A custom home on a lush, rolling golf course it seemed like a solid retirement investment for Phil McKain.
“It was beautiful, well maintained,” McKain said.
He bought a home along the Shadow Mountain Golf Club in 2009. He says at the time it was a beautiful course that was intended to be surrounded by homes. A seemingly perfect situation for an avid golfer.
Almost ten years later, the golf course’s future and McKain’s investment are not what he imagined.
“It has lost its value,” McKain said about his home. “First time I ever lost money on a house.”
KGUN-9 has learned the course has changed owners a few times since 2009. McKain says at one point he and other club members were doing course maintenance for free and raising money to keep the club and course operating. But that ended years ago.
Now, tree trunks, white and leaf-less stand in clumps around what used to be tee boxes. Their empty branches cast shadows over waist high grass which is now yellow and dry. We watched as a coyote with a limp trotted across a fairway.
Multiple homeowners told KGUN-9 they mow the golf course grass near their homes.
“We don't want any fire danger,” McKain said.
KGUN-9 has reached out to the current owner for a comment on the current state of the property and its future but, as of Thursday evening, has not received a response.
McKain says if the land can’t be a golf course again he hopes it can be put to use, “Something productive so it’s just not all dead.”