A report by the Minneapolis, Minn., <em>Star Tribune</em> highlighted the diverse roles golf pros have begun playing at their properties, whether it’s handling the duties of younger staff positions that have been eliminated to cut costs, or expanding into leading a lawn bowling league.
A stagnant decade or so for the golf industry has caused many of the 28,000 men and women who make up the PGA of America to shoulder more responsibilities in the pursuit of profitability, the Minneapolis, Minn., Star Tribune reported.
“But, you know, pros have always been survivors,” said Michael Turnbull, the pro at Brookview Golf Course in Golden Valley, Minn., since 2005.
In Minnesota, golf participation has remained steady the past five years, according to the Minnesota Golf Association. But the financial strain on courses and the reduced job security for their pros is evident. Since 2000, 141 courses have closed in Minnesota, according to Joe Bissen, a local writer and Pioneer Press sports copy editor, who chronicles the lost courses of Minnesota on his website, foregonegolf.com.
In the Twin Cities alone, 10 courses have closed in the past five years. And that number could grow by one significant victim next month. The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board will vote on whether to abandon 83-year-old Hiawatha Golf Club, a course that’s not only under water financially but also requires expensive pumping to stay above water literally, the Star Tribune reported.
In the middle of this modern reality is the local club pro. Once upon a time, he taught the game, sold equipment in a cornered marketplace devoid of big-box retailers, and actually had some free time to play, the Star Tribune reported.
“The biggest difference now is the pressure on the business side,” said Dave Tentis, 55, head professional of Troy Burne Golf Club in Hudson, Wis., and a Minnesota PGA-MGA Hall of Famer who has played in five PGA Championships, a Masters, a U.S. Open and a U.S. Senior Open. “I don’t play that much anymore. Too busy.”
Some pros find themselves wearing more hats as younger staff positions are eliminated to cut costs. Rather than sneaking in a round to keep the game sharp, the club pro might find himself or herself gathering golf balls on the range or working the cash register, among other things, the Star Tribune reported.
Forty summers ago, when Turnbull was a 21-year-old rookie teaching pro at Sundance and Majestic Oaks, he counterbalanced Minnesota’s short season by working construction jobs, selling insurance and running an indoor driving range, among other offseason gigs. But he never would have anticipated what has happened in the twilight of his teaching career, or how he would have embraced the creative thinking behind it at Brookview, the Star Tribune reported.
Neighbors joke that Brookview does “Golf 2.0.” While the city-owned facility is centered on its 18-hole par-72 course and nine-hole par-3 course, it also offers nontraditional entertainment year-round. In the winter, cross-country skiing, fat-tire biking and disc golf tournaments are offered. The course even hosted a 5K Lumberjack Run for the person who’s itching to run a long way in the cold while dressed as a lumberjack, the Star Tribune reported.
“We have a lot of ideas,” said Ben Disch, Brookview’s golf operations manager. “Not all of them work, of course. And excellent example is I wanted to host the world’s largest snowball fight. But based on some liability insurance issues, we pulled the plug on that one.”
Brookview offers “Happy Hour Yoga,” a beanbag league and golf clinics titled “Women and Wine,” “Nine and Wine,” and “Chip and Sip.” Brookview also has golf bikes in addition to golf carts. It has FlingGolf, a hybrid form of golf using what resembles a lacrosse stick. And since 2014, it has offered lawn bowling, which has become its most popular nontraditional attraction, the Star Tribune reported.
The idea to use part of the course’s parking lot to construct an eight-rink lawn bowling venue belonged to Rick Birno, Golden Valley’s director of parks and recreation. He got it while at Brit’s Pub, the downtown Minneapolis establishment that has a 10-year wait for teams wanting to join its rooftop leagues, the Star Tribune reported.
“It’s funny,” Birno said. “We were new to lawn bowling. We’re trying to figure out how we would teach this game to all these people who might show up to play this thing. It was Ben who said, ‘What about our golf pro, Michael?’ And Michael loved the idea.”
“And now,” said Disch, “Michael is like the lawn bowling ambassador. There’s a waiting list for our Tuesday and Thursday night leagues. We have corporate outings four to five days a week.
“And what’s cool is when you got someone like Michael, who’s been around a long time as a golf professional. He comes together with the staff and no one laughs at or shoots down ideas or says, ‘We’re not doing that because we’ve never done it before.’ ”
Turnbull, of course, still teaches golf. But he knows the economics. When he left Baker National in the early 2000s, a busy course, like Baker, was turning 44,000 rounds a year. Now, a busy course turns 35,000. The busiest courses in the Twin Cities did 60,000 back then and do about 45,000 now, the Star Tribune reported.
“There are always new challenges to growing the game,” said Jeff Hintz, CEO of the Minnesota PGA of America section. “Mostly, it comes down to time, money and degree of difficulty. We have so many good professionals that can really teach the game and make it more enjoyable.”
Turnbull is close to retirement and feels for the young pro who has to grind it out in a competitive market. Not long ago, he had an experience that made him chuckle and summarize just how different things are since he started out as a local club pro back in 1977, the Star Tribune reported.
“I was walking out of Maria’s Café in Minneapolis with my wife and daughter,” he said. “This guy comes walking by with his wife. He looks at me, points and yells, ‘Hey, Lawn Bowling guy!’ ”
Turnbull bursts with laughter. Yes, he is still a golf pro. But, like many of his peers, he’s also a survivor, the Star Tribune reported.
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