Indiana city buys new golf course, might tweak layout to include housing development

The city is expected to officially close on the course by Oct. 1 but is already under contract to make the purchase.

The city of Westfield is poised to close on the purchase of a new golf course next week and already the course may need to be redesigned in order to accommodate plans for a new housing development.

The development of more than 100 new homes is planned near the City of Westfield’s soon-to-be acquired Wood Wind Golf Club, according to plans presented at a recent city council meeting.

The city announced it had purchased the 147-acre championship golf course, located near 161st Street and Ditch Road, last week. Then city councilors were presented plans for the new residential development on Monday.

Wood Wind Golf Club will be Westfield’s first municipal-owned golf course, although it’s not uncommon for cities to own golf courses in Central Indiana. Indy Parks and Recreation operates 12 public golf courses in Marion County, and Carmel and Noblesville also own golf courses.

“There has been much speculation over the years about whether Wood Wind would remain a golf course with the residential development that has popped up,” Mayor Scott Willis said in a news release announcing the city’s planned purchase. “Since my first day in office, the owner has pitched ideas to develop the course into a high-density housing development. The city purchasing the course ensures that it will remain a community asset for decades to come and the open green space the area offers will be preserved.”

The Downtown Westfield Community Development Corporation will purchase the course for $3.1 million from Westfield Golf Club, LLC. The purchase includes all buildings on the grounds, the clubhouse and party pavilion, and site amenities, including two pickleball courts, golf carts, maintenance equipment, and furnishings.

The city is expected to officially close on the course by Oct. 1 but is already under contract to make the purchase.

“It’s important to note that the course is generating revenue and will continue to do so in the coming years,” Willis said in the news release. “The city will reinvest any profits back into the course for improvements and additional community amenities. It’s important that we have a public golf course available for all residents and our school district teams.”

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

Are public golf courses in Hamilton County profitable?

Carmel bought Brookshire Golf Course for $2.6 million in 2007 to save it from development. The 18-hole golf course is along Cool Creek between 116th and 126th streets west of Gray Road.

Brookshire is not profitable and has been subsidized by Carmel’s general fund in recent years. The golf course is estimated to bring in about $1.7 million in revenue this year, with about $1.9 million in expenses, according to information from the city.

Plus in 2018 Carmel spent $10 million on additions at the course, which included a 20,437-square-foot clubhouse, a 605-square-foot pool house and a new pool.

Noblesville owns Fox Prairie Golf Course, which opened in 1970, and Forest Park Golf Course, built in 1927. Both courses have always been owned by the city.

Before 2020, the city’s budget included a subsidy for golf operations, but since then the courses have been making a profit, according to Noblesville.

The City of Westfield has announced plans to purchase Wood Wind Golf Club, 147-acre championship golf course, for $3.1 million. (Photo: City of Westfield)

Wood Wind Golf Club could undergo redesign due to residential development

If approved by the city, the Woodwind East development would be built east of the Wood Wind Golf Club and north of 161st Street. It would include 186 single-family homes built around three golf course holes.

City Councilor Victor McCarty said he and other city councilors are seeking clarity on how the plans would fit in with the rest of the Wood Wind Golf Club course. It’s possible the course would need to be redesigned to take away three holes from elsewhere on the course, he said.

It’s unclear who would pay for that redesign and what that process would look like.

“It’s new territory and a very unique situation that we are getting into and have to navigate over the next several months,” McCarty said.

Some questions that weren’t brought up at Monday’s council meeting may be answered by developers at a neighborhood meeting planned for Oct. 3 at 6 p.m. at the Wyndham Westfield.

Jon Dartt, another Westfield city councilor, said it will be important for the developer to plan the three golf holes first and then lay out the lots for the homes.

“When you talk about somebody building a golf course, they lay out the golf holes, they lay out everything around it and then they say, ‘where can we put homes on it?’ Dartt said. “I don’t want to do this backwards.”

The Advisory Plan Commission will hold a public hearing on the development on Oct. 7, followed by a workshop on Nov. 18. Then the commission will make a recommendation and send plans back to city council for adoption consideration on Dec. 9.

Contact Jake Allen at jake.allen@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jake_Allen19.

Fire devastates clubhouse at popular Indiana public golf course

When firefighters arrived, the fire was coming through the roof of the building.

GRANGER, Indiana — Several fire departments worked together Monday morning to extinguish a clubhouse fire at Juday Creek Golf Course, which sits minutes from Notre Dame.

The clubhouse’s fire was first reported by a person walking in the area, Clay Township Fire Chief Jaren Killian said. When firefighters arrived, the fire was coming through the roof of the building, he said. An investigation by the Indiana State Fire Marshal is underway.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have any determination on what caused the fire at this point in time,” Killian said.

