Columbus residents stepped up to a microphone to support keeping Greenbelt Golf Course open at a public information meeting about the city’s golf courses Wednesday night at The Commons.
Before opening up the session to comments from the public, Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop explained that a study of the city’s golf options showed five possible scenarios for course offerings in the future including:
- Closing Greenbelt while keeping Par 3 and Otter Creek open.
- Closing both Greenbelt and Par 3 while keeping Otter Creek open.
- Closing Otter Creek while keeping Greenbelt and Par 3 open.
- Closing the east nine of Otter Creek while keeping Greenbelt, Par 3 and Otter Creek’s north and west open.
- Closing Greenbelt and Otter Creek’s east nine while keeping Par 3 and Otter Creek’s north and west open.
Of these five options, Lienhoop said that the city recommended going with closing Greenbelt while keeping Par 3 and Otter Creek open and improving the playability of Otter Creek’s east nine.
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Next steps will include discussion of the proposal at two Columbus Parks and Recreation board meetings, followed by a resolution possibly being presented to the Columbus City Council on July 21. That would be followed by a possible consideration of a resolution at a special parks board meeting Aug. 3.
"We believe … that this is the best long-term answer for our mission, which is public golf," he said. "We can make it playable. We can make it affordable. And it’ll address all skill levels," Lienhoop said of the recommendation.
Lienhoop added that closing Otter Creek would actually "eviscerate" golf tourism for the area.
After Lienhoop’s presentation and comments from parks board Chairman Mark Levett, the meeting was opened to comments and questions from the public. About 60 people attended in person, seated 6 feet apart, many wearing masks. The session was also livestreamed on the city’s website for viewers at home.
The majority of local residents who spoke opposed closing Greenbelt and many said that if it closed, they would not play the Otter Creek course. However, a few who spoke in favor of keeping Greenbelt said they had not played that course recently, with others saying they hadn’t played it in years.
In his presentation, Lienhoop compared Greenbelt and Otter Creek on factors that included revenue and number of holes played.
In terms of revenue, Otter Creek earned about $1.3 million in 2017, about $1.24 million in 2019 and about $1.38 million in 2019. The course is forecast to earn about $1.22 million this year. Lienhoop said that this lower number was due to the course’s inability to rent out carts earlier in the season.
On the other hand, Greenbelt earned about $323,000 in 2017, about $306,000 in 2018 and about $293,000 in 2019. The course is projected to earn about $280,000 for 2020.
At Otter Creek, the number of 18 hole rounds per year trended upward with more than 22,000 in 2017, almost 23,000 in 2018 and more than 25,000 in 2019. For 2020, the course was projected to about match its 2019 numbers (with almost 9,000 so far).
On the other hand, Greenbelt’s 18 hole rounds per year trended downward — more than 10,000 in 2017, about 9,800 in 2018 and 9,300 in 2019. For 2020, the course is projected to see about 9,000 rounds with more than 3,700 so far.
Lienhoop originally said in his presentation that about 5,629 rounds had been played in 2020 so far. The parks department said this total was due to a reporting error and later revised the number of rounds down to about 3,700.
"For a short stint, rounds were being entered as holes which increased the quantity reported," the department explained in a revised addition to Lienhoop’s presentation.
In his comments, Levett said “Despite having, I think, terrific management, a lot of money put into the course, there’s no growth at Greenbelt."
If Greenbelt closes and Otter Creek remains open, Keith VanDeventer would transfer over to Otter Creek as director of golf operations, Lienhoop said. He added that Greenbelt would be put into the parks department’s 2021 master plan and possibly turned into either a greenspace or People Trail, as most of the Greenbelt land is not suitable for development.
In regards to improving Otter Creek’s playability, Lienhoop talked about implementing changes such as:
- A shorter rough
- Fewer sand traps
- New tee boxes
- A Players Advisory Committee to tell the city what changes are needed for the course.
While many residents have expressed concern about the cost of golfing at Otter Creek, the east nine is and will remain affordable, Lienhoop said. He pointed to the weekend rates for nine holes at both Greenbelt and Otter Creek’s east nