Due mainly to cool, wet conditions, revenue at Gunflint Hills golf course was down for September, said Dave Tersteeg, director of the Grand Marais Parks and Recreation Department, to the park board at its October 2 meeting.
Tersteeg said September’s revenue totaled $11,383, which was 34 percent less than September 2017.
The golf course was closed four days in September because of the rain. It was also closed for 1.5 days to have the course aerated.
“My estimate of a $60,000 loss at Gunflint Hills for this season is still holding true,” noted Tersteeg.
A big part of the downturn in revenue was the early decision by long-time Gunflint Hill golf course manager Mike Kunshier to leave his employment with the city in June. Tersteeg said that because Mike had a lot of compensation due to him, he was essentially paid for the whole season. Meanwhile, the city had to hire more help to run the clubhouse and hire an outside contractor to come in and spray the greens and aerate the course in Mike’s absence.
Also, said Tersteeg, Kunshier kept the clubhouse open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and since his departure, the hours have been reduced, which also could have an effect on the revenue.
Total rounds played this year are about 3,500, with roughly 75 percent of those rounds played by members. This year members included seven couples, 46 singles and nine in the “under 30 special.”
Just where the members live is hard to tell, said Tersteeg, because most people don’t fill out the address portion of the membership book.
“Not knowing where everyone is from, we’re guessing roughly 30 percent of the total membership are city residents, and 70 percent are full-time county residents and/or seasonal residents of the county,” he said.
Park board chair Sally Berg wondered, “Why is the city subsidizing these people to play golf?” Berg’s comments weren’t meant in any disparaging way, she next asked Tersteeg if any ideas were being floated that would bring more people to the course to play golf.
“One idea,” said Tersteeg, “is to make it free for any city resident to play. I know it sounds crazy, but when you think about it, the city residents are already paying for the golf course, so maybe that could be considered Or at least, make some times available for the city residents to play for free. It’s worth looking at, in any case.”
“This might be a good way to get young people to play golf,” Berg said.
The city council and park board members will have a golf course workshop this month at Gunflint Hills to discuss the future of the golf course. “The thought is to meet at the clubhouse and do a practical assessment of the current state of the facility and visioning for the future,” Tersteeg said.
A hot topic of discussion will be determining whether the council will try to find another superintendent to run the golf course, or hire someone to run the clubhouse and hire an outside firm to conduct spraying and greens upkeep. An earlier effort to hire a golf superintendent failed.
Gunflint Hills will be closed for play on October 9, the same day as last year. A crew will conduct end-of-the-year maintenance to blow out the water lines and winterize the clubhouse, Tersteeg said.
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