Edit note: the section of this article reporting on the purchase of the Jones Creek property has been edited from an earlier version, to clarify which portion of the property had been acquired.
Golf in the CSRA may be going through a paradigm shift.
On Oct. 12, Dallas golf resort company Arcis Golf bought Evans course Champions Retreat, announcing the impending change of ownership five days before the closing date.
The Practice Club at Jones Creek powered by Toptracer, the golf training facility launched by Andrew Brooks of Bond Golf Global, opened in April in the Jones Creek subdivision in Evans.
About two weeks later, reports surfaced of the purchase of the contested property at 777 Jones Creek by a Florida-based buyer under the name Jones Creek Clubhouse LLC. The golf course closed in 2018 amid deterioration.
Across the river, the 6,600-square foot Midland Valley Golf Club property in Graniteville went up for sale for more than $1.4 million last month.
This development comes months after Aiken County saw the installation of three new courses: The Tree Farm, a private club and course with more than 500 acres developed by golfer Zac Blair, Old Barnwell, a 575-acre course in historic Aiken, the first phase of a three-course development project planned to complete in 2027, and the nine-hole Chalk Mine course, a practice facility for First Tee of Aiken and USC Aiken.
“First Tee is a fantastic program, so for us to come in and have a hand and that was very satisfying to do,” said Jim McNair Jr., developer of the Chalk Mine 9.
McNair, who also owns the Aiken Golf Club and Cedar Creek Golf Club, collaborated with two partners to build the facility from scratch, a goal he says has been on their “bucket list” since renovating the Aiken Golf Club in 1999.
He was also motivated to build the course to ensure that the project happened, as it was complete after some six years of planning and fundraising.
“I don’t say this lightly, but if we did not build it, I don’t think it would have ever been built,” McNair said. “There would have been too many overriding factors, cost being one, and then trying to line up any type of golf course contractors that would do that small of a project.”
McNair also surmises that the upturn in developments is part of a kind of golf renaissance, a renewed interest in the sport borne from changes in the economy and the surge of players in the wake of Covid pandemic.
“More people wanted lifestyle changes,” he said. “And during Covid one of the few things that you could do, in a lot of clubs, because you were social distancing, you could play golf, and you could be outside.”
What’s burgeoning in the CSRA seems to be happening across the country. In July, the National Golf Foundation reported a three-month streak of year-over-year gains in rounds played at U.S. golf courses, noting that 35 of the 37 months prior to that point outperformed their pre-pandemic monthly averages, compared to stats from 2017 – 2019.
McNair has noticed the gains in his own business, he said, with his own clubs having had a total combined 35% increase in play and revenues over the last three years.
“These are probably the best years that we’ve had in over a decade,” he said. “Golf, actually, was either in decline or stagnant, from about 2003 or 2004, all the way up until COVID.”
McNair also observes the exclusivity of the clubs as an indication of the game’s rekindling in the area.
Although the Aiken County Planning Department says that, other than the three aforementioned courses, “no other applications for a golf course development have been presented to Aiken County Planning and Development for review and approval in the past five years,” Cypress Shoals, the proposed 1,700-acre mixed-use development and golf club in North Augusta designed by Tom Watson, still has its website up.
The same goes for 21 Golf Club, an invitation-only golf club in Aiken, which, according to its website, plans to build two new courses, including an 18-hole green designed by King-Collins Golf Course Design.
While he estimates the increasing play of 10% to 15% each may flatten out slightly, McNair believes the trajectory indicates good things for the sport in the area, with influenced by the momentum of local golf developments, and the proximity to Augusta National.
“I just think golf is in this area is going to continue to be a mainstay of our economy,” he said. “And I think it’s going to continue to grow, where maybe other areas of the country might not.”
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering business for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
