KANSAS, Ohio — The golf course at The Front 9 will close after this season, the owners announced in a Facebook post Monday, ending play at a Seneca County course that has operated under the Eakin family since 2019.
The restaurant, bar and event space at the same location will stay open.
“After much thought and consideration, we have made the difficult decision that the 2026 season will be the final season for the golf course at The Front 9,” the family said in a written statement. “The golf course is currently open, and we plan to finish the 2026 season as scheduled. Current leagues, members and scheduled golf activities will continue throughout the remainder of the season.”
The statement was direct about the scope of the decision: “We want it to be very clear: The Front 9 restaurant, bar and event space are staying open. This decision affects the golf course only.”
The owners attributed the closure to the economics of running a nine-hole course.
“While the golf course has a special history, continuing to operate and maintain it is no longer financially sustainable,” the statement said. “We have worked hard to keep the course going, but operating as a 9-hole-only course has made it difficult to generate the level of revenue needed to keep up with the rising costs, staffing, equipment, maintenance and course conditions our golfers deserve.”
The family said it has hired a real estate agent to begin marketing the golf acreage, and that no sale is pending.
“At this time, there is no pending sale, no selected buyer and no finalized plan for how the land will be used,” the statement said.
The property sits at 6730 N. Township Road 69 in Liberty Township, in the Old Fort Local School District, with a Kansas mailing address. Seneca County Auditor records list the parcel at 76.864 acres, owned by The Front Nine LLC and appraised at $367,010 for 2025. The parcel is classified commercial and coded as a golf course. It is not enrolled in the state’s Current Agricultural Use Value program, which reduces taxes on qualifying farmland and can trigger repayment when land converts to another use.
Most of the acreage is already carried on the county’s books as open ground. Auditor records break the parcel into about 55 acres of undeveloped or residual land, roughly 17 acres of woodland and 2 acres of primary site, along with smaller wetland and right-of-way areas.
The course has changed hands twice in the past decade. Auditor transfer records show First Federal Bank took the property from Nature Trails Inc. by sheriff’s deed in July 2018, in a transaction covering four properties. The Front Nine LLC bought this parcel from the bank that December for $225,500. The company was registered with the Ohio Secretary of State in November 2018, weeks before the purchase closed.
On its website, the business says the owners bought the clubhouse and front nine at auction in 2018, after the former Nature Trails course had sat vacant for nearly two years, and opened in July 2019. The site is signed by Brian and Tracie Eakin. A 2019 report in The Advertiser-Tribune identified Tracie Eakin and Christine Spencer, sisters, as co-owners.
The owners had previously described losing greens to severe weather. “As a nine-hole course, the loss of multiple greens has an outsized impact,” the business wrote on its website. “Unlike an eighteen-hole facility, where play can sometimes be redirected, every green here matters.”
The family asked in its announcement that questions be directed away from employees.
“At this time, our staff and family do not have additional details beyond what is shared here, and we ask that they not be put in the position of answering questions they may not have answers to,” the statement said. “Confirmed updates will be shared when they become available.”
