g r o w i n g    t h e    g a m e

by angela nitz

When talking golf, the concept of "green" usually refers to that small part of the golf course where success or failure is determined by the narrowest of margins. But for the golf course superintendents who oversee Illinois' publicly owned golf operations, green is always on their minds, in the agronomic, environmental and financial sense. With all of the options golfers have in Illinois, making the courses at park districts, forest preserves and municipal agencies competitive in the marketplace is just one of the many professional responsibilities of superintendents. Finding ways to grow the game, whether through developing junior golfers or offering affordable golf to bring in new players, is vital to the future of the game and offers great benefits to the communities that park, recreation and conservation agencies serve.

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Low Cost, High Quality

While many might consider close proximity to one of the nation's busiest airports a real estate no-no, for Mount Prospect Park District's Mount Prospect Golf Club, being just four miles from O'Hare has been great for business. Between business travelers stopping by on the way to or from O'Hare, the 80,000 citizens the Mount Prospect Park District serves and being only 20 miles from the Chicago loop, the Mount Prospect Golf Club hosts about 48,000 rounds of golf a year.

Fred Behnke, a Golf Course Superintendents Association of America certified golf course superintendent, says the course's success comes down to a two-pronged approach: keep green fees low and maintain high-quality conditions. The weekday green fee for 18 holes is $40 or $30 for residents who purchase an annual discount pass.

"What we try to do is keep golf affordable. The board of commissioners has made it one of its goals to keep golf affordable for the residents of the park district, but generate enough revenue to maintain the course in an upscale way," says Behnke.

Behnke has been able to accomplish this with the cooperation of a supportive board of commissioners, which provides him with the budget he needs to accomplish goals, and with a public that views the course in a positive light. Marketing efforts are kept to a minimum because of the local notoriety of the course, which was built as a private club in the 1920s, became a public course in the 1930s and was made part of the park district in the 1960s.

"We've been here so long, we are just part of the community," says Behnke.

Community is a theme throughout the Mount Prospect Park District. The golf course works in partnership with the rest of the operations.

"We have a really good, strong team. Our park district has always been very inclusive and empowering," Behnke says about the regular interactions between all aspects of the park district.

The empowerment extends to citizens of Mount Prospect as well. A golf advisory committee is comprised of local golfers, and Behnke says keeping open lines of communications with golfers, whether they have positive or negative comments, is a priority for him: "Ninety to 95 percent of the time if someone's got a problem, if you can explain it to them, they'll come around. We make sure people who are interested know about the golf advisory committee where they are really co-opted into the operation."

Behnke has been at Mount Prospect since 1981 and has certainly seen the ups and downs of the golf industry, but he is confident that Mount Prospect will prosper through the current national trend of leveling off of new players.

"This is a great job. It's nice to be a part of it. We seem to be holding our own during this time of stagnant growth in golf," Behnke says. "I think keeping it affordable has a lot to do with that."

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Giving it Away

You can't get more affordable than free, and that's just the price that the Park District of Highland Park's Sunset Valley Golf Course sets to help encourage families to play together.

"We let people play for free as a family once a month on Sunday afternoons," says Golf Course Superintendents Association of America certified golf course superintendent Brian Green. "We totally open up our doors to family golf."

Built in 1921, Sunset Valley Golf Course is part of the Park District of Highland Park on the North Shore. With hundreds of golf courses to choose front in the Chicagoland area, Green says Sunset Valley appeals to golfers who would not join a country club and for those just starting the game. "We're the course in town that really exposes people to the game and lets them just come out and swing the club," says Green.

Sunset Valley pays special attention to the youngest participants in the sport. In addition to family play, Sunset Valley is the home course for a high school golf team, and the course offers golf camps for juniour golfers. The goal of such programs is to build the next generation of golfers.

Along with the future of the game, the future of the planet is also an important part of Green's operation. "This community has always had a strong environmental focus" says Green. That's probably why he enjoys such citizen support for his environmental efforts. With more than 75 percent of the course located in the Chicago River watershed, extensive conservation and protection efforts have been undertaken to enhance the watershed and improve water quality. Working with government agencies, environmental groups, stakeholders and volunteer groups has kept the course's efforts aligned with the larger ecosystem concerns. The appropriately named Green was recognized for his environmental work in 2003 as a winner in the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America /Golf Digest Environmental Leaders in Golf Awards. It's not just the course or even just the park district that Green hopes will benefit from his efforts.

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"We try to look at the big picture. It's not just the course. We try to cooperate with things having to do with the watershed planning or state agencies," says Green. "When you are part of a river system, what you do affects everyone."

It's that forward thinking and planning for the future that Green hopes will continue to keep golfers flocking to Sunset Valley for years to come.

A Rising Tide Lifts all Boats

In 1988, businessman Norris Aldeen entered a board meeting of the Rockford Park District and asked for a few minutes of its time. It was time well spent as Aldeen donated 250 acres and seed money for the park district's fifth course. After a feasibility study was done by the National Golf Foundation, it was determined that the Rockford area could use a new, upscale public golf facility. Aldeen Golf Club opened on July 26, 1991. In 2004, Aldeen Golf Club was awarded 4 l/2 stars by Golf Digest's Places to Play guidebook, the highest rating available for a public course, and Golf Magazine called it one of the top 50 courses under $50.

It would be easy to separate Aldeen's 18 holes, 26 acre practice center and upscale feel from the other four course in the park district, but that's not how things work in Rockford, says Glenn Bereiter, the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America certified golf course superintendent at the club.

"The idea was the Aldeen Golf Club was built to help bring the others up," Bereiter says. "All five superintendents [at the Rockford Park District courses] work together. We share equipment. We call each other. It's a free exchange of ideas. It's a great camaraderie."

The Rockford Park District serves a population of 204,986. With that many potential golfers, having something for everyone keeps the district's courses competitive with private and other public operations. And golfers in Rockford can choose which of five courses best meets their needs on a day-to-day basis by purchasing a five-course pass, which offers unlimited play April through October. (The resident rate for the five course unlimited permit is $1,400 for the 2008 season.)

Not all of Aldeen's business is from the locals. About 40 percent of Aldeen's players are from outside the district, and it's easy to see why. Aldeen is located approximately an hour's drive from Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison and the Quad Cities.

Because Aldeen was built only after the feasibility study was complete, Green says the course has a great relationship with the community. As the district's flagship course, Aldeen hosts the majority of fundraising and corporate golf events that benefit the greater community. And in its nearly 17 years of golf, Aldeen has lived up to its promise of bringing a higher standard of golf to the park district. Aldeen was selected to host the 2001 Illinois State Amateur Golf Tournament, and the Tiger Woods Foundation chose the Rockford community to be the host site of one of four national two-day Tiger Woods Junior Golf Clinics in 2001. In 2004, the Tiger Woods Foundation selected the Rockford-Beloit area to host one of three national "In The City" Golf Clinics and Festivals. Rockford was the only community selected to receive both of these prestigious events.

Angela Nitz is the manager of corporate communications for the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America. Since 1926, GCSAA has been the top professional association for the men and women who manage golf courses in the United States and worldwide. From its headquarters in Lawrence, Kansas, the association provides education, information and representation to more than 21,000 members in more than 72 countries. GCSAA's mission is to serve its members, advance their profession and enhance the enjoyment, growth and vitality of the game. The association's philanthropic organization, the Environmental Institute for Golf, works to strengthen the compatibility of golf with the natural environment through research grants, support for education programs and outreach efforts. Visit GCSAA at www.gcsaa.org.

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