“It’s in dire need of an upgrade … We have a jewel here that has kind of been underserved the last 15 to 20 years.”
NASHVILLE — Brandt Snedeker pointed out Thursday that Shelby Golf Course, where he often played as a youth, is the least-played course in the Metro Parks system in this Tennessee city. But that might not be the case much longer.
Snedeker, a nine-time PGA Tour winner and the 2012 FedEx Cup champion, attended a media event at the golf course Thursday where Nashville Mayor John Cooper announced a $2 million renovation project that will begin at Shelby and VinnyLinks, also located in Shelby Park, in March.
The upgrades slated for Shelby include combining the winter and summer greens into one green complex on each hole; expansion of the practice putting green at the clubhouse to more than five times its current size; new irrigation; replacing and expanding six tee boxes; and work on the cart path.
The main scope at VinnyLinks will be an improvement of all nine tee boxes and tree work.
The renovations coincide with Shelby Golf Course’s 100th anniversary in 2024.
“Being a Nashvillian, I grew up playing golf courses around here but Shelby is where I spent most of my time,” Snedeker said. “My dad would play here every day with the old chief of police Joe Casey. They had a 12 o’clock standing tee time and I’d come out here when I was 16, 17, 18 years old and play. It was awesome getting to spend time playing golf with my dad and to have this momentous day where we’re doing a redo of this course with Metro Parks wanting to bring it back to the way it was designed is a really special moment.”
Snedeker, who estimated he has played thousands of rounds at Shelby, also mentioned how unique the 18-hole course is with its location so close to downtown.
“The access that this course can provide to a lot of Nashvillians that have not been traditional golfers is huge,” he said. “But it’s in dire need of an upgrade . . . We have a jewel here that has kind of been underserved the last 15 to 20 years.”
Shelby, a 6,079-yard, par-72 course, has long been the least-played municipal golf course of the seven in the Metro Parks system. It had more than 39,000 nine-hole rounds played in the past fiscal year, compared to McCabe, which had the most at more than 122,000.
Whit Turnbow, president of the Tennessee Golf Foundation, which will oversee the renovations executed by architect Bruce Hepner and Hepner Golf Design LLC, expects the average rounds per year to double or even triple after the improvements. The foundation has a guarantee on cost overruns that might occur with the project.
Cooper said the improvements are part of those that began three years ago after a tornado caused severe damage to homes and businesses in East Nashville.
“The homes and businesses that have been rebuilt have been substantially repaired but now this is the last link to the tornado damage,” Cooper said. “The $2 million for the project is funded, it’s ready to go and work is going to start in March.”
Hepner recently finished similar renovations at Percy Warner Golf Course.
“What we’re trying to do here is upgrade the facility,” Hepner said. “It’s the least-played golf course (in Metro) and it might be because of conditions, it might be because we still have the old winter/summer greens. So we’re trying to improve the playing characteristics of the golf course so we can get this community involved here in playing golf.”
The renovations are expected to take a year to complete. Turnbow said Cooper, who is a golfer, would be invited back to tee off on the first hole when the project is done.
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X, formerly Twitter @MikeOrganWriter.
A once-beloved municipal golf course in Stockton, California, finally has a direct path to becoming a working greenspace thanks to a plan approved recently by the city’s common council.
Van Buskirk Golf Course in south Stockton has been closed since before the pandemic, and a plan to bring the space back to a park was given full approval, even though it will take some time to implement. The course was shuttered when the city’s lease with a former operator expired in 2019, is located between Houston Avenue and the levees of the San Joaquin River and French Camp Slough.
The golf course, a longtime staple in the south Stockton community, was open to the public for six decades before it closed in 2019. This classic Larry Norstrom design was built in 1960. The 214-acre property has sat behind a chain-link fence since the Van Buskirk family decided to give it to the city, provided it was only used for recreation.
A multiple-acre grass fire rages at the former Van Buskirk golf course in south Stockton. The 214-acre property has been idle since 2019 when the city shuttered the course. Photo: Clifford Oto/Stockton Record/USA Today Network
In a unanimous vote at last week’s Stockton City Council meeting, council members approved a master plan to bring a 192-acre park to the site of the former municipal golf course.
City officials have planned for the site’s redevelopment, but several fires have ripped through the property, including a multi-acre grass fire in June. Now, it’s seeing a new chance at life.
“This is such a phenomenal opportunity and once it’s complete, I think it’s going to be one of the marquee parts of the area, if not the region,” said Steve Noll, a representative of Design Workshop, the firm hired to design the park.
