St. Anne's Golf Club has been the subject of conversation in the NCC golf community lately.

Golfers have noticed the conditions, and some of you have reached out directly to us to report on what’s going on. So we did. 

We spoke with ownership, former staff, and multiple community members over the past 2 weeks to piece together the full picture.

What we found was way more complicated than the rumor mill had been circulating.

And to be clear…

This is not a hit piece, and it’s not a bogus PR piece either. It’s the honest story of what’s happening at St. Anne’s, told from multiple perspectives, so you can decided yourself.

Let’s get into it.

St. Anne's is owned by a group of five partners. None of them came from a golf industry background. We had the chance to speak with Jason Stanley, who runs a highly successful remodeling and construction business outside of owning the course, Sundance Kitchen Baths & Exteriors.

He was brought into the ownership group specifically because they needed someone with property management and construction expertise; and in the past several years, Jason has become incredibly well-versed in the golf industry through pure sweat-equity.

The majority of the other owners are mostly hands-off. Two are financial advisors, and two run their own separate businesses. By multiple accounts the ownership group worked well together early on. As financial pressures increased and personal circumstances changed for some partners, the dynamic has become more complicated.

Managing a golf course by committee is difficult under the best circumstances, and when budgets are tight with decision making shared across multiple stakeholders, with different levels of stake, things can fall through the cracks.

That background is the lens through which everything that follows needs to be understood.

If you played St. Anne's over the past couple of seasons and left frustrated with the conditions, your frustration was valid. The course has not been playing at the level it should be. Here’s a look into why that is.

The superintendent situation

The now ex-superintendent was contracted by St. Anne’s and at another NCC course simultaneously. Getting work done at St. Anne's was complicated by the fact that the course did not have adequate equipment on site. The superintendent was required to transport equipment back and forth between the two properties, and any equipment repairs required transportation off site entirely.

It’s reported he had genuine obstacles placed in front of him that made doing the job difficult at times. Well at the same time, ownership had budget constraints that limited what they could provide, and expectations he did not meet. The result was a working relationship that deteriorated over time and a course that suffered for it.

When his contract renewal came up this off-season he submitted a new quote with a significant fair-market increase. Ownership was unable to accommodate it and the relationship ended.

Raymundo, a veteran of turf management with experience at Dupont CC, is now the superintendent. His work is already showing to be an improvement.

The aeration story

One of the most critical maintenance tasks on any golf course, green aeration, was delayed or missed on multiple occasions at St. Anne's.

What is important to understand is that at least some of those delays were driven by reported revenue necessity rather than negligence.

The course could not afford to turn down tournament and outing bookings that conflicted with scheduled aeration windows. In November of 2024 greens were punched late in the season — pushed back by booking commitments the course needed for revenue. By March of 2025 those greens had not healed properly heading into spring. To mitigate the damage a deep tine aeration was performed. A less invasive approach that helped stabilize conditions.

At the end of 2025, aeration was planned for August but was again pushed back repeatedly due to outing and tournament commitments. Ultimately the decision was made not to aerate at all.

Ownership states that decision was not made lightly, and the lack of communication from the ex-superintendent contributed to the missed aerations.

Honestly, this is a difficult position for any course to be in. The revenue from outings and tournaments is necessary to keep the lights on, but deferring maintenance to chase short term revenue creates long term condition problems. You’re basically damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.

The Cart Path Problem

The cart path situation at St. Anne's has been one of the most consistent complaints from golfers and it deserves a complete explanation.

Jason wants to pave the paths properly. Ballpark cost is $350,000 to $400,000. That was voted down by the ownership group due to budget constraints. A temporary solution using millings (recycled asphalt material without the binding agents that hold traditional pavement together) was applied during warm weather in the past. As temperatures changed the material broke down. The dust problem golfers have been experiencing is a direct result.

This is fixable, but getting there requires a significant capital commitment from the ownership group that is steep for any course to cough up.

Jason knows it needs a permanent fix and is working towards it.

Two significant departures happened at St. Anne's heading into this season, and in the same 2 week period.

The director of golf and operations, and the assistant manager. Both have been subjects of community speculation.

What NCC Golf Report can say is this: both individuals were working hard under claimed difficult circumstances, budget constraints, ownership disagreements, and operational challenges that created an environment where doing their job well was hard. Ownership felt that standards weren’t met, deadlines were missed, and stuff slipped through the cracks.

Look, people left. That happens in business. Enough said, out of respect for all parties.

