ORLANDO, Fla. — At the end of 2018 the Stoneybrook West golf community was blindsided when their golf course closed.

What You Need To Know

  •  Stoneybrook Golf Club closed in December of 2018

  •  Course was bought by the city of Winter Garden in 2021

  • The city then sold the course to Stoneybook West HOA

  • The golf course set to re-open in next few weeks

From that time to 2021, the course became what golfers would call a “cow pasture" — dead greens, missing fairways, and overgrown weeds everywhere.

But in just a matter of weeks, the course will be finally be open once again.

After so much uncertainty with the future of the property, the pro shop will once again be open soon and the impact will be felt financially not just for the new owner but for 1,200 of his neighbors as well.

A giant piece of land in Winter Garden is back from the dead after the Stoneybrook West Golf Club went from playable to undesirable.

Rocky Hodge is the new man in charge, leasing the course from the Stoneybrook West HOA, a 1,200-home community.

“It’s been a hole that has come around really nice, it’s probably in the best shape of the golf course right now,” Hodge said, driving down the first fairway to check on the course. "We judge how this one looks compared to what we feel the rest of the golf course is going to look like as well.”

But this golf course and property will not just be a place from sunrise to sunset. Hodge is hoping a new business model will attract golfers and families who live in the community to create extra revenue.

“I would say 24 hours a day, but we will do our best to utilize the aspect of some night driving range as well,” Hodge said. “(A place) where people can come practice and utilize hitting balls here on our aqua range at night plus go in and have a pizza and a cold beer.”

The payoff could be big for the golf community that has been without a golf course. For the community, 4% of all sales generated from golf and 2% of all sales generated from the restaurant will go the Stoneybrook West HOA.

“I think it will be sky is the limit,” REMAX Prime Properties representative Ron Ziolkowski said. “It’s the only neighborhood in the entire zip code that is man gated 24/7, and now the golf course is back open in a golf course community.”

Ziolkowski, who has been selling homes in the area since 2000, said that since the course closed, the Stoneybrook West community has been hovering about 5% below in average sale price throughout the rest of the area.

In a matter of days, Hodge says he can start his business, and Stoneybrook West can be a golf community once again.

“When you have  a customer service-based business like a golf course and a restaurant, it’s very very important that you do your best to satisfy your customers,” Hodge said.

Hodge is hoping he can also satisfy his 1,200 plus new neighbors.

Officials say the restaurant and range should be open in the next seven days following city inspections, and the golf course will be open in the next few weeks.