from par to public park.
Nationally, more golf courses have closed than have opened every year since 2006, and the pace of closings has accelerated since the economic slowdown in 2018. Currently, there are 673 golf courses in PA and 348 in New Jersey—that’s double the amount of Wawa locations in the two states. The average course size is 150 acres.
These combined factors mean golf courses are prime targets for developers.
Take the Edgemont Country Club, which shared a border with Ridley Creek State Park in Delaware County, PA. The 190-acre property was purchased in 2021 by Toll Brothers and turned into a luxury townhome development. The family-owned course, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2013, owed more than $2.2 million, including two mortgages and unpaid real estate taxes. Co-owner Peter Mariani told reporters that the property’s development value exceeded its value as a golf course.
Limekiln Golf Club in Horsham, Montgomery County, closed in 2019. The 209-acre property— also purchased by Toll Brothers—was developed as an over-55 community with 475 dwellings.
The same fate awaited Loch Nairn Golf Club. The course, located in New Garden Township, Chester County, was established in 1979 and stayed in the Smedley family since. Founder H.C. Smedley personally planted some 700 trees on its 106 acres. But, over the decades, the revenues dropped so the family decided to sell.
Photo: iStock
But the Loch Nairn story had a different outcome. Instead of a subdivision, the golf course is being transformed into a township-owned park that will be called Smedley Preserve.
“New Garden Township reached out to Natural Lands for help in acquiring the property a couple of years ago,” said Natural Lands Project Manager Kate Raman. “In addition to finding grant funding sources to underwrite the purchase price, we were also involved in helping the township create a multi-phased Master Plan for the site. The plan will guide the conversion from golf course to nature preserve.”
The Master Plan takes into account environmental improvements—like replacing impervious turf grass with native meadows. It also includes visitor amenities such as the addition of nearly four miles of walking trails, some of which will utilize old golf cart paths.
The property includes a tributary to White Clay Creek and serves as a natural sponge, absorbing floodwaters when the creek expands during storms. The Plan calls for additional trees to be planted to prevent erosion, provide shade, and help with groundwater absorption. Tree species identified in the Master Plan include those that are more resilient in the face of climate change and associated temperature extremes.
“According to data from Chester County, had this property been developed, the community would have had to spend $250,000 in annual maintenance and operations and nearly half-a-million dollars more on stormwater infrastructure,” said Kate. “Instead, once restored to meadow and woodlands, the property will provide those ecological services at no cost.”
Equally significant is the fact that the land, once only able to be visited by those willing to pay greens fees, will be open to everyone, free of charge.
Key Partners: Conservancy Grant Program, Commissioners of Chester County, Pennsylvania; New Garden Township; PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Recreation and Conservation – Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund; Stroud Water Research Center; Virginia Cretella Mars Foundation; White Clay Creek Wild and Scenic River Program; William Penn Foundation’s Delaware River Watershed Initiative; and an anonymous donor.