Cotton Creek to be auctioned in parcels July 27

By Ken MacLeod

Twenty years ago, brothers Jeff and Steve Lamoreaux quit their manufacturing jobs and started building a golf course.

In 1995, the first nine holes opened at Cotton Creek Golf Course in Glenpool, just off I-75 south of Tulsa. The brothers had fun with it, building holes they considered entertaining and enjoyable to play. A second nine opened in 1997 and the tweaking has continued to this day.

"I just did some things the other day," Jeff said this week. "I rerouted the front nine a bit, created some new angles and tee boxes."

If you want to play the new holes, better hustle. At 10 a.m. Saturday July 27, an auction will begin at the Cotton Creek clubhouse, 2333 W. 181st Street in Glenpool. The course and adjacent land owned by the brothers have been divided up into 16 parcels. Attendees can buy the entire package and keep it as a golf course or individual parcels. Details on the parcels and on the auction, to be conducted by Ameribid, can be seen here

Jeff said that Cotton Creek was doing fair financially until the economy cratered in 2007. Since then rounds have been holding steady around 18,000 annually and greens fees have been in a holding pattern at $20 plus $12 for cart rental on weekends. With costs of equipment and supplies plus debt service, it’s tough to make a go.

It’s an inexpensive, fun course, but is likely to become a casualty of an overbuilt market in a time when golf has struggled to retain traditional golfers and attract new ones.

"We tried and had fun," Jeff said. "We’ve met a lot of nice people, most of them courteous and helpful. If there’s a chance for us to do something else, now’s the time."

Lamoreaux said that if he had his druthers, the city of Glenpool would purchase the land, keep the golf course open as a municipal course and use the adjacent property to build soccer fields, baseball fields and whatever other parks were needed. He added he was doubtful that would happen.