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Believe it or not, even golf's biggest surge in decades couldn't save some courses from closing this year.
Through October, Golf Datatech indicates that golf rounds are up 2.4 percent in 2024 compared to 2023, which was already considered a wildly successful year. That growth isn't sustaining every course, unfortunately.
Think of golf courses like restaurants. Just because they are good or beloved by their customers doesn't mean things can't go sour. Good restaurants close all the time. Chefs leave. Their owners lose their passion or suffer a personal loss. Rents balloon too high. The location might not be ideal. And on and on the business world turns.
Similar market forces apply to courses. Business and employee costs are soaring, leaving some owners feeling pinched and ready to bail on the notoriously fickle, weather- and economy-dependent golf industry.
Even the smallest of closures can have a big community impact. Weddington, a small nine-hole pitch and putt with adjacent tennis courts in southern California, closed earlier this year to make way for a new athletic complex for Harvard-Westlake School, much to the dismay of many locals who launched a 'Save Weddington' website to no avail.
The good news for golfers is 2024 felt like a turning point for golf course closures. It's the fewest I've seen since I began tracking the trend a decade ago. I actually had trouble finding enough quality courses to fill out this story. That's a good sign for golfers.
The National Golf Foundation reported earlier this year that approximately 90 U.S. golf courses closed in 2023 (as measured in 18-hole equivalents*), resulting in less than 0.5% being trimmed from the nation’s total supply. That's the lowest count since 2004.
Conversely, golf course construction is on the upswing. That's great for golfers but bad for course owners and operators because the competition is only going to get tougher.
Don't be surprised if, in a decade or so, with all these new courses stealing golfers from existing ones, that we see a rash of closures start to rise all over again. Everything has a life cycle, positive and negative. But that's a worry for another time.
For now, let's honor our dead and celebrate the lives of some really good golf courses we lost this year. May they stay green with grass forever. Nobody wants their favorite playground to become a parking lot or housing development.
For the record, we didn't include Wheeling Country Club - which will close its doors after 122 years at the end of the month in West Virginia - and Hillendale Country Club - which closed earlier this year outside of Baltimore - because both might get a second chance at life. Wheeling CC could be saved by the nearby Oglebay Resort, and Hillendale is up for auction this week.
Here are the 10 best golf courses to close in 2024:
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Primm Valley Golf Club, Primm, Nev.
![Primm Valley GC - Lakes]()
Primm Valley's 36 holes - the Lakes and Desert Courses - were originally built to siphon golfers away from Sin City. The two Tom Fazio courses were located an hour south near the California-Nevada border. They were 'best in state' caliber after opening in 1997-98, but slowly deteriorated as the destination as a whole struggled. The final review on the Lakes course from July best sums up the loss: "Best bang for buck in Vegas area. I truly love playing this course. It was a little burnt but expected when the temps have been 100+ for the last few weeks. Staff is overly friendly and gives you all the water you can drink on a hot day. It’s less traveled due to the distances and some idiots thinking they’re paying public course prices for TPC quality. Great layout and can be a quick round."
![Primm Valley GC - Desert]()
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Devil's Ridge Golf Club, Oxford, Mich.
![Devil's Ridge GC]()
I played Devil's Ridge a few times when I was taking up the game in the late-1990s. It was scenic and interesting but also quirky with a few ball-gobbling holes. It is being transformed into a private hunting reserve, so at least it's not becoming a housing development. That could eventually be the fate of two nearby public courses I also liked - Cattails Golf Club in South Lyon and Coyote Golf Club in New Hudson, according to the Detroit Free Press articles here and here. It appears that both will eventually be featured in this story next year or the following, although the timing isn't official yet.
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Moundbuilders Country Club, Newark, Ohio
![Moundbuilders CC]()
The private Moundbuilders has been in a legal tug-of-war over its land for the past decade. The par-71 layout has been on leased land since 1910, playing through 2,000-year-old prehistoric Indian burial mounds, which appeared on 11 holes. The lawsuit with the Ohio History Connection has been settled, closing the course for good and opening the land to the public starting Jan. 1, according to Golfweek. The club's members hope to move to another course.
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Paupack Hills Golf & Country Club, Greentown, Pa.
Greentown, PennsylvaniaSemi-PrivatePaupack Hills was designed by George and Tom Fazio in 1974. It's extremely rare that a course with a 4.2-star rating doesn't make it. The final two reviews in fall 2023 lament the loss with one golfer writing: "This is an excellent course. Unfortunately, there are plans to close it after this (2023) season. We all hope someone steps in and buys it and keeps it a golf course." If it hasn't happened by now, that dream probably won't come to fruition.
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Heatherwood Hills Country Club, Birmingham, Ala.
![Heatherwood Hills CC]()
Heatherwood Hills is a rare semi-private course that had good three- and four-star reviews in 2023 before it closed unexpectedly in February. According to this Al.com story, the owner has no plans to sell or reopen.
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Fresh Meadow Golf Course, Hillside, Ill.
![Fresh Meadow GC: Practice area]()
After a century, Fresh Meadow has closed for good. The 6,283-yard historic course was a nice green space in Chicagoland. The closure of the 100-bay covered driving range, lit at night, will force thousands of golfers to find somewhere else to practice. Golfer 'Dwherry' said goodbye in his final review, writing "The Archdiocese of Chicago owns the land and had planned to not renew the lease after last season. They did renew for one more year. Now it has closed for good. With no future, money was not put into the course these past 2 years and conditions have deteriorated. I gave it one last play to say goodbye. Need to find other courses for next year."
