Longwood University’s Golf Course will cease operations this summer as a public course and begin transitioning to continuing use for academic purposes and as practice grounds for the university’s golf teams. 

According to a press release from the school, during its master planning process over the past year, the university has been considering the most prudent future for the course.

“The 9-hole course was built in the 1930s as a New Deal Civilian Conservation Corps project, roughly a century after Longwood was founded, and it was the first golf course in Farmville,” the release stated. 

The community now has two additional courses open to the public — the Farmville Municipal Golf Course and The Manor, according to Longwood.

“The Manor is a noted 18-hole course that was named one of the best new courses of 2007 in the country by ‘Golf Digest,’” the release stated.

Longwood’s golf course — located on Johnston Drive — will cease operations as a public 9-hole golf course on June 30, and the university’s handful of full-time employees at the course will continue work at Longwood. The

university’s men’s and women’s cross-country teams will also begin making regular use of the rolling terrain of the Longwood course, the release stated.

“With the availability of other courses nearby, public use of the Longwood course has declined over the past decade in particular,” said Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. Tim Pierson, whose division of the university oversees the course.

According to a guest column written by Pierson for The Herald, a portion of the course will continue as practice grounds for the golf teams.

“Membership now stands at under 100, including about a dozen Longwood students. But the decision is not a financial one,” Pierson said. “Golf is a great lifelong sport, and we want to support it and encourage students to play. A recent arrangement with The Manor allows our students, faculty and staff to play there for the same price. That arrangement also provides a strong home for our intercollegiate golf program — for competition and upholding our fine golfing tradition.”

“Our relationship with the golf course that’s been our home base for more than seven decades will continue,” said Director of Athletics Troy Austin. “With this shift, we are also able to make use of these incredible grounds for our cross-country teams and continue to host physical education classes for the university. These historic grounds, home to the national championship Longwood teams of Hall of Fame coach Dr. Barbara Smith, are part of the fabric of Longwood.”