The master plan comes after several community meetings where Stocktonians had the opportunity to view the proposed design of the park and provide their feedback. A preliminary master plan design was approved by council in January.
The master plan approved Tuesday includes an “adventure playground,” an event lawn, a BMX track and bike trail, a community garden, disc golf, a golf academy, a dog park, a skate park, splash pads, basketball and pickleball courts, as well as areas that can serve as potential flood control space. However, Noll said the master plan is an “evolving document” and is meant to be used as a framework plan for staff to secure funding.
“We can update it,” Noll said. “There’s opportunities if (ideas) come up in the future.”
District 4 Councilwoman Susan Lenz said she felt the city did a “very, very good job” of getting public input on the design of the park. According to a city report, there were six stakeholder meetings, two online surveys, 110 survey responses, nine staff meetings, and four in-person meetings with the community.
“Most of the people, I have to say, at a couple of meetings in the beginning, they were very happy that it was going to be this multi-use park with different things for children, different things for adults,” Lenz said. “I think it’s a good plan. I hope we can find the funding to do this.”
Vice Mayor Kimberly Warmsley said that she and council lobbied for federal funding during the San Joaquin One Voice trip to Washington D.C. in May. On the same trip, she and Mayor Kevin Lincoln met with the Biden Administration to discuss the project, according to the vice mayor.
“We have worked with our federal lobbyists time and time again. Every single year, we have been to D.C. for this Van Buskirk project,” Warmsley said. “I don’t want anyone in this audience or anyone who is listening to think this city is not putting this park as a priority. We are knocking, we are begging, we are pleading, we are taking people out for tacos … we’re trying to get this project funded.”
Milford Hospitality Group (MHG) has entered lease negotiations with the National Park Service (NPS) to operate the historic Cliff Park Inn & Golf Course in Dingman Township, Pike County, within Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (DEWA).
The course has plenty of historic value as it is believed to be the first in the United States to be commissioned by a woman. Annie R. Buchanan was a widow who oversaw the building of the golf course at Cliff Park at the turn of the 20th Century. The farm fields at the old Buchanan homestead weren’t productive, so Buchanan hired golfer Frank Hyatt to turn her fields into fairways. In 1928, according to her grandson Harry Buchanan, Annie took a trip to China, alone. “She was not a woman to be pushed around,” Buchanan said.
In the early 1900s, when silent film companies visited Milford to make movies, the rugged cliffs in the area overlooking the Delaware River were used for scenes.
MHG plans to maintain a public golf course for all to enjoy the benefits and beauty of Cliff Park, restore and reopen the inn and restaurant, and offer other unspecified public amenities. The project, done in phases, is expected to create approximately 45 temporary full-time jobs during construction and once fully operational, provide around 25 full-time jobs at the resort.
The inn has been vacant since 2012 while the nine-hole golf course has continued to be operated by another lessee, whose lease expires this fall. The resort is accessed from Milford Road (SR 2001).
In January, the NPS issued a request for proposals for leases to take the entire property, including the golf course, inn, restaurant and other outlying buildings on the 54-acre site. According to MHG, the inn is dilapidated, and the golf course needs improvements and upgrades.
MHG hopes to become the operator of the golf course. Its plans are also to renovate and reopen the inn, restaurant, banquet center, pro shop and other outlying buildings.
“We are honored to have been chosen for this unique opportunity, which aligns perfectly with our mission to provide world-class entertainment experiences in Historic Milford, PA,” said William Rosado, president and owner of Milford Hospitality Group. “We look forward to engaging in fruitful negotiations with the National Park Service and are committed to complying with all NPS leasing regulations throughout the process.”
According to the NPS DEWA, there was an attempt in 2012 to lease the property, but there were no bidders then. “Without occupants the maintenance backlog accrued more quickly,” the NPS states. “There are nearly 700 other buildings at the park, 285 of which are historic, which compete for limited maintenance, funding, and staffing resources.”
In 2022, approximately 3,000 rounds of golf were played at Cliff Park.
A view from the tee box of hole No. 2 at Cliff Park Inn and Golf Course in Milford. Photo: POCONO RECORD
NPS purchased the Cliff Park Inn & Golf Course, and approximately 500 acres, in 2003 to protect the property from development.
About 60 years ago, Harry Buchanan, the former Cliff Park owner, made a promise to make it part of Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. If the property had been sold and developed for housing, the public would have lost access to the trails, the inn, and the golf course forever, the NPS states.
