Gunflint Hills golf course superintendent Paul Jones and some early seasonal staff have been busy preparing for the planned May 17 opening of the Gunflint Hills golf course.
Jones gave his report to the recreation park board at their May 7 meeting.
In his first year at the helm, Jones talked about the projects going on inside and outside of the clubhouse.
The interior of the clubhouse is undergoing some renovations, he said. Some of the walls have been painted with bold accent colors and the front desk has been moved closer to the clubhouse entrance. The old carpet is still there, but will soon be replaced with darker slate and charcoal-toned carpet tiles, and Paul is working on pressure washing, staining and replacing the seating surfaces of the outside decks.
“This will be really nice when the work is done. It should be a nice place to hang out,” he said.
Another significant upgrade is the installation of a sleek, new iPad that will be used for a point of sale system that will track inventory and customer data.
Jones said he is looking forward to providing golfers some food options. Nothing elaborate, of course, simple and easy to prepare but something to expand on the past offering of chips, candy, pop, and three-two beer.
Paul said he looked at pizza ovens used at the Moose Lake golf course and might consider getting food catered in from an area restaurant. Another idea will be to use the outdoor grills for hamburgers or hot dogs on league night.
“We’re still a ways off on determining what kinds of food will be served at the golf course,” said park manager Dave Tersteeg, who has worked with Paul on revamping the operation.
Outside, Jones said he found some surprises with the equipment.
Getting the fairway mower ready took some work, but the greens mower seems to be okay, he said.
“We kind of have minimal equipment. There’s enough to get us going. The greens mower seems to be in good shape. It’s the fairway mower that I’m worried about. Because I don’t have any history here, I don’t know what it will cost to maintain what we have,” he added.
Tersteeg said all of the equipment would be evaluated at the end of the year.
Golfers might be surprised to find there will be an increase in the cost of renting carts, but Tersteeg said the rates were set in accordance with what is charged in Two Harbors and Silver Bay, and, he added, “Our prices are still the most reasonable on the shore.”
As far as staffing, Tersteeg said some key people were coming back to work at the golf course, and the city has also received some excellent applicants for openings at Gunflint Hills.
Signs
The park board talked about putting signs at key locations to help advertise Gunflint Hills, using information provided by Steve Aldrich, who couldn’t attend the meeting. Because Highway 61 through town will be torn up and redone in the near future, and because several questions couldn’t be answered the board held off on making any decisions at the meeting about placing new signs advertising the golf course.
Park report
One day after the water was turned on campers and boaters started arriving at the park, Dave said. “And then it snowed.”
“Eighty of 100 trees that have been ordered are here and need to be planted,” Tersteeg said.
The trees, red and white pine, tamarack and birch, stem from and are rooted in a 2017 grant the city and park received from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (D.N.R.). “A big part of this grant is the idea of engaging volunteers from the community to rally around the tree planting and care in the coastal zone. Look for announcements and ads calling for volunteers to help plant and care for the trees,” Dave said.
Deadheading lilies will be just one of the tasks at hand when park staff and eighth-graders from I.S.D. 166 team up to cleanup Harbor Park on Monday, May 13 from 8:30 to 11 a.m., Tersteeg said.
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