Golfer files petition to delay War Memorial Golf Course's closure

June 26, 2019 at 2:02 p.m.

by Rachel Herzog

Golfers set up to putt on the 16th green at Little Rock’s War Memorial Golf Course in March of 2018. For budget reasons and over the objections of golfers, the city has decided to close the War Memorial course and the one at Hindman Park. The Hindman course will close June 28; the War Memorial course’s last day will be July 4.
Golfers set up to putt on the 16th green at Little Rock’s War Memorial Golf Course in March of 2018. For budget reasons and over the objections of golfers, the city has decided to close the War Memorial course and the one at Hindman Park. The Hindman course will close June 28; the War Memorial course’s last day will be July 4.

A request for an injunction that would delay the closure of Little Rock’s War Memorial Golf Course was filed in Pulaski County circuit court today.

Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. announced the decision to close the course on July 5, following weeks of discussion about budget cuts.

The petition for injunction was filed by John McCarty and the War Memorial Golf Association, a group that supports the course. It argues that the city should wait for the outcome of a petition from the Department of Arkansas Heritage for the course’s National Register of Historic Place eligibility to be determined.

Reader poll

Is Little Rock's move to shut golf operations at War Memorial and Hindman parks the right decision?

  • No, both should stay open 32%
  • No, War Memorial should stay open 44%
  • No, Hindman should stay open 4%
  • Yes, it was the right decision 19%

1504 total votes.

Attached to the petition is a letter from the Department of Arkansas Heritage stating that the course has been determined eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. Proceeding with the process to gain that designation requires permission from the city of Little Rock.

A budget amendment that cut $2.1 million from the city’s budget for 2019 included the decision to close two of Little Rock’s four public golf courses. Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. announced that War Memorial Golf Course would close July 5, and Hindman would close June 29.

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