MHG is the owner and operator of historic inns, hotels, restaurants, bars, and event venues throughout Milford. This includes three hotels, Tom Quick Inn, Hotel Fauchère and La Posad; and six restaurants, Tom Quick Inn, Jive Bar & Lounge, Bar Louis, The Delmonico Room, La Posada & Felix’s Cantina, and Apple Valley Restaurant.
“MHG looks forward to continuing a close and cooperative relationship with the NPS throughout this process and under the potential new lease agreement,” the group’s press release states.
This trophy was given to the winner for a year from 1928 to 1976. It recently resurfaced.
ROCKFORD, Illinois — Nearly three feet tall. Four tiers. Dozens of engraved silver nameplates record each winner through the decades. Five silver figures adorn the sides and top.
They don’t hand out golf trophies like this anymore.
“One of the most interesting things about it is it is old school,” said TJ Baker, who made it the “top priority” in his trophy case after winning his second consecutive Greater Rockford Men’s Classic last year. “That’s why it’s great.”
The most interesting thing of all about the Men’s City traveling trophy is it was missing for over a decade. Robert Dofflemyer III, who won this third title in 11 years in the 96-year-old tournament last week, never knew the trophy existed.
“It’s very unique,” Dofflemyer said. “I don’t remember seeing it before. I do like the women’s trophy. Obviously, I’ve seen that one.”
That’s because his mother, Hui Chong Dofflemyer, and his wife, the former Melissa VanSistine, both proudly displayed the equally large and ornate women’s trophy in their homes as two-time winners of the 98-year-old Women’s City.
But few golfers knew the men had their own traveling trophy, to go along with a smaller one given out each year for the winner to keep forever.
The trophy resurfaced thanks to tournament coordinator John Rabideau. He asked Jamie Hogan, who holds a record nine Men’s City titles if the men had a traveling trophy similar to the women. Hogan said he thought so, but didn’t know where it was.
The Rockford Men’s City traveling golf trophy was lost for over a decade before being re-discovered and handed out again in 2022. Photo: Matt Trowbridge/Peoria Journal Star
“I don’t think anyone knew,” Rabideau said.
But Rabideau knew where to look.
“I figured if it was stored anywhere it would be somewhere in the Webbs Norman building,” Rabideau said of the Rockford Park District headquarters. “I found it in the basement. It was just sitting there on a table.
“It just needed to be cleaned up a bit. The plates weren’t looking good. The wood was scruffy. I took all the plates off and polished them up. It needed to be sanded, buffed, shined, etc.”
And added to. The trophy is a living testament to Men’s City history, with a nameplate for every winner since 1977. With the trophy not updated in the last several years, Rabideau had to ask around to learn who to make new nameplates for over the last several years.
Then, shortly after he presented the restored trophy to TJ Baker 11 months ago, he found another Men’s City trophy.
WREX TV sponsored the current trophy, starting in 1977. The original traveling trophy was sponsored by The Rockford Register-Republic, a forerunner of the Rockford Register Star, and presented from 1928 through 1976.
Mike Johnson won his third of four Men’s City titles in 1976. He kept the old trophy in his basement until he gave it back to the Park District last year, shortly after the other trophy was re-discovered. It is now displayed next to the fireplace at Sandy Hollow Golf Course.
“I didn’t know there was another one before this one,” Rabideau said. “Mike offered it up out of the blue.”
It is a much smaller trophy than the current traveling award, but once again is very old school and includes a record of past winners.
“I picked it up a month ago, took it apart, polished it up and put it back together,” Rabideau said. “ We had to re-attach the statue on top because it was welded with lead or some other odd thing that doesn’t work well anymore, so we had to drive a stake through it. It is now repaired and looks pretty good.
“It required more polishing than the current traveling trophy because it was older. It may not look nearly as nice, but it’s polished up as well as it can be.”
Contact: mtrowbridge@rrstar.com, @matttrowbridge or 815-987-1383. Matt Trowbridge has covered sports for the Rockford Register Star for over 30 years, after previous stints in North Dakota, Delaware, Vermont and Iowa City.
YORKTOWN, N.Y. – The overwhelming Lower Hudson Valley floods brought tragedy and destruction, but for plain old frustration look to this town.
On July 8, golfers, families and officials reveled at the grand opening of a town-owned, par-3 golf course with a DJ and ribbon-cutting. Returning a course to the property had been eyed for more than a decade.
