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Weatherwax’s future

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Vivian Moon View Drop Down
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    Posted: Sep 13 2015 at 8:53am

Posted: 7:00 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 13, 2015

Weatherwax’s future hard to read

By Rick McCrabb

Staff Writer

BUTLER COUNTY 

Those hoping to play Weatherwax Golf Course may not want to book a tee time beyond next year.

Weatherwax will remain a 36-hole public golf course through 2016, but the owner has refused to announce future plans.

Myron Bowling, of Myron Bowling Auctioneers Inc., in Hamilton, purchased Weatherwax from the City of Middletown for $1.6 million in 2014. Since then, he has leased the course to Jim Kraft, former golf pro at Pleasant Hill Golf Club in Monroe. Kraft signed a one-year lease in November 2014 and that lease expires on Nov. 2, 2015, but Kraft has signed a one-year option through 2016, he said.

Kraft and Bowling have declined to disclose the value of the lease agreement. Just two weeks before Kraft signed the lease in 2014, an auction for the property, equipment and other items was scheduled, but later canceled.

When asked what will happen to the 425-acre property after the 2016 golf season, Bowling refused to disclose his intentions. He confirmed the sale of the property, but refused to say if the owners will continue to operate it as a golf course or another use. There has been much speculation that Weatherwax, once called the “gem” of Middletown, will be turned into green space or used as horse trails.

“You can write everything you hear on the street,” Bowling said, “and it will be all wrong.”

Tim Sorrows, 58, who holds the course record (63) at Weatherwax, has heard all the rumors and said none of them “make any sense to all of us golfers.”

Sorrows has joked he wanted his ashes spread at Weatherwax.

“I planned to play there forever,” he said.

Eventually, Bowling said, he will announce who purchased the course and their business plans.

“I can’t talk about that right now,” Bowling said Wednesday afternoon. “There will come a time.”

He was asked if Middletown residents and the golf community will be satisfied with his decision.

“I think so,” he said.

Bowling said he purchased Weatherwax, not for its 36-hole tree-lined layout, but for its acreage.

“Golf is a terrible business,” he said.

If given the opportunity, Kraft said he’d like to continue leasing Weatherwax.

“This golf season has gone well,” he said. “It’s been a good year.”

And what happens after 2016?

“I’d rather not guess,” Kraft said softly.

Bowling sounded impressed by the work that Kraft and his golf management team have done keeping Weatherwax’s playing conditions up to its reputation. The course has traditionally been ranked as one of the best public courses in Ohio.

“He certainly has done everything to the letter,” Bowling said. “He works hard and he’s dedicated to it.”

Weatherwax, one of the few 36-hole public facilities in the state, hosts numerous men’s and women’s leagues, the city’s golf championships, charity tournaments and the boys and girls Ohio High School Athletic Association District Championships every fall.

Several people who were putting their clubs in their cars after playing Weatherwax this week, said they have heard rumors that Weatherwax will be something other than a golf course after 2016.

“That would be a shame,” said Ken Knight, who lives in Fairfield and started playing Weatherwax when he worked at Akers Packaging in Middletown.

Years ago, he said, those in the Cincinnati area considered Weatherwax a golf resort, a facility typically seen in Myrtle Beach.

Another golfer, Tom Gallagher, of Middletown, called Weatherwax “part of the community” because of its rich history and connection to the city.

Gallagher said when city leaders voted to sell the course to an auctioneer, that sent up red flags.

He said auctioneers “aren’t in the business of keeping property. They want to make money.”

For city leaders, selling Weatherwax was all about saving money. At the time, Weatherwax was operating at a $150,000 deficit, which didn’t include the $250,000 annual debt payment for past improvements, said then City Manager Judy Gilleland.

The city received two bids for Weatherwax: $1.6 million from Bowling and $225,000 from a local developer, Midwest Golf Investments LLC, which listed Howard Jackson from MiddCities as a partner.

Just 12 years ago, Weatherwax was appraised at $4.5 million to $5 million, but because of the weak economy and health of the golf industry, its worth has been estimated at $1.2 million.


WEATHERWAX GOLF COURSE HISTORY

1969: Weatherwax is built on land purchased from W.W. Sebald to be used for a golf course and public park. A $75,000 donation by Bessie Weatherwax, in honor of her husband Russell S. Weatherwax Sr., is used for landscaping the course.

1972: The four nine-hole courses, designed by Arthur Hills, open and Tour professional Tony Jacklin plays the first round. Funding for the construction of the course is through a 20-year bond that’s retired in 1995.

1996: The entire 36 holes and the driving range are reconstructed with bunkers, tees and fairways. Another 20-year bond is used to fund the work. As a result, the course rises from a three-star rating to a four-star rating and is a top-10 ranked public course in Ohio from 2002 to 2006.

2012: Tim Sorrows fires a 63, sets course record.

2014: City sells Weatherwax to Hamilton auctioneer company for $1.6 million. Myron Bowling leases course to Jim Kraft, who signs a one-year lease with a one-year option.

2015: Kraft plans to accept option year and operate Weatherwax as golf course through 2016.

