Mowing, among other improvements, has begun around the golf course at Walden Lake.
It’s become part of a routine that could soon end. The grass at Walden Lake Golf and Country Club gets a little too long, the city says something about it, the grass gets cut.
“We go through this every year about the same time,” Code Enforcement Manager Tray Towles said. “I will give him (course manager Lynn Archibald) credit. He has done a pretty outstanding job of keeping it up.”
“I promised an 18-hole, premier golf course. That’s still what I want to do.”
— Manager Lynn Archibald
The blighted golf course at Walden Lake, once a thriving central Florida destination for pro and amateur golfers alike, has become a nuisance for many in the surrounding Walden Lake neighborhoods. Residents and passers-by in the deed-restricted community have recently flooded the city’s code enforcement department with complaints about the 36-hole course’s current state.
Towles said Lynn Archibald, the course’s manager, is usually responsive and takes care of any code issues with no fuss. However, the city has laws governing when it can step in. Ten is the magic number. Code enforcement, Towles said, cannot begin to act until the grass grows over 10 inches. As a courtesy, Towles issues a verbal warning to every citizen when his department notices code violations, allowing them time to correct the issue. He pays special attention to the course, he said.
“I watch the course like a hawk, waiting for that moment when it gets where it needs to be and I can act,” he said. “I’m not gonna let it slip.”
As usual, once it hit the 10-inch mark, he acted, issuing Archibald a verbal warning. To stay ahead of the issue, a notice of violation was issued on June 19, city records show, allowing 15 days for compliance. However, during that time, Towles said, frequent rains can cause the grass to grow quickly, far exceeding 10 inches by the time noticeable action is taken. Archibald said mowing should be compliant sometime around July 5, weather permitting.
It’s grow season, Archibald said. The time of year when rains come and grass grows quickly. Archibald said he had been planning to mow at the time the notice was issued, the same day he spoke to Walden Lake’s community association about his new plan for the course.
YEARS IN THE ROUGH
“I promised an 18-hole, premier golf course,” Archibald said “That’s still what I want to do.”
Archibald took over management of the course from Visions Golf in June 2015, though Visions retained ownership of the property. The plan at the time was for Visions to redevelop half the property, while Archibald ran an 18-hole course, the clubhouse and pool. Once the development was complete, Archibald said, Visions was supposed to pass over ownership of Archibald’s managed portions to him, so he could complete his promised refurbishments.
But that’s not what happened.
Visions Golf and its owner, Stephen Mercer, had a history of butting heads with Walden Lake residents and the homeowner’s association. Tensions went so far as to include legal action between Walden Lake and Mercer, which is still pending. Additionally, plans for rezoning the to-be-developed property fell through and the development never came. In December 2016, Today’s Bank began foreclosure proceedings against Visions and Mercer, Hillsborough Court records show.
The foreclosure, Archibald said, meant Visions defaulted on the deal it made with him and the mortgage with the bank, allowing Archibald to assume control over the entire property. Archibald said he is in talks with Today’s Bank to take its position with the loan, allowing him to decide how to proceed with a foreclosure against Visions and have more say in the course’s future.
On June 19, Archibald unveiled his three-phase plan for bringing the course back to its former glory to the Walden Lake Community Association.
THE 515-YARD DRIVE
“It has been an ongoing situation for a few years now and it’s in a deterioration mode which concerns most of our residents,” Community Association President Sharon Philbin said. “The proposal that Lynn presented to the HOA board and our sub-boards is very ambitious and we hope he can pull it off.”
In the years since he’s taken over, Archibald said, Vision Golf’s continued involvement — and contentious history with the community — caused a lack of trust, even with new management.
“There wasn’t support for the course because people thought Mercer was still involved,” Archibald said.
Archibald, who graduated from a golf management program at Keiser University where he studied under PGA professionals, has now promised a three-phase redevelopment of the course, with the first phase expected to be completed by Nov. 1. He closed the course as of June 1 to begin the work, he said.
The first phase of the project will include a complete refurbishment of the “front 9” of the Hills course, new greens and tee boxes for the 18-hole Lakes course, renovations of the banquet room, a new golf pro shop and the opening of the restaurant and bar for business. The course will have 27 playable holes by the end of phase one, Archibald said.
Archibald says he understands the lack of trust between the course and residents, so he is asking for no monetary contribution until he completes the first phase.
“My attorneys actually don’t like this idea,” he said. “I want to make Walden Lake the best place this could be, but we all need to contribute. It’s not going to happen by ourselves.”
Once the first phase is complete, Archibald will ask for $25 per month for social memberships for anyone who joins by the completion of phase one. A second phase of refurbishments will include completing refurbishments to the Lakes course, resurfacing the tennis court and parking lot, and more. A third phase will include the addition of a “resort-style” pool with a slide and dump buckets, at which point social memberships will increase to $50 per month for those who joined by phase-one completion.
Anyone who joins after phase one, Archibald said, will have higher rates and an initiation fee to join.
The success of the course relies on the community being involved, Archibald said. With steady support from membership, he believes he can operate with a baseline budget that will allow him to refurbish and maintain the course. It’s a gamble, but Philbin said she believes if he builds it, the members will come.
“I think if the plan can be implemented it’ll be a wonderful solution,” she said. “We think he will be able to get the social memberships and golf memberships if it comes together. It’ll be a win-win for the community as well as the golf course. I think the reassurance will come when we see restoration begin.”
For Archibald, it’s all a matter of trust. He said he wants to assure all of Plant City that he is in charge now and, with the partnership of the community, will restore the course to the prominence it saw in its heyday. And, if there are any questions, he said anyone can email him at lynn.archibald@professionalgolfglobal.com.
“This is not far from reality,” he said. “If we put passion into what we think Walden Lake and Plant City should have, we’ll get there. Together.”