Like many other businesses, sometimes golf courses don’t make it. Be it poor management, a shift in demographics, a lack of play or an owner’s decision to turn the land into homes or a shopping center, some layouts have simply run their course.
Often the land sits fallow for months or even years, the grass turns brown, or vegetation grows over the old fairways and greens.
Sometimes, the old golf courses are turned into parks or other public uses. In some cases, the course is saved and returned to its former glory.
Below is a collection of photos from golf courses that closed for extended periods of time.
(Editor’s note: The West Palm Beach Municipal Golf Course in Florida has reopened as The Park and Ahwatukee Lakes in Arizona has also opened again.)
The former site of the Palm Springs Country Club golf course in Palm Springs, California. (Andy…The former site of the Palm Springs Country Club golf course in Palm Springs, California. (Andy…The former site of the Palm Springs Country Club golf course in Palm Springs, California. (Andy…The former site of the Palm Springs Country Club golf course in Palm Springs, California. (Andy…The former site of the Palm Springs Country Club golf course in Palm Springs, California. (Andy…The former site of the Palm Springs Country Club golf course in Palm Springs, California. (Andy…This is the sign for the closed Tomoka Oaks Golf & Country Club on Monday, April…A lone golfer takes practice swings on the old golf course at the closed Tomoka Oaks…A cart path that runs through the former Sandhill Golf Course in Florida has become overgrown…West Palm Beach Municipal Golf Course closed in 2018 but reopened under the PGA of America…Debris and weeds litter a former green on the San Luis Rey Downs golf course in…Mt. Brighton Golf Course in Brighton, Michigan. (Gillis Benedict/Livingston Daily)Bahia de los Suenos on the Baja California Sur peninsula, about three hours north of Cabo…Bahia de los Suenos on the Baja California Sur peninsula, about three hours north of Cabo…Bahia de los Suenos on the Baja California Sur peninsula, about three hours north of Cabo…Bahia de los Suenos on the Baja California Sur peninsula, about three hours north of Cabo…Bahia de los Suenos on the Baja California Sur peninsula, about three hours north of Cabo…Bahia de los Suenos on the Baja California Sur peninsula, about three hours north of Cabo…Bonita Springs Golf and Country Club. (Andrea Stetson/USA TODAY)Tommy Jacobs Bel Air Greens in Palm Springs, California. (Jay Calderon/The Desert Sun)Tommy Jacobs Bel Air Greens in Palm Springs, California. (Jay Calderon/The Desert Sun)Tommy Jacobs Bel Air Greens in Palm Springs, California. (Jay Calderon/The Desert Sun)Tommy Jacobs Bel Air Greens in Palm Springs, California. (Jay Calderon/The Desert Sun)The VA Golf Course in Murfreesboro,Sherwood Golf Club in Titusville, Florida, closed in 2019. (Tim Shortt/Florida Today)Vista Hills Country Club in El Paso, Texas, closed after 45 years of operation in 2019.…Vista Hills Country Club in El Paso, Texas, closed after 45 years of operation in 2019.…Eastland Green South Golf Course in Clarksville, Tennessee. (Henry Taylor/The Leaf-Chronicle)The abandoned Villa de Paz Golf Course in Phoenix. (Catherine Rafferty/The Arizona Republic)The abandoned Villa de Paz Golf course in Phoenix. (Catherine Rafferty/The Arizona Republic)Vistal Golf Club (previously Thunderbird Golf Course) in Phoenix closed in 2015.Vistal Golf Club (previously Thunderbird Golf Course) in Phoenix closed in 2015.Vistal Golf Club (previously Thunderbird Golf Course) in Phoenix closed in 2015.Vistal Golf Club (previously Thunderbird Golf Course) in Phoenix closed in 2015.The Sanctuary Golf Club in North Canton, Ohio. (Julie Vennitti Botos/Canton Repository)The Lakes Golf Club at Ahwatukee in Phoenix, Arizona reopened on October 19, 2022, after being…The Lakes Golf Club at Ahwatukee in Phoenix, Arizona reopened on October 19, 2022, after being…The Lakes Golf Club at Ahwatukee in Phoenix, Arizona reopened on October 19, 2022, after being…The Lakes Golf Club at Ahwatukee in Phoenix, Arizona reopened on October 19, 2022, after being…A cemetery sits somewhere underneath a now-closed Wesselman Park municipal golf course in Evansville, Indiana. (John…Carolina Pines Golf and Country Club closed for business in 2016.Arizona State's Karsten Golf Course in Tempe, Arizona. (Golfweek)Formerly the Mesquite Golf and Country Club, the land in the Prescott Preserve will stay largely…Jane Garrison, executive director of Oswit Land Trust, updates a sign at the former Mesquite Golf…Formerly the Mesquite Golf and Country Club, the land in the Prescott Preserve will stay largely…A direction marker for the first hole marker at the recently closed West End Golf Club…The Lost Canyons Golf Course clubhouse in Simi Valley, California, is empty. A development is planned…
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