SALEM, Ohio - Salem Hills Golf and Country Club, which closed at the end of last year, went on the auction block Wednesday. After the winner-takes-all auction, the future of the course remains uncertain.

About 200 people packed the clubhouse for the auction. Many of them former Salem Hills members who were hoping the new owner would have the course ready to resume play this summer.

The property is an 18-hole course on 147 acres along State Route 45 in Goshen Township. The winning bidder gets everything, the land, the buildings and all of the equipment. The bidding started at half a million dollars.

After several minutes it was down to two final bidders. The top winning bid ended up at $800 thousand.  With a 10-percent buyers premium, the final price is $880 thousand. 

The winning bidder and new owner chose to remain anonymous, but has farm land adjacent to the course. He says his future plans for the course remain uncertain.

Another non-winning bidder was the owner and operator of the Old Dutch Mill golf course in Lake Milton, Ron Birchak. "We would have definitely kept it a golf course. We think Salem Hills is a wonderful golf course with wonderful facilities, the bar and restaurant, so there's a lot of potential," Birchak said.

Salem Hills opened in 1961. The current owner, who is retiring, took it over in 1978. Goshen township is not  zoned so the new owner has options.

"It could go to housing down the road, or it could go back to agriculture, it's just economics you know," said Rusty Kiko of Kiko Auctions.

So, will it be fairways, driveways or crops?  The winning bid was described as in the range of what was expected.