Thread: GSP Golf Course

Just saw in the B'ham News that the State is closing the Golf Course at the Park. Last day will be Dec. 2.

I understand the golf course was a perpetual money losing proposition but they should have started offering golf packages with the new lodge. That could potentially sell more rooms at the lodge in the off season and bolster revenue at the golf course. A lot of industries up north have conventions in cold weather whose attendees would love to be able to play golf December through February. Just my $.02(worth only $.0189 in today's dollar).

From GSPark FB page:

This is a very difficult post to make but the decision has been made to close the Gulf State Park Refuge Golf Course on December 2nd. Please read the official press release below for more info.For Immediate Release: November 15, 2018
Contact: Frances Coleman | 251-510-7577 | frances@dcwins.com
Development of Master Plan, Additional Study and Report Lead to Closing of Gulf State Park Golf Course
GULF SHORES, Ala. – Due to a saturation of golf courses in the region and the opportunity to provide new nature-based recreational opportunities at Gulf State Park, the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ALDCNR) officials announced this week that the Gulf State Park’s golf course will close in December.
Chris Blankenship, commissioner of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, said the state park’s golf course has been losing money for several years and that he “could not in good conscience” allow our financial resources to continue to be diverted to subsidize the golf course while there are many other possibilities for the use of that property that can provide varied outdoor experiences for our guests and the community.”
The decision to close the Gulf State Park course was not made lightly, he said; indeed, it followed the development of a master plan for the park that recommended the golf course be repurposed into other outdoor recreation opportunities for patrons. ALDCNR also engaged a third-party that specializes in studying golf courses and developing plans to identify how to make the best use of the facility. The Gulf State Park Master Plan can be found at www.mygulfstatepark.com.
“There are more than a half-dozen other golf courses in the region, and that saturation means the prognosis for profitability of our course is not good,” said State Parks Director Greg Lein. “We can’t afford to continue operating in the red year after year. That not only negatively impacts Gulf State Park, but our system as a whole.”
The good news, he said, is that several courses in the area have agreed to offer special rates for Gulf State Park’s campground and lodge guests from December 3rd through February 28, 2019. For example, Craft Farms in Gulf Shores will offer a “play anytime” rate of $46.50, Peninsula Golf Club in Gulf Shores will offer $51.50 and Rock Creek in Fairhope will offer $34.83. Each of the three courses will offer an early-bird (before 9 a.m.) rate of $39, and all will charge $24 for a nine-hole round after 3 p.m., plus other special rates as well. Park guests will have to present a receipt from the park to qualify for these exclusive rates.
Gulf State Park is considered the “crown jewel” of Alabama’s state parks system, sporting a brand new, 350-room hotel that includes five restaurants, several pools, outdoor terraces and 40,000 square feet of meeting space. The 6,500-acre park itself includes three miles of Gulf beaches, one of the Gulf of Mexico’s longest fishing piers, 28 miles of walking and biking trails, cabins, camping spaces and the freshwater Lake Shelby. The park is made up of nine ecosystems.
“This was a very difficult decision and one that we know impacts the lives of a number of our staff here at Gulf State Park,” said Gary Ellis, Director of Community Relations and Administration at Gulf State Park. “We notified all of our golf course staff as a group of the decision, but we will be meeting one-on-one with all of them over the next several days to try to identify opportunities for them in the park or elsewhere in the system. We want to do everything we can to support them during this time of transition.”
The golf course’s last day of operation will be Dec. 2.
About Alabama’s State Parks System
The Alabama State Parks is a division of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. The division maintains 22 parks encompassing approximately 48,000 acres of land and water. These parks rely on visitor fees and the support of other partners like local communities to fund the majority of their operations. Download the State Parks app at pocketranger.com. For more information about Alabama State Parks, go online to www.alapark.com. Partners Pay the Way.

Mark my words..somebody has designs on that property. In five years time, maybe less, the state and the good people of Alabama will no longer be the owners, and I’ll bet that a good piece of the golf course will be turned into condos or something akin to The Wharf. The closing of the road through the park was just the first clue that something was amiss. This may be the second. Just ask Fob James...he’ll tell you how and why it will need to done.

The golf course area would be very convenient to tie in a road from the proposed bridge to the beach road. If you took it over the golf course and connected to old Park Road #2, it would not disturb as much in the way of "virgin" land between canal road and the beach, which might lower opposition from the environmental side.

Picture of the proposed bridge and connector to the Beach Express here:

https://yellowhammernews.com/gulf-sh...om-only-crowd/

Thanks for the info, I really didn't look over it too closely and don't understand the plans, as I really don't have a dog in this hunt, yet. But, I will say that the Branyon trail system and in particular, the connecter road(closed road) is very beautiful and tranquil, I love bicycling there. It's my top "me time" attraction when I'm in the area. I hope they are not disturbed.

Originally Posted by chillinfish

I understand the golf course was a perpetual money losing proposition but they should have started offering golf packages with the new lodge. That could potentially sell more rooms at the lodge in the off season and bolster revenue at the golf course. A lot of industries up north have conventions in cold weather whose attendees would love to be able to play golf December through February. Just my $.02(worth only $.0189 in today's dollar).

Bingo. That makes too much sense

Originally Posted by frednic

The golf course area would be very convenient to tie in a road from the proposed bridge to the beach road. If you took it over the golf course and connected to old Park Road #2, it would not disturb as much in the way of "virgin" land between canal road and the beach, which might lower opposition from the environmental side.

Picture of the proposed bridge and connector to the Beach Express here:

https://yellowhammernews.com/gulf-sh...om-only-crowd/

It’s been in the making for years now. They have run that thing into the ground for a reason. They have put no money into it, they have not taking care of it, the greens were in horrible shape, the fairways were awful. It was a joke to be called a golf course. They charged over 40$ to play it and where did that go, obviously not back into, not even one iota of that dollar went back to it. When I started coming down there in the 80s it was well maintained, and with a great layout for a golf course. The layout is still the same but I played it 2 years ago and said never again, complete waste of money. The article starts off saying that the area is saturated with golf courses, that’s a crock. What 5, gulf shores country club, kiva dunes, peninsula, craft farms, and then perdido way on the other side of the island. I don’t think that’s saturation, the area is growing by leaps and bounds in regards to tourism, it can support another golf course, easily. Those other courses are expensive to play, so a semi cheaper alternative would be nice. They didn’t take care of it because they wanted it to fail for a specific reason. But I do have to thank the golf course for one thing, if it wasn’t for being in such bad shape, I wouldn’t be the fisherman that I am today, whichlike my golf game, is awful, but it’s a lot more fun to learn about.

There is the potential to double the size of the campground on the golf course site. There is already water, wastewater and power at the site. It's my understanding that the campground gets completely booked in the summer so that could be an option for bringing in more revenue.

BS. Despite what some thinks there is not a conspiracy behind every pine tree st GSP. The land is not for sale and can’t be sold. And all the stuff about building a road over the park is BS too. Too many legal hurdles, reversion clauses, etc and no support from anyone outside of a couple of big mouthed local politicians.
The golf course is a money pit and that’s the bottom line. It take more effort and money to properly maintain a golf course built on sand and exposed to salt air.
It would make a heck of lot more sense to make it an addition to the campground. During summer and snow birds season its 90% plus booked.
But for right now there are no solid plans.