Golf Club Sold To Become A Tennis Center

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 18th November 2013

Golf Club Sold To Become A Tennis Center

epa02776834 Queen's Club groundsman pull over the lawn cover over center court after another rain delay prior to the Aegon tennis championship final between Britain's Andy Murray and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France at Queen's in London, Britain, 12 June 2011. EPA/ANDY RAIN |

It’s pretty rare to see a golf club bought and turned into a tennis center, but that’s what’s happening in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as the Dornier family has bought the Oaks at Sherwood golf course for $2.7 million and plans to feature soft yellow balls rather than small and hard white ones.

There are 10 courts on the property, which contains a 127-acre golf course.

Ryan Dornier was a high level junior and also played some Futures. He, his father, Randy and brother, Randall, hope to open the tennis center by Jan. 1. The brothers are currently pros at the University Club. Randy Dornier owns Rein Rod, LLC as well as Red Iron Tennis.

The Oaks at Sherwood golf course closed in early July with a reported $2.7 million in bank debt. According to Business Report, the club’s golf membership had declined due to competition from other courses. Investors bought the course in 2009 for $2.8 million, but the recession killed their efforts to bring in new members.

The Dorniers are said to have bought the property for the amount the investors owed the bank.

Of the 10 courts on the Oaks property, five only need cosmetic work while the others need cracks repair.

“We’ll have to do a little bit of work, but it’s not as bad as we thought,” said Ryan Dornier, who added that the family doesn’t know what it will do with the golf course, but that it won’t remain an 18-hole course.

A local appraiser told Business Report that the Dorniers will sell most of that property, maybe to developers who want to build starter housing, but Dornier doesn’t want to do that.

“The last thing we want to do is sell it to a developer,” he says. “If we need to, we will, but we think we can keep a lot of it as green space.”

Topics: 10sballs, Golf course, Sports, Tennis, Tennis Center, Tennis News