The updates at the city-owned property in Inver Grove Heights, Minn., will be funded by the golf course itself over the next 25 years, and will include adjusting bunkers, installing a new irrigation system and expanding the driving range. Construction is scheduled to begin in August, with the course ready for the start of the 2017 season.

Under a plan recently approved by the Inver Grove Heights, Minn., city council, Inver Wood Golf Course will get nearly $2.3 million in improvements—all of which will be funded by the golf course itself over the next 25 years, the St. Paul, Minn., Pioneer Press reported.

Upgrades include removing or resizing bunkers to help speed up play, installing an up-to-date irrigation system and expanding the driving range, the Press reported.

The plan is the latest in a string of proposed financial solutions for Inver Wood, which opened in 1992 and has been hamstrung by development debt payments and operating deficits in recent years. To the council’s liking, the plan asks for no city contribution. In February, the council sent a version of the plan back to city staff and asked for more self-reliance, the Press reported.

“Now, the expectation is that it is 100% financed by the golf course and by golfers,” said Eric Carlson, the city’s parks and recreation director. “We believe that year in and year out, we will be able to do that. There may be a hiccup year or two, but there’s also going to be some years where it’s better than what we expected, and those should balance each other.”

The funding plan relies on borrowing just slightly more than $2 million from the city’s central equipment fund, a loan that would be repaid through nearly $82,000 in annual payments from golf course revenue over the next 25 years. The course also is making a one-time $240,000 cash contribution, the Press reported.

The plan is based on the course seeing 50,000 rounds annually, which has been the average in recent years, Carlson said.

City staff projects a larger driving range grass tee will generate an extra $25,000 to $50,000 annually. The existing grass tee is not large enough, which means maintenance staff cannot keep the turf in good condition, said Matt Moynihan, clubhouse superintendent. That only forces staff to send golfers to the artificial mat line, which is not what they want, the Press reported.

“The driving range improvements are important because it gives additional revenue to pay back other parts of the project,” Moynihan said.

The driving range will also get higher fencing. “We annually lose probably 5,000 to 10,000 golf balls,” Moynihan said.

Meanwhile, the current irrigation system experiences weekly breakdowns, which increases maintenance costs, Joel Metz, golf course superintendent, told the council. “There’s not a day that goes by that I’m not looking at a (sprinkler) head or adjusting something or worrying about what’s leaking,” he said.

Like many other golf courses, Inver Wood has seen declining rounds because of an abundance of competition for players’ time, bad weather, the recession and waning participation in the sport. But Inver Wood found itself in an especially dire spot financially in recent years because the city chose to finance the $7.5 million golf course entirely through revenue bonds, the Press reported.

After making the roughly $450,000 to $500,000 annual principal and interest payments, the pot was just too empty for operations and capital improvements, city administrator Joe Lynch said. In late 2013, the council grudgingly directed city staff to transfer $2.94 million from development and equipment fund balances to wipe away a deficit that accumulated over two decades, the Press reported.

The council also directed city staff to reduce the course budget by $60,000 and said the savings should come from salary and benefits. The city proceeded to lay off Al McMurchie, who managed the course since its opening, the Press reported.

The strategic moves appear to be paying off: The city anticipates revenue from 2015 will exceed expenditures by about $120,000. “It’s been almost a decade since that has happened,” Lynch said.

But the behind-the-scene moves tell only part of the apparent rebound. The course saw increased revenue in 2015 because of ideal playing weather, as well as the addition of footgolf to the executive course, which brought in an extra $8,000, Lynch said.

Moreover, the city started selling hard liquor in August after special legislation was passed at the Capitol in May; the city needed authority from the state for a full liquor license. “We think it will add up to about $30,000 in revenue a year,” Lynch said.

The course also debuted a season pass last year for players 18 years of age or younger. Priced at $400, the junior pass offers unlimited access to its 18- and nine-hole courses any time Monday through Thursday and after noon on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, the Press reported.

“(The passes) exceeded our estimates,” Lynch said. “That’s good for the golf course, because now we have players introduced when they are 11, 12, 13 years old, and hopefully they continue to play golf and at Inver Wood for a long time.”

The course is well overdue for physical changes, said Inver Grove Heights resident Dennis Schueller. With its hilly topography, many bunkers and tight fairways, Inver Wood was built to be a challenging course, he said.

“Many people came to Inver Wood, played it and then didn’t play again because it was too difficult for them,” he said.

But one of the biggest trends in golf is fast play, he said. “They don’t want to play in excess of four hours,” he said. “And Inver Wood was not a less than four-hour golf course when it was first built.”

Construction is scheduled to begin in August and continue into December, with the course ready for the start of the 2017 season, the Press reported.