The long-closed Tam O’Shanter Club could have golf again in its future after the Village of Brookville changed a local code to allow for-profit clubs to operate at the site, Newsday reported last week.
Tam O’Shanter, a former private club that was sold to a developer in 2019, was originally slated to be replaced by luxury homes, but the discovery of arsenic in the topsoil stalled those plans. The village board of trustees voted unanimously to update the previous village code that said only not-for-profit organizations could operate golf courses within the jurisdiction. The code change is designed to make the course more appealing for purchase by a for-profit club, according to Newsday.
Built in the early 1960s, Tam O’Shanter has sat fallow alongside Route 107 in Brookville for more than four years. After the 2019 sale, the club’s 18-hole course remained partially open to members and later to limited public play before closing completely in 2021.
Remediation of the property for golf use would be much less extensive and costly than for residential construction, the Newsday report said. Brookville Mayor Dan Serota said a village purchase of the property is not an option:
Selling the property to a for-profit operator is the best possible outcome, Serota said. The cost for the village to buy and develop the property would significantly raise taxes for the 700 homes within its borders, making it a non-starter for Serota.
Jeff Wernick, a DEC spokesman, said in an email that the contamination volume was “a common amount for golf courses and apple orchards.” He added that “the property does not pose a significant threat to public health or the environment, and the property was not listed on the State’s Registry of Inactive Hazardous Waste Disposal Sites.” – Joseph Ostapiuk, Newsday, 11/20/2025
For the full Newsday article, click here.
PICTURED: Tam O’Shanter course view and street sign during its final summer of play in 2021.