By evening of July 9, the course was submerged in the deluge.
“The golf course was completely flooded with water,” Town Supervisor Tom Diana said.
The 9-hole Links at Valley Fields course in the Shrub Oak hamlet, in the town’s north end, shut down that Monday. Diana said on Tuesday that a good amount of water had receded from the course.
On Thursday, the course reopened.
The clubhouse was spared flooding or damage. But the pro shop did get some flooding and various equipment such as golf carts and grounds-keeping equipment were affected.
Chris Munoz, a partner in the team that operates the facility, said on Tuesday that a lot of manpower was working at the site, “trying to save everything as much as possible.” He said the crew was doing everything to clear out the water. He expressed hope the course could open by the weekend, which it did.
“Even if we open, still we’re still going to have repairs going on, but we’d like to get the public back on our course as soon as possible,” Munoz said.
A September 2018 article on the United States Golf Association website said one key is to get excessive water out, quickly.
“When submersed for long periods, grass is deprived of oxygen and begins to die,” the article said, adding that the situations can be worse if it’s salt water – not the situation in well-inland Yorktown. “Beyond the damage caused by floodwater, deposits of silt, rock and debris can prevent routine maintenance and can take weeks or even months to clear.”
A view of the newly opened The Links at Valley Fields in Shrub Oak, July 8, 2023. Town officials celebrated Yorktown’s golf course grand reopening with an all day event after being closed for years. Photo: Mark Vergari/The Journal News
Yorktown and a host of other localities in Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, and Orange counties, as well as their residents, may well apply for disaster relief to help offset some of the repair costs. The governor declared states of emergency in those counties, a step toward seeking Federal Emergency Management Agency help or reimbursement. Towns and residents must assess what’s damaged and its value. For towns, experts need to assess structural integrity of things such as bridges and roads.
Diana said the town has a number of things along those lines to consider seeking assistance for, such as badly-damaged culverts.
Financial costs the flooding may have foisted on the golf course weren’t known. Munoz said “we really don’t know at this point” and “we’re just assessing at this point as well.”
On July 8, roughly 24 hours before record rains fell in some places, Diana used a giant pair of scissors to cut the red ribbon at the grand opening. Adults and children stood to either side as he proclaimed, “open for business.”
“We are so excited that, after so many years, this group has opened this place in 14 weeks,” Diana said, asking for a round of applause. “Fourteen weeks, after waiting more than 10 years, to have this jewel in the town of Yorktown today.”
The golf course, off Taconic State Parkway and bordered by Route 6 and Lee Boulevard, has a restaurant/bar, an outside dining area with a pergola, and provides golf carts for mobility-impaired people. Part-way through the course, there’s a spot to get cold drinks and there’s a fire pit. Plans are for people to book tee times online. It’s nine holes for $40. People can also take golf lessons, with the website showing a half-hour session for $75, an hour for $100, and a package of five half-hour lessons for $350.
Under a five-year agreement, Yorktown Golf Group, which will operate the facility, will pay yearly to the town, starting at $78,000 and rising annually.
“It’s really a beautiful course; these guys did a wonderful job,” Diana said, adding that it’s perhaps one of only two such public 9-hole courses in Westchester.
But creating the golf course spanned years, on and off. And a legal battle launched last year over it continues in state court.
In 2014, the town and RC Recreation Development, a limited liability company, notched an agreement. RC Recreation Development would bring the course to life and operate it, the restaurant and clubhouse for 10 years, then turn it over to the town. The company’s operating license was extended to 2028.
But after what town officials asserted were delays in getting the project closer to a finish line, the Town Board last year voted to end the agreement. Later that year, the board asked for proposals from others and selected Yorktown Golf Group.
RC Recreation Development last year sued several town officials. RC Recreation Development has also filed a suit naming as defendants the company operating the course and its partners.
RC has said it put more than $8 million into development including renovating greens and code upgrades, the Journal News reported. RC has said delays were due to the pandemic, supply-chain issues and bug infestations.
On June 15, a state judge dismissed seven of the suit’s claims. The suit is moving forward on the remaining claims.
Michael McKinney covers growth and development for The Journal News/lohud.com and the USA Today Network.
STOCKTON, California — A fire burned at the shuttered Van Buskirk Golf Course in south Stockton Friday afternoon.
Around 2 p.m., local firefighters battled the grass fire near the Van Buskirk Community Center, across the street from Conway Homes.
Smoke plumes could be seen for miles — as far as Lathrop — as fire crews worked to get the blaze under control. It’s unclear how many acres the blaze has consumed.
