The city is expected to officially close on the course by Oct. 1 but is already under contract to make the purchase.
The city of Westfield is poised to close on the purchase of a new golf course next week and already the course may need to be redesigned in order to accommodate plans for a new housing development.
The development of more than 100 new homes is planned near the City of Westfield’s soon-to-be acquired Wood Wind Golf Club, according to plans presented at a recent city council meeting.
The city announced it had purchased the 147-acre championship golf course, located near 161st Street and Ditch Road, last week. Then city councilors were presented plans for the new residential development on Monday.
Wood Wind Golf Club will be Westfield’s first municipal-owned golf course, although it’s not uncommon for cities to own golf courses in Central Indiana. Indy Parks and Recreation operates 12 public golf courses in Marion County, and Carmel and Noblesville also own golf courses.
“There has been much speculation over the years about whether Wood Wind would remain a golf course with the residential development that has popped up,” Mayor Scott Willis said in a news release announcing the city’s planned purchase. “Since my first day in office, the owner has pitched ideas to develop the course into a high-density housing development. The city purchasing the course ensures that it will remain a community asset for decades to come and the open green space the area offers will be preserved.”
The Downtown Westfield Community Development Corporation will purchase the course for $3.1 million from Westfield Golf Club, LLC. The purchase includes all buildings on the grounds, the clubhouse and party pavilion, and site amenities, including two pickleball courts, golf carts, maintenance equipment, and furnishings.
The city is expected to officially close on the course by Oct. 1 but is already under contract to make the purchase.
“It’s important to note that the course is generating revenue and will continue to do so in the coming years,” Willis said in the news release. “The city will reinvest any profits back into the course for improvements and additional community amenities. It’s important that we have a public golf course available for all residents and our school district teams.”
Are public golf courses in Hamilton County profitable?
Carmel bought Brookshire Golf Course for $2.6 million in 2007 to save it from development. The 18-hole golf course is along Cool Creek between 116th and 126th streets west of Gray Road.
Brookshire is not profitable and has been subsidized by Carmel’s general fund in recent years. The golf course is estimated to bring in about $1.7 million in revenue this year, with about $1.9 million in expenses, according to information from the city.
Plus in 2018 Carmel spent $10 million on additions at the course, which included a 20,437-square-foot clubhouse, a 605-square-foot pool house and a new pool.
Noblesville owns Fox Prairie Golf Course, which opened in 1970, and Forest Park Golf Course, built in 1927. Both courses have always been owned by the city.
Before 2020, the city’s budget included a subsidy for golf operations, but since then the courses have been making a profit, according to Noblesville.
The City of Westfield has announced plans to purchase Wood Wind Golf Club, 147-acre championship golf course, for $3.1 million. (Photo: City of Westfield)
Wood Wind Golf Club could undergo redesign due to residential development
If approved by the city, the Woodwind East development would be built east of the Wood Wind Golf Club and north of 161st Street. It would include 186 single-family homes built around three golf course holes.
City Councilor Victor McCarty said he and other city councilors are seeking clarity on how the plans would fit in with the rest of the Wood Wind Golf Club course. It’s possible the course would need to be redesigned to take away three holes from elsewhere on the course, he said.
It’s unclear who would pay for that redesign and what that process would look like.
“It’s new territory and a very unique situation that we are getting into and have to navigate over the next several months,” McCarty said.
Some questions that weren’t brought up at Monday’s council meeting may be answered by developers at a neighborhood meeting planned for Oct. 3 at 6 p.m. at the Wyndham Westfield.
Jon Dartt, another Westfield city councilor, said it will be important for the developer to plan the three golf holes first and then lay out the lots for the homes.
“When you talk about somebody building a golf course, they lay out the golf holes, they lay out everything around it and then they say, ‘where can we put homes on it?’ Dartt said. “I don’t want to do this backwards.”
The Advisory Plan Commission will hold a public hearing on the development on Oct. 7, followed by a workshop on Nov. 18. Then the commission will make a recommendation and send plans back to city council for adoption consideration on Dec. 9.
Contact Jake Allen at jake.allen@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jake_Allen19.
The project was described as “building a new course on top of an existing one.”
The Links at Audubon Golf Course is set to reopen for the public on Aug. 1, marking a significant milestone for the Memphis golf community.
Monday’s media preview featured notable speakers, including Mayor Paul Young, Memphis Parks director Nick Walker, renowned golf course architect Bill Bergin, and PGA course professional Bruno Strzalka.
Young emphasized the course’s role in fostering youth engagement in golf, pointing to the collaboration between Audubon and First Tee of West Tennessee, a youth golf advocacy organization, and his projection of over 40,000 rounds to be played on the new course within the next 11 months. He also announced that the new clubhouse, which will replace the temporary one, will be the home base for First Tee after renovations are completed.
Children from First Tee, alongside Young, concluded the event, teeing off the driving range for the first official shots on the renovated course.
Bergin described the construction as “building a new course on top of an existing one.” He emphasized Audubon as the desired and best location for University of Memphis golf teams to practice because of its central location to campus and the relative difficulty of the course.
Photos from media preview event of the re-opening of The Links at Audubon Golf Course. Mayor Paul Young and Memphis Parks Director Nick Walker, amongst others, tested the new putting grounds, hit the first official tee shots, and unveiled the course partnership with First Tee of West Tennessee. (Photo: Josh Crawford/USA Today Network)
Audubon’s embedded beauty, with its rolling hills and natural tree line, was a challenge to maintain while simultaneously ensuring the course was as playable and beginner-friendly as possible, according to Bergin.
