Farmstead Golf Links, home to the Grand Strand’s only par-6 golf hole and one of the few in the United States, will close at the end of October.
Owner WJ McLamb said he sold the course to a developer who intended to build a subdivision on the property that straddles the North Carolina-South Carolina border in Calabash, North Carolina, and Little River.
The course is 20 years old, but McLamb turns 90 in October and wanted to shirk responsibility for the company.
The course is scheduled to close after the game on October 31.
“I told myself that at my age, I needed to make some changes. I can’t keep up with this pace for the next 10 years, ”McLamb said. “Things changed and I decided I had to get out.”
McLamb took care of the construction of Farmstead, devoting time to machinery during construction.
” There’s a lot [of sentimental value], but that’s life and things have to change, ”he said. “You have to do what seems best for the future, and I know that at my age I couldn’t hold on to it.”
The McLamb family divested themselves of the golf courses and their long-standing ownership over the past two decades.
McLamb said he expects the course to be redeveloped into an upscale residential development, with a mix of single-family and multi-family homes, which he says the property is already zoned to accommodate.
A long family history
Part of the Farmstead property has been in the McLamb family since 1939 when WJ’s father, also named William Joseph, bought it and then built a house in 1946. “So we’ve been here ever since,” McLamb said.
The property was generally farmland and timberland until the course was constructed.
WJ’s father was a North Carolina state legislator, Brunswick County judge, and founder of WJ McLamb and Son Construction and Mac Construction.
The McLamb family have owned property along the border since the 1700s. Farmstead’s address is 541 McLamb Road NW in Calabash. “So I was kinda attached to it,” McLamb said.
McLamb also built and owns nearby the Meadowlands Golf Club, a 6,900-yard Willard Byrd project that opened in 1997, and this course will remain open under the direction of McLamb’s grandson, Jakob, who operates it. for a few years.
“He’s very interested in it so I decided to let him be done with it,” McLamb said. “It’s good to keep something in the family, you know.”
The Managing Director of Farmstead and Meadowlands, Harris D’Antignac, will remain the Managing Director of Meadowlands, which is fully developed with around 400 homes around.
D’Antignac said Farmstead would not close due to a lack of success. “The golf course has probably matured so much over the years that it remains in superb condition year round. It was profitable, I tell you, says D’Antignac.
McLamb was the original owner of the 27-hole Brunswick Plantation, which opened in 1992, but this course was sold in the late 1990s. A cousin, the late Jerry McLamb, built the Crow Creek Golf Club nearby for an opening in 2000 and his parents sold it two years ago.
The characteristics of the farm
Farmstead is a par-72 Willard Byrd and David Johnson design that has a challenging length at 7,242 yards, a country feel with expansive fields along the holes, a fair amount of water hazards and bunkers to provide a test and variety throughout the course.
The course is best known for the 767-yard 18th hole that circles a large pond on potentially the second, third and fourth strokes.
In addition to par-6, Farmstead also stands out for its holes in South Carolina and North Carolina. It crosses the border along the 14th par-5 hole.
The G2 Golf Group school, run by instructor Elizabeth Granahan and Michele Gajderowicz, which was located in Farmstead earlier this year, moved to Meadowlands and to a new building on the driving range about three months ago.
The loss of Farmstead and the impending loss of The Witch Golf Links in Conway after Thanksgiving continues to shrink the Myrtle Beach golf market.
In 2001, there were 120 routes between Georgetown and Southport, NC This number is now below 90. Many have been sold and closed in favor of residential development.
“It’s the industry,” McLamb said. “We all over-built in the 1990s and that had to change. It couldn’t go on like before.
