The Rolling Hills Golf Club is one of the oldest golf courses in the state of Florida. Established in 1926, it has been variously known as Sanlando Golf Course, Sanlando Springs Golf and Country Club, and Rolling Hills Country Club before being named Rolling Hills Golf Club in 1953.
The course was the creation of a group called the Sanlando Springs Corporation, which was led by Calvin O. Black. The aim of the Corporation was to develop the land, which had been a pine forest used in the production of turpentine, as home sites surrounding a golf course.
By 1929, hundreds of people from Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachusetts, had purchased lots. The Corporation had some financial problems and, by 1930, its interest in the development was ended.
By late 1940, the course was owned by the Harris brothers, Robert B. and Frank, from Chicago. They and their friends would fly into a small airport (Slade's Airport), located just north of SR 434, and play a few rounds. Robert Bruce Harris probably had a significant influence on the design of the course. He was a charter member and first president of the American Society of Golf Architects and is known to have designed and renovated many courses, including Monterey Peninsula Country Club at Pebble Beach.
With the approach of World War ll, the Harris brothers closed the course and during the war years, and for a few years thereafter, the course was used as a cattle ranch. One of our club‘s older members visited the site in this period and recalls that the course was so engulfed by plants that no evidence of it's former state could be discerned.
After reopening as a golf course in 1954, the fairways were reclaimed from the weeds and the club has been growing ever since. In the early days of operation, the two nines were reversed and golfers teed off from the present number 10 tee to start.
The RHGC area still retains the influence of the original founders. The lake which is split by the causeway between numbers 1 and 10 tees is named Lake Jeannette in honor of Mrs. Calvin O. Black. Other lakes are named Lake Phyllis, Lake Loll, and Lake Elaine, no doubt named for other ladies in the founding family.
In 1955 the property was purchased by Art Hagan and development of the area began to accelerate. Since the original clubhouse had burned in 1942, a new clubhouse was built in 1955. Art Hagan made many contributions, the greatest of which was his offer to sell the property to the members to turn into a private entity. To facilitate this offer, he made a generous proposal in the form of a lease - purchase agreement. The Board of Directors acted on his offer and signed the agreement in 1958. After some very difficult financial years, the membership exercised the purchase agreement in 1973.
The final check for payment of the mortgage was made on December 28,1978.
The biggest step at that time was the installation of an automatic irrigation system. This allowed the golf course to make the transition from hard sun-baked fairways and greens to the fine grass covered surface we enjoy today.
In 1987-1988 the greens were rebuilt and re-contoured, adding a lot of characterto the course. Changes to the course over the years have been continuous and, it is generally agreed, we have come a long way since the Sanlando Course was scraped out of the Florida brush.
Swamps have been filled and the course has been lengthened. The 10th fairway was almost 100 yards shorter than now and was a par 4.
Major renovations were made to the clubhouse dining room and kitchen in 1979 providing a greatly expanded seating area in the dining room. Extensive repairs were made to the clubhouse in 1992 and in 1997 refurbishing of the dining room was done. in 1998 another major renovation took place. This renovation enlarged the kitchen, created a beautiful foyer entrance into the newly remodeled Hill’s Grill area and included the installation of rest rooms upstairs as well as an elevator.
Upgrading and improvement of the golf course is a continuing project. In 1997 a lake level project to control flooding was completed and beginning in 1999, a series of irrigation system improvements estimated to cost over $500,00 was completed.
The Neighborhood Immediately Responds to the Sale of It's Golf Course
On June 13, 2014 a community meeting was held in the Rolling Hills Golf Club, to address the rumored sale of the golf course to real estate developers. The crowd of over two hundred concerned residents packed the club and over flowed into the entry way and outside.
Linda and Roger Copeland chaired the meeting that featured Seminole County Commissioners Lee Constantine and Carlton Henley. The discussion centered around various methods that local residents might use to gain control of the Club, through out right purchase by a citizen group or through a joint venture with the County. After an intense meeting with a lot of community input, participants were asked to share their contact information and were given the opportunity to sign up to participate on a neighborhood Steering Committee.
Linda Copeland was in regular contact with Mr. Chen, the representative of the seller, Southern Pioneers Inc. Ms. Copeland was led to believe by Mr. Chen, that the Community had sufficient time to put together an investment group to buy the Club. But on June 27, Ms. Copeland learned that a deal had been struck between Mr. Chen and a development group and the sale was final.
That same day, the Buyer closed the Club and laid off twenty (20) employees, who were deceived into believing that the Club would remain open and their jobs would be secure. Some of the employees had been with Rolling Hills for over ten years. Over the next few weeks, the golf carts were removed, the pro shop was stripped, and the buildings, grounds, and fairways were allowed to begin their deterioration. Within a couple weeks, the once proud Rolling Hills Golf Club looked like a wasteland.
Starting the weekend of the sale, members of the newly formed Steering Committee met at various private homes to confront the challenges posed by the purchase, closing, and neglect of the Rolling Hills Golf Club. The Steering Committee met weekly in the evenings forming committees and developing strategies. The Steering Committee decided to form a not-for-profit corporation, Rolling Hills Community Group Inc., to represent them in discussions with Seminole County and the developers.
The community effort has had some media attention. WESH TV Dave McDaniels interviewed several members of the Rolling Hills Steering Committee and then aired a story about the deteriorating golf course on their evening news program. Beth Kassab, a reporter with the Orlando Sentinel, wrote an extensive article regarding the condition of the golf course. Martin Comas, a reporter with the Orlando Sentinel, also did an article on the condition of the golf course and Seminole County’s decision to create an ordinance requiring the maintenance of abandoned golf courses.
The Steering Committee has been in constant contact with the County Code Enforcement regarding the possible code violations on the golf course. After a month of pleading with the County, the new owners were forced to do a minimum of mowing. The owners have also been cited for various violations regarding debris and unsecured, abandoned buildings.
Members of the Steering Committee met with each of the County Commissioners and the County Manager to share the perspective of concerned residents of Rolling Hills. There is a second round of meetings planned to share a plan to buy the golf course property and reopen the golf course.
The Steering Committee has a created a petition and has secured over 1500 signatures by area residents, supporting the preservation of Rolling Hills Golf Course and opposing any future housing development on the property.
The Steering Committee has started a drive to raise the necessary funds to finance activities necessary to preserve Rolling Hills Golf Course.