The first hole, with its quarters stretched, is now a combination of the previous first two holes and encourages golfers to be less timid on their drives on the opening hole, exemplifying this balance. A new six-hole course is designed for beginners, providing an ideal space to learn and practice.
“People coming back to the course will get a hint of familiarity,” Bergin said. “But they will walk away saying, ‘This is a completely new course.’ ”
According to Audubon’s website, green fees are $35 on weekdays and $45 Friday through Sunday.
You can reach writer Josh Crawford via email @joshua.crawford@commercialappeal.com or via X @JCrawford5656
“The golf courses are busier than I’ve seen them in decades.”
ROCKFORD, Ill. — Golf wasn’t dying five years ago around this mid-sized Illinois city that sits about 90 minutes west of Chicago. But it was retreating fast.
“2019 was the worst year we ever had,” said Jeff Hartman, the head golf pro and general manager of Park Hills, a 36-hole municipal facility in nearby Freeport.
Golf had been in a steady and somewhat severe 10-year decline across the nation. Courses were hurting after a flurry of golf facilities had been built in the early 1990s to take advantage of the extra focus Tiger Woods brought to golf. Rockford-area 18-hole public courses almost doubled after courses such as Aldeen, PrairieView, Timber Pointe, Swanhills, Wolf Hollow and Westlake Village opened.
“We over-expanded in the industry as a result of the Tiger Boom,” said Rich Rosenstiel, who manages the three Winnebago County Forest Preserve courses. “Too many golf courses were built with the anticipation that they would all be filled. I don’t think we were ever really in danger of not having golf, but there were conversations about how to streamline things.”
The Rockford Park District streamlined by closing Elliot, one of its four 18-hole courses, after 53 years in 2021. Westlake Village closed. Bel-Mar Country Club in Belvidere shut down. Alpine Hills, a deluxe par-3 track, closed.
But COVID brought people back to the golf course. And area courses are keeping them back. Even with all of the rain this year, courses all around the area say rounds are up anywhere from 10 to 15 percent from a year ago. And that’s on top of increases that began with COVID in 2020, when golf was one of the few recreational sports that people were told they could play.
An increase upon an increase upon an increase means, for instance, that Winnebago County courses Macktown, Ledges and Atwood have climbed from 56,600 total rounds in 2018 to 76,250 last year. And they are up an additional 12,500 rounds from this point last year.
“The golf courses are busier than I’ve seen them in decades,” Rosenstiel said.
Players warm up on the putting green at Ingersoll before the inaugural McWilliams/Johnson Open on July 13, 2024 in Rockford, Ill.
(Photo: Catie Vernon / Rockford Park District)
“When the weather is nice,” Swanhills superintendent Sue Spahr said, “my goodness, they come out.”
Part of that is because people who have not golfed before have started to play.
“That’s one of the greatest things,” Spahr said. “We’re seeing a lot of young people now, people in their late teens and 20s that we hadn’t seen in years.”
The other part is that the Park District, Forest Preserve and other local courses have kept prices virtually the same as five years ago and have done great jobs of welcoming these new golfers and making sure they return.
“The whole industry was asking: How sustainable is this?” said J.J. Maville, the general manager of Timber Pointe in Belvidere. “After the Tiger Woods boom, we had all these new players and the industry wasn’t prepared to take advantage of it. We can maintain new players better than we did 30 years ago by getting them instruction so they can find enjoyment in the game much sooner.”
Two nationwide programs are Get Golf Ready, where you get five lessons for $99. Another is the PGA Junior League.
“That has been wildly successful,” Maville said. “It’s a team baseball concept melded into golf. Kids are on two-person teams, play an alternate-shot format and wear jerseys with their name and number on it. That has really taken off and gotten more kids interested in golf.”
Other signs of a golf decline had been the cancellation of the Ballard tournament in Rockford, discontinuing the Junior Classic tournament and last year turning the once super-popular Senior Classic tournament from a 36-hole competition into an 18-hole two-man event. Well, the Park District revived the Ballard three years ago, brought back the Junior Classic tournament this year and also reverted back to the two-round Senior formula this year. It also added a new tournament, the McWilliams/Johnson Open, a two-man scramble that honored a pair of late Park District golf teachers who won a combined nine Men’s City titles. That tournament sold out, with 84 players quickly signing up.
“We had people in their 70s and 80s playing and some of their grandkids in grade school and middle school and every age in between,” said David Spencer, the Park District’s operations director. “We are bringing some stuff back that we started shelving because of growth. And we are going to continue to bring them back if we see the interest.
“All our programs to grow golf have been successful,” Spencer added. “Our Sunday Fun Day (where golf for families and beginners is just $5) used to be the slowest time at Sinnissippi. Now it’s one of the busiest. We’re seeing grandpas with their grandkids and all sorts of families playing together. All our lessons are busy. Our Tiger Cub event (an adult is paired with a junior player aged 5 to 17) fills up every year. All of that is helping solidify our base.”
The days are over when golf courses just open their doors and wait for customers to drive up. Freeport has drawn a lot of golfers by offering special rates online at GroupGolfer.com and golfmoose.com. “They have helped us get a noticeable increase in out-of-town golfers,” Hartman said.
Course officials are also on the lookout for inexperienced golfers who might need a little help in truly catching the golf bug.
“If they are not a familiar face or look like they have hand-me-down clubs, you have to ask if they are new to golf or have been here before,” Timber Pointe’s Maville said. “You try to engage them more. Then get them into a program.”
And then keep them coming back.
