After more than 65 years of providing entertainment for Naval Air Station Whiting Field (NASWF) Navy, Marines, Airmen and Coast Guardsmen, the Frank W. Dahlinger Golf Course will shut its gates for the last time June 1, 2015, according to Jay Cope, with the Naval Air Station Whiting Field Public Affairs Office. Cope described a combination of government dropping subsidies, a high maintenance overhead, and dwindling course traffic leading to its fate.
Cope said the golf course has been in the red for many years and is not a self-sustaining operation as directed by Navy guidelines on such facilities. Over the years, a combination of an economic downturn, strengthened base security posture and the rise in cost of expenses resulted in an inability of the course to break even financially.
NAS Whiting Field Commanding Officer Capt. Todd Bahlau, who just received NASWF command in December, said, “It is truly disappointing to have to oversee the closure of a Naval Air Station Whiting Field landmark. However, financially, the course is unsustainable and simply costs more to operate than the revenue it brings in.”
First opened in 1948, the golf course was originally built by Navy Sea Bees as a nine-hole course and later expanded to 18 holes in 1965. The most notable historical moment for Dahlinger, Cope said, was the course record set by Bubba Watson, a 62 shot in ’99. He said Boo Weekly used it fairly regularly as well. The course’s namesake comes from commemorating a squadron commander, Frank Dahlinger, who passed away after an aircraft crash he and a student suffered in Alabama in 1986.
Director of Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) Joe Vukovcan said, “We will do everything we can to ensure the course continues to be kept in top playing condition throughout the final months so that players can enjoy their golfing experience before we close down.”
Mulligan’s Grill and the driving range will remain open, according to Cope. He said MWR plans to renovate the area around Mulligan’s Grill to make it family oriented by adding items like a picnic area, volleyball court, and playground.
MWR is planning a farewell tournament to send the course out in style. More information on this event will be posted as it becomes available.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: NASWF golf course to close June 1