This has really hit home for me because our golf course is struggling.  I wrote about it last year, and the end result was that revenues were down significantly.  Since the course I play at is municipal, there is always the threat that it won't be a priority anymore.  And with our current economic culture it's something that worries me.
 
The good news is that most of our City leaders see the value in having a golf course in our community.  Since I'm in one of the "snowy states" our season is at best about 6 months long, so we need to cram a lot of activity to get the needed revenues to operate and improve our course.  What I have learned is that some things are in our control and others are not.  The weather played a large factor in less playable days in 2011 compared to 2010 and it also impacted the spring growth and summer maintenance.
 
But what I also realized is that each one of us that shares a passion, or just appreciates the opportunity to play golf in our town, can be a part of improving our financial condition.  It's not easy.  A change in mindset might be needed.  From my experience, there can sometimes be the attitude that golfers aren't vested in their course...they come and play, maybe have some food or drink, but that's often where the relationship ends .  Many golfers have no idea (or maybe no interest) in knowing about the challenges and struggles the course is going through.
 
 A sense of ownership or a sense of pride as a community member can really make a difference in people caring about the success and future of the course.  Sometimes a trust may need to be rebuilt, especially if golfers have expressed concerns or suggestions for improvement and their voices landed on deaf ears.
 
Late last fall, after the season was over and it was apparent that we didn't have a prosperous season, I had some great conversations with a few people who share a common passion for golf.  From there, a small group was formed with the purpose of seeing a better golf course and finding ways to increase revenue.  I can't tell you how inspiring it is to sit at a table with people that want to see better things and are willing to do something to help.
 
One of the things I'm focusing on is our own community golfing base.  While one of our main industries is tourism, I know our golf course can become better by both engaging our membership to share in thet mission of a better course and to introduce (or welcome back) community members not currently playing golf.  When you're a small town golf course with a scrappy operating budget, sometimes you must rely on the time and talents of other folks who care.  Without that, there may be no more golf.
 
I believe that golf on every level, whether it's a local municipal course or a private country club, needs each member to see golf with a new set of eyes...to see the opportunity share the game and appreciate all of the positive things it can bring.  I read last fall that a beautiful Tom Lehman designed golf course in Minnesota closed.  It had lots of things going for it, but apparently it just couldn't cover its costs.  If things are great where you are, take a look around and see if you can share your golf passion at other courses or in other programs that might need help.  Golf needs you!
 
As I look ahead with anticipation to our upcoming golf season, it's my goal to bring a positive energy into our golf course community and encourage not only golfers, but our community and City leaders to be partners in making our golf course a success.  That means dispelling the notion that "only golfers benefit from a golf course".    It also means that long-range planning and a closer look at operations could help find more money for improvements.  I'm focusing on looking at ways to increase play, so if anyone has ideas, I'd love to hear them!
 
PS...after going this most of this winter thinking we were going to get a jumpstart on the golf season, we had a blizzard yesterday!  That Mother Nature...funny gal.
 
Filed under: Minnesota, passion, Golf, Cathy Erickson, municipal course, increasing play

Of course, for some of us, there is a little something about winning that's in the back of our minds, too.  For the past 3 years my team of great golf pals and I have not been able to stand on the winner's podium...we've either struggled with our putting or had a hard time getting our approach shots close to the pin.  Either way, we were on the outside looking in at our other golf friends who have taken the title since 2007.  We were ready to put up a great score this year, but it was a comment by our rival team's guys..."you make a good 2nd place team"...that made us all just a little more determined bring our best game.
 
Just before teeing off I had a thought...sometimes in scrambles we are our own worst enemy - trying to "make a shot happen" or maybe swinging out of our shoes instead of just playing our game.  So I thought that if we had a little competition within our own team we would be able to bring out our best shots...so I proposed to the team that for every approach shot, the person who got the closest got a point, and at the end of the round whoever had the most points won our "wager".  Being the competitive types, my boys loved the idea, and before we were ready to hit our first shots, we had already changed up the rules to include putts and cancelling points.  This was going to be a fun round!
 
First hole, point for me!!  I'm already loving this game.  But soon enough we were all throwing darts at the pins and giving ourselves great birdie chances on almost every hole.  There were some hilarious moments when someone would get just inside of what we thought was already a great shot - points were hard to come by!  We also hit all of the par-5's in 2 and made eagle on 2 of the 3!  Our only struggle were the par-3's  - we left ourselves with longer putts and the best we could do was burn the edge, so no birdies on our 3 par-3's!  Ouch.  The 2 eagles made up for it though and we ended up -17 for the day and a 3 shot victory!
 
