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Article Courtesy of
Channel 13 Spectrum
By Sarah Winkelmann
Published April 21, 2026
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APOPKA — Growth in Apopka has been the talk around town as new developments pop
up all across the city.
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But some of the neighborhoods that were
already there are fighting to keep their green spaces,
green.
That includes Rock Springs Ridge, which has a 39-hole golf
course that has sat untouched for more than a decade. Now,
they have plans to turn it back into an operating golf
course.
It’s 300 acres of land, being unused.
“If you believe where you live is worth fighting for, go
fight for it,” said Simon McKenna, the Rock Springs Ridge
HOA president.
McKenna knew this land was special and for more than a
decade, he has been fighting to keep it untouched.
“I bought my house sight unseen from England and moved over
here and literally 18 months after I moved here, they closed
the south and tried to develop,” McKenna said.
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Rock Springs Ridge Golf Course has not been used it
more than a decade.
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Instead of hundreds of new homes on the land, the HOA wants to turn it back into
a golf course.
“My plan is Rock Springs Golf Club,” said Rocky Hodge, the CEO of Tamarack Golf
Management, who plans to partner with the HOA on this project. “It felt like a
good opportunity for both.”
Hodge took on a similar project at Stoneybrook West a few years ago. The Rock
Springs Ridge is not a done deal yet, but once the paperwork is signed, they can
move forward.
The HOA is now in control of the land, paid for by an increase of $370 a year in
HOA fees.
“My goal was always to secure the land first, then we stop development, then we
move the process forward, where we go from there,” McKenna said.
The uncertainty of the land has caused concern for home buyers.
“One of the deterrents was actually the unknown and the uncertainty of whether
or not, there was going to be a golf course in their backyard whereas other
people see the opportunity, they see the timing that if they buy now and the
course happens and they do a good job and it is well maintained, it will
increase the value of the home,” said Brian Whalen, a realtor.
Whalen recently sold a house in Rock Springs Ridge. He said, the golf course
deal being done could help sellers and buyers in the future.
“Right now, it is just probably hurting home values a little bit, the unknown
and the concern of what it is going to be home, but when it is finished, it is
going to increase the value of the homes,” Whalen said.
If everything goes according to plan, work to restore the golf course at Rock
Springs Ridge could start this summer and take around a year to complete. |