The former municipal golf course, which was closed four years ago, is located between Houston Avenue and the levees of the San Joaquin River and French Camp Slough.
A multiple-acre grass fire rages at the former Van Buskirk golf course in south Stockton. The 214-acre property has been idle since 2019 when the city shuttered the course. Photo: Clifford Oto/Stockton Record/USA Today Network
A grass fire previously burned the area in June 2022.
The golf course, a longtime staple in the south Stockton community, was open to the public for six decades before it closed in 2019. This classic Larry Norstrom design was built in 1960. The 214-acre property has sat behind a chain-link fence since the Van Buskirk family decided to give it to the city, provided it’s only used for recreation.
After years of planning and community meetings to discuss the reimagining of Van Buskirk Park, Stockton City Council approved a master plan for the property at the Jan. 24 meeting. The proposed layout includes a BMX track, disc golf, skate park, splash pad and community garden, as well as areas that can serve as potential flood control space.
City officials did not give an estimated completion date for the project.
Record reporter Hannah Workman covers news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at hworkman@recordnet.com or on Twitter @byhannahworkman. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at recordnet.com/subscribenow.
OLD BRIDGE. N.J. – A spokesperson for a township just south of New York City said its new golf complex will not open until a management firm is found to run the facility.
The complex’s driving range is expected to open by the end of July, but that is subject to finding a management firm, Township Business Administrator and Director of Finance/CFO Himanshu Shah said.
“The range opening may be delayed if we don’t have a management company in place,” he added.
The course is expected to open in late fall, Shah said. Old Bridge is just south of New Brunswick, which sits near the southern tip of Staten Island.
“It is very difficult for a municipality to operate such a facility,” Shah said. “There is a lot of intricacy required.”
Old Bridge Golf Club at Rose Lambertson is located on the north and south side of Lambertson Road. The facility includes an 18-hole golf course, driving range, short-game practice area, practice putting green and mini-golf area.
Old Bridge Golf Club at Rose Lambertson is expected to open later this year.
The project also includes a 6,000-square-foot clubhouse, 5,000-square-foot maintenance building, eight bioretention basins and six wet ponds for stormwater management throughout the golf course.
As part of a redevelopment agreement, Efrem Gerszberg, owner of 2020 Acquisitions, a national real estate development company, agreed to build the course, at no cost to the township, and turn it over to the township.
At its June 13 meeting, the Township Council unanimously approved going out to bid for a management company to operate the complex.
The township will maintain ownership of the land and the golf course, township officials said.
One of the conditions of the contract, Shah said, is the selected provider make annual payments to the township,
It’s unusual for a governmental entity to operate and manage a golf course because employees don’t have the expertise, Township Attorney Mark Roselli said.
Roselli explained that competitive contracting is being used because it is “designed for specialized services and the operation of a golf course is certainly a specialized service.”
“It’s not a situation where you go out for the lowest responsible bidder because there’s so many different issues involved in managing and operating the golf course,” he said.
The management firm will be responsible for the operating, upkeep and maintenance, but also acquiring the necessary equipment for operating a golf course and the concession stand, Roselli said. The concession stand will also be management’s responsibility, he added.
“It’s not unusual to do it this way,” Roselli said. “It’s a win-win. It’s a large undertaking, but the goal is to seek and obtain it from someone who has the expertise in operating it, so that we can move forward.”
The course will have a four-tier rate schedule, with the lowest rate for Old Bridge residents, followed by Middlesex County residents, then state residents and then out-of-state residents, as required under the Green Acres agreement.
Email: sloyer@gannettnj.com Susan Loyer covers Middlesex County and more for MyCentralJersey.com. To get unlimited access to her work, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
The architect’s firm will adjust the front nine and build a back nine for the municipal layout in California.
Robert Trent Jones Jr. has signed on to renovate and complete the North Course at Corica Park in Alameda, California. The layout – just south of Oakland and across the bay from San Francisco – is scheduled to open in December of 2024.
The front nine of the North Course, most recently renovated by Marc Logan with input from Golf Digest architecture editor emeritus Rob Whitten in 2021, will remain open for play during the Jones Jr. renovation. Logan’s plans to build a back nine were halted during a legal battle between himself, the course operators and the city of Alameda, and the course was never completed. Those legal issues were resolved in January 2023.
