There may have been several end dates that slipped by over the past few months, but the closing of Legacy Pines was inevitable and finally happened.

“Ive had so many people tell me how much they loved the course and are going to miss playing golf here,” said Tommy Biershenk, who has been the operating partner at the club since 2014. “They are not the only ones who will miss the course, we put a lot of work into this place and had it going pretty good,” he said.

Legacy Pines became a target for sub division developers in the early stages of the real estate boom a couple of years ago.

First Bonnie Brae went away, then the course at Donaldson Center and finally the Legacy Pines owner got an offer he couldn’t refuse.

“It really was part of the plan when we bought the course. We would run it as a golf course and do our best, but we always knew this property was going to be valuable for development,” said Biershenk.

With the former PGA Tour pro running the operation the course made great strides from the previous owners and bounced back from a fire that destroyed the clubhouse.

“Our superintendent David Greene had been here for 24 years and we have had members and golfers who have been here for a long time too.” he said.

Some of the members and a few guests apparently felt they had to have a small part of the course as a remembrance of Legacy Pines. The Hejaz Shrine Golf Club or Ramsgate as it had been called over the years.

“Our flags started to disappear from the course, We had to find some old ones and borrowed a couple to finish up. Somebody actually dug up a cup on one of the holes and we had people taking turf from the greens,” Biershenk reported with amazement.

The course had a number of bird houses around the layout and they turned into a souvenir for one member.

“I walked out of the shop and saw a member with a couple of the bird houses in his cart. He rolled by and said he figured I wouldn’t mind him taking them. Just amazing what some people will do,” he laughed.

Biershenk mentions these as the rare example from his time running the course.

“We have had great members and guests and the course has been good for golf. We hosted fund raising outings, had a place for high school and junior golfers to play. and held some fun tournaments. We had a good run,” he said.

While Legacy Pines has closed Biershenk’s involvement in golf continues at one traditional venue and at one, one of a brand new concept.

Much of Legacy Pines, that didn’t fall victim to souvenir takers, has moved to The Rock. Biershenk and his crew have been doing the same thing at the course north of Pickens he did at Legacy Pines.

“We’ve done a lot of work at The Rock and it really has improved. We have some more changes planned to make it even better,” he said.

The new concept is District Park. it is the first of its kind certainly in the Upstate and probably in a much wider area.

The large recreational complex in Easley is golf focused, but will also have soccer fields and pickle ball courts as well as other upscale family entertainment.

“Pickle ball is getting so big we will plan to feature it. With our main building we are going to have both indoor and outdoor courts and indoor and outdoor golf simulators,” said Biershenk.

District Park will be first with an outdoor range that will feature Trackman units both for practice and simulator play.

“We are hanging the nets and testing everything and so far its been good. We are pretty much on schedule and should be able to open in the spring,” said Biershenk.

With golf courses being crowded and no new courses being built, simulator play has gained in popularity.

Trackman is the gold standard and most golfers who play the game on a simulator know they are playing golf, not a video game.

Golfers will be able to play 150 or more golf courses. They will not need a cart and they should not lose a golf ball when they tee up at District Park.

“We are also going to have other family activities like indoor soccer fields and some special events. We believe this is going to take off. District Park is going to be something really special, I’m going to miss Legacy Pines, but I can’t wait to get District Park open for golfers this spring,” he concluded.