In darkness so total at Empire Lakes Golf Course that the cup on the 18th hole was barely visible, the final twosome to play at the Rancho Cucamonga layout rolled in their putts and solemnly walked off the green.
David Evenrud, 63, of Alta Loma, drove three hours that morning from a Memorial Day weekend vacation in Parker, Ariz., to be one of about 100 golfers saying goodbye to the Arnold Palmer-designed course that opened in 1996 and, for eight years, hosted an event on what’s now known as the Web.com Tour.
“I’ve been playing here almost since it opened,” Evenrud said as he and Joe Alba stood on the 18th hole. “Now I’m here for the end. I’m going to miss this place.”
The National Golf Foundation reports that 148 golf courses closed in 2015 and, overall, the number of “18 hole equivalent” courses in the U.S. is down to 14,288 from 15,200 in 2006. The contraction is due, in part, to economic conditions, an aging golf population and, according to the NGF, the fact that an astounding 4,500 courses opened between 1985 and 2006. The Foundation also predicts that another 550 to 1,150 public courses will close in the next five years, despite the fact that 90 percent of the country’s 25.7 million golfers primarily play public courses.
Empire Lakes was always a public course – or a high-end daily-fee facility, in golf parlance. Shortly after it opened in 1996, weekend rates were $80 and tee times weren’t easy to secure, but in the past few years it was common to see open Saturday slots for $50, sometimes less. As the years passed, ownership changes and a balky economy led to the course falling in disrepair after it was known that another use for the property was being pursued. Citing a need for more housing, the Rancho Cucamonga City Council eventually voted to turn the property into a high-density, urban community with new homes, a community center and shops. That’s why seeing the course on its final day was tough for players who once knew it as one of the golf gems in the Inland Empire.
Empire Lakes first got national attention in 2000 when it played host to the Buy.com Inland Empire Open, won by Scott Petersen. Also teeing it up there over the years were a number of now-known golfers such as Jason Day, Bubba Watson, Ricky Barnes, Charley Hoffman, Boo Weekley, Jason Gore, Lucas Glover, Jason Dufner, Matt Kuchar, Jimmy Walker, Brandt Snedeker and Bill Haas.
Many of the players in the field were the same each year, but the tournament’s name changed frequently. After known as the Buy.com Inland Empire Open in 2000 and 2001, it became the State Farm Open in 2002, and for the final five years it operated under the umbrella name of the Mark Christopher Charity Classic with various presenting sponsors. The last tour event at Empire Lakes was in 2007, with Richard Johnson collecting $94,500 after winning in a three-way playoff.
In 2006, Kevin Na, who grew up in Diamond Bar, was the popular winner. Na, whose parents then lived in Rancho Cucamonga, often used the member-only practice area at Empire Lakes to hone his swing. He was coming off a six-month hiatus from the PGA Tour because of a hand injury when he won at Empire Lakes, a course that meant a lot to him while growing up.
“The first time I played there, I was partners with my brother in a high school match,” he said a few days after finishing seventh at the U.S. Open at Oakmont. “I think we set a record for most under par for the league.”
In the first round in 2006, Na shot what was then a career-best 62.
“I birdied the first three holes and it just never stopped,” he recalled of the round that led to a record-tying 16-under par for the tournament.
“I have lots of good memories from Empire Lakes,” he said wistfully. “I’m sad it’s gone. I thought the course had more potential but it would have required a big investment. I had some great ideas … it didn’t work out.”
Na’s ideas couldn’t save Empire Lakes, but someday he’d like to be involved in building a new course in the area.
“There’s a piece of property I’ve had my eyes on,” he said, without giving specifics. “I’d need help but I would definitely be interested.”
Palmer’s lead architect for Empire Lakes was Erik Larsen, now the head of Erik Larsen Golf Course Architecture. It took about two years to build Empire Lakes, he said, from initial routing and permitting to construction and opening day.
“I did the routing plan, the construction documents and supervised the building of the course on-site,” Larsen said by phone from Atlantic Beach, Fla., where he was doing a “rejuvenation” of Atlantic Beach Country Club. “Our philosophy at Palmer Course Design (now Arnold Palmer Design Company) was to build 18 holes that were tournament capable but fun for the average player.”
The site on land owned by General Dynamics Corp. featured a steady slope from the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains toward the Inland Empire valley floor.
“It was a pretty flat piece of land, maybe 30 to 50 feet of overall elevation change but it was gradual, north to south,” Larsen said. “We moved a lot of earth to build the lakes and give it some definition.”
Larsen said he was disappointed when he heard that Empire Lakes, which had about 50,000 rounds played in 2015, was being converted to housing.
“You hate to have your work plowed under,” he said. “Fifty-thousand rounds are a lot of golf, even in California. This sounds like it was strictly a development move.”
The Lewis Group of Companies, a prominent builder of residential and commercial projects in the area, is now the property’s owner.
“There is a tremendous demand for housing in Rancho Cucamonga,” said Randall Lewis, the executive VP of The Lewis Group. “This will be a very attractive site because it is near the Metrolink and because it’s near the freeways and good transportation corridors. We envision a mixed-use development that will have a mixture of for-sale homes and rental apartments.”
On the last day of golf, some people arrived early and stayed late, with at least one twosome playing 54 holes. When David Heil of Glendora finished his round in the mid-afternoon, he headed back out to play Nos. 10 and 11 one more time.
“I’ve played here hundreds of times,” Heil said. “For a long time it was the best course around.”
Later, after the windows on the pro shop and snack bar had been boarded over and the twilight faded to darkness, Evenrud and Alba arrived at the final green, along with a course worker who was there to collect the flagstick.
Alba stood over a 15-foot birdie putt and looked to the silhouette of the mountains and the blackening purple clouds above. The view reflected off the surface of the lake next to the green. He put his right hand on his heart and shouted to the sky, “I love you, Arnold Palmer! I love you, Empire Lakes!”
He left his birdie putt an agonizing three feet short. Then, with no study of the line or any thought about ceremony, he holed the last putt made at Empire Lakes.
