Many golf courses are no longer profitable to operate as golf courses and in many cases, such as Wedgewood, they are actually losing money. Due to changing market conditions, a great number of golf courses are being repurposes into residential communities,” the developer says in the application.

The request is scheduled to go before Lakeland’s Planning and Zoning Board on May 17. If approved, the course could become home to 16 single-family homes, 204 townhomes and 1,028 multifamily units arrayed in three- and four-story buildings.

Wedgewood was originally known as William L. Hutcheson Golf Course when it was built in January 1931. The original 18-hole, par 73 course was the second to open in Lakeland after Cleveland Heights Golf Course, which is owned by the city.

Hutcheson was president of the carpenters union for 36 years starting in 1915. The union, for carpenters age 65 and older with 30 years’ membership, was one of the largest building-trade unions in the nation.

The Carpenters Home Cemetery still remains on the southeast side of the golf course behind the former 10th hole.

The property has changed hands several times over the years. Its name was changed to Wedgewood Golf Club in 1983 after undergoing a redesign by Lakeland course architect Ron Garl. The course has attracted famous golfers including Gene Sarazen and Sam Snead.

To read more of this story, click here and subscribe to the Lakeland Ledger for more great local journalism from Central Florida.

[listicle id=778098150]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=none image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]