Hansen: Closing Of Blanchard Golf Course A Sad Sign Of The Times

With the WGC match play having left we don't often get the pleasure of reading Greg Hansen these days, and his latest is by no means uplifting. Still, Hansen bids farewell to Blanchard Golf Course in first class fashion, with no shortage of important points about the role courses like it have played in producing golfers and as a landing spot for veterans or First Tee graduates who go on to careers in golf. 

With Arizona's skyrocketing costs and the courses's place behind Air Force base gates, even an increase in annual rounds and improved maintenance could not stop the 56-year-old course from going under. Sitting next to an airplane boneyard, Blanchard is now less than two weeks from shutting down for good. 

It’s sad, because Blanchard is what the old Randolph South course used to be: flat and friendly. You could walk BGC in 3½ hours, eat a reasonably priced hot dog at the soon-to-close Eagles Nest restaurant, and not lose a sleeve of golf balls in a wash or the desert or anywhere.

Golf’s demise in the 21st century was triggered because the game is too difficult, too expensive and too time-consuming. Blanchard was a step back to the 1970s.

So now the 56-year-old golf course will be repurposed as a recreation area and forgotten.

A few days ago, Moreno played in a group with former Blanchard “cart kids” Sean Mullen and Brent Lingel, who went on to become golf pros in Tucson and in Texas, and now run Tucson’s Rolling Hills Golf Course.

“It was a memorable day, and in fact we made it 27 holes because we didn’t want it to end,” Mullen said. “I grew up at Blanchard. It was my first job and basically my second home. My dad, J.J., still works there. I have nothing but positive memories.”