Don Gelwick was hours away from pleading with city leaders for more funding for the municipal course he maintains when he heard the good news.
Gelwick, golf course superintendent at Blackwell (Okla.) Golf Course, says it was late April when it looked like course operations would barely be able to meet payroll at the end of May. Despite what Gelwick describes as the crew’s best efforts to provide quality, consistent playing conditions, the number of rounds generated at the course have declined continually. So the golf course’s board of trustees went to the city for additional help.
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“At first, it didn’t look like the city leaders were going to talk to us,” Gelwick says. “But then they called a special meeting and wanted to talk to the trustees, me and the pro shop manager. We were getting ready to go to the meeting when sometime around 4:00 or 4:30 someone called the chairman, swore him to secrecy and said, ‘I have money for the golf course, but I don’t want anyone know I gave it to you.’”
A donation of $15,000 was given to help the course get back on its feet. The board chairman remains the only person who knows the identity of the donor.
But if everything remains the status quo, Gelwick predicts more trying times ahead.
“The way things are going right now, it’s inevitable that we’ll have to go back to the city,” he says.
Course management ended up appealing to the city for a raise, but received a slight increase that wasn’t as much as they asked for. They currently receive $35,000 a year from the city. The city also provides the electricity and water for the irrigation system.
Not counting salaries, Gelwick’s maintenance budget is $33,500.
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The course experienced financial hardships in its previous incarnation as well. Founded almost 80 years ago, the course was part of a private country club until the mid-1980s. The club was experiencing financial difficulties, so it sold the facility to the city of Blackwell for one dollar. The city’s population at the time was about 7,500.
“The city ran it for a couple years under one of its departments and then turned it over to the public trust, and it has been that way for at least 15 years,” Gelwick says.
Gelwick places most of the blame for the course’s financial woes on the faltering local economy, but says it also could have something to do with the nearby casinos taking business away.
“People only have so many extra dollars a month after paying bills and everything,” he says.
Gelwick works for five trustees who were appointed by city officials to oversee the course.
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“There were some residents who thought the city didn’t need to be running the course,” Gelwick says. “We had a watchdog group that screamed because city workers came out one weekend and used city equipment to spray for mosquitoes on waterways. The city watchdog group cried foul even though there was nothing unethical going on. In some ways it caused people to want to distance themselves from the course.”
Still, there are others who value the course, and Gelwick has to make sure it stays that way so revenue continues to flow. The course is open about 60 percent of the time, he says. Only the occasional frost will close it.
“Because it’s summer, things have picked up,” he says. “We’re still not where we need to be with revenues, but that has caused us to become resourceful. We run two-for-one specials, and we’re running a big campaign to get companies in town to have tournaments here.”
Course management also has plans for small businesses and bigger corporate outfits. Companies can pay for a yearly membership and turn in a list of employee names. As many as four players per day can use the membership. For smaller businesses, the membership price is lower, and two employees are permitted per day.
Green fees in general are competitive, Gelwick says.
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“For less than $1,000 a year, people can come out and play an unlimited amount,” he says. “It’s a really good deal. We always have one guy who cries about it being too much, but in this area, we’re at the bottom rung of the ladder as far as pricing goes. It’s one of the things we’ve had to do just to keep what we’ve got.”
Blackwell also offers public cart storage, which is something some nearby courses can’t claim, Gelwick says. There also are no tee times, which most golfers seem to find convenient, he says.
Gelwick looks for other ways to make the most of what they have. He says he and his crew have been trying to increase productivity without increasing spending. Still, he fears that alone might not be enough to keep the course afloat.
“We’ll have to keep asking for more support,” he says. “The city’s doing what they can for us, and they have all new city commissioners in. Their attitude toward the golf course is changing. If they had the money to help us out, I’m sure they would. We’re going to have to keep trying to get what we can from them.” GCN