Blackthorn Golf Club Under New Ownership
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA northern Indiana golf course has found a buyer. Blackthorn Golf Club has been purchased by General Manager Tim Firestone from the city of South Bend for $1.6 million. Firestone says the course staff and management team will “stay virtually unchanged.” The course opened in 1994 and went up for sale last September. March 3, 2015
News Release
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Blackthorn Golf Club has been acquired from the city of South Bend by an investment group led by the course's General Manager, Tim Firestone. Blackthorn Golf Club is a premier golf course that opened in August 1994 on a heavily wooded 226-acre site in South Bend. It won the South Bend Tribune Reader’s Choice Award for Best Golf Course from 2003 to 2014 and was ranked the number one municipal course in the state of Indiana by GolfWeek Magazine in 2009 and 2013.
“I am very excited about the road ahead at Blackthorn Golf Club and will work to ensure that our members and guests will continue to experience superior course conditions and world-class amenities,” said Tim Firestone, General Manager, Blackthorn Golf Club. “My management team and their staff will stay virtually unchanged, and I will remain heavily involved in our day-to-day operations.”
The par 72, 7,136-yard layout has four sets of tees per hole and offers a strategic test for golfers of all abilities. Broad fairways are framed by 94 bunkers, wetlands, and ponds. The practice facility consists of two acres of bentgrass tees, realistic target greens, and a short game area for putting, chipping and bunker play. An Irish-Cottage style clubhouse is home to the Third Shift Grill, which has a full bar and serves an assortment of selections including burgers, sandwiches, and salads. Blackthorn’s pro shop is fully stocked with all of the latest golf apparel and equipment.
Over the past three years, Blackthorn Golf Club has hosted the Four Winds Invitational, which is sponsored by the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians and its Four Winds Casinos. The 2015 Four Winds Invitational, which is part of the Symetra Tour – Road to the LPGA, will be held from Friday, June 19 through Sunday, June 21, 2015. The tournament will include 144 golfers who will be playing for a $150,000 purse. More information is available at www.fourwindsinvitational.com. Blackthorn Golf Club will also host the 11th Annual Coaches vs. Cancer Notre Dame Golf Classic on Monday, August 3. All proceeds from the tournament benefit the American Cancer Society. More information is available at http://golf.acsevents.org/site/TR?fr_id=69513&pg=entry.
Blackthorn Golf Club is located at 6100 Nimtz Parkway, South Bend, Ind. For more information or to book a tee time, call (574)232-4653 or visit www.blackthorngolf.com.
Source: Blackthorn Golf Club
March 3, 2015
Statement From South Bend Director of Economic Resources Brock Zeeb
“It's a win-win situation. Selling the course benefits South Bend's tax base, and it will remain a world-class 18-hole, professional-level golf course attracting major tournaments and players of all skill levels.”
Source: The City of South Bend