PUBLISHED JUNE 23, 2016
Despite course closing, ClubLink sees silver lining in golf engagement program
By LOIS KINDLE
Just about everyone in the community knows by now that ClubLink is permanently closing Falcon Watch Golf Course in Kings Point. The course’s Sands nine closed earlier this month and its Cypress nine will follow on July 1. The holes of Falcon Watch’s Challenge nine are being added to ClubLink’s Scepter Golf Course to make it a 27-hole offering.
The closures came on the heels of ClubLink’s shutting down of the Kings Point Executive Golf Course and Caloosa Greens in Sun City Center last year. Play on the North Lake Golf Course in Sun City Center was stopped by WCI in 2009. All of the closures, including the latest, were made purely for economic reasons, said Matt Permuth, ClubLink’s director of operations.
“Major renovations and upgrades, including irrigation and drainage repairs, were needed, and the membership numbers did not support the cost,” he said.
Presently there are no plans for the buildings and land involved, and the properties will be maintained to adhere to Hillsborough County code.
Permuth said the Kings Point Master Association is facing the same problems with repairs for its road and irrigation systems but it has thousands of members to spread the cost over. Falcon Watch’s membership was 113.
Despite what many golfers in greater Sun City Center view as bad news, five golf courses remain in the community: Sandpiper, Scepter, Renaissance, Freedom Fairways and member-owned Caloosa Golf & Country Club. ClubLink members can play reciprocally at any of the first three courses, which have a total of 72 holes. Freedom Fairways is owned by Freedom Plaza.
“The trend over time shows that baby boomers are coming here who no longer want to spend four or five hours on a golf course,” Permuth said. “They are looking for social activities that give them the opportunity to spend time with friends and neighbors. That’s the culture we need to promote in Sun City Center golf.”
Permuth, 36, said ClubLink remains committed to golf in the community and is starting an engagement program in late July designed to add a more social element to the game. It’s aimed at attracting newcomers and residents who currently don’t play golf while attending the needs of current members.
“We’re going to offer free, introductory golf clinics and an affordable, four-week instructional program for $50,” he said. “We’ll be hosting membership appreciation events and introducing “Chip & Sips” to get a golf club and glass of beer or wine in the hands of the those who attend.
“Our members are the reason for our existence, and we need to focus on taking care of them,” Permuth added. “We also need to develop a pipeline for attracting new members.”
ClubLink is actively working with the community and local businesses to find tenants for the vacated buildings that will benefit area residents. Permuth is also trying to place the 20 employees who lost their jobs due to the closing.
“I’m focusing on aspects I can control and building relationships with the community,” he said. He and ClubLink’s remaining golf pros will be getting out and becoming more visible, he said.
Dick Murphy and his wife, Rosalie, have been members of Falcon Watch and Sceptor golf courses for 13 years. He sees the closures as “detrimental to those playing golf” and a “diminishing to the atmosphere of the community.”
He said the number of nine golf courses in Sun City Center were among the main factors that drew him to the community.
“But I trust Matt and I have confidence in him,” Murphy said, adding he will take a wait and see attitude. “He’s a man who does what he says he’s going to do, so while I have some trepidation, I remain hopeful.”
For more information, email mpermuth@clublink.ca.