Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2016 - 5

EDITOR'S
LE T T ER
New Year,
New Courses
5 Things
You Need to
Know About
Gopher
State Golf:
1 Minnesota ranks at or
near the top in golfersper-capita,
partly because
90 percent of our
golf courses are open to
the public. We rank 10th
in public accessibility, or
golf holes/population.
2 The average male
MGA member has 36
years of golf experience,
plays to a 12 handicap
and is highly emotionally
engaged with the
game. The average
female has 28 years under
her belt, plays to a
22 handicap and is only
slightly less obsessive
about her golf.
3 Gopher golf is a $2.4
billion economic engine
providing 34,653 jobs,
and accounting for
$376.5 million in tourism
spending and $54
million in charitable
support.
4 Local First Tee chapters
do all of their own
fundraising.
5 We played 12 million
rounds in 2015 (up 9.3
percent).
A
n early golf opener has its upside,
not the least of which is getting
outdoors and satisfying our itch
to golf. If you walk while you golf, you will
also reap the health benefits equivalent to a
5-mile walk (or a 4.5-mile run), burn up to
2,000 calories and most likely exceed 10,000
steps (for the Fitbit-wearing crowd).
Is there a downside to an early golf opener?
At the recent Midwest Public Golf Managers
Association's spring meeting, attendance was
light. The group includes municipal golf operators
with a smattering of daily-fee public
facilities-most of whom were busy preparing
their golf courses for opening. Managers
from the cities of Edina, Golden Valley and
Minneapolis were on hand to provide updates
on Braemar, Hiawatha, Meadowbrook
and Brookview golf courses.
When renovations are completed to Braemar's
driving range, the facility will boast
the largest public range in the region with
an unlimited amount of teeing turf, says
Joe Abood, Braemar general manager. The
$2.1 million renovation includes converting
Braemar's executive nine-hole course to a
new par-3 layout, designed by Kevin Norby,
and located entirely across Hilary Lane. The
driving range is expected to open in April.
Richard Mandel, the architect who finished
Keller Golf Club's new design in 2014,
has been awarded Braemar's 18-hole renovation,
which is expected to run $6-7 million
and be open for play in 2018.
Keith Kalny, Minneapolis Park & Recreation
director of golf, reports that Hiawatha's
front nine has been operational since August
2014, after the massive flooding that closed
all of the course two months prior. Restoration
to pre-flood conditions (using FEMA
reimbursements) or wider renovations (requiring
additional funds) are on hold pending
the results of a ground water analysis.
Meadowbrook has remained closed since
the flood; the " remeandering " of Minnehaha
Creek, planned for 2016-17, means major
renovations for at least 13 of the original 18
holes, with a spring 2018 opening date. In
addition, the clubhouse is in disrepair and
will likely be rebuilt after the course reopens.
Brookview's clubhouse, which has always
served double duty as a community center,
is undergoing an $18.2 million renovation,
reports Michael Turnbull, Brookview teaching
professional. The footprint of the new
clubhouse includes a children's play area, a
200-seat meeting room, two outdoor decks,
and greatly improved food and beverage
facilities. Brookview is something of an innovator
among golf purists: The 18-hole
championship course is supplemented by a
par-3 short course that is also home to a Disc
Golf course and Fling Golf (a stick-and-ball
hybrid). The facility rents fat-tire bikes in the
winter, golf bikes in the summer, and also
features a lawn bowling pitch (made from
closely mown turf that once lined the private
fairways of the Olympic Hills Golf Club in
Eden Prairie).
Turnbull's secret to winning goodwill for
public support of municipal golf in Golden
Valley is getting voters to the clubhouse/
community center for non-golf activities.
Given the politics of publicly funded services
and programs, that's a winning formula.
See you on the tee.
W.P. Ryan, Editor-in-Chief
www.mngolf.org
Spring 2016 MINNESOTAGOLFER
3
http://www.mngolf.org
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2016

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