{"id":879268,"date":"2026-09-04T04:18:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T04:18:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/879268\/"},"modified":"2026-09-04T04:18:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T04:18:11","slug":"fort-braggs-historic-stryker-golf-course-set-to-close-after-nearly-80-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/879268\/","title":{"rendered":"Fort Bragg&#8217;s historic Stryker Golf Course set to close after nearly 80 years"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao MvWXB TjIXL aGjvy ebVHC \">FORT BRAGG, NC (WTVD) &#8212; After nearly 80 years of serving soldiers, veterans, and their families, the historic Stryker Golf Course at Fort Bragg is set to close, drawing strong reactions from the military community.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The popular course, which opened shortly after World War II, is expected to close its main greens by Sept. 30.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The driving range will remain open, but the news has already prompted a <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/www.change.org\/p\/save-our-donald-ross-legacy-stop-the-closure-of-historic-stryker-golf-course-at-ft-bragg\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">petition<\/a> against the closure, gathering more than 400 signatures.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;It&#8217;s just a real nice layout, you know, and I just love playing out here. And it&#8217;s good for disabled vets,&#8221; said retired Command Sgt. Major Ron Thompson, who served for more than three decades and plays at Stryker regularly and teaches others the game.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Thompson said the closure is a blow to the morale and well-being of Fort Bragg&#8217;s military community.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;This is what we need for soldiers to for their relaxation. That&#8217;s more important than money. You know, even though it costs a little extra, sometimes the soldiers deserve they deserve every penny that&#8217;s available out there.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Jennifer Hodges, director of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR), which manages both of Fort Bragg&#8217;s golf courses, said the decision to close Stryker was not made lightly.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;What it comes down to is the financial sustainability. Unfortunately, we&#8217;re not able to financially sustain two courses&#8221; Hodges said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The course costs about $750,000 a year to maintain, and declining attendance forced tough choices, she added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;Before we repurpose or close any type of activity, we make sure we exhaust every avenue first the marketing campaign to drive foot traffic.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Other recreational amenities on post, including several bowling alleys, have also closed in recent years as post looks for ways to balance its recreational offerings and budget limitations.<\/p>\n<p>Top Stories<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"iVcn UbGlr ibBnq qdXbA avodi DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE QGHKv HNQqj ICwhc Bkgbl ZLXw kSqqG rEBmF sfsRN \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/abc11.com\/post\/mike-lombardi-unc-football-gm-resigns-amid-ongoing-investigation\/19786058\/\" aria-label=\"UNC football GM Lombardi resigns amid ongoing investigation; students react 2026-09-04T03:33:18.000Z\" aria-describedby=\"UNCfootballGMLombardbody details\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" class=\"hsDdd NDJZt sJeUN IJwXl \" data-testid=\"prism-image\" draggable=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/19787405_090326-wtvd-lombardi-11p-clean-img.jpg\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">As the closure draws near, Thompson and other regulars are hoping leaders will reconsider. &#8220;At least give us a chance to show that we can help maintain this course,&#8221; Thompson said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Officials have hired a firm to evaluate alternative uses for the Stryker property.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Meanwhile, Ryder Golf Course, the post&#8217;s other golf course, will remain open.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \"><a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/abc11.com\/apps\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Download the ABC11 News app<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Copyright \u00a9 2026 WTVD-TV. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FORT BRAGG, NC (WTVD) &#8212; After nearly 80 years of serving soldiers, veterans, and their families, the historic&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":879269,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[566],"tags":[448548,64,63,755,85],"class_list":["post-879268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-448548","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/879268","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=879268"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/879268\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/879269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=879268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=879268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=879268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}