Jones’ firm, Robert Trent Jones II Golf Course Architects, will make adjustments to the existing front nine while constructing the new back nine. Work is scheduled to begin in June. The original 18-hole North Course was designed by William Park Bell and opened in 1927.
The municipal Corica Park also is home to the South Course, originally designed by William Francis Bell Jr. (son of William Park Bell) and opened in 1957. That 18-hole layout was renovated by Rees Jones, brother of Robert Trent Jones Jr., in 2018.
The project was initiated by Greenway Golf, the long-term lessee, developer and manager of the 333-acre golf complex. Greenway Golf is owned by Avani and Umesh Patel.
“The Patels and Greenway have a remarkable vision for municipal golf courses, one that evolves the role municipal golf can play in mitigating climate change and creating green spaces for everyone to enjoy,” Jones Jr. said in a media release announcing the news. “Our goal is to deliver on their vision of a memorable, challenging golf experience for all players, while taking a holistic approach to design and sustainability of the natural environment.”
Greenway Golf said in its media release that it has worked for 10 years to upgrade the facility, which also includes the Mif Albright Par-3 Course, the Lucius Bateman Driving Range and an extensive practice facility.
The announcement from Augusta National brought smiles to many, but with change comes uncertainty.
AUGUSTA, Ga. — For all the merriment surrounding Augusta National Golf Club’s announcement last week that a new partnership would be forged with Augusta Municipal Golf Course, there was anything but a look of glee on Jim Dent Jr.’s face the day after the 2023 Masters wrapped up and Jon Rahm was fitted for his first green jacket.
The son of the former PGA Tour pro and 12-time PGA Tour Champions winner, Dent Jr. has been the head pro at Augusta Municipal, known as “The Patch,” for five years since relocating from Shreveport, Louisiana. He played college golf at Talladega College, an HBCU in Alabama, after growing up in Florida. He moved to Augusta to take the job at this historic course and be closer to his father.
Dent Jr. thinks the news is a major coup for the course, which stands to gain a considerable investment from the new partnership with Augusta Municipal, the First Tee of Augusta and Augusta Tech, which previously announced a deal with the City of Augusta to assume the operation of The Patch by 2025. As part of this new announcement, Augusta Tech will relocate its golf course management program to The Patch, creating a living classroom environment.
But while that should mean better conditions for those who play the course designed by David Ogilvie in 1928, it puts Dent Jr. in the awkward position of not knowing whether he’ll be part of the campus’s future.
“It’s good for the golf course,” Dent Jr. told Golfweek on Monday. “But we’re still in limbo because we’re with the management company. Things are going to change, for sure, and we don’t know where our jobs are going.”
Head pro Jim Dent Jr. stands behind the counter at Augusta Municipal Golf Course, known as “The Patch,” which will partner with Augusta National on a major initiative. (Photo by Tim Schmitt/Golfweek)
As with many municipal golf courses, The Patch works through a management company, which helps handle day-to-day operations. In this case, the company is Cypress Management of Orlando, which took over the course nearly a decade ago. So it’s possible the change to Augusta Municipal and the stronger relationship with Augusta National could force Dent Jr., course superintendent Scott Giles and general manager Ira Miller to the side if Cypress Management is not retained. No details have been released on that business arrangement.
Still, Dent Jr., who clearly has the trust of regulars, has tried to stay positive for those who will reap the rewards of the new arrangement.
“Even the announcement was something. We heard when everybody else heard. At least I did. I didn’t know anything. My first reaction was, this is good, it’s great for the golf course, great for the community,” Dent Jr. said. “And then my second reaction was, am I going to have a job? That was it. I mean, it’s great for the city. Great for the course. When Augusta takes something over, they make sure it’s right. But we don’t know what’s next for us.”
Augusta Municipal Golf Course, a public course also known as The Patch in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo: Augusta National)
Like his dad, who excelled as a senior, Dent Jr. hopes to eventually crack the PGA Tour Champions and has been working toward that goal as he approaches 50. His father, who turns 84 next month, made more than $9 million in earnings in professional golf, much of it on the senior circuit.
But Dent Jr.’s focus is still clearly on The Patch, a place where many congregate even when they’re not playing golf. On Monday a group was playing cards in a back room while a number of golfers practiced on the range. The Patch is a bustling place, and while it certainly can use some more love, it’s become a community hub of sorts. The elder Dent still plays in the local skins game each week, and he’s still posting low numbers.
“You get my dad at the right tees and he’s still knocking birdies down,” Dent Jr. said. “He still hits it good. And he gets him some skins. He can still play, man.”