“I don’t see a decline any time soon,” the Park District’s Spencer said. “We have a really good feeder system going throughout the entire country.”
A member invited me to be his guest the final night the club was open. It felt very much like a funeral.
EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. — I was ready to play MetLinks Golf Course, but I wasn’t ready for the emotional journey.
Metacomet Country Club is dead, never to return. MetLinks will never be able to replicate it, but it does a great job encapsulating what the course was and keeps its spirit very much alive.
But for someone who grew up on the course and spent his formative years there, seeing it in person was quite a shock to the system.
My history
I wasn’t a member at Metacomet Country Club. I grew up a few streets away and, when I was 15, started working as a caddie. I learned the game there, fell in love with golf there and whenever I was in between jobs or needed some extra money, it was there for me.
While not every employee had the same experience that I did, there were countless people there, both employees and members, who affected my life in ways they don’t even understand. Many of these people are the same ones who congratulated me when I got hired at The Journal or offer praise about my work when we run into each other because they remember me as a kid chasing a dream.
The year that Metacomet closed, I tried to squeeze in as many rounds as possible. I planned to play the final day it was open, but that was until I rolled a downhill 15-footer on the 18th hole — a putt I’d seen hundreds of times in my life — for birdie a few days earlier. I decided that would be my last golf memory at the club.
A member invited me to be his guest the final night the club was open. It felt very much like a funeral. People told stories, shared memories and celebrated a club that provided so much fun for so many people.
When it came to private golf courses in Rhode Island, many people wanted the status that would come with being a member at Rhode Island Country Club or Wannamoiset. But more wanted to be at Metacomet, because you could play good golf and have a party at the same time.
Heading to MetLinks last Thursday for its grand opening, I took the left-hand turn off Veterans Memorial Parkway and entered the property. You could have put a blindfold on me at that point and I would have been able to park my car without an issue. I might have been better served because what I saw hurt more than I could have ever expected.
It’s one thing to drive around the property and see the overgrown fairways, downed trees and missing greens. It’s another to roll up the driveway and see it up close. I parked my car along the hedges on the left side of the lot, my usual spot, and had to collect myself before getting out of the car.
I got ready to go, slung my bag over my shoulder and walked down the line of hedges. When I turned left, it was difficult to realize that the clubhouse was gone. I knew it wasn’t going to be there. I didn’t see it pulling in but it just felt different as I walked toward the practice green.
The attendant took my bag. I walked into the makeshift trailer to pay and then took a walk around the area where the clubhouse used to be. It was wild standing in front of the old practice green in the back, the spot where I honed my short game as I waited for members to come in, staring out at the 18th hole that was completely overgrown.
I never thought I’d get emotional about a piece of property. But as I continued to stare out at all the visible back-nine holes, it was tough not to.
The course
The Metacomet Golf Club opens as a 9-hole course – a transformation from an older golf course that ran into financial troubles to a smaller, now public course. (Photo: Kris Craig/The Providence Journal)
I didn’t know what to expect from MetLinks. I was playing with The Boston Globe’s Dan McGowan, who did a hole-by-hole breakdown that prepared me for some of the changes, but reading them and seeing them are two wildly different things.
The first tee box at Metacomet is gone, with the No. 1 tee box at MetLinks up about 30 yards. It’s the same blind tee shot that it was before — you still have to deal with the wind coming off the bay and you’re still hoping to miss the small creek in the left-side rough. It felt so good to hit the same approach to the same green, minus the fact that I yanked it into the left-side bunker.
MetLinks continued the nostalgia tour on No. 2, which remains the same as it was when Donald Ross designed it. Fifteen years ago, I wouldn’t have blinked at trying to carry the water over the dogleg-left par 5, but older now, I know better. I hit a 220-yard shot to the fairway, very safe from the water’s edge, a coward line, hit the same hybrid club into the bunker, blasted out and two-putted for a par.
The third hole hadn’t changed much since the last time I saw it. It was Metacomet’s signature hole, needing a soft cut off the tee to try to get to the top shelf of the fairway that would make an approach easier to handle with the devious false front on the green.
MetLinks’ redesign pulled the trees out from the left side, replaced by fescue. That was my old miss, because if you hit it far enough, you could still end up with a clean look at the green. I blocked it right, but it went far enough for me to stick a wedge on and two putt for another par.
I can’t remember the last time I’ve started three holes feeling as comfortable as I did at MetLinks. Every shot was so familiar and it really helped with my confidence. While it was apparent the greens were not Metacomet greens — they were average public course speed and very forgiving — it felt no different than any round I had played there before.
Then things changed.
The big changes at MetLinks
MetLinks’ rerouting means Metacomet’s brilliant seventh hole is now the fourth. It’s a truly terrific golf hole where everyone who played it knew the three clubs they would need — one for the wind at you, one for no wind, one for wind at your back. It’s tough to earn par if you miss right, tougher if you miss left — although slower greens help.
But the fifth hole, Metacomet’s former eighth, was the biggest shock to the system.
Eight was an ordinary hole — bang a 220-yard drive, hit a short iron or wedge over a valley to the green. MetLinks turned it into two holes that keep the spirit of the hole very much alive.
No. 5 is a linksy par 4, protected by a waste area, bunkers and plenty of fescue. I don’t know the exact yardage because I didn’t bother to shoot it with my range finder. My hybrid missed the green right, ended up in fescue, but I got it on the green and two-putted for par.
The sixth hole was a wedge over the valley and it’s great that they were able to keep the old eighth green alive and bring this shot to the redesign. It’s a ho-hum shot, but you know you can’t miss long, and if you chunk it, you’ll never see the ball again.
