FOLEY — Glen Lakes Golf Club recently marked their 10-year anniversary of being locally owned.

Sam Strite, president of Glen Lakes Golf Club, made the decision to purchase the Foley course in 2010, along with 44 other shareholders, after he and his wife were members for a few years

“We were very concerned because the course was going toward bankruptcy,” Strite said. “A lot of local people were concerned.”

Strite added that the course was once owned by Textron, a company located in Rhode Island. When he and his wife saw that the course was “going downhill,” he said they found that they had the funds to purchase it.

“My wife and I enjoyed this course when we first moved here more than any of the other courses,” he said. “We were disappointed to see what was happening, and when the opportunity came along to buy a share in the golf course, we decided to do it.”

In the last decade, Glen Lakes has accomplished more than Strite’s expectations. The general manager of Glen Lakes Golf Club and PGA professional David Musial said they have not only grown their youth programs but have hosted multiple collegiate tournaments and partnered with snowbird clubs to shape this 27-hole course into what it is today.

“We now have one of the top 30 junior golf programs in the country,” Musial said. “We have juniors from Foley, from Orange Beach, Gulf Shores, Elberta and Loxley that comprise our junior golf league.”

Musial added that the new ownership of the course has been committed to providing the best golf course conditions that there is to offer.

For the next 10 years, Musial hopes to have continued growth and memberships and said helping bring juniors into the game of golf is one of his proudest achievements.

“Glen Lakes is not advertised as a retirement community, but it is attractive for retirees,” he said. “What we do, we have been able to grow our junior golf league to the point of where it is at.”

Strite and Musial both agreed that having new ownership has impacted the course but said it could not have been possible without the help of the local community, the staff and those who keep the game of golf alive.