The course could use some renovations, for certain, including on the tee boxes, which Miller told the Augusta Chronicle are “in desperate need.” While Dent Jr. said Giles has done a great job keeping the course in good condition, Miller said the influx of ANGC money could make The Patch something truly special.
“Oh, they could make it look like Augusta National,” Miller told longtime Chronicle reporter David Westin. “They’ve got unlimited money, they could. Whether or not they go that far with it, I don’t think so.”
Benjamin Wright, 58, of Augusta, Georgia, prepares to play Augusta Municipal Golf Course, also known as “The Patch.” (Photo by Tim Schmitt/Golfweek)
But what will that mean for many locals who now can afford to play multiple times a week because greens fees are as low as $20 for 18 holes?
Benjamin Wright, 58, of Augusta, has played The Patch for years. He hopes the changes will be good for everyone.
“It’ll bring more revenue in, number one. And it’ll get a lot more people coming here. You’ve got one golf course near here that’s closed down, and we don’t need more of that,” Wright said. “The course is in great shape and if they do come in, they’ll do some things different, I’m sure, in the fairways and making the holes longer and whatnot.
“I’m just happy to be here. I love the game. And I practice and get better. That’s all you can do.”
Jim Dent Way near the Augusta Municipal Golf Course, a public course also known as The Patch in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo: Augusta National)
But while Wright remains positive, Dent Jr. said many other regulars have expressed concern about potential changes. This is a haven for them, many of whom make the trip up Jim Dent Way as many as six times a week.
“We just don’t know anything yet,” Dent Jr. said. “It sounds really, really great for the golf course and the community, but a lot of the regular guys, they don’t know what’s going to come out of this. Any time change happens, people get a little nervous. A lot of guys come and play cards here and with Augusta Tech, that might not be something they keep going.
“Look, like I said, this is great for the course, it’s great for the community. We just don’t know what’s next.”
The city has filed a lawsuit, alleging deteriorating course conditions, destruction of property and $340,830 in lease payments.
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — The city has filed a lawsuit against historic Municipal Golf Course’s former operator Pope Golf, alleging deteriorating course conditions, destruction of property and $340,830 in outstanding lease payments to the city.
The complaint was filed with Buncombe County Superior Court on Oct. 4, over three months after the city attorney’s office sent a letter to Keith Pope, CEO of Pope Golf, based in Sarasota, Florida, advising that the city intended to initiate litigation over the past due lease payments, some of which have been accumulating since 2016.
Chris Corl, the city’s director of Community and Regional Entertainment Facilities, said the decision to file was made in the course’s first week with new operators, Commonwealth Golf Partners II — Asheville LLC, as “conversations kind of died” between the city and Pope golf. It is the first time in 10 years the property has had new operators.
As the historic Municipal Golf Course changes hands, under the leadership of new operators for the first time in 10 years, the city has filed a lawsuit against former operator Pope Golf, alleging deteriorating course conditions, destruction of property and $340,830 in outstanding lease payments to the city.
Until the filing, Corl had hoped to settle the matter outside of court.
“It got to the point that they stopped communicating, so we decided they weren’t planning to negotiate anymore,” Corl said.
Pope did not immediately respond to requests for comment. No legal response was filed by Pope as of Oct. 20.
The course itself has seen “steadily degrading conditions” over the last several years, according to the city, and at its center are significant stormwater drainage issues, which Pope said in September is the reason behind not only the course conditions but his termination of lease payments.
The 18-hole golf course was designed by Hall of Fame golf architect Donald Ross and opened for play in 1927. It is home to the longest-running Black-owned and operated professional tournament in the country.
The city’s management and lease agreement with Pope Golf began Oct. 1, 2012, and expired Sept. 30.
As the historic Municipal Golf Course changes hands, under the leadership of new operators for the first time in 10 years, the city has filed a lawsuit against former operator Pope Golf, alleging deteriorating course conditions, destruction of property and $340,830 in outstanding lease payments to the city. (Photo by Angela Wilhelm/Asheville Citizen Times)
The lawsuit filing
The lawsuit filed by the city attorney’s office lays out a number of “unacceptable conditions,” what the filing says “developed as a result of Pope’s Asheville’s failure to meet its minimum maintenance obligations as set forth in Articles 8 and 9 of the Lease.”
These conditions include:
• Severe deterioration of all Bermuda grass fairways.
• The complete destruction of a chipping/practice area that had existed near the 8th hole at the time Pope Asheville assumed management of the course.
