"I never thought I'd see this day."

Eddie Southards files a tough-to-read obituary of sorts on the golfers coming to pay their final respects to Baywood Golf Club. Considering how densely stacked the housing is along the fairways, this will certainly be an interesting case study in what happens when a golf course housing project closes down.

Robert White says he is the oldest original member still at Baywood. He slept on the porch of the clubhouse in 1991 to guarantee he could buy the lot he had picked out.

"I hate it's closing; I hope someone takes it over," he said. "We've had a lot of good times out here. I never thought I'd see this day. But the golf industry is down right now. It's a sign of the times."

Richard Gregg was decked out in Duke University gear and was still lamenting the Blue Devils' last-second loss to Florida State on Saturday. He is not a member at Baywood, but he wanted to be here Sunday on the final day the course would be open.

"I'm going to miss it," he said. "It's sad because it's a beautiful golf course. It's kind of hard to believe no one has stepped up to the plate to purchase it. If they're going to close it, I wanted to make sure I was here for the last day. Even if it had rained, I was going to come out here."

Goodnough also feels a personal attachment to the course.

"I've watched my son grow up on this course," he said. "He's become a pretty good golfer. I have 18 years of memories with him here."