SOURCE: City of Middletown records

 

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Dean View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dean Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Sep 13 2015 at 9:54am
While on an academic interview near Columbia in New York in late July I had the occasion to meet Donald Trump. When discussing southwestern Ohio, he said he was looking at properties near Miami University which had an existing gold course. He indicated his company intended to make it a premiere private golf club which would host the US Senior Open golf tournament and develop luxury homes ranging in the one million and above category. He was speaking about Weatherwax. Its in good hands, and Trump will make it great, because he's about winning. A casino might be in the 'cards' as well. Butler Metro wants the property has well, but Trump won. Grau phoned him about partnering with the Manchester and microbrewery project but Trump passed, as his brother was an alcoholic and died from it.   
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote middletownscouter Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Sep 14 2015 at 9:23am
Looks like Metroparks bought the property.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 409 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Sep 14 2015 at 10:21am
Scouter...This is a parcel south of the golf course.
Every morning is the dawn of a new error...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote middletownscouter Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Sep 14 2015 at 11:21am
Thanks for the clarification. I wondered why there were two parcels listed. The other shows it still belonging to Weatherwax Holdings.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 409 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Sep 23 2015 at 7:41pm
MJ:
Weatherwax sale to MetroParks is end of golf course
Golf course will close once current lease expires.
By Ed Richter
Staff Writer
MIDDLETOWN —
Weatherwax Golf Course has a new owner — and it will cease to exist as a golf course.

MetroParks of Butler County announced today it has acquired the golf course at 5401 Mosiman Road and plans to combine it with the adjacent Sebald Park to create the new Elk Creek MetroPark, according to a MetroParks press release.

The golf course is currently owned by Myron Bowling, who is leasing to a group to operate the golf course. Bowling purchased the golf course in 2014 from the city of Middletown.

TPL secured an option to purchasethe golf course from Weatherwax Holdings, LLC which is owned by Bowling Auctioneers.

The 456-acre property will provide opportunities for thousands of Butler County residents and future sports tourism events such as regional cross country meets, triathlons, equestrian events and more, according to the press release.

However, due to restrictions placed on the use of the property by the grant funds used to acquire it, golf will no longer be possible there once the present golf lease expires and park ownership begins.

When approaching Trust for Public Land (TPL), a national non-profit organization, Bowling expressed a desire that the site be maintained as open space and an asset to the community, according to the MetroParks news release.

TPL, whom MetroParks had worked with in the past, made MetroParks aware that land, adjacent to Sebald Park, was on the market. MetroParks owns and operates Sebald Park, in Madison Township and shares over a mile of common boundary to the Bowling property.

“It was, therefore, logical for MetroParks to pursue, in the public interest, the expansion of Sebald Park through the acquisition of the property in order to ensure continued public enjoyment and access”, said Greg Amend, president of MetroParks’ Board of Park Commissioners.

“Funding to pay for the acquisition of the land and its conversion to a natural area public park open to all will be available at almost no local cost through a combination of donated value, labor, state and federal funds,” he said.

The significance of the purchase is “not what won’t happen there, but what will happen there in the future that makes this change in the use of the property important to the residents of Butler County,” said Jonathan Granville, MetroParks executive director.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Vivian Moon Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Sep 24 2015 at 8:22am
Just shaking my head in utter disbelief about this entire deal over the past several years.


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Neil Barille Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Sep 24 2015 at 8:44am
The city certainly messed up in several ways, including running the course at a loss due to overstaffing and bloated city employee level wages.  But the weird thing is why would the Public Trust need the involvement of Bowling to obtain this land?  Surely there are thousands of struggling golf course all over the country that would gladly sell to the Public Trust.  Did they really need Bowling to act as middleman and then overpay him in the process?  Something does indeed smell fishy about this whole thing.  Why do I have a feeling this would not have happened if the course were in Hamilton?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote spiderjohn Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Sep 24 2015 at 10:25am
Congratulations Vivian!
All over town I see signs
Moon for Middletown
U have my vote and support!
Rock the boat!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Vivian Moon Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Sep 24 2015 at 11:14am
Hahahaaaa..Spider I'm not running for city council. You can bet City Hall doesn't want me on council asking "Where did all the money go"?

TALBOTT MOON is running for City Council
https://www.facebook.com/Talbottmoon
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote spiderjohn Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Sep 24 2015 at 11:54am
your son?
nephew?
ex-husband?

I wondered how u were able to put signs in the front yards of so many mmfers.....
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Vivian Moon Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Sep 24 2015 at 2:50pm
I'm not connected to this family.

I believe he is connected to the Moon Insurance family.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Stanky Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Sep 24 2015 at 9:40pm
Yeah no doubt the course would have been saved if it were a Hamilton treasure. Since it's just Middletown no one gives a hoot.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote spiderjohn Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Sep 25 2015 at 9:38am
The place is beautiful
A state-wide treasure
So--where will these non- country clubbers play golf at such a level of quality?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Voleye Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Sep 28 2015 at 12:20pm
 I dont mind that Weatherwax will no longer be a golf course.   What I do not care for is that Butler Metro Parks  (taxpayer money) has purchased the property for  $2.6 Million.  When they could have purchased the property a year or two ago for $1.5 Million.   I dont think they improved the property that was worth the extra million of tax payer money.

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