• The destruction of fencing along Swannanoa River Road.
• An overgrowth of vegetation throughout the virtual entirety of the course, including over the clubhouse.
According to the filing, at the conclusion of the lease’s term, Pope had failed to address and remediate any of the conditions noted by city staff in a Sept. 8 email.
Further, at the conclusion of the lease’s term, the filing alleged Pope had failed to make mandatory lease payments totaling $340,830. This amount is an almost $16,000 increase from the outstanding lease payment amount named in a June 29 letter from the city attorney’s office to Pope.
Corl said this increase resulted from additional accrued interest since the initial letter sent at the end of June. Prior to the filing of the complaint in court, finance updated the figures to reflect the current accrued interest as of the end of September.
The filing requests a jury trial, a judgement for compensatory damages, and an order declaring transfers of assets between Pope Asheville and Pope Golf, which led Pope Asheville unable to satisfy to city’s claims against it, to be void.
‘It’s a process’
Commonwealth Golf Partners, owned by Peter Dejak and Michael Bennett, immediately took over the course Oct. 1 in a seven-year license and management agreement, a new model of partnership with the city.
Despite being only three weeks into the transition, some golfers say they already notice a difference. On Oct. 20, a sub-freezing morning meant the clubhouse was all but empty at 8:30 a.m., but C.Y. Young was hard at work, more than game to take a golf cart out on the course.
He was old hat at navigating the crumbling cart path and sinkhole-pitted fairway, pointing out areas cleanup has already started, remarking on the most damaged holes along the back nine, where torn turf gives way to dirt and tree boughs overhang the course, stunting grass growth and impairing golfer vision.
The 122-acre course weaves through the East Asheville neighborhood of Beverly Hills. Early morning, the fairway was limned with frost, red, orange and golden foliage skirting the cart paths and rolling greens.
Young said the course is heading in a better direction, though there is much work left to be done.
He noticed the decline of conditions over the last two or three years since Pope Golf stopped making payments and the worst of the stormwater issues began.
“Pope knew they were going to lose out,” Young said. He’s been involved with the course for more than 20 years. He plays there four days a week and works as a starter and course ranger for another three.
Already, the new operators have made changes on the green − aerating the grass, roping off areas so turf can regrow and staking off the worst of the holes that pockmark the course, in some places 6 feet deep chasms, exposing antiquated metal piping.
“It’s a process,” he said of the repairs. “But the golf course is doing better, it really is. They’re working on it.”
Corl agreed that change is coming for the better after “years of neglect.” He said Commonwealth Golf is getting started with smaller, day-to-day changes while they finalize the capital budget, what will determine the timeline and blueprint for changes to come.
The city is embarking on a $3.5 million project to initiate capital improvements and is seeking grant funding from the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority, along with other sources.
The requested funding would cover stormwater infrastructure, water collection, tee box upgrades, and green and sand trap improvements.
‘Friends of the Muni’
As well as new leadership at the course, both from Commonwealth Golf Partners and Corl, whose department only took over the course from Asheville Parks and Recreation Jan. 1, outside community efforts are also rallying around the beloved course.
Donna Bailey, an area golfer and chair of the Civic Center Commission, has been working for over a year to prepare a “Friends of the Muni” campaign, which would fundraise for the course’s rehabilitation and open up volunteer and program opportunities at the course.
She described the course as “overrun” and “overgrown,” a broken water system creating gullies, lifting the cart path and creating dangerous conditions.
“(It’s) a great piece of property, a Donald Ross course, that just needs somebody to care,” she said.
Like Young, Bailey said she can see positive change already under the new operators.
“They know their business and they care about their business,” Bailey said. “I don’t know if Pope knew their business or not. I have no way to judge it. But these guys have a track record of caring, and I’ve seen it just in the little things.”
Other state municipal golf courses, such as Charleston and Wilmington, have “friends of the muni” groups that have helped turn their courses around, said Corl. He hopes for the same in Asheville.
Bailey said Asheville’s muni is an “everyman’s” course, a place that is affordable, accessible and welcoming, home to a historic tournament whose players have been sounding the alarm for years.
“I care because it opens the door for so many people. I know what golf does, I know what it did for me. It opened so many doors,” Bailey said. “It opens the doors to friendships and opportunities, right there on the golf course. So I want to make it accessible to everyone.”
Sarah Honosky is the city government reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. News Tips? Email shonosky@citizentimes.com or message on Twitter at @slhonosky.
