Hope Mills Golf Course, CLOSED 2014

Detailed description of Hope Mills Golf Course, CLOSED 2014

Hope Mills Golf Course is a Public 18 hole golf course located in Hope Mills, North Carolina.

Hope Mills Golf Course opened for play in 1939.

Hope Mills Golf Course is short, wooded course. Hope Mills is demanding because of its small greens. There are numerous trees that can alter your shots, and water hazards come into play on a number of holes.

Par for the course is 70. From the back tees the course plays to 6,143 yards. From the forward tees the course measures 4,628 yards. The longest hole on the course is # 8, a par-5 that plays to 520 yards. The shortest hole on the course is # 7, a par-3 that plays to 155 yards from the back tees.

Watch out for # 14, a 380 yard par-4 challenge and the #1 handicap hole on the course. The easiest hole at Hope Mills Golf Course is # 7, the 155 yard par-3.

The course closed February 2014. 

From the Fayobserver.com:

Co-owner and operator L.B. Wilson of Dunn said "it was strictly a financial decision."

"I've been carrying that place since I bought it," said Wilson, who bought his interest in the course 11 years ago. "Business has been terribly bad since November. I had no more money to put into it. I can't afford to keep it up."

Wilson said it was ironic the course was closing because "it's in the best shape it has been in a long time."

He said the general downturn in the golf industry in recent years combined with the unusually cold winter this year were too much to overcome.

"Saturday, the weather wasn't that bad and we only had eight players," he said. "But we've had 12 weeks of bad weather this year instead of the six we normally have. We're not making the bills."

Wilson owns 35 acres of the property with the town of Hope Mills owning 80 acres. Wilson paid the town $1,200 in rent and paid all the maintenance costs.

"We got along good," Wilson said, "but no matter how much money I put into it, I was never going to own the whole course."

Wilson said he hopes to sell his 35 acres but added, "the town is not interested in buying it because they are trying to get their dam fixed. That is understandable."

Hope Mills Town Manager John Ellis could not be reached for comment.

Wilson said he thought the property "would never be a golf course again."