Our point game was tight to the last hole, too - DY had 5 points and 3 of us had 4 points and one had 3, so there was still a chance to tie...our approach shot to the par-4 9th hole was about 60 yards, and I can't tell you how happy I was that I had hit about 75 60-yard wedge shots just a few days before as practice!  I was 2nd to hit and I ended up about 6ft away so I had to wait for 3 other guys before knowing if I could tie!  It was close, but it was me!  I think our point scores were a testament that we all contributed shots all day long.  (And Jason & Casey, I forgive you for cancelling my putts!)
 
It was funny, because of my own internal competitiveness and side game, I didn't even realize how great we shot until the round was over.  To me, that was the real success of the day - we played some great golf because we wanted to beat each other!  (side bar: I just wanted to once again thank everyone who played that day, my great friends for volunteering, and especially to my team who once again made this my favorite golf day of the year - thanks JJ for keeping track of all my "stuff"! ...virtual hugs!)
 
My other golf highlight in the past few weeks was getting the opportunity to play in a scramble with 3 great women.  Deb, Judy, Joan and I played in a Hot Ball scramble with about 12 other teams.  The format is, everyone tees off and one person has to be the "hot ball"...that person plays the hole by themselves and other three scramble whichever other drive they want.  Handicaps mattered, so there was definitely strategy involved in picking the right hot ball player, because sometimes one of us would get a stroke on certain holes.  I really liked that there was thinking involved!
 
For whatever reason, my putter decided to get hot that day - and we were able to card quite a few birdies on our scramble ball and we did quite well on our hot ball, too!  Although I'll admit my hot balls STUNK!  But thankfully I got strokes on a couple of them.  Judy was definitely our Hot Ball VIP!  She came through when we needed her.
 
Deb and Joan were solid all day long and Joan's competitive spirit was contagious!  It was the BEST day!!  I wasn't sure if we would have a chance to win with some teams having a lot of handicap to work with, but in the end we were the winners...and I couldn't have been more thankful to have been asked to play that day.
 
As I'm reflecting on these great 2 days, I'm remembering that Sam Johnson isn't a fan of scrambles...I remember a post of his and I'm recalling that he did have some valid points...but you know what, I still love them!!    That's why I started Scramble Tuesdays at our golf course!!
 
I'm looking forward to playing in a few more events this summer, but mostly I just love playing golf with great friends.  I hope you get the chance, too.

Filed under: competition, scramble, friends, Golf, Cathy Erickson, hot ball

I know it's still a bit too early to get excited, but aside from a few water logged areas on a few holes (which I assume are from plugged drains), the course is as dry as I can ever remember for March.  I remember a few years back we had no snow on the ground at the end of February and my face lit up just thinking that if it got just a little warmer we could be playing in March!!  It was just a week later when we got a storm that dumped 2ft of snow.  It was a crushing blow to my spirit, and would be another month and a half before my clubs made to the back of my car that year.
 
This year though, having a few streaks of unseasonably warm weather, the only snow that remains are scattered patches under the shadows of trees or along a few creek banks.  As I was walking along yesterday I could hear water racing through the woods, so I made my way into the trees to catch a look.  Leafless branches and brush exposed the meandering creek bed, and I found myself awed by the strong current.   I hardly give this creek a second thought during the golf season, but I'm glad I did today.
 
As I worked my way out of the brush and back onto the course I noticed that some of the dead birch trees had been cut down.  The landscape looks different, but I'm sure there was some fear that they might just fall over.  I don't know much about trees, but birch seem very fragile.  As I wandered along I picked up some birch debris that had made its way to the rough and tossed it back in the woods.
 
I was surprised to see that some of the stationary ponds are still trying to melt their coating of ice, but I wasn't surprised to see sand traps full of animal tracks.   I only saw 1 deer, but the "evidence" that they are around is all over the place.  I also appreciated the chirping birds and 2 squirrels I saw racing around.
 
As I walked a couple of holes backwards I was reminded about how different something can appear when you look at it from a different perspective.  Walking back up #12, I didn't realize how downhill it was going forward...I mean I knew it was, but seeing it, and walking it, I'm really glad we don't have to play it backwards!  And it was as I was walking up that last fairway I decided to renew my goal of trying to break par for 18 holes this year.
 
Before I got back in my car I took a few deep breaths and then took a moment to be grateful that in just a few weeks I'll be able to bring my clubs with me to the course.  Yellow or green, warm or cool, the golf course is where everything is beautiful to me.  I can't wait!
 
PS...Two weeks until the Masters...woo HOO!!

Filed under: Spring, goals, Golf