FORT RIDGELY – Dan Brinkman estimates he walks up "heart attack hill" about 75 times each summer, whenever the retiree golfs at Fort Ridgely State Park about 90 minutes southwest of Minneapolis. He loves the views, the wildlife and the casual nature of the course, where an annual pass runs just $175.
His regular stroll around the nine-hole course may be coming to an end, however, if the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) gets its way. The agency has plans to close the golf course in order to stop revenue losses of up to $100,000 a year.
"To me, it's a real blow," said Brinkman, who is one of a group of people in the New Ulm and Fairfax area who want to challenge the closing. "The golf course is near and dear to me."
The group, Friends of Fort Ridgely, plans to make what might be a last stand during a meeting later this month. Many are angry that the DNR plans to turn the course into prairie after spending about $2 million to refurbish it less than a decade ago, when it put in irrigation lines, rejiggered the fairways and replaced the fake turf on the greens with real grass.
The group members also say that the DNR's cuts to the park over the years contributed to the failure of the golf course, and many say they are willing to pay more to play, something the DNR has rejected.
"I put the entire blame on the DNR," said Brinkman. "Even a bad bookkeeper would know enough to stop the bleeding."
Phil Leversedge, director of the DNR's division of parks and trails, said the role of golf courses in the state parks has been debated for some time; now that business is flat or declining, they decided to concentrate less on recreation and more on the park's historical significance. Fort Ridgely was an important site in the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862, and became a training ground for Civil War recruits.
"We are trying through our park system plan to focus our energy on the most important aspects of each park,'' Leversedge said. "Golfing isn't typically an element of state parks."
