Desolation Row, january 23, 2015

     Grand Prairie, Texas. The days are numbered for a 50-year-old private club in suburban Dallas that appears to be financially secure. According to the Dallas Morning News, Great Southwest Golf Club has roughly 300 members and none of “the telltale signs of a golf business desperate for new blood.” The club is slated to be razed simply because its 163 acres are “far more valuable as something other than a golf course.” Great Southwest’s 18-hole layout was co-designed by Byron Nelson and Ralph Plummer.

     Piqua, Ohio. The bankrupt Piqua Country Club, a going concern for 118 years, met its end on the first day of the New Year. “We simply do not have enough money to continue,” acknowledged the club’s president, who professed to be “optimistic that something good will happen.” Piqua claims that its 18-hole course was designed by Donald Ross, but it’s possible that Ross was only responsible for the original nine, which dates from 1921. (Another source credits the course’s design to “the combined skill of architects Donald Ross and Jack Kidwell.”) The bank that controls the property appears to be on the hook for $1.625 million.

     West Monroe, Louisiana. Trenton Street Golf Course, a nine-hole municipal layout with prices that were said to be “affordable for rednecks,” faded to black last month. “I sometimes believe that I could give golf away, and they still wouldn’t come,” the facility’s operator complained to the Economist. The city hasn’t decided what to do with Trenton Street’s 64 acres, but another form of recreation is a distinct possibility.

     Garland, North Carolina. For the second time in a year, L. B. Wilson has put one of golf properties out of business. Early this month, Wilson turned out the lights for the last time at Greensbridge Golf Course, an 18-hole track that opened in the mid 1990s. He put Greensbridge on the market almost a year ago, when he closed Hope Mills Golf Club, but he couldn’t find a buyer. “The golf business is tough right now,” he told the Fayetteville Observer. “The only courses making it are the ones owned by extremely rich people. The middle class has been hit hard and is getting squeezed out of golf.” Wilson plans to continue operating Sandy Ridge Golf Club in Dunn, which he says is “getting by.”

     Nipomo, California. Regarding the planned third golf course at Monarch Dunes Golf Club: Not gonna happen. Instead, Shea Homes is seeking permission to plant a vineyard on the 219 acres that had been allocated for the club’s second 18-hole track.

     Ontario, Oregon. The city of Ontario has pulled the plug on its 18-hole golf course. The 50-year-old, Bob Baldock-designed track has reportedly been losing money for years, and city officials voted to stop subsidizing it last summer. They offered to entertain proposals from private-sector operators, but nobody stepped up.

     Baton Rouge, Louisiana. A consultant has advised the recreation and park commission in East Baton Rouge Parish to close two of its worst-performing golf properties, but the agency hasn’t yet accepted the recommendation. “We are not on the verge of closing any golf course in the immediate future,” BREC’s director of golf told the Advocate. “If we get to a point where a course does close, it’ll only close because the bulldozers are lined up to turn it into something else of value.” Potentially on the chopping block are Howell Park Golf Course, an 18-hole track, and J. S. Clark Park Golf Course, a nine-hole track. If the courses are shuttered, the consultant says, BREC would have some money available for improvements to the five remaining properties in its portfolio.

     Indianapolis, Indiana. The sun has set on Sunrise Golf Course, whose new owner believes the 77-acre property is “an excellent location” for houses. The nine-hole track, which had operated since the mid 1990s, went dark last fall.

     Apopka, Florida. Late last year, without any advance warning, Rock Springs Ridge Golf Club bit the dust. The club, the centerpiece of a 900-house community, featured a 17-year-old, Lloyd Clifton-designed golf course. Its owner, an entity known as the Golf Group, is said to be “preparing a range of options for [Rock Springs Ridge] residents to study.” The Golf Group owns five other golf properties in the Orlando area: Country Club of Mount Dora, Country Club at Deer Run, Casselberry Golf Club, Wekiva Golf Club, and Twin River Golf Club. According to the Orlando Sentinel, it’s also “explored development plans” for Twin River and Casselberry.

     Bristol, Connecticut. In late 2014, after a 91-year run, the struggling Chippanee Golf Club went belly up. Chippanee, a venue described as “a gathering place for the community’s business elite,” might have stayed in business if its members had been able to sell just 200 shares of stock, at a measly $2,500 per share. According to the Bristol Press, the club’s debt amounts to “less than $900,000.” For those who don’t know, Bristol is the home of ESPN, a company that’s worth nearly $51 billion.