GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) -- An old Gulf Coast golf course where the legendary Byron Nelson and Sam Snead once played is being sold, and historic preservationists fear it may become the site of condominiums.
The Great Southern Golf Course opened in 1908 and built by Bert Jones, the son of Gulfport founder Joseph T. Jones.
The owners of the course have not set an asking price for the 127-acre course, but they have posted a for sale sign on the beachfront property.
Richard Moe, the president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, believes the historic greenspace is critical to preserving Gulfport's character. He has sent a letter to the golf course's board of directors asking that it not be sold.
He sent copies of the letter to Gov. Haley Barbour, Gulfport Mayor Brent Warr and the chairman of the city's planning commission.
"We firmly assert that retention of the golf course will determine whether Gulfport retains its historic character and livability or becomes yet one more coastal community whose ocean views are obscured by a wall of high-rise condominiums," Moe wrote.
Eddie Miller, the president of the Great Southern board, said he would like to preserve the course, which has reopened, but the decision is not his.
"There's a lot of history there. I live in the neighborhood next door," Miller said. "I probably wouldn't be opposed to some sort of planned development on part of the property as long as we kept the course. That would be my choice, but it's not going to be a decision by just me. It will be decided by a majority of stockholders."
The 197 shareholders had just invested $650,000 to renovate the clubhouse shortly before Hurricane Katrina hit on Aug. 29.
"We opened it in July of last year," Miller said. "The first part of August, we had our first brunch and had 83 reservations. We had parties booked into 2006 for Mardi Gras and all kinds of weddings and receptions. Unfortunately, Katrina changed all that."
Displays in the clubhouse of old photographs of famous golfers were lost in the storm.
"We had a photo of Byron Nelson playing our course," Miller said. "Sam Snead beat him at the Great Southern. That was the same year [1945] Byron Nelson went on to set a PGA Tour record for consecutive wins."
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