Another Florida golf course has been shuttered, this time thanks to the coronavirus.
Inverrary Country Club is a 292.5-acre private golf and country club in Lauderhill, northwest of Fort Lauderdale, with two 18-hole courses. It was founded in 1970 and used to host a PGA Tour event that grew into The Honda Classic.
Victorville West Limited Partnership acquired the property in 2006. In September, the group acknowledged that golf as a sport was in decline — between 2005 and 2016, the number of Americans who played a round or more each year dropped from 30 million to 23 million — and planned to close the club this June.
But the coronavirus bumped up the timeline. Broward County in March issued an emergency order shutting down all golf courses in the county. This week, Victorville announced that the facility would be officially and permanently closed for business.
"It’s a very sad day for our Inverrary family, but the Broward County Administrator’s Order has caused the Inverrary golf courses and all related property operations to officially shut down, and because the golf courses do not have the economic ability to reopen, both courses have been permanently closed for business," General Manager Nick Fortunato said in a statement.
In land-constrained Florida, a golfer's loss is a developer's dream. GolfSmash still lists 1,032 courses in the state, but over the past few years, 13th Floor Homes, Pulte Group, GL Homes and Lennar have all scooped up golf properties for residential development. A group led by soccer legend David Beckham is planning to develop Melreese Country Club in Miami into a 25,000-seat Major League Soccer stadium.
A spokesperson for Inverrary didn't have details about Victorville's future plans, but Victorville partner David Husman said in September the company would explore redevelopment.
“After many years of operational losses where revenues have not been sufficient to cover the expenses, the club ownership has determined that golf course operations are no longer viable at Inverrary, and that it is time to redevelop the entire property to other permitted uses,” Husman said.
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