Seven was the first major change. Standing on the tee box, which used to be the ninth tee, I could stare down the narrow fairway of the former short par 5, which was home to my first eagle. I loved that golf hole because it always seemed so easy, yet never was.
Now, it’s a short par 3. I think it’s a gorgeous hole. It’s framed beautifully, and while it’s not crazy tough (it’s a wedge) it’s just fun to look at. When the green settles and firms up, it has the potential to be dastardly.
The finish
Maybe the best thing MetLinks did with the rerouting was finish with the two most punishing holes Metacomet had to offer.
The old No. 4 was the only hole I never birdied at Metacomet. MetLinks moved the tee box back and created a very scorable par 5. It’s just fun to play the hole again. Standing on the green after a bogey, it was refreshing to look around and see the first hole, No. 2 surrounding the water, the distant third hole and the path I just took to get up here. This is going to provide quite a view during twilight rounds this summer.
You finish MetLinks with a mid-length par 3. It’s uphill, you can’t see the green and while the wind normally helps, it rarely feels like it does. This hole is home of the first par I ever made and while I made a few more there, I didn’t on this day — but I was OK with it.
Changes MetLinks should think about
I cannot speak highly enough about the redesign. There are going to be many people who disagree but that’s a take based on emotion and not reality. Metacomet was never coming back and, honestly, it wasn’t until last Thursday that I realized that. MetLinks gives people a chance to see the heart and soul of the course and it’s great to have it back.
It’s not perfect. They need to find a way to bring the greens back to what they once were, or at least close to it. The greens were what defined Metacomet and if they can get back to double-digit speeds, it will bring life to the course.
For beginners, MetLinks might be tough. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say this is the most challenging nine-hole course in Rhode Island. The first three holes are beasts and the final two aren’t for the weary either. The short par 3s and short par 4 help, but if you’re not hitting good golf shots, it’ll make for a very long day.
Two other things — they’ll need some signage on the No. 2 tee that will tell players exactly what the carry is over the water. It looks reachable. For 99% of players, it’s not. Signage would also be good at the cart spot near the No. 2 green so players know to bring drivers to the green with No. 3 right behind it.
Is MetLinks worth the price?
This is the million-dollar question, or in this case, the $50 one.
OK, so it’s not quite $50. For non-East Providence residents, nine holes will cost you $46 with a cart and if you want to go around twice, it’s $20 more. Residents don’t save much, but it would be nice if MetLinks gave the locals a substantial break.
You can walk the course, but be warned — it’s a tough one. That walk up No. 3 is sneaky tough and getting to the new fourth tee box isn’t easy. Finishing uphill on the final two holes is a good workout as well.
If you’re passionate about golf and don’t play this course, you’re a bona fide crazy person.
The hardest part about playing it is reminding yourself that it’s not Metacomet Country Club. MetLinks isn’t trying to be that. MetLinks is trying to be exactly what it is — a terrific nine-hole golf course that respects what it once was while adding its own twist.
And the Rhode Island golfing community is better for it.
A slow-moving buildup of sludge that came from neighboring farms has added a distinct smell.
Strong storms with powerful winds that have brought historic flooding to the Midwest will continue their assault across the region deep into next month, AccuWeather forecasters warn.
That’s bad news for the folks in Brandon, South Dakota, just a few miles outside of Sioux Falls, where heavy rains have wreaked havoc on the public golf course, forcing its closure until at least July 4.
The course had seen similar damage a few years ago and bunkers had just been rebuilt in 2022 after the most recent round of flooding. This time around, it appears the course’s ninth fairway will be mostly lost as nearby Splitrock Creek swelled.
According to a story at Dakota News Now, the course hasn’t seen debris like it did in previous floods, but a slow-moving buildup of sludge that came from neighboring farms has added a distinct smell.
“Lots and lots of silt,” said long-time course superintendent Kelly Eilers. “It moved in slow. All the farm fields that ran into the creek kind of deposited everything wherever it floods, and it’s a mess. Obviously, the viewers can’t smell, but it’s awful. It’s awful.”
The course’s clubhouse sits high on a hill, with a view of several holes, including the finishing holes on both the front and back nine holes. A pond sits between them. Once the harshest of the storms rained down, the pond overflowed into a deluge that swamped both of those holes and greens, plus the driving range next to the ninth green.
“We had three bunkers go underwater completely, and we had about three-quarters of an inch of silt in the bunkers,” Eilers said. “So, we came in, we scooped the whole top of the bunker out and now we have sand sitting in the parking lot to rebuild these bunkers.”
Flood waters are receding in some rivers across battered areas of Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota and Nebraska. But additional rounds of storms, including quick-hitting, powerful derechos, will push already record-high river levels to new extremes for at least the next couple of weeks. The storms will continue to move east to southeast along the northern edge of a large heat dome in the southern U.S., forecasters say.
USA Today’s John Bacon contributed to this report.
Those in the nest have started to spread their wings and that’s forced a little re-routing for players.
Typically, if there were eagles to be had on the back nine at Holmes Park Golf Course in Lincoln, Nebraska, they came on the 10th, a 519-yard par 5 that plays as the 14th handicap hole.
This summer, however, there are also eagles to be found on holes No. 13 and 14, which has forced organizers to scramble for solutions.
The course, designed by Floyd Farley, houses a number of bald eagles and recently a group of hatched eaglets have thrown a wrench into local rounds.
