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.)
Palm Springs Country Club
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 Abeyta/The Desert Sun)
Palm Springs Country Club
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 Abeyta/The Desert Sun)
Palm Springs Country Club
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 Abeyta/The Desert Sun)
Palm Springs Country Club
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 Abeyta/The Desert Sun)
Palm Springs Country Club
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 Abeyta/The Desert Sun)
Palm Springs Country Club
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 Abeyta/The Desert Sun)
Tomoka Oaks Golf & Country Club
This is the sign for the closed Tomoka Oaks Golf & Country Club on Monday, April…
This is the sign for the closed Tomoka Oaks Golf & Country Club on Monday, April 12, 2020, in Ormand Beach, Florida. (Clayton Park/News-Journal)
Tomoka Oaks Golf & Country Club
A lone golfer takes practice swings on the old golf course at the closed Tomoka Oaks…
A lone golfer takes practice swings on the old golf course at the closed Tomoka Oaks Golf & Country Club in Ormond Beach, Florida. (Clayton Park/News-Journal)
Sandhill Golf Course
A cart path that runs through the former Sandhill Golf Course in Florida has become overgrown…
A cart path that runs through the former Sandhill Golf Course in Florida has become overgrown since the course closed in 2017. (Daytona Beach News-Journal)
West Palm Beach Municipal Golf Course
West Palm Beach Municipal Golf Course closed in 2018 but reopened under the PGA of America…
West Palm Beach Municipal Golf Course closed in 2018 but reopened under the PGA of America as The Park (Bruce R. Bennett/Palm Beach Post)
San Luis Rey Downs
Debris and weeds litter a former green on the San Luis Rey Downs golf course in…
Debris and weeds litter a former green on the San Luis Rey Downs golf course in Bonsall, California, that closed in 2014 because of the statewide drought and the rising cost of water.
Mt. Brighton Golf Course
Mt. Brighton Golf Course in Brighton, Michigan. (Gillis Benedict/Livingston Daily)
Bahia de los Suenos
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 San Lucas.
Bahia de los Suenos
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 San Lucas.
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Bahia de los Suenos
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 San Lucas.
Bahia de los Suenos
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 San Lucas.
Bahia de los Suenos
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 San Lucas.
Bahia de los Suenos
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 San Lucas.
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Bonita Springs Golf and Country Club
Bonita Springs Golf and Country Club. (Andrea Stetson/USA TODAY)
Tommy Jacobs Bel Air Greens
Tommy Jacobs Bel Air Greens in Palm Springs, California. (Jay Calderon/The Desert Sun)
Tommy Jacobs Bel Air Greens
Tommy Jacobs Bel Air Greens in Palm Springs, California. (Jay Calderon/The Desert Sun)
Tommy Jacobs Bel Air Greens
Tommy Jacobs Bel Air Greens in Palm Springs, California. (Jay Calderon/The Desert Sun)
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Tommy Jacobs Bel Air Greens
Tommy Jacobs Bel Air Greens in Palm Springs, California. (Jay Calderon/The Desert Sun)
VA Golf Course in Murfreesboro
The VA Golf Course in Murfreesboro,
The VA Golf Course in Murfreesboro,
Tennessee. (Helen Comer/The Daily News Journal)
Tennessee. (Helen Comer/The Daily News Journal)
Sherwood Golf Club
Sherwood Golf Club in Titusville, Florida, closed in 2019. (Tim Shortt/Florida Today)
Vista Hills Country Club
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. (Briana Sanchez / El Paso Times)
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Vista Hills Country Club
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. (Briana Sanchez / El Paso Times)
Eastland Green South Golf Course
Eastland Green South Golf Course in Clarksville, Tennessee. (Henry Taylor/The Leaf-Chronicle)
Villa de Paz Golf Course
The abandoned Villa de Paz Golf Course in Phoenix. (Catherine Rafferty/The Arizona Republic)
Villa de Paz Golf course
The abandoned Villa de Paz Golf course in Phoenix. (Catherine Rafferty/The Arizona Republic)
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Vistal Golf Club
Vistal Golf Club (previously Thunderbird Golf Course) in Phoenix closed in 2015.
Vistal Golf Club
Vistal Golf Club (previously Thunderbird Golf Course) in Phoenix closed in 2015.
Vistal Golf Club
Vistal Golf Club (previously Thunderbird Golf Course) in Phoenix closed in 2015.
Vistal Golf Club
Vistal Golf Club (previously Thunderbird Golf Course) in Phoenix closed in 2015.
"
Sanctuary Golf Club
The Sanctuary Golf Club in North Canton, Ohio. (Julie Vennitti Botos/Canton Repository)
Ahwatukee Lakes Golf Course
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 closed for nine years. (Tom Tingle/The Arizona Republic)
Ahwatukee Lakes Golf Course
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 closed for nine years. (Tom Tingle/The Arizona Republic)
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Ahwatukee Lakes Golf Course
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 closed for nine years. (Tom Tingle/The Arizona Republic)
Ahwatukee Lakes Golf Course
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 closed for nine years. (Tom Tingle/The Arizona Republic)
Wesselman Park
A cemetery sits somewhere underneath a now-closed Wesselman Park municipal golf course in Evansville, Indiana. (John…
A cemetery sits somewhere underneath a now-closed Wesselman Park municipal golf course in Evansville, Indiana. (John T. Martin/ Courier & Press)
Carolina Pines Golf and Country Club
Carolina Pines Golf and Country Club closed for business in 2016.
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ASU Karsten
Arizona State’s Karsten Golf Course in Tempe, Arizona. (Golfweek)
Arizona State’s Karsten Golf Course in Tempe, Arizona. (Golfweek)
Mesquite Golf and Country Club
Formerly the Mesquite Golf and Country Club, the land in the Prescott Preserve will stay largely…
Formerly the Mesquite Golf and Country Club, the land in the Prescott Preserve will stay largely undeveloped in Palm Springs, California. (Jay Calderon/The Desert Sun)
Mesquite Golf and Country Club
Jane Garrison, executive director of Oswit Land Trust, updates a sign at the former Mesquite Golf…
Jane Garrison, executive director of Oswit Land Trust, updates a sign at the former Mesquite Golf Course after the announcement that it will become a desert nature preserve called the Prescott Preserve in Palm Springs, California. (Jay Calderon/The Desert Sun)
Mesquite Golf and Country Club
Formerly the Mesquite Golf and Country Club, the land in the Prescott Preserve will stay largely…
Formerly the Mesquite Golf and Country Club, the land in the Prescott Preserve will stay largely undeveloped in Palm Springs, California. (Jay Calderon/The Desert Sun)
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West End Golf Club
A direction marker for the first hole marker at the recently closed West End Golf Club…
A direction marker for the first hole marker at the recently closed West End Golf Club in Gainesville. Around Christmas of 2022, West End closed after being open for about 50 years. (Brad McClenny/The Gainesville Sun)
Lost Canyons Golf Course
The Lost Canyons Golf Course clubhouse in Simi Valley, California, is empty. A development is planned…
The Lost Canyons Golf Course clubhouse in Simi Valley, California, is empty. A development is planned in the area that will ultimately build 364 homes. (Juan Carlo/The Star)
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