An auctioneer sold off lawn tractors, dining room tables and kitchen equipment at the San Luis Rey Downs Golf Resort in Bonsall, which closed for good in August.
The owners shut down the greens at the 52 year old course because they said it has been losing money for the last several years.
Sales from the auction are estimated to have brought in about $40,000.
During the auction, a wink or nod from a bidder acknowledged an offer. Close to 70 percent of the items were purchases by owners of similar businesses.
Jason Stancill, McCormack Auction Systems vice president of business development, said a sentimental fondness for the golf course also prompted sales.
“There’s some NASCAR memorabilia that they had hanging in here, and they’ve been signed by whoever the racers were. I know a lot of people are here specifically for that, because they use to come out and drink in this bar,” Stancill said. “So they’re very attached to some of that stuff. I’ve even had somebody ask me about the sign, the San Luis Rey Downs sign: ‘Can I buy that?’ So I definitely think there’s some sentiment around this for sure.”
Many neighboring residents have objected to the closing of the course.
The owners of the San Luis Rey Downs Golf Resort are currently working with the Army Corps of Engineers to have the 180-acre property declared a land mitigation site.
That would mean the golf greens would be turned back into natural habitat that developers could then buy into, in order to satisfy requirements for developments elsewhere.
Approval of the land bank could come within a year.
