Ohio Couple Ripped for Buying Golf Course Slated to Become Public Park

An Ohio couple is taking some heat after buying a golf course that was slated to become a public [...]

By Brian Jones

An Ohio couple is taking some heat after buying a golf course that was slated to become a public park. Bryan and Tamie Wallake recently purchased the Westchester Golf Course for $1.7 million on Nov. 30 after Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks were in contract to buy the course for $1.8 million earlier this year. The Wallakes and the neighbors who lived in the nearby Villages of Westchester were not happy as they paid premium prices to live near the course.

People on social media took aim at the Wallakes for the move. One person wrote: "So in order to save money on "property values", they're dumping almost 2 million dollars into buying a golf course they don't even want? was their property going to lose more than 2 million in value?" Another person wrote the couple will have issues running a golf course because of the cost to run it.

"You know what I like about this?" the Twitter user asked. "They have no idea how to run a golf course, and the maintenance costs are huge. They bought over their head and have no idea how many more costs will arrive in spring. Let their greed ruin them."

Bryan Wallake told USA Today he had no interest in buying the golf course, which was owned by developer Charlie Ruma, as the course had been on sale for years. "When this first came down, I told Tamie, 'We are not buying a golf course; we are not,'" he said. "The last thing we want to do is buy a golf course. No. No. No." The couple previously owned the Upper Lansdowne Golf Course in Ashville, Ohio, but Bryan knows how much the Westchester Golf Course means to the neighbors.

"The community is what really drove us," he said. "We knew it's probably not the best investment for our dollars, but after I spent some time going through the course's financial books, I thought this could be a good investment." The Wallakes have been in real estate for over 20 years, and Tamie said they own a construction business and have rehabbed more than 100 homes.

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