The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Area golf courses look to better weather
The conversations with seven managers of municipally-owned or park board-owned golf operations all began with laments about how weather hampered the start of the 2018 golf season.
“This was the worst spring I can remember in 22 years at this course,” said Tom Porter, PGA professional and manager of Forest Hills Golf Course in Carlisle Township.
Forest Hills is owned by Lorain County Metro Parks.
Mitch Allen, manager and superintendent of Willoughby Lost Nation Municipal Golf, shrugged his shoulders and forced a smile when asked about a wet, cold spring that only in recent days has produced a string of sunny, warm days conducive to golf.
“April, especially, was just awful,” Allen said. “Through, May 22, we were down about 2,200 rounds from this point last year.”
Vince Urbanski is deputy director of Lake Metroparks, the owner-operator of Pine Ridge Country Club in Wickliffe and Erie Shores Golf Course in Madison Township.
“This was the worst spring I can remember in eight to 10 years,” Urbanski said.
Dominic Mercadante is general manager of Briardale Greens Golf Course in Euclid. The City of Euclid owns the course and uses Virginia-based Billy Casper Golf to manage its golf operation.
Mercadante said that while everyone in the golf business in Northeast Ohio expects weather-related challenges in April; having measured rainfalls on 22 of 30 days challenges even the most flexible business plan.
“Mother Nature needed to give us at least five more sunny days,” Mercadante said with a chuckle.
Similar sentiments were echoed by Tim Ausperk, head professional and manager of Black Brook Golf Course & Practice Center in Mentor and John Bowler, manager of Geneva-on-the Lake Municipal Golf Course.
Black Brook is owned and operated by the City of Mentor. The latter course is owned by the village of Geneva-on-the-Lake.
Sean McHugh is director of golf for Cleveland Metroparks, owner-operator of seven area golf courses including Manakiki Golf Course in Willoughby Hills. Cleveland Metroparks manages Washinton Golf Course & Learning Center in Newburgh Heights for the First Tee of Cleveland.
“The weather this spring was nerve-wracking,” McHugh said.
On the upside, the apparent arrival of spring and the turn toward much better weather gives these golf courses opportunities to make up some of the expected, hoped-for business volume that wasn’t produced in April and early May.
It also gives the maintenance crews at the golf courses opportunities to perform basic tasks that get tabled when the grounds have been soaked by rain.
“One day of rain usually means it’s two days before the course dries out enough to work on the fairways, rough and tees,” Allen said.
Better weather also means those crews can get around to doing planned capital projects like updating or replacement of bunkers, updating or replacement of irrigation systems, removal of trees and repairs of winter damage.
All of the aforementioned courses are viable enterprises, putting out between 20,000 rounds annually on the low end to 38,000 rounds on the high end.
“The horse-race months are June, July and August. That’s when you have to make your money,” McHugh said.
Greens fees at these courses vary widely, from special rates of $18 for 18 holes with a riding cart to $42.
Northeast Ohio’s public golf courses typically have some of the lowest greens fees in the upper Midwest.
All of these golf courses depend on weekday leagues to produce steady streams of revenue through the heart of the golf season.
“The leagues are what keep us going through the bad times,” Allen said.
With an eye on the game’s long-term health as a business, many of the courses also have junior golf programs in the summer. Ausperk’s junior program at Black Brook has been in place for more than 20 years and annually attracts 100 or more young people.
“Those kids are the future of the game,” Ausperk said.