BLYTHWOOD SC
The Blythwood Country Club, formerly known as The Windermere Club, has filed for bankruptcy.
Owner John Bakhaus said filing Chapter 11 last Thursday was meant to restructure course finances – notably mortgage debt and property taxes – not as a prelude to closing.
“At an operational level, things have gone very well recently,” he said. “We don’t owe the vendors anything. We are moving forward and continue to invest over the course.”
Several golf courses in the Columbia area have struggled in recent years because developers have built too many courses or have not maintained them, experts say. One, the South Carolina Golf Club in Crickentree, was closed and is now turning into a controversial residential complex.
But ironically, the advent of the coronavirus pandemic has helped business on the Bakhaus course and in other sectors of the industry, the owner said, as people are looking for ways to leave the house, socialize and still be safe.
“It has been a blessing for the whole industry,” he said. Golf “is something that people can do at a recreational level and in any case at a social distance”.
The course near Blythewood has been strained since the sale of the course went bankrupt in September.
Since then, Bakhaus has updated the course, designed by the legendary Pete Dye, and made other improvements to try and increase its use.
The greens on the 18-hole course were boosted this spring by curved grass in ultra-dwarf Bermuda, which is more compatible with Columbia’s hot summers. It is the same herb used at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, where the PGA Tour’s Wells Fargo Championship is played.
“We did this conversion of the greens last summer and they came in beautifully and people love them and that helped too,” said Bakhaus.
In addition, the course, like most Midland courses, set up coronavirus warranties such as no common water cooler, no bunker rake and trolley disinfection after each round, among other precautions.
Bakhaus said a bankruptcy ruling is expected in about two weeks. And even if denied, the field would continue to be open to play.
“We are talking closely with another investor,” said Bakhaus.
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