Lower Shore golf courses close as game suffers downswing

The fringe around the ninth green stands as thick and as tall as winter wheat in May, the fairway has reverted to a pasture of weeds and the spiderwebs inside the clubhouse's dining room have coalesced into barriers as thick as dryer sheets.

It hasn't been that long since the Nassawango Country Club closed its doors for the last time — just in the autumn of 2015. But time and nature have transformed the formerly picturesque course into an eerie emblem of the sport's struggles both locally and nationally.

To be sure, many of the forces that led to the golf course's closure after 45 years in business were particular to its own circumstances. But Delmarva's golf industry leaders describe the demise of Nassawango and a handful of other area courses in recent years as consequences of seismic shifts afflicting the game at large.

Younger people — and millennials, in particular — either can't or won't devote the time it takes to play and master the sport, industry insiders say.

“In 10 years, the youngsters that are coming up are just not as interested in golf as the old-timers were," said Ed Colbert, the owner of the defunct Deer Run Golf Club off Logtown Road west of Berlin, which shuttered in December 2015. "And unfortunately the old-timers, the retirees, are dying.”

OTHER BUSINESS: Pushback grows in Westover over waste-to-energy facility

Across the country, courses are closing at a rate of 137 a year, according to Pellucid Corp., a research firm that tracks the industry.

The Lower Shore is littered with several of its own examples: Beyond Nassawango and Deer Run, they include the Pine Shore Golf Course North in Ocean Pines; Pine Shore Golf Course South in Berlin and the Beach Club Golf Course, also in Berlin.

Many of those that remain open are facing ill financial winds. The Ocean Pines Golf & Country Club, whose financials are made public, offers a rare glimpse inside the local industry.

The club lost eight members last year despite a redoubled effort to retain the community's residents and attract new golfers from the public. It ended the 2017 budget year with a loss of $181,000, nearly $50,000 more than the community's officials predicted at the start of the year.

The course can survive because homeowners association fees subsidize those losses. In Colbert's case, he said, he didn't have that luxury.

“They can lose $100,000, it doesn’t matter. It’s in the budget," he said.

The plight of his golf course illustrates the forces that have hurt the local industry.

Colbert worked for years as an executive in Boeing's computer division before moving to Worcester County. In 1997, there were only a handful of golf courses in coastal Maryland and Delaware — seven, by his count. As a fan of the game, he decided to open another.

Initially, business was booming. Coblert soon expanded Deer Run from nine holes to 27. But other developers had the same idea. By the mid-2000s, the market was beyond its saturation point with golf course inventory. 

“There was a rush to build golf courses across the country from the late '90s until 2006 or '07," said Kevin McNamara, the Realtor representing Nassawango's owners. "The problem was that rounds went down across the country.”

READ MORE:Awkward holiday: Outlook uncertain as boom time looms in Ocean City

After the recession in 2007, Colbert noticed he was no longer getting nearly as much business from golf packages, the large groups of golfers who buy several rounds of golf for one, often-discounted price. That side of the industry was down by at least half by the time he closed, he estimated.

But golf's problems, Colbert found, were larger than any passing economic event.

“It’s a very difficult game to learn, especially if you start late," he said. "And it’s frustrating. And now they have their cellphones and games. Life’s tough for these millennials. And the courses are very hard. They need to think of the average golfer.”

For Colbert, the reasons for shutting down were more personal than financial. His wife had fallen ill and required several medical visits across the bridge. And he conceded that at 81 years old, he was getting too old to stick out the downturn.

He put the property up for sale but hasn't had any serious interest so far.

“Until I sell this place, I won’t get my money back," Colbert said. He chuckled, adding: "I hope I live long enough.”

Courses facing difficult financial circumstances are rolling out new promotions to lure golfers, particularly the younger set. Some, for instance, have opened their fairways to FootGolf, a sport that uses soccer balls instead of golf balls and feet instead of clubs.

At Green Hill Country Club in Quantico, golf pro Rob McDonald is looking into creating a local chapter of the PGA Junior League, golf's equivalent to baseball's Little League. The once-private course, originally built in 1927, also threw open its doors to the public a few years ago.

The moves come after a group of homeowners-turned-investors bought the struggling Green Hill club a few years ago to keep it from closing, McDonald said.

"They wanted to build the membership up again and bring more revenue and play in. It is a wonderful place and a lot of people care about it," he said.

If area golf courses are going to survive, they'll need to find ways to bring in golfers like Saylor Guy. The 22-year-old Salisbury University senior grew up playing golf with his father and was captain of his golf team at James M. Bennett High School.

But he hasn't been able to play much lately, what with his academics and his job in the golf department at the Salisbury Dick's Sporting Goods store. It takes at least 2½ hours to play nine holes and up to an entire afternoon to play 18 with a foursome, he said.

"Life catches up to you when you’re so busy at school," Guy said.

At Nassawango, McNamara said one of the course's biggest issues was its out-of-the-way location; golfers had a hard time finding it. Now, that can be its biggest asset, he said.

The lush property, which was put on the market in April for $1.9 million, has 1,300 feet of frontage on a winding, cypress tree-lined portion of the Pocomoke River. He is marketing it as a potential retreat, housing development or campground.

“It’s kind of sad to see. You’ll see the fairways are overgrown. And the greens and sand traps have grass growing out of them.” McNamara said. “I don’t think the highest and best use is as a golf course.”

410-845-4630

On Twitter @Jeremy_Cox