A new area to the right of hole 13 near the green will be off limits to golfers, according to Lincoln City Golf.
There is also a new route to take when getting to hole 14.
After finishing the 13th hole, golfers will go to the left of the green and follow the signs to the 14th tee box.
Bald eagles are a federally protected bird, and Fish and Wildlife asks golfers to use caution when playing on the course.
Fischer, who is a golfer himself, told Golfweek that he’s seen eagles hovering while playing the course.
“I was putting for birdie on one hole and I looked up and there were two of them in the trees,” Fischer said, noting that he missed his birdie putt but tapped in for par.
The mere mention of a sale rattled those who have grown up golfing on the city’s munis.
LANSING, Mich. — When Lansing City Councilmember Peter Spadafore proposed selling Groesbeck Golf Course last month, his suggestion shook local residents and golfers like a warning shout of “fore.”
Spadafore and his fellow council members ultimately decided it was too soon for such a decision on the city’s original, and last remaining, public golf course, just two years shy of its 100th birthday in 2026.
The mere mention of a sale, however, rattled those who have grown up golfing on what once were four municipal golf courses in Lansing.
“Everybody is amazed this place exists, tucked here in the middle of the city,” said Debbi Kile, who recently golfed at Groesbeck, 1513 E. Caesar E. Chavez Ave. “It’s just beautiful. This is a gem, and I don’t know how they couldn’t make money with this.”
Paul Albanese, a golf course designer who spoke to the State Journal in 2016 when his firm was designing a refresh of several holes at Groesbeck, praised it as a fantastic course, rooted in the Scottish traditions of working with the natural territory.
The public course, cheaper than most other options in the region at $29 for 18 holes during the week, is affordable for groups like Paul Hartley’s, who was with about 10 men playing at Groesbeck in late May.
“It’s the young people and the retirees that play here,” Hartley said. “The people who are working age, they can afford the Eagle Eye and the other expensive courses. But the young and old, that’s who this kind of course is for.”
Municipal courses on the rise
Lansing, facing a budget crunch following the Great Recession in 2008, jettisoned most of its golf courses. Then-mayor Virg Bernero said at the time that the sales were necessary to save the city’s flagging finances.
The nine-hole Sycamore golf course had closed in 2001, and in 2003 it was converted to a driving range, spurred in part by a $3.5 million loss in the previous decade across all four golf courses. A beginners program, First Tee, was launched at the property and later closed.
The Waverly and Red Cedar golf courses closed in 2007. Voters authorized the sale of the courses in a 2012 vote, although Waverly and Red Cedar weren’t officially sold to developers until 2018.
National trends could be in Groesbeck’s favor, according to the National Golf Foundation.
“There’s been a net gain of more than 140 (municipal) courses since 2004, amidst a backdrop of a market correction that’s contributed to a 13% decline in U.S. golf supply over a 20-year span,” the federation said in March. “The increase is in contrast with the broader reductions and the public/publicized challenges municipal golf encounters in some areas.
The 2,939 municipal golf courses operating in the U.S. – about 18% of all courses – is an all-time high, the federation noted.
Erik Matuszewski, editorial director for the National Golf Foundation, said Michigan has more public golf courses, 742, than any other state, and noted there have never been more municipal golf courses than today.
He acknowledged, however, that many older municipal courses face competition to make costly upgrades and if the land is valuable, it can draw developers’ eyes.
Mac MacEachran gets his club out of the bag before teeing off at Groesbeck Golf Course on Wednesday, May 22, 2024, in Lansing (Photo: Nick King/Lansing State Journal)
Groesbeck use doubles since 2017
The city, in 2018, turned Groesbeck’s operation over to the nonprofit Lansing Entertainment and Public Facilities Authority, which also operates Jackson Field, where the Lansing Lugnuts play, and the Lansing Center.
The number of rounds played has increased dramatically since, from 14,702 rounds in 2017 to 32,791 in 2021. Subsequent years have seen some falloff but 31,646 rounds were played in 2023.
But the golf course hasn’t made a profit since 2022, when it netted $50,000 before accounting for the city’s annual subsidy.
LEPFA interim President and CEO Tristan Wright declined to comment for this story.
FY2021
FY2022
FY2023
Operating revenue
$871,254
$861,130
$938,997
Operating expense
$755,461
$810,528
$1,100,200
City contribution
$85,000
$85,000
$96,000
Operating income
$115,793
$50,602
-$161,203
Groesbeck Golf Course financials, representing audited years, as provided by LEPFA
Groesbeck receives the bulk of its funding from greens fees, equipment rental and concessions.
It has an annual budget of about $1.1 million. Groesbeck’s subsidy from the city was $207,550 in 2018, when LEPFA took control. The subsidy has since dropped to less than $100,000 each year.
In the budget the City Council approved on May 20, the subsidy for Groesbeck was $78,000, down from $96,000 in the 2023-24 budget.
Groesbeck ended 2023 with $682,000 in the bank, according to LEPFA financial documents.
Major improvements needed
The 1972 All-City High School Golf Championship winners from Sexton High School, including Burton Smith, who remembers playing at Groesbeck Golf Course.
Burton Smith said he and his Sexton High School teammates unseated East Lansing’s three-year city championship run in 1972 at Groesbeck, which, with 18 holes, was often the home of many of the biggest golf games and tournaments.
Smith said he remembers golfing at all four city courses.
Despite council members’ reassurances that Groesbeck’s immediate future is secure, LEPFA officials spent the most recent budget negotiations emphasizing the Groesbeck’s challenges.
The golf course has two big needs, Wright told city council members in May.
