The maintenance blueprint that sustains Inland Greens
Long before Wilmington, N.C., wakes up, before the first golfer tees up the day’s opening shot, work at Inland Greens is already in motion. At 6 a.m., crews step onto the course with mowers humming, sand moving, and turf shaking off the night’s heaviness. By the time the course opens, every green is rolled, every tee box is prepped, and every detail is refined. With nearly 40,000 rounds played a year, nothing about this routine is optional. Turf doesn’t care about tee times, but the community does, so staff members show up early, every day, to make sure the course is ready.
A Course Reborn: From Floodplain To Fairway
Inland Greens was previously privately operated as an 18-hole, Par-3 course. In 2011, the City of Wilmington purchased the property for $500,000 using funds from a Parks and Greenspace Bond. The goal was transformative and converted the site into a stormwater-friendly public asset that is part park and part golf course.
By 2014, construction began on a $1.2-million stormwater system designed to alleviate chronic flooding and satisfy state environmental permits. The former front nine became a passive park featuring a walking trail, playground, and picnic shelter. The back nine was reshaped into a newly renovated 9-hole, par-3 course.
When Inland Greens reopened in July 2018 under city ownership, the staff expected around 12,000 rounds per year and roughly $125,000 in revenue. Reality exceeded every projection. In 2025, the course approached 40,000 annual rounds and nearly $400,000 in revenue.