Delta View Golf Course in Pittsburg has become the latest course in the Eastbay area of Northern California to close.
The sudden closure took even regulars of Delta View by surprise, even though it was known that the city has negotiated sale of the 422-acre property, which also includes Stoneman Park, with Albert Seeno III’s Discovery Builders.
Discovery reportedly would build a residential development, but city officials claim that is not the case.
“That has nothing to do with the golf course,” Pittsburgh City Manage Joe Sbranti said. “They’ve never been exploring or entitled to the golf course. … Every golf course in the area at this time has seen a drop in the popularity of the sport and it’s been a challenge for golf courses to survive. Delta View is no exception.
“Managing a golf course is difficult and expenses that were coming due were significant. I understand their situation and we’re parting on good terms.”
If the property is not being sold, the exact reasons for the closure of the golf course remain unclear.
Eric Smith, general manager of the club, would say only, “No comment,” when asked about it by reporters.
Delta View Golf Course LLC recently paid to settle a lawsuit by a golfer who slipped and fell on stairs at the hilly course, and a similar suit is working its way through the courts.
Sbranti said the city has not given up hope that the course will reopen.
“If we don’t act quickly, then golf courses don’t look like golf courses after awhile,” Sbranti said. “I’ve personally been golfing on that course for the better part of four decades. We’re trying to keep it alive, if that’s possible.”
Sunol Valley Golf Club in Pleasanton and Shadow Lakes Golf Club in Brentwood both closed late in 2015, and Roddy Ranch Golf Course in Antioch shut down in 2016.
Delta View, which plays to 6,317 yards and a par of 71, opened as Pittsburg Golf and Country Club in 1947, and the layout was designed by Jack Fleming, a San Francisco-based architect who worked with the legendary Alister MacKenzie.
