The Claw at USF Golf Course to shut down this fall
The Claw at USF Golf Course is shutting down its public operations beginning Sept. 5, according to a universitywide email from President Rhea Law.
The 120-acre property, located on N 46th St., will not be closing to make room for the upcoming on-campus football stadium, according to a USF FAQ page. The stadium will be located on Sycamore Fields.
Instead, The Claw’s closure is a result of financial loss and instability. The university was losing roughly $200,000 annually to operate the course, and would have needed to invest millions of dollars to rebuild the clubhouse and golf cart storage facility that were forced to shut down due to old age, according to the email.
The decision will not directly impact the needs of the USF men’s and women’s golf teams, as both teams have been utilizing the current on-campus golf facility as their primary location for full-course practices and competitions, according to the email.
Although new plans for the property have not been decided yet, Law wrote the USF Forest Preserve, located adjacent to The Claw, will not be impacted by the course’s closure.
Law wrote the university plans to honor the course’s 56-year legacy in the coming weeks before its closure with former golf team members, alumni and those who supported the course. No details were announced at the time of publication.
More Stories
OPINION: USF coaches need to be more than game-day leaders
In his first year at USF, baseball head coach Mitch Hannahs brought an old-school approach to the program. He stayed off social media and had minimal interactions with fans, except during press conferences and games. And toward the end of the season, Hannahs began to decline interviews with The Oracle — both for himself and […]
USF prepares for more scholarships, revenue opportunities after NIL settlement
As universities began directly paying athletes on Tuesday as part of the House v. NCAA settlement, increased scholarships and revenue opportunities will become the norm under the landmark NIL ruling. Former USF Athletic Director Michael Kelly told The Oracle that the settlement also paves the way for another opportunity for USF to be invited to […]
USF professors weigh in after US strikes on Iran nuclear sites
Kyle Burke has seen the U.S. enter multiple Middle Eastern conflicts, such as Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003. Still, he said he wasn’t surprised when he saw the U.S. enter another in June. Burke, a USF history professor, has been studying and teaching U.S. foreign relations for nearly two decades. “I had a […]
USF’s Fowler Avenue ‘isn’t going anywhere’ despite NIL changes
Corey Staniscia didn’t need a court ruling to see where college sports were headed. Long before a federal judge approved the House v. NCAA settlement on June 6, Staniscia saw what was coming — a future where schools, not just collectives, could pay athletes directly. So, as the CEO and co-founder of the Fowler Avenue […]
USF support program helps international student-athletes thrive
For Mathis Haugen, a USF international student-athlete from Norway, his journey started with a leap of faith. Haugen said he planned to take a gap year after high school and then apply to college. But when USF recruited him in fall 2021, everything changed. Now a senior, the men’s soccer defender had never visited the […]
USF’s presidential search slowed in spring, now resumes with new firm
The USF presidential search committee announced this month its plans to move forward with a new search firm in its pursuit of a new university president. In May, USF spokesperson Althea Johnson told The Oracle that USF would move forward with its presidential search after its initial search firm — SP&A Executive Search — finished […]