Note: There is a maximum of 200 words per comment. If you wish to post more, please visit our forum.
orecoast007 wrote on Sep 12, 2009 9:17 PM:
They are closing because they sold the property to Jordan Cove.. DUH!
Kentuck Golf Course will close doors Monday
By Staff Reports
Sunday, September 06, 2009 | 2 comment(s)
One of the area’s oldest golf courses closes for good Monday.
Kentuck Golf Course will be open for the final time during the holiday weekend, shutting down Monday night, a victim of the slow economy.
“We’ve just been barely paying the bills,” said Wally Culp, who grew up at the golf course and has worked there for three decades.
The Culp family has owned Kentuck for 45 years. It was built in the early 1960s and purchased by Culp’s grandfather, Wally Wickett, in 1964. The family added nine holes to the original nine, making Kentuck the only 18-hole golf course on the South Coast for many years.
The past 20 years have seen the creation of Sandpines Golf Links in Florence, Salmon Run near Brookings and Bandon Crossings, as well as Bandon Dunes Golf Resort. Also both Coos Country Club (now Watson Ranch) and Ocean Dunes Golf Links in Florence expanded to 18 holes.
Most of those courses aren’t direct competition for Kentuck, which has been known for a relaxed atmosphere and the wide fairways that made it favorable for beginning golfers.
The biggest hit against Kentuck came when the dike protecting the back nine from Kentuck Slough failed in December 2001, and the back nine was closed for eight months. The golfers never came back in large enough numbers to make Kentuck profitable again.
The course has been targeted by leaders in the Jordan Cove Energy Project as a possible site for wetlands mitigation in case a liquid natural gas terminal is built on the North Spit. Jordan Cove Energy Project and the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay have an option to buy the land through July 2010.
Culp had hoped to keep the course open until the end of the year, but said financially that doesn’t make sense.
He said the decision to close the course will pull at his heart strings after the holiday weekend.
“I’ll be sad Tuesday, the first day we’re not open,” he said.
In the meantime, he hopes the area residents who have spent time on the course realize how much the family appreciates their support.
“I want to thank everybody who has golfed here,” he said.
Kentuck Golf Course will be open for the final time during the holiday weekend, shutting down Monday night, a victim of the slow economy.
“We’ve just been barely paying the bills,” said Wally Culp, who grew up at the golf course and has worked there for three decades.
The Culp family has owned Kentuck for 45 years. It was built in the early 1960s and purchased by Culp’s grandfather, Wally Wickett, in 1964. The family added nine holes to the original nine, making Kentuck the only 18-hole golf course on the South Coast for many years.
The past 20 years have seen the creation of Sandpines Golf Links in Florence, Salmon Run near Brookings and Bandon Crossings, as well as Bandon Dunes Golf Resort. Also both Coos Country Club (now Watson Ranch) and Ocean Dunes Golf Links in Florence expanded to 18 holes.
Most of those courses aren’t direct competition for Kentuck, which has been known for a relaxed atmosphere and the wide fairways that made it favorable for beginning golfers.
The biggest hit against Kentuck came when the dike protecting the back nine from Kentuck Slough failed in December 2001, and the back nine was closed for eight months. The golfers never came back in large enough numbers to make Kentuck profitable again.
The course has been targeted by leaders in the Jordan Cove Energy Project as a possible site for wetlands mitigation in case a liquid natural gas terminal is built on the North Spit. Jordan Cove Energy Project and the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay have an option to buy the land through July 2010.
Culp had hoped to keep the course open until the end of the year, but said financially that doesn’t make sense.
He said the decision to close the course will pull at his heart strings after the holiday weekend.
“I’ll be sad Tuesday, the first day we’re not open,” he said.
In the meantime, he hopes the area residents who have spent time on the course realize how much the family appreciates their support.
“I want to thank everybody who has golfed here,” he said.
The comments below are from users of theworldlink.com and do not necessarily represent the views of The World or Lee Enterprises. Participation Guidelines
Note: There is a maximum of 200 words per comment. If you wish to post more, please visit our forum.
Note: There is a maximum of 200 words per comment. If you wish to post more, please visit our forum.
Not already registered?
The World welcomes your comments about stories, and we encourage a robust dialogue on this site. All comments must meet reasonable standards of decency and civility.
Please follow these basic rules:
- No defamatory comments about individuals or businesses.
- No deliberately false information.
- No obscenity or racially offensive language.
- No harassment, verbal abuse, threats or personal attacks.
- No information that invades another person's privacy.
- No business solicitations or charitable solicitations.
Comments that violate these standards will not be posted. Users with repeated violations may be banned from future posting.Comments will be approved throughout the day during business hours. After hours and weekend comments may not appear until the following business day. It may take a couple of hours before comments are approved.
The World generally does not edit comments, but we reserve the right to edit any comment that does not meet our standards.
Close Guidelines