Historic beachfront Coast golf course will be sold to the highest bidder. What to know
Great Southern Club Golf Course will be sold to the highest bidder next month unless the debt on this historic 18-hole course can be paid.
The sale includes 129 acres and the clubhouse on U.S. 90 in Gulfport, overlooking the Mississippi Sound.
Despite one of the finest views in South Mississippi, the club filed for bankruptcy in 2019 with $4 million in debt that accumulated after Hurricane Katrina destroyed the clubhouse and much of the waterfront course.
“The club itself is still in bankruptcy,” said J .William Williams, who as trustee will sell the property starting at 11 a.m. May 14. The sale will be conducted at the east door of the Harrison County Courthouse on 23rd Avenue in Gulfport.
The sale will be to the “highest and best bidder” for cash, and Williams said there currently is no minimum bid required. The successful bidder will be required to provide certified funds, he said.
A legal advertisement announcing the sale ran in the Sun Herald Friday and Williams said Friday morning he’s already had calls about the property.
The club had a deadline of April 1 to pay off the loan, held by Great Southern Investments.
The club tried to refinance the loan and sell the part of the property not used for the golf course to build condos and single-family homes so the profit could be used to pay down the debt. Great Southern Board President Ellis Hill said in 2019 that about $1 million would be needed to improve the course.
There is a reprieve for the club.
“They have the right to pay us off at anytime before the sale,” Williams said.
The course for the guests of Great Southern Hotel in downtown Gulfport was designed by Donald Ross, a notable designer of the day, in 1908. It sits on land once owned by Confederate States of America President Jefferson Davis.
Ross also designed the second nine holes when the course was expanded from 9 to 18 holes in 1921.
Golfing greats Sam Sneed, Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan played the course in the 1940s on a southeastern states tour., and it has hosted many tournaments, weddings and other events over the years.