She said the course needs to upgrade from an outdated hydraulic irrigation system to an electric version. Course officials said an estimate from Thielen, a turf company in Mt. Pleasant, a year ago put the cost at $427,500.
The course also needs to upgrade its golf cart barn to fit more carts, at an estimated cost of $80,000 or more.
Groesbeck has had at least $64,000 in upgrades and fixes in recent years, including $28,000 to fix clubhouse steps, a $10,000 pump house repair, new clubhouse furniture for $8,000 and upgraded carts for $7,000, according to a list LEPFA provided of recent work.
Sally Hudgins, left, talks with golfing partner Stephanie Adkins while playing a round at Groesbeck Golf Course on Wednesday, May 22, 2024, in Lansing. (Photo: Nick King/Lansing State Journal)
Groesbeck spurs memories of ‘Those were the days!’
Kevin Rule grew up playing at Lansing’s now-sold-off golf courses and can’t help but worry. He fears any talk about selling Groesbeck is the first step to following through on the swing.
Rule suspects that, eventually, time will catch up with the city’s lone golf course and it will also be sold to developers.
“But for now,” he said, “it’s cool to see Groesbeck still around and retooling themselves.”
Mac MacEachran watches his ball after teeing off at Groesbeck Golf Course on Wednesday, May 22, 2024, in Lansing
Rick Banker agrees. Growing up playing golf in the Lansing area in the 1960s was a dream, said Banker, who now splits his time between Marquette and Arizona, playing as much golf as he can squeeze in.
He started, like most other kids, with Sycamore. It was the quickest and cheapest option, favored by kids who would work their way up to the more challenging Waverly and Red Cedar courses before finally graduating to the 18-hole Groesbeck, generally when they joined the high school golf teams, Banker said.
They’d grab two or three clubs, do some golfing and spend the rest of the day fishing golf balls out of the rivers to sell or knock around themselves.
“We would go to Sycamore … I was talking the other day to a buddy who went to Walter French with me,” Banker said, “We’d call it a 50-cent day; 35 cents if you were under 16 to play nine holes, 10 cents for a pop and 5 cents for a Snickers. Those were the days!”
Mixed success selling to developers
This is the outdoor space in front of Old Bag of Nails in the Red Cedar Development facing north into Frandor Saturday, July 22, 2023. The Lansing City Council is considering designating the Red Cedar Development complex an additional Social District.
Lansing has had mixed results thus far selling golf courses to developers.
The Red Cedar golf course property was purchased by Lansing developer Joel Ferguson and Frank Kass of Columbus, Ohio, for $2.2 million in 2018. Ferguson, co-founder of Ferguson Development, touted the eventual project on about 35 acres as bridging the gap between Michigan State University’s campus and Lansing. Parts of the old golf course remain city property as wetlands that weren’t developable.
Construction began at the Red Cedar development in 2019 and was finished in 2023. The development cost more than $250 million and is considered one of the largest single investments in the region in decades. It is home to a large senior housing facility, luxury lofts, a teashop, bookstore and a restaurant along with real estate offices and more.
Rule, one of the thousands of golfers who cut their childhood teeth on Lansing’s smaller courses, realized this month that he had just been eating at a restaurant patio where he used to play golf.
“I was walking my friends through Red Cedar, where we were eating, it was probably at the edge of hole 1, I think,” he said.
Remembered most fondly as the long-shot golf course, the nine-hole Waverly course featured a hole stretching about 600 yards away from the tee.
Lansing sold the Waverly course, at the corner of West Saginaw Highway and North Waverly Road in Lansing Township, to Grand Rapids-based Northern Capital Investments LLC for $2.2 million. Development plans have been slow to unfold.
In 2022, developers said the site could be home to various types of housing, including senior, apartments and single-family homes, as well as restaurants or storage facilities, but they would not build retail space before getting tenants.
The property now has a car wash that opened in 2022. The rest remains largely green space.
Jay Barnes, the company’s vice president, declined to comment for this story.
Lansing Township Supervisor Maggie Sanders and Deputy Supervisor DeeAnn Overton also did not respond to requests for comment.
The former Sycamore course now houses the Fenner Nature Preschool and the city recently opened an 18-hole disc golf course there.
Signage outside of the City of Lansing’s Groesbeck Golf Course, seen Thursday, May 16, 2024. (Photo: Matthew Dae Smith/Lansing State Journal)
‘It changed my life’
The annual subsidies that go to Groesbeck have not always sat well with city council members.
Spadafore, who has fond memories of playing the course, said in May the frequent council criticism over the subsidies may be best settled by selling it.
It was largely seen as a tongue-in-cheek resolution, asking other council members to put up the votes to sell it or stop making the threats.
It may have worked. During a May 20 council committee meeting, Spadafore and his fellow council members Ryan Kost, Jeremy Garza and Adam Hussain each said they were committed to the city keeping the golf course.
But change may happen because of the golf course’s financial performance. Spadafore, Kost, Garza and Hussain have said they’re open to different management, and others are calling for improvements.
Lansing Mayor Andy Schor said the course has added amenities and worked to support itself through user fees while keeping the price affordable.
“It’s where so many young people in Lansing pick up their first golf club, try the sport, and make lasting memories,” he said.
A group of golfers begin play at Groesbeck Golf Course on Wednesday, May 22, 2024, in Lansing
Scott Bean, the mayor’s spokesman, responded to questions about the mayor’s stance on Groesbeck.
