Black Bear Golf Club is closed as it awaits a buyer

Black Bear Golf Club is closed, and it appears the course is closed indefinitely as “No Trespassing” signs have been posted at the entrance off S.C. 9 to go along with a “For Sale by Owner” sign.

Workers were told on Wednesday that their services were no longer needed, and the course’s fleet of leased golf carts was picked up Thursday by workers from Graham Golf Cars, Inc.

The course is owned by the family of Grand Strand resident and China native Kang Zou.

Zou and his parents, Chun Lan Li and Shi Lin Zou, who have been restaurateurs in the city of Nanjing and maintain a residence in China, purchased the course in May 2014 for $1.5 million.

At least one other person, also from China, is interested in buying the course, but the two parties haven’t been able to agree upon a contract.

Zou declined to comment on the course closing.

Black Bear is a 6,787-yard Tom Jackson design that opened in 1989 and sits on 186 acres off S.C. 9 West. It is on the lower end of green fees in the Myrtle Beach golf market.

The course owners were forced to endure the expense of regrassing the greens last summer after the putting surfaces were struck by winterkill, so the course has new Champion ultradwarf Bermudagrass greens.

The course owners are involved in an ongoing lawsuit. Former Black Bear head professional and general manager Patrick Wilkinson is suing the owners in the court of common pleas, claiming he is owed more than $14,000 for three days of past wages, pro shop merchandise and unpaid revenue from pro shop sales.

Wilkinson is now the head pro at nearby Diamondback Golf Club at Woodland Valley.

A countersuit disputes Wilkinson is owed any money.

This story was originally published August 11, 2016 at 8:22 PM with the headline "Black Bear Golf Club is closed as it awaits a buyer."