The 29-year-old Royal Oak Golf Course in Armstrong, B.C., won’t open for the 2020 season. After eight years trying to sell the 18-hole, 60-acre site as a golf course, it was sold in 2018 to a developer for a proposed mixed-use subdivision.
It is becoming a common refrain across B.C., where there are at least a dozen golf courses for sale.
From 2015 to 2018, the latest figures available, 51 golf courses closed in Canada, according to a survey from Golf Canada and the Professional Golfer’s Association. Since 2010, 22 18-hole courses were in development but it is not certain how many proceeded to completion.
B.C. golf courses for sale right now include the Redstone Golf Resort in Rossland ($5.9 million), Kokanee Springs Resort in the Kootenays ($4.8 milion) and the Meridian golf course in Surrey ($8.9 million), all listed by Colliers International.
There are also calls in Vancouver for the city to close three of its golf courses and turn their total of 450 acres into affordable housing.