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Quail Ridge Golf Course, Bartlett, Tenn.
![Quail Ridge GC]()
This 6,675-yard par 70 closed in November after 30 years in business. During its early years, it was the best game in town. One of the final GolfPass reviews laments those days have since passed, calling it "Barely Worth It. (The) Course condition wasn't at its best, but could tell they're trying. Course etiquette is also something to be desired there and no Marshall to come out and get the "pace of play" corrected. Course layout is good and has a ton of potential."
A course closure crisis in Scotland?
While U.S. closures are down significantly, alarm bells are ringing in Scotland, where a number of closures in the past six months have golf industry insiders concerned. Courses like Caird Park, which includes a nine-holer and 18 other holes in Dundee, Torrance Park in Motherwell and Hirsel in Coldstream have either announced their closures or are already shuttered, while Hollandbush in South Lanarkshire and Dalmuir in Clydebank needed last-minute reprieves to be saved, according to The Scotsman newspaper. None of these are premier courses Americans would fly overseas to play, but they are critical playgrounds for locals to grow the game in Scotland.
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Edge Hill Golf Club, Ashfield, Mass.
![Edge Hill GC]()
The good news about the closure of Edge Hill is that it was sold to the Franklin Land Trust conservancy and will return to nature that the community can forever enjoy. The 1994 Mark Graves design was short at 5,700 yards but did solid reviews for a mom-and-pop facility. Golfer 'Chet9137' noted that he "Found Edge Hill through GolfNow and really enjoyed playing there. Course was very interesting and scenic views. Sitting on the patio with a drink watching people play 10 and 18 was really enjoyable. Holes are very unique and par 3s are special. We will certainly play it again." Sorry Chet. Not anymore.
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Cherry Hills Golf Course, Sun City, Calif.
![Cherry Hills GC]()
Cherry Hills closed at the start of the year after being sold for redevelopment. Its last GolfPass review in December 2023 noted that the 7,000-yard course from the 1960s had good bones. Golfer 'minus7' wrote: "We had a good day of golf and could see where this course was pretty good in its day and could be again if someone invested some money into the physical layout."
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Black Birch Golf Club, Moodus, Conn.
![Black Birch GC]()
Black Birch (formerly known as Banner Lodge) had a few things going for it - ties to Donald Ross and a nice piece of land - but conditions sagged over the past few years so much that ownership decided not to reopen in 2024. Our Local Advisor, AptlyLinked, gave it one star after a round in fall 2023, writing in his review: "Black Birch’s ownership has let down this facility by its minimal maintenance budget, which is a shame. The employees deserve better (they always do a good job serving golfers), as do those who pay to play this once-respectable golf course."
Comments (8)
I played at Prime Valley back around 2002 on a business trip and had a great time - beautiful course and in fine condition back then. I have recently retired to Arizona and sorry to see this option no longer exists.
Noted blow are courses I have played that in my opinion should close. In the past five years, I have played 230 different courses in 38 states. I rated every course 1 -10. These are the bad ones:
1. Churn Creek - Redding, CA. - Only course I rated a 1.
2. Cedars Golf - Brush Prairie, WA. - Rating - 2.
3. High Vista - Asheville, NC. - Rating - 4.
4. Beau Pre - McKinleyville, CA. - Rating - 4.
5. Lake Spivey - Jonesboro, GA - Rating - 4
6. Riverside - Ruskin, FL. - Rating - 4
7. Crooked Hollow - Shreveport, LA. Rating - 5
8. Blink Bonnie - Sorrento, ME. Rating - 5
9. Painted Mt. - Mesa, AZ. Rating - 5
10. Olde Pointe - Hampstead, NC. Rating - 5
Have any of you played these courses?
While I do think the topic is valid - we all know courses that aren't very good - I do struggle with this "concept" that a course should close. What if you caught it on a bad day or season? Courses makes comebacks all the time. Maybe they get new owners or maybe a new super can save the day. Also, low-budget courses do serve a population of golfers who either can't afford to play elsewhere (or don't want to spend the money and are perfectly happy with rougher-than-normal conditions).
I have not played any of these and appreciate the warning as I also like to travel and play a lot of golf. I rate all of my rounds on a "fun factor" scale, also from 1-10. The lowest rated in 2024 was Canewood in Georgetown, Kentucky with a 5. The highest at 9.9 and 9.8 were in Iceland - Mossfellsbaer and Brautarholt, respectively.
Looking at golf courses and rounds from a "fun" perspective is definitely the best funnel to view the game. Glad you're enjoying life out there! Too many people get frustrated on the course when it's meant to be fun.
Richard: Thanks for responding. I think your "Fun Factor" method is great. My ratings have more to do with aesthetics, being well maintained, allowing carts in parking lot, good tee boxes and greens in good shape. Less about about how difficult it is. Never played Iceland. I'm an RV'er so hard to get the motorhome over there. Nova Scotia has some very nice courses. Incidentally, of those 230 different courses, only 9 I have rated a 10. So I'm either very picky or just play not so nice courses. I play an RTJ course, Magnolia Grove, in Mobile, AL on Monday. I expect that to be a 10. Enjoy out there.
The Cedars in Brush Prairie has closed.
Michael: I played there in Aug 2021. Based on what I saw then, I'm not surprised is has closed. Thanks for sharing that info.