DUNBAR, W.Va. — Paul Tucker, of Charleston, has played at the Shawnee Golf Course in Kanawha County for more than 50 years, but now worries what will happen to the golf community after the course is replaced with a new multi-sports complex.
“It’s really sad because there’s so many senior citizens that depend on this place,” Tucker told MetroNews as he sat in his golf cart Wednesday afternoon.
Tucker started playing golf when the course opened in Dunbar in the early 1960s.
“1963 — I was a sophomore in high school. That’s when they first built it,” he said.
The Kanawha County Commission plans to break ground on the project by mid-November. The $15 million plan includes removing the golf course to build several soccer and baseball fields, capable of hosting local and regional youth sports tournaments.
But Tucker believes the county could’ve picked a different location to build the complex.
“You don’t tear down one sports complex to build another one when you have other property throughout the whole county,” he said. “It just totally don’t make any sense.”
Now Tucker is unsure where he and his friends will play golf.
Rob Potter, of South Charleston, said he’s weighing his options.
“I’ll probably end up playing at Big Ben, although I don’t want to play at Bog Ben. It’s easier for me to come down here to play. I can walk this course which is why I play. I don’t use a cart. I walk because I get good exercise,” he said.
Others like Roger Wallace, of Cross Lanes, may stop playing golf altogether.
“I’ll probably retire and take up another hobby and not play so much at all,” Wallace said.
It’s an emotional time for golfers who’ve played at the Shawnee course for years, according to Allen Wyatt, of St. Albans.
“Some of the guys that I’ve seen have even broke out into tears because they come down here every day. This is their life and the county has taken their life away,” he said.
Golfers said while they like the idea of a youth sports complex, they do not agree with the location of it.
“I have a grandson that plays soccer, so I have nothing against soccer or the soccer complex itself, but I think they should’ve been able to go somewhere else and find another property,” Wyatt said.
Commissioners previously said the project will generate additional revenue and boost tourism for the region.
On Wednesday, the commission announced the BrickStreet Foundation will donate $1 million to the project. The county will get $200,000 each year over the next five years.
The City of Dunbar shut off the water system Monday to allow the soils to dry naturally. The sod from the holes are being removed. The course will remain open until it’s not playable.
Roger Wallace, of Cross Lanes, tells MetroNews he’ll keep playing until they kick him out.
“I’ll play until they shut ‘er down,” he said.