Thanks for adding the links. "Who is the TPL, and why do they hate golf?" Not sure. This transaction was literally the first I had ever heard of them.
But I do know the City is no longer involved, so maintenance costs of the park will not be an issue for them. They sold it a couple of years ago, to get out from under the costs of maintaining the course. The purchaser (the only bidder if I recall correctly) was an auctioneer, with no known interest in maintaining it as golf course. We all assumed it would be developed ASAP, but at least that did not occur. We were fortunate to have two local gentlemen who leased it from the purchaser and ran it as a golf course for a couple more years.
Purchaser then turned around sold it to the TPL, a national non-profit who will maintain it as a park. They will maintain with their funds (some donated, and I'm assuming some type of grant money based on the stipulation).
The operators and the City did not want the course to fail, but they really had no choice. The recession hit this area in particular very hard (heavily reliant on manufacturing); the leagues left when employment went down; golf itself went a little stagnant. With no one playing the course any more, they lacked revenues to pay for the employees, chemicals, water etc. keep the course in top shape.
I agree with most of the sentiments expressed above. Shaker is a sad shell of its former self, and Pipestone has some flaws in design. We still have Heatherwood, Yankee Trace, Walden Ponds, and many other public choices. For most of us, losing Weatherwax is mostly sentimental. We are not losing a Doak, C&C, or MacKenzie course, but more a piece of local history to those of us from the area.
I was a member at Brown's Run for about 13 years. Loved the place. The greens are great, and the fairways are immaculate (but always too wet for my tastes). (I left because my children's activities took away my evening 9 holers and weekend time, and I could no longer justify the cost, not because I did not like it). It is still operating, and like all courses around here, would love to have more members. But it will not fail any time soon; there is a good strong core group of members there who will continue to fund it, despite the costs.