Desolation Row, may 15, 2015

     Old Brookville, New York. The owners of CedarBrook Club have seen the future, and it consists of multimillion-dollar houses on three-acre lots. They plan to operate CedarBrook, which is suffering from what the Long Island Business News describes as “declining membership,” only until a home builder steps up and buys it. The sellers, said to be a “group of Great Neck-based families,” reportedly paid $12.5 million for the 125-acre club in 1987. Its centerpiece is an 18-hole, Al Zikorus-designed golf course that opened in the early 1960s.

     San Diego, California. Delivering on a promise it made last year, Laureus Corporation has closed Carmel Highland Golf Course, a track operated by Troon Golf. “Unfortunately, it’s part of the times,” the course’s general manager told the San Diego Union-Tribune. He added: “Without growth, you just don’t have enough people coming in, and the owners keep digging more and more into their pockets.” Carmel Highland opened in 1967, as Rancho Penasquitos Golf Course. It reportedly spends $500,000 a year on water, and play on its 18-hole, William F. Bell-designed course has declined by more than 15,000 rounds since 2011, when Laureus bought it.

     Sherman, Texas. Drew LaBarbera has apparently pulled the plug on Northern Challenge Golf Course, a 12-year-old track that he co-owns with his brother. KTEN-TV reports that the phone is no longer being answered at the 18-hole, John Colligan-designed layout, which reportedly anchors a community with “a few dozen high-dollar homes.” An online reviewer once recommended the course, saying, “It's worth going a little out of your way to play this course.” Apparently not enough readers took the advice.

     Nampa, Idaho. “April is the cruellest month,” T. S. Eliot once wrote, though he wasn’t talking about taxes or the fate of Broadmore Golf Club. The club and its 85-year-old golf course will close at the end of the month. “The economy has affected us,” one of the club’s board members told the Idaho Press-Tribune. “People just couldn’t afford to play golf. When they do, people like 18 holes, and we’re a nine-hole course.” Broadmore had been owned by 18 investors who put it on the market two years ago. It now belongs to Golf Ready LLC, which doesn’t intend to operate a golf course on the 40-acre property.

     Rockford, Tennessee. A proposed highway bypass has all but spelled the end of Pine Lakes Golf Course, an 18-hole track that opened in 1971. The road has created development opportunities in suburban Knoxville, and an investment group has signed an option to buy Pine Lakes’ 165 acres. “I think there’s a lot of different things that we could do with the property, given the location,” one of the prospective owners told the Maryville Daily Times. The seller, a family owned entity led by Blount County Sheriff James Berrong, also owns Lambert Acres Golf Club in Maryville.

     Dunnellon, Florida. Don’t expect Rainbow Springs Golf & Country Club to reopen anytime soon, if ever. “I gotta tell you, the likelihood of the club ever reopening is very, very, very small,” Mark Kaprelian, the club’s owner, told the Ocala Star Banner. Kaprelian and his wife have owned the club since 2008, and today they’re battling with the state of Florida, which has scheduled road construction that will impact the golf course, and with some residents of the Rainbow Springs community, who feel “alienated” and have decided to “go seek enjoyment someplace else.” Rainbow Springs’ 18-hole, Joe Lee-designed golf course opened in 1979.

     North Aurora, Illinois. Fox Valley Golf Course survived the Great Depression, but not the Great Recession. The city of Aurora has agreed to sell Fox Valley, which opened in 1929, to a Michigan-based developer of housing for seniors. “We’ve been looking to get out of the golf business,” an alderman told the Chicago Tribune. “The course is not up to speed, compared to others in the area.” What’s more, the price was right: $5 million. The 18-hole, Charles Maddox-designed track will likely remain open through the 2015 season. The city, which has owned the course since the late 1980s, expects to close on the sale in the second quarter of 2016.

     Rockford, Michigan. Braeside Golf Course isn’t going to open this season, and the bank that foreclosed on its owner is marketing the 116-acre property as an ideal site for a subdivision. United Bank of Michigan is hoping to get $965,000 for Braeside, an 18-hole course that opened in 1981. The course operated under bankruptcy protection last year, and a spokesperson for Amicus Management, a court-appointed receiver, told the Grand Rapids Business Journal that it’s been “marginal on profitability for several years.”

     Mesa, Arizona. A seniors-only community in suburban Phoenix has lost its nine-hole, executive-length golf course. Last year, the owners of Dreamland Villa reportedly accepted $4.3 million for the 30-acre track, which was subsequently razed. The new owner, William Lyon Homes, believes the property can accommodate 240 dwelling units.

     Dublin, Ohio. A sales agreement has been in place for a couple of years, and now the end is truly near for Riviera Golf Club. Local officials have blessed Charlie Ruma’s redevelopment plans, and Riviera’s 18-hole, Jack Kidwell-designed golf course will soon be replaced by 185 houses. The American Italian Golf Association, which didn’t open the 167-acre course this season, will reportedly pocket $7.2 million on the transaction.