“Mayor Schor has no plans to market the Groesbeck Golf Course for sale,” he said. “No developers have reached out to the City because the course has not been put out for an RFP for sale or development.”
Jan Brintnall grew up participating in Greater Lansing Publinks golf programs, which gave children easier access to municipal courses.
Her father cut down a five iron so she could practice with a whiffle ball when she was only 5, and she is now an LPGA Life Member as well as a Michigan State University faculty member who teaches golf management courses.
“It changed my life, the opportunities that came from golf went to every aspect of my life,” she said. “Just about every friend I have in life, except my parents, came from golf. It’s the kind of sport that can save a life.”
Because the Groesbeck course is paid for and appears increasingly solvent, Brintnall said a few major changes, such as a driving range and banquet hall, could bring in significant new revenue streams.
A driving range could be considered, said Kost, a council member whose ward covers the golf course. He said there is Lansing Board of Water & Light property nearby that could be used as a driving range, although it may involve complicated liability and legal issues because the property may have some environmental concerns.
BWL spokesperson Amy Adamy said the property is planned to be the site of a new BWL green energy initiative.
Brintnall has more ideas for Groesbeck. She has been pushing FlingGolf, a variation played with a lacrosse-style stick on the same courses. Brintnall said it requires less expertise and can be a more accessible way to open the sport to more people as well as a new revenue stream.
“From a new golfer perspective, the nine holes are beneficial,” she said. “One of the complaints of golf is it takes too long and it costs too much, so if you don’t have nine-hole options, the loss really impedes participation levels.”
Contact Mike Ellis at mellis@lsj.com or 517-267-0415.
If everything goes through as planned, the course will be closed for over a year and then will reopen in the spring of 2026.
While A.W. Tillinghast is most famous for courses like Winged Foot and Baltusrol, the legendary designer also carved out a number of municipal courses that have had a tremendous impact on the golf world.
Among those is Swope Memorial, a course in the Kansas City chain that opened in 1919 and was touched up by Tillinghast again in 1934.
But the course sees considerable play and is showing its age. According to a story in the Kansas City Star, the course is cracking and city administrators know this to be the case.
“The bunkers have seen better days, the irrigation system is antiquated,” said Douglas Schroeder, director of golf services for Kansas City Parks & Recreation. “The cart paths are made of asphalt, and most don’t allow for proper drainage. The greens are being invaded by poa annua, which is a bluegrass that can’t survive in the heat.”
“One thing led to another,” Schroeder continued, “and finally it was like, It’s time. This is a prized asset of the parks department, and we need to spend some money to get it back to the gold standard it should be.”
That’s why the city’s parks department will take a proposal to the city council seeking $7 million to renovate the classic course and give it a new spin. If everything goes through as planned, the course will be closed for more than a year and will reopen in the spring of 2026. The city has hired CE Golf Design, which is based in Kansas City and led by Todd Clark, to oversee the project.
“I really think it’s something that will benefit the city greatly,” Schroeder told the Star. “For local golfers, but also for tourism. This will be a course people will want to visit.”
The county will kick in $6 million, the same amount it promised to give BigShots.
NAPLES, Florida — Commissioners in Collier County have approved a long-term lease and operating agreement critical to the reopening of the Golden Gate golf course.
On Tuesday, the board voted unanimously in favor of the contract, authorizing the commission chairman to sign it.
The action has been a long time in coming.
Nearly six months after BigShots backed out of its plans to build a golf entertainment center on the county-owned land last year, a newly formed charity made an offer to step into its shoes in mid-December, then won a competitive bid to move forward.
The new nonprofit was formed by the Schmieding family, behind the global medical device manufacturer Arthrex, based in North Naples. Known as The Gate Golf Club Inc., it will design, build and operate the community project through a public-private partnership.
The county will kick in $6 million to help fund the redevelopment, the same amount it promised to give BigShots before the company bowed out, then got absorbed by its competitor TopGolf.
The new golf complex will include a nine-hole community course with a driving range, a practice area and a full-service restaurant, with at least 150 seats. It will also have a pro shop, cart barn and maintenance building.
For a nominal amount, The Gate will sublease a portion of the land to First Tee for the development of a clubhouse with classrooms, offices, conference rooms and storage to support that organization’s youth development program.
Arthrex has long been a big supporter of First Tee in Collier County.
In partnership with First Tee Naples/Collier, Arthrex plans to create a golf learning center for kids to introduce them to the sport, while using the sport to develop their character and core values. The First Tee Academy would offer advanced, interactive technology and learning classes, as well as providing a practice area for young players at the site.
Golf complex will have many benefits
Ed Finn, an assistant county manager, told commissioners the project would be built to the highest standards, and give the public access to a public golf course that meets the community’s highest expectations. He listed the many benefits of the project, from boosting the local economy to enhancing green space and increasing golf access by making it more affordable for the community.
Discounts would be offered to county residents on rounds of golf, in the amount of 40% on seasonal rates and 20% on offseason rates. The annual value of the discounts is estimated at $600,000.
Participants in First Tee would also get a break on rates.
The Gate will pay a base rent of $130,000 a year to the county, which will be phased in over the first three years of operations, then subject to an annual adjustment, based on the Consumer Price Index.
A private company will be hired to manage and maintain the operations.
Before construction can begin, the county commission must approve more detailed plans for the project, which are expected to come back to the board within six months.
Once plans are approved and all site-related permitting is obtained, construction will have to be completed with 24 months, or two years, under the terms of the lease, unless there is justification for delays.
“There could be some twists and turns in this,” Finn said.
If all goes as planned, the golf course could open in the fall of 2025.
