Desolation Row, august 7, 2015

     Wrens, Georgia. Seven years after reviving the defunct Brushy Creek Golf Club, Dianne Litchfield has given up on her attempt to maintain the only public golf course in Jefferson County. “We’ve tried to have something nice for the community,” Litchfield told the Augusta Chronicle. “We just never really could get enough support.” Brushy Creek had been closed for two years when Litchfield’s family bought it, in 2008. They invested in improvements and changed the 18-hole layout’s name, to Four Seasons Golf Course, but couldn’t build a clientele. “I think it’s that the golf industry is terrible everywhere,” Litchfield said. “Everybody says they think it’s going to turn the corner, but courses are dropping all over.” Four Seasons originally opened in the late 1960s.

     Murphys, California. Forest Meadows Golf Course has become a shadow of its former self. The 18-hole, Robert Trent Jones, Jr.-designed track has lost nine of its holes, and it now operates as Murphys 9 Golf Course. “Forest Meadows has to change with the times,” Jeff Christensen of Sierra Golf Management, the course’s operator, told the Calaveras Enterprise. “It just won’t survive as an 18-hole golf course.” No word yet on what the community plans to do with the acreage that’s been vacated.

     Hopewell, Virginia. After 60 years as a going concern, Jordan Point Golf Club has turned out its lights for the last time. A local bank foreclosed on the 140-acre property in May, and the club’s member/owners decided to discontinue operations in June. “We took it back in foreclosure reluctantly,” the chief executive of EVB told Richmond Biz Sense. “We worked with them as long as we could. It’s a sad story.” Jordan Point features an 18-hole, Russell Breeden-designed golf course.

     Lincoln, Nebraska. The end is near for Knolls Country Club. George Boosalis, who’s eager to retire, plans to close the 18-hole layout on November 1. His family has owned the property since 1966.

     Waco, Texas. James Connally Golf Course officially bit the dust on the last day of July. The 18-hole, Ralph Plummer-designed track had opened in the mid 1950s, as part of the now defunct James Connally Air Force Base. In recent years, Texas State Technical College has used the 200-acre property as a training center for students in its Golf Course & Landscape Management program.

     Janesville, Wisconsin. Janesville’s city council has decided to “look into the possibility” of selling the marginally unprofitable Prairie Ridge Golf Course. “We’ve got a lot of streets we need to fix,” a councilmember said in a comment published by the Janesville Argus. Prairie Ridge features a nine-hole “reversible” golf course whose design is credited to Joel Goldstrand. The city doesn’t know what the property is worth, but Waseca County reportedly values it at $155,600.

     Louisburg, North Carolina. Franklin County’s board of commissioners has agreed to pay $700,000 for Bull Creek Golf & Country Club, a 170-acre spread that will eventually become a park. Bull Creek, which opened in 1996, ceased operating earlier this year, after it was foreclosed upon by its lender.

     El Paso, Texas. Coronado Country Club appears to be preparing for the worst. The nearly 60-year-old club “is not in dire financial straits,” according to El Paso, Inc., but it’s announced that “its long-term financial situation is unsustainable” unless it can generate more income. Coronado has begun prospecting in its accompanying community, where only 20 percent of the homeowners are currently members. “This shockingly low rate is a recipe for long-term disaster for any country club,” Coronado’s president wrote in a letter that outlined the club’s predicament. Coronado’s 18-hole course opened in 1957 and was redesigned by Marvin Ferguson in 1971.

     Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania. With an eye on retirement, Dick Kidd has closed the nine-hole, beginner-friendly golf course he bought in 2001. The final rounds at Dick Kidd’s Par-3 Golf Course, a 15-year-old track, were played last month, and Kidd is looking to sell the 14-acre property.

     New Castle, Pennsylvania. The fate of Mohawk Trails Golf Course has apparently been sealed. The 18-hole track closed at the end of the 2014 golf season, and the New Castle News says that local residents have heard that “it will no longer be a golf course.” An entity called Kissling Trails LP bought Mohawk Trails earlier this year, reportedly for $1 million plus “other considerations.”