Sale Of South Shore Is Bittersweet, Future Uncertain
By Deb Patterson
InkFreeNews
SYRACUSE — “It’s a sad day,” Dennis Polk, president of DP&P Investments, commented on purchasing South Shore Golf Course LLC. “It’s bittersweet,” he said, acknowledging the course’s 93-year history. “Golf has been in decline (here) the last several years. It will help Tippecanoe, Maxwelton and Wawasee golf courses. But time marches on.”
DP&P Investments took ownership of the 122-acre property Thursday, Oct. 1. “Candidly, I don’t know,” Polk said about the property’s future. He noted the clubhouse, golf cart barn, some restaurant equipment and roughly four acres is for sale. “After the Oct. 17 auction, I’ll take a deep breath of air.”
Polk stated he has been contacted by Kosciusko County Economic Development and some contractors. “In the long term, it will probably be housing,” he said.
Polk and a number of helpers were at the course Friday going through the golf cart barn, storage building and pro shop in preparation for an auction at 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 17. What was discovered was that flags, markers, a snowblower and other odds and ends had been stolen.
The auction will include the sale of spreaders, mowers, golf equipment, 65 golf carts, utility vehicles, shop equipment, golf bags, clubs, over 10,000 golf balls, picnic tables and benches, some restaurant equipment such as coolers, catering containers, portable ice bins, and numerous other items.
With the sale of mowers and other machinery that has been used to maintain the property, questions have been raised about the property’s upkeep until the future is decided. Those who are familiar with Polk, knows he maintains the properties he owns. “I will not let the property grow up. It will be mowed. It will just not look like a golf course.”
Additionally he will continue to rent out the two houses on the property.
History Of South Shore
The history of South Shore (found on the South Shore Golf Club’s website) began with Dick Tuttle, who found himself successful in developing a prime piece of property in Indianapolis, the Willowbrook Golf Club. The experience followed him to Syracuse and Lake Wawasee.
In 1924, he and his son Carl Tuttle formed a partnership with Roy Brown, a prominent farmer. Tuttles provided the finances and Brown the land. The course was built on 125 acres of the Brown Farm. The 1970s barn served as the maintenance and cart barn for many years.
Carl moved to Syracuse in 1927 to help with and supervise the building of South Shore. Tuttle planted pine trees along the property line of SR 13. Also, many pines were in huge evidence throughout the property as definition and sand bunkering prevailed. The actual formal opening of South Shore Golf Course was in the spring of 1931.
According to the history, former great PGA touring professional Tommy Armour brought a foursome to play in the opening tourney.
In December 1942, the state highway department altered SR 13 and cut through a portion of the golf course. By February of 1943, traffic was using the new section of road and old SR 13 became South Shore Road. It was during this time Carl bought Brown’s share of the partnership and moved to the lake permanently.
Carl lost his life in a sailboat accident on Wawasee in 1946. His mother-in-law, Blanche Mason, stepped in to take over the managerial duties. During the years of 1929-1945, Bruce Wilcox was the golf professional. In 1946, Red Stewerd served as pro, followed by Charlie Harter.
Mrs. Mason continued many of the activities that made South Shore such a popular place to play and socialize. A mainstay item was the One Club tournament, held until her retirement in 1953. Guy Rarig, former greenskeeper, served as manager for a few years. Following Rarig was George Lamb. James Connolly and his wife, Dorothy, ran South Shore for nine years with Charlie Pace as the golf pro.
Another generation of Tuttles came to South Shore in 1971. Tom Tuttle, son of Carl, became owner/manager. Many improvements such as enlarging the clubhouse, adding an open air pavilion that could seat 400-plus, and hosting company picnics and corporate events became evident. A practice facility was added and a big hit was the South Shore Sunday Brunch. It has been said as many as 750 people have attended on Mother’s Day alone.
South Shore Golf Club has always been special because of its location. It is known to attract celebrities from the sports world to television. Among the celebrities to play or eat at South Shore have been Tommy Armour, Rob Lowe, Byron Nelson, Melissa Gilert, Chris Schenkel, Walter Payton, Ara Parseghian and sports figures from Notre Dame football teams, including a number of their top quarterbacks.
A setback to the business came in 1992, when the restaurant and lounge, totaling about 7,600 square feet, was destroyed by fire on Thursday, Oct. 24. Rebuilding began immediately and South Shore was reopened in 1992.
The new structure, approximately the same size as the former building, featured a family room, dining room, sports lounge, card room and locker room facilities. There was a deck for outdoor seating including lighting for night time dining.
The sports lounge had 11 television sets capable of showing four different sporting events at the same time. The Shore and South Shore Golf Club offered businesses, corporations and civic clubs private meeting rooms with cordless microphones, VCR systems, portable podiums and overhead projectors. The banquet room had seating up to 200 people. The Shore was opened year-round. The golf shop was not damaged by the fire, nor was the pavilion. The South Shore was rebuilt and opened May 10, 1992.
Tuttle, president of South Shore Inc, sold the business, along with Links of Eagle Glen (which he purchased Aug. 10, 1995) to V. Richard Miller and the Miller Family, taking over Feb. 14, 1997. Rick Miller, V. Richard’s son, was general manager at both locations. Darrell Krugman remained, starting his 12th year as the head golf professional at South Shore.
V. Richard, general partner of Miller Golf Properties LLC, sold South Shore Golf Course to Darrell Krugman and his wife, Kelly, giving it the official name of South Shore Golf Club LLC. Krugmans officially took over ownership Oct. 1, 2001. Kelly remained owner of the club following the death of her husband in a car accident in October 2005. Jim Brooks, Kelly’s father, has operated the golf club until the sale on Oct. 1.