Leaner times becoming par for the course

On a perfect August Friday, the parking lot was full at Dwan Golf Club in Bloomington. The greens were lush, the flower beds immaculate. As group after group teed off and headed down the fairways, it was hard to imagine the challenges faced by municipal golf courses.

Most of the players were men in their 60s, which is why Lacey Colvin and Cassie Burns stood out.

Colvin, 31, and Burns, 27, had come from Woodbury and Edina to play. Colvin said she made the long drive because they had no other female friends to play with.

"It's intimidating; it's all men," said Colvin. "It took me awhile to get comfortable enough to just come out and play."

Female golfers soon may benefit from efforts by many municipal golf courses to reach out to them, one of several marketing moves underway in an attempt to reverse a dramatic drop in business. Many municipal courses that once helped fund other city initiatives are bringing in far less income these days, and in some cases, including St. Paul and Inver Grove Heights, golf courses that are supposed to be self-supporting suddenly have plunged into the red.

Other ways in which course managers have responded to the downturn include discounts and social media campaigns. City golf courses have Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, online tee-time registration and e-mail promotions. Edina set a special membership level for college-age players.

But all the marketing in the world can't stop the rain. This golf season began hopefully, with courses opening early in a mild March. Players flocked to courses in April. Then rain hit in May and June. July's heat and humidity drove away seniors, who might not be the key to the future but clearly are the bread-and-butter of many courses.

"We are really weather-dependent," said Tim Kuebelbeck, who oversees six golf courses for the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. "We'll protect our greens and stretch the season, but if you don't make [your income] before Oct. 1, you're not going to make it."

Municipal golf courses are not unique in the challenges they face. In the past decade, roughly 800 U.S. golf courses closed, according to the National Golf Foundation. This summer the number of golf rounds played in the U.S. is down about another 2 percent.

In the Twin Cities, a hotbed of golf where players cram as many rounds as they can into a weather-compressed season, the number of rounds was up 2.3 percent through June, said Kevin Finley, director of operations for Ramsey County parks and recreation, which has five golf courses. Three of those courses have seen increased traffic this year.

"We've been sliding downhill for several years, so this, for me, is encouraging," he said.

According to the golf foundation, Minnesota ranks fifth in the number of municipal golf courses, behind Illinois, California, Texas and New York. Government-owned courses have been targeted by critics who say cities and counties shouldn't be operating recreational facilities when they're raising taxes and laying off staff. But often municipal golf courses are not funded by property taxes. They operate as self-supporting "enterprise funds."

That's the case in St. Paul, where this fall golf operations will get a hard look during budget discussions. Between 2005 and 2009, the city's golf courses lost $980,000 to $1.3 million a year. The renovation of Highland National Golf Course contributed to the financial hole.

"Ten years ago or more, the golf courses supported a lot of our other special funds," said Brad Meyer, park and recreation department spokesman. "Now it's flip-flopped."

St. Paul has cut expenses and is scrambling to attract more golfers. New promotions include giving players a free "birthday month" round of golf and a $5-off coupon linked to Father's Day. Reservation sheets were full that weekend, Meyer said, and golfers who first played for free as part of the birthday promotion are returning to golf again.

Edina's Braemar Golf Course still makes money, said General Manager John Valliere. But it doesn't make enough to pay debt service tied to a 1993 expansion and renovation. The city subsidizes those costs from another enterprise fund -- profits from city liquor stores.

"This place would be making $300,000 to $400,000 a year profit without that," Valliere said.

Not all municipal courses are suffering. In Bloomington and Minneapolis, golf courses do not undertake building or renovation projects until cash is in hand. Last year, after payroll and other expenses, Minneapolis' courses cleared $537,500. Kuebelbeck said they are expected to make slightly less than that this year.

In Chaska, where the city built its Town Course in 1997, head golf pro John Kellin said the course benefits because nearby communities such as Eden Prairie don't have public courses. High levels of personal income also have helped player numbers hold steady during the recession. Last year, the course made a profit of about $148,000.

While many courses have active kids' programs, seniors provide the bulk of the players at courses such as Dwan. Bloomington golf course supervisor Rick Sitek said 70 percent of his golfers are seniors. The course is busy on weekdays, but the number of players ebbs on weekends.

"Mom and Dad and the kids aren't here anymore," he said. "Kids have so many organized things that they don't have time to play."

Sitek thinks more women are playing golf, and to attract them "the food better be good and the course better look good. That counts," he said.

Valliere worries that golf hasn't "captured youth as we should" and says he's sad that teenagers seem more interested in texting than in being outdoors. But it's not just kids. Kuebelbeck met buddies for a drink and watched them constantly check their cell phones for messages.

"They're texting and they look up at you sometimes and say, 'yeah, yeah, yeah,'" Kuebelbeck said. "People are busy. ...

"It just seems like America is becoming busier, and golf is not a busy sport."

He and Sitek, though, think golf's salvation may lie with their generation -- the baby boomers. "I think we're going to see another bump when they retire," Kuebelbeck said. "Until then, the strong will survive, and the weak will not."

Mary Jane Smetanka • 612-673-7380