Palm Bay leaders exploring options to revitalize dormant golf course

People who live in Bayside Lakes in Palm Bay, Florida, say The Majors Golf Club is the only golf club in Palm Bay. It’s now overgrown and out-of-use, and people who live nearby are fighting to restore the community staple.

PALM BAY, Fla - There’s a new push to re-open a dormant golf course in Palm Bay.

People who live in Bayside Lakes say The Majors Golf Club is the only golf club in Palm Bay. It’s now overgrown and out-of-use, and people who live nearby are fighting to restore the community staple.

"We want to keep Bayside Lakes a golf course community," said Tony Catalono who has lived in the community for 30 years.

The golf course that so many loved is now strewn with weeds. It was almost torn down and could have been turned into over 300 homes over the summer, but the Palm Bay Zoning Board voted against it. Still, seeing the space empty and unused isn’t something people who live nearby are happy about.

"It’s been very disappointing," exclaimed Dan Corcoran who retired in Bayside Lakes. "As a community, we really feel a real loss. We used to congregate around the golf course."

The future of the golf course is now up for discussion with the City of Palm Bay holding a public meeting on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. at City Hall to discuss possible future options for the once booming golf club.

"We’ve got some ideas as citizens of things that we can do to not only make it a good place for golfers but also make it a good place for others within the community," Corcoran added.

These neighbors said they would like to see pickleball, youth activities, and more recreation opportunities at the 18-hole course. FOX 35 News spoke with the current owner of Majors Golf Club who said the property wasn’t for sale and had no comment on future plans or Tuesday’s public meeting.

As the grass grows and the parking lot sits empty, nearby homeowners say they want to change the course of a golf course going to ruin."I’d be disappointed in all of us if we just let it happen," Catalano concluded. "To look back five, 10 years and say you know we used to have a beautiful golf course, and now it’s gone because we didn’t do anything."

The City of Palm Bay didn’t make a comment before Tuesday’s public workshop. Anyone is welcome to attend, and Bayside homeowners are encouraged to wear red in solidarity with the golf course.