The cost of the development has been estimated at about $21 million.
The agreement includes an out clause should environmental issues arise that make it too difficult or costly to build.
The Golden Gate golf course has been closed for more than four years.
Collier County purchased the property, located at the corner of Collier Boulevard and Golden Gate Parkway, in July 2019, from its owners for $29.1 million, with the goal of preventing overdevelopment in the wrong hands, and with the intent of maintaining a public golf course.
Project will bring golf course ‘back to life’
A handful of neighbors spoke in favor of the lease and operating agreement with The Gate, saying they’re eager to see dirt move, after so many unforeseen challenges and delays.
“Arthrex is bringing this golf course back to life,” said CeCe Zenti, who lives nearby, in the Par One subdivision.
The proposal, she said, will allow people of all backgrounds to play golf, including young families, and their children.
“This is a project whose time has come,” Zenti added.
During the board’s discussions, Commissioner Rick LoCastro said it was an “opportunity we don’t want to waste,” with the “50-pound brain” of Arthrex’s founder Reinhold Schmieding behind it. Arthrex, a formidable force in its industry, has overseen and completed many big construction projects, as it’s continued to expand its footprint in Southwest Florida and beyond.
While it’s hard to determine if the proposed golf complex is perfect in every way, without the benefit of more detailed plans at this time, LoCastro said a “9.5 right now” is better than a “10 that never comes.”
“Will it be a 10? I don’t know,” he said.
Collier County Commissioner Rick LoCastro, shown here at a meeting on Tuesday, March 28, 2023, said the golf course project is an “opportunity we don’t want to waste.”
A ‘long time in coming’
Commissioner Burt Saunders, who represents Golden Gate, has championed the project and other uses at the shuttered golf course property, including workforce housing and a veterans nursing home.
“For me, this has been a long time in coming,” he said. “So, I’m delighted.”
He motioned to approve the agreement and thanked the commission for “staying the course.”
Commissioner Bill McDaniel seconded, expressing his support, after getting a few questions answered about the project, and the lease terms.
Although a bit painful, Commissioner Dan Kowal said he’s glad the deal with BigShots fell through because the county ended up with a much better offer that will be more beneficial to the “entire county.”
He said the involvement of First Tee will make the project “fantastic.”
The local chapter has the potential to become a “model for the country,” as part of the redevelopment, Kowal said.
The proposal by BigShots also included a home for First Tee, so when the deal fell apart it came as a big disappointment to its leaders, supporters and participants.
LoCastro gave credit to the hard work of Cindy Darland, executive director at The First Tee of Naples/Collier, who continued to push for its inclusion, as part of a larger community project, with passion and clarity. He pointed her out in the second row of commission chambers.
“You might be sitting in the second row,” he said, “but I think on this project you are front and center.”
Pulling one from a five-course chain owned by the city could bring the region’s entire golf program crumbling.
As one of the leading candidates for Major League Baseball expansion, the city of Portland, Oregon, has been plotting and planning, trying to come up with a new stadium site that works for all parties involved.
MLB is expected to bring two more long-overdue franchises into the big leagues while also necessitating the creation of eight new minor-league teams around the country.
Lobbying has already begun in earnest for cities like Nashville, Charlotte, Salt Lake City and Montreal, meaning the stadium site might be an important factor in swaying the league to add another Pacific Northwest franchise (to accompany the Seattle Mariners).
But a group leading the charge to get baseball in Portland has set its eyes on a specific golf property for a future stadium, and the ramifications could be costly.
The Portland Diamond Project is hoping to purchase the RedTail Golf Center in Beaverton, Oregon, with eyes on developing not only an MLB stadium, but also developing an entertainment district in the area.
According to a story at Oregon Public Broadcasting, however, pulling RedTail from a five-course chain owned by the city of Portland could bring the region’s entire golf program crumbling down.
RedTail was built in 1966 on a former farm and then was redesigned into a 7,100-yard championship course in 1999. It includes a covered, lighted driving range and the course is one of the most popular in the region, offering a quality experience for a reasonable price.
Established in 1918, Portland’s golf program is self-funding, relying on fees collected from rounds of golf, concessions and stores at each course to fund the program’s expenses, all without taxpayer assistance.
RedTail, the committee argued, plays an important role in that ecosystem.
“Without RedTail subsidizing the rest of the system, the golf program would need significantly higher greens fees, maintenance cuts, and a new taxpayer funding source to survive,” the committee members wrote.
Golf Advisory Committee chair Tom Williams said RedTail has a popular driving range and classes that aren’t available at every course, making it very profitable for the entire system.
The city estimates that the golf program will earn about $512,000 in profit this fiscal year and $15 million in total revenue, according to budgets obtained by OPB. By comparison, RedTail is projected to earn $670,000 in profit alone.
For example, Oregon was the first state to implement an Environmental Stewardship Guideline (best management practices) for golf courses all the way back in 1999. It’s now a national program administered by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) and Environmental Institute for Golf (EIFG) and is supported in part by the USGA in partnership with the PGA Tour.
But in 2019, the city’s courses need a significant bailout to survive, although the pandemic has helped to right the ship financially. However, pulling RedTail’s lucrative balance sheet from the system could lend itself to a downward spiral, one in which the city can no longer afford to keep the other four courses.
And green fees are considerably less expensive at the muni chain, with RedTail’s daily rate always under $50 and typically closer to $25.
“Many golfers in this region begin their golfing journey on city of Portland golf courses, because they are the most welcoming to new golfers and they are the most affordable,” Williams told OPB.
