Desolation Row, september 11, 2015

     Las Vegas, Nevada. Investors from California have purchased and closed Silverstone Golf Course, and it appears that they intend to build something on it. The complex’s new owners haven’t identified themselves or spelled out any definitive plans for Silverstone, but their Beverly Hills-based lawyer has indicated that the 27-hole, Bob Cupp-designed complex isn’t going to reopen. “We are not in the golf course operations business,” Ronald Richards told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “We have no set agenda and are open to numerous avenues of use other than requiring us to subsidize someone else’s golf game or operate an asset that has no economically viable use to anyone except a privileged few.” The residents of Silverstone’s accompanying community plan to fight any proposed development, but Richards has been through such battles before: He represents the group that aims to build houses on property in suburban San Diego, California that once operated as Escondido Country Club. Since 2010, Silverstone had been owned by Paul Jaramillo. In a letter to the club’s members, he admitted “the course has lost money every year we’ve operated it.”

     Miami Lakes, Florida. Graham Companies, the group that created Miami Lakes, has donated the 18-hole, par-3 track at Don Shula’s Golf Club to the town. The 30-acre layout, which opened in 1963, will become a park. The regulation-length course at Shula’s, renovated in 2013 by Kipp Schulties, continues to operate, as does the steakhouse made famous by the 1972 Miami Dolphins.

     Bastrop, Texas. The financially struggling golf course in Bastrop State Park didn’t open for play this year, and its future is uncertain. Lost Pines Golf Course opened with nine holes in 1937, and it got a second nine in 1997. But it began to lose customers after September 11, 2001 and never recovered. Earlier this year, the park set out to find another operator, but it doesn’t appear to have found one.

     Brunswick, Georgia. Just a week or so ago, the last rounds were played at Coastal Pines Golf Club. The 18-hole, Mark Bennett-designed course opened in 2001, right as fears of terrorism spread across America and our economy collapsed. Like so many other mom-and-pop golf operations, Coastal Pines simply couldn’t withstand the pressure that was constantly being put on its bottom line. “We weren’t making enough money to stay open,” the course’s owner, Wade Carruth, told the Brunswick News. What happens next at Coastal Pines is anyone’s guess.

     Mount Horeb, Wisconsin. After twice denying an application for a rezoning, local elected officials appear ready to put one of Dane County’s oldest public golf courses out of business. Dennis McGinley, the majority owner of Norsk Golf Club, requested a rezoning in 1995 and 2009. But you know what they say: The third time’s the charm. “We can’t put up resistance against what good business people want to do with their business,” the president of Mount Horeb’s village board told the Wisconsin State Journal. “So I don’t see any resistance coming from the board.” Norsk is a nine-hole track that’s been around since 1927. McGinley, who’s owned the course since 1970, has master-planned the property for single-family houses, multi-family units, and commercial space.

     Indianapolis, Indiana. The end is near for Shortee’s Golf Course, although the track was never expected to have a long life. Don Turchan built the 18-hole, pitch-’n’-putt course in 2000, on leased farm land that he knew would eventually be developed. “We always knew the value of the land was greater than what we were using it for,” he told the Indianapolis Business Journal. Now a local developer, in search of property that can accommodate nearly 400 apartments, has acquired on option on the 23-acre tract. If its plans are approved, the developer aims to break ground on what it’s calling the Links at 96th in the spring.

     Rocklin, California. Less than a year after he originally threatened to close Rocklin Golf Club, Charles Gibson has followed through. Last month, he turned out the lights at his 18-hole, Billy Bell-designed golf course, which opened in 1963 as Sunset Whitney Country Club. The city had hoped to buy the property, but during the due diligence process it discovered that overdue capital improvements might cost up to $4 million. Gibson, who’d been begging for permission to build some houses adjacent to the course, is now evaluating his options. He owns two other golf properties in California, Morgan Creek Golf Club in Roseville and Wildhorse Golf Course in Davis.

     Springdale, Ohio. The 18-hole, executive-length track in GE Park, a 120-acre spread owned by the General Electric Employees Athletic Association for more than a half-century, closed on Labor Day. Was it a cruel irony or a happy coincidence?

     Maple Grove, Minnesota. An Eden Prairie-based developer has agreed to purchase Sundance Golf Course, which it believes is an ideal site for a subdivision. Pending approval of its plans, Excelsior Group will buy Sundance from Brian Allen, who’d hoped to get out of the golf business last year. The course, part of a complex that includes a banquet center and a bowling alley, opened in 1970.

     Louisville, Kentucky. A dispute over property rights is threatening the future of Glenmary Country Club. The 25-year-old venue closed last month and will presumably remain shuttered until its owner, Par Golf LLC, and Glenmary’s home owners’ association come to their senses and settle their argument over what, if any, development is permitted on the property. Both sides have dug in, however, and no end is in sight. And that’s exactly how the parties’ lawyers like it.