Firefighters work to extinguish a blaze at Juday Creek Golf Course in Granger on Monday, Aug. 26. (Photo: Michael Clubb/South Bend Tribune/USA Today Network)

Ten fire departments joined to diffuse the fire and prevent spread, including firefighters from Clay, Edwardsburg, Cleveland, Baugo, Mishawaka and South Bend. Firefighters contained the fire in the building, but the newly renovated clubhouse now stands in ruins.

The course was built in 1989.

Golf course general manager Michelle Wittig arrived at the scene at 5:50 a.m., Monday. By 9:30 a.m., firefighters were working at extinguishing the last of the flames.

One firefighter did experience minor injuries, Killian said, and was treated on the scene. No one else was reported injured.

Email Tribune staff writer Camille Sarabia at csarabia@gannett.com.

An Indiana community is fighting to save a golf course as developers plan 600 homes

The course once hosted the state’s highest tournament, the PGA Indiana Open Championship.

CAMBY, Indiana — When Kari Mann sits on her porch in the evening, looking out at the golf course that sits across the street, she finds a sense of peace. Over the course of an hour, only one or two cars passes by.

The golf course, The Links at Heartland Crossing, has long drawn families like Mann’s to the Heartland Crossing neighborhood, a massive 2,500-home development that took shape almost three decades ago. Many kids who live in Heartland Crossing received their first paychecks from part-time work at the golf course, and the Mooresville high school golf team practices on the green.

But a petition to rezone the golf course to residential use could soon change the neighborhood dramatically.

Heartland Crossing sits 16 miles southwest of downtown Indianapolis in Camby, Indiana, a town at the intersection of Marion, Morgan and Hendricks counties. The community is separated into roughly a dozen subsections, with each area home to different style of residences, from starter homes to ranch-style senior living houses. Construction on the newest section finished earlier this year.

In recent years, uncertainty has lingered over the future of the golf course, as numerous developers have approached the current owner, Ron Overton, seeing a large piece of land ripe for development. Overton, 72, bought the golf course in 2018 after a career in manufacturing. It’s the only golf course he owns.

Over the past three years, none of the offers to buy the course materialized into solid enough plans to reach the Morgan County Advisory Plan Commission, which must approve any potential rezoning.

Then in June, Indianapolis-based Gradison Land Development submitted a proposal to rezone the land for residential use before they would buy the land for redevelopment. It’s the first time a rezoning petition for the land was submitted to the county.

More: Golfweek’s Best public-access and private golf courses in Indiana, ranked

Heartland Crossing residents quickly banded together against the petition.

Their top concerns include the density of the proposed development. In a rough plan submitted to the county and provided to Heartland Crossing residents, developers envision building 600 homes on the 200-acre golf course.

On the street where Mann lives, roughly five houses would occupy the same space as Mann’s property on the opposite side, according to the proposal.

“We can’t be complacent,” Mann said. “This is not how it should be done.”

The Links at the Heartland Crossing golf course. (Courtesy photo)

Should development replace green space?

The possibility of rezoning the land has ignited a longstanding debate between developers and homeowners near potential redevelopment: Should residential development replace a neighborhood’s existing green space?

Heartland Crossing resident Brian Wiser said the nearby homeowners recognize the need for growth in Morgan County, particularly along the corridor along Indiana State Road 67. But, Wiser said, the group questioning the golf course sale wants more thought put into how dense any development there should be.

“We aren’t an anti-growth community. We are a controlled growth community,” Wiser said. “It’s not just about saving a golf course. It’s about not losing green space and not overdoing density.”

Gradison Land Development did not respond to messages requesting comment.

The rezoning petition will go before the commission on Sept. 9, after multiple continuances pushed it back from a July meeting. Residents say they are prepared to show up to fight the rezoning.

Overton told IndyStar he would consider selling for redevelopment if a developer receives the proper approval from Morgan County, even if that means the golf course goes with it.

“It’s up to the zoning board,” Overton said. “Someone’s going to look at it and say, ‘What’s the best use of this property.'”

Morgan County Plan Commission officials did not respond to IndyStar requests for comment.

Golf course represents a costly business

The Links at Heartland Crossing opened in 1998 and were designed by Steve Smyers, a well-known golf architect who also designed the former Wolf Run Golf Course in Zionsville. Developers attempted to convert that golf course into residential homes in 2017, but the town of Zionsville rejected the plan, electing to preserve the open space that would later become the Carpenter Nature Preserve.

During the late 1990s and early 2000s, there was a boom in new golf courses around Indiana, with many of those courses built adjacent to residential communities similar to The Links, said Mike David, executive director of the state’s golf association, Indiana Golf.

The Links became known for its course difficulty and layout, David said, drawing in competitive golfers from around the city and once hosting the state’s highest tournament, the PGA Indiana Open Championship.

Due to an abundant supply of golf courses and a lower demand to play, Indiana golfers lost several courses in the early 2000s, David said, but a resurgence of golf during the pandemic brought an increased demand for the sport, as people sought out safe, distanced sports to play.

Still, even with the resurgence of golf during the COVID-19 pandemic, the cost of keeping up a golf course has increased markedly.

Overton said he routinely golfed at The Links once or twice a week when the previous owners approached him in 2018 and asked if he was interested in purchasing the business. The condition of the course was deteriorating, he said, and he agreed to buy the business, thinking he could turn the course around. However, the cost of upkeep proved more costly than he had realized.

He estimates it costs $600,000 annually just to maintain the grounds of Heartland Crossing, and the total cost of operations comes in at nearly $1 million. Overton declined to say how much he bought the course for in 2018.

Around 2021, three years after he acquired the property, Overton said he began receiving unsolicited offers from developers.

Spanning 200 acres, The Links is larger in size than the average 18-hole golf course, which covers roughly 150 acres, Overton said. Due to its large size, it would be possible to develop houses around the green, while keeping the course open. A development company approached Overton with a plan to do so, but the proposal fell through due to rising interest rates and inflation before it got very far.

During that same time period, Overton attempted to find another buyer who would buy the land and maintain the golf course to no avail. Under the current petition, the golf course would be completely bulldozed to make room for houses.

Overton said he understands why homeowners are upset about the possibility of losing the golf course. But regardless of the outcome of next month’s rezoning petition, he is looking to sell the property.

“It’s a business with very thin margins,” Overton said. “At times it’s a fun business, but as a business owner you are trying to be profitable and hire people in the community. That’s just the reality.”

Alysa Guffey covers commercial real estate and growth and development for IndyStar. Contact her at amguffey@gannett.com or on Twitter/X: @AlysaGuffeyNews.

A golf course at this major university is shrinking (again) to make way for new student dorms

The new version will still have nine holes, but will become an executive par 32 course.

As technological improvements to equipment have forced those who organize high-level golf tournaments to push the yardage limits of championship courses, a track at the University of Notre Dame is going through yet another downsizing.

According to a story at The Observer, a student-run publication, a pair of existing dorms are being torn down to make way for two larger buildings. In the process, one of the university’s two golf courses will shrink for the fourth time in its existence.

“At Notre Dame, residential life is an integral part of the undergraduate educational experience. Residence halls allow students to interact with an array of peers, learn from each other, build communities and form lifelong friendships,” University President Rev. John I. Jenkins said in a release. “These new halls, with enhanced community space, will ensure that we are able to provide current and future students with an appropriate living environment in a place they call home.”

The Burke Golf Course, which was originally built as an 18-hole course back in 1929, was shortened when a Knute Rockne Memorial was built in 1939, then became a 9-hole course in 1995 when a series of dorms were added to the campus. At the time of the reduction to nine holes, South Bend Tribune sportswriter and golf columnist John Fineran wrote: “There is no guarantee, of course, that those nine holes will remain for golfers. Future university needs may gobble that land up.”

According to a story on the university’s website, the course also had its share of controversy in its early years.

For the first four decades of The Burke’s existence, it was a men’s-only course … Soon after the course opened in 1929, women at Saint Mary’s College asked to use the new recreational facility. The University Council took up the matter and turned down the request.

The college also has the highly acclaimed Warren Golf Course, which hosted the 2019 U.S. Senior Open, but Burke has been a viable option for students and others in the community looking for an affordable and quicker option.

The new version of Burke will still have nine holes, but will become an executive par 32 course.

Here’s more from the Observer:

Already, the old starting house has been demolished. A mound of dirt along with some tubes have been placed on what was the ninth hole.

According to Marsh, the current Holy Cross Drive will remain open as the new road is constructed to the west, apart from a one or two-day closure early in the summer “to connect the new leg at its north and south ends to the rest of Holy Cross Drive.”

During construction, the practice putting green located adjacent to the Rockne Memorial Gym and Pangborn Hall will be demolished. A new practice green will be built near the new first tee of the course.

The road project will be completed “over the summer,” Marsh explained. The course will then be reopened “once the greenskeepers have determined that the realigned holes are ready for play.”

More: Warren Golf Course among Golfweek’s Best 40 campus courses