2017 · Community & course · Article 15 of 20
June 1, 2017: The Last Round
Brierwood Golf Course closed on June 1, 2017, in its fiftieth year. The fairways went quiet, but the neighborhood around them did not.
On June 1, 2017, Brierwood Golf Course closed. The community's records note the date in a single line, which is about right. There was no ceremony, only a last day of play and then a gate that stayed shut.
The owner's explanation was straightforward: not enough rounds to make the course pay. The course had about 70 members at the end. It had been on the market at $1.5 million for six months without a credible offer. The land stayed with Blum Investment Group Golf LLC.
For residents the change was immediate and visible. Fairways that had been mown regularly became meadows, and over the following years nature took back much of the front nine, as 2025 reporting on the reopening plan acknowledged. The old holes became green space between the large wooded lots, which added to the privacy that many residents value.
The closure also changed the legal picture. The course land sits in Shallotte's extraterritorial jurisdiction and is zoned residential, RA-15. Under the Town's rules a golf course there requires a special use permit, which is why any return of golf would have to go through a public hearing.
The community's own summary of this period says it well: the course ceased operations in 2017, but the residential community continued to be a well-desired place to live. Three and a half months after the gate closed, residents would prove the point by organizing.