What matters for the community to know is that both positions have been addressed. A new pro shop manager who has prior experience at both St. Anne's and Back Creek, is now in place. Jason has stepped into an interim GM role while permanent leadership is identified. I wish them all the best.

NCC Golf Report can confirm that the Jaworski Golf Group was in discussions to purchase St. Anne's. Ron Jaworksi actually toured the property in October of 2025, but the discussions ultimately did not result in a deal.

This is the part of the story that has not been told yet, and is the part that matters most for you as a NCC golfer.

Over the past 6 months Jason and the other owners have made significant and deliberate investments in the course's future.

New equipment is either on site or on order: Approach mowers, a green mower, a roller equivalent to what DuPont CC uses, and additional supporting pieces. 

They’ve grown the maintenance team to 4 full-time employees and 2 part-timers, with plans to hire 2 more full time staff members.

On the course itself, Jason is working through a list of specific projects:

None of this is simple. None of it is cheap. But all of it is being addressed.

In Issue 11 of the NCC Golf Report we documented how green fees across NCC have climbed significantly since 2019, with twilight golfers hit the hardest. 

Jason read that article. He agreed with the analysis, and he is doing something about it that no other NCC course is currently doing:

Mondays: $40 tee times all day.

Tuesdays: $99 twosome plus two beers.

Monday through Wednesday: Golf Happy Hour. $25 for 9 holes and a beer.

If you have been priced out of other NCC courses there is a home for you at St. Anne's on a weekday. That pricing is genuinely difficult to argue with.

St. Anne's has had a rough couple of seasons, and yes, the cart path problem sucks.

The picture that emerges from weeks of reporting however, is not one of a course in freefall.

It is one of a course dealing with common financial struggles, complicated ownership dynamics, and the kind of growing pains that many newer golf courses experience.

We as a golf community should not want to see another course close in this county. Let’s rally to support them however we can as a golf community.

If you’ve been avoiding this course, give it another chance this summer.

If you’ve never played it, now is a great time to finally give it a try.

Book the Monday $40 tee time, stay for a drink at the Whiskey Bar, have a bite to eat at Casa 19, and judge it for yourself.

That is all any course can ask.

Also, download the St. Anne's app to collect Yards — their rewards points program. Every round adds up. Download here

This Week’s Golf Trivia Question:

Two events coming up worth your calendar.

🏌️‍♀️ June Women's Meet & Greet — June 3rd, 5-8 PM A social evening for women golfers in NCC. $130 per ticket. Grab yours here

Tee It Up Series #3 — June 7th, 10-11:30 AM Rock Manor's beginner instruction series. $299 covers June 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th. Register here

🎉 Shoutout to Xander Du Toit’s 1st Hole in one on #6, 8-iron from 165 yds. Congratulations Xander! (pic ⬇️)

🌙 Night Golf is back! June 12th, 8:15 PM shotgun, 9 holes walking. Tickets $55. NCC Golf Report will be there, mark the date. Learn More

White Clay is no longer selling range access by time. It is now sold by bucket: $8 for 30 balls, $13 for 90 balls. Low-key one of the cheapest buckets around now.

🍔 The Rail will likely be under renovations for the next few months. 😔

🎵 Rick Sommers performs live at the Tavern — May 29th, 6-9 PM. Good Thursday night option in Middletown.

For anyone who has been waiting on the greens to heal after aeration, they are 95% healed and rolling great.

🤩 New range mats have arrived and will be going out soon. If you have been holding off on the range at Frog Hollow, the upgrade is finally here! Thank you Patrick!

New merch just landed in the pro shop — USA Gear & Nike and Puma golf shoes under $90! Worth a stop if you need new kicks before summer.

Hero Program Fundraiser — May 30th Closest to the pin, hole in one challenge, and donor prizes. A great cause worth supporting. Details here

🎵 Jackson Station performs live this Thursday May 29th at 7 PM.

Hello, fellow New Castle County golf lovers.

Wow. What a week.

The St. Anne's piece is the most significant thing we have published since launching. It took up most of today’s email, so I apologize I couldn’t cover more things. The response from the community has been overwhelming and honestly humbling.

None of it happens without you opening this email every Tuesday morning. Thank you. Genuinely.

One more thing, and this one is exciting!!!

NCC Golf Report just brought on its first team member. Tyler Bizby joins as our camera intern. Tyler is an Appoquinimink High School student pursuing sports media, and is on the high school golf team. He is talented, passionate, and the production quality of our video content is about to take a significant step forward.

Better content is coming. We are just getting started. Welcome to the report Tyler!

Now what story should we cover next? 👀 Shoot us an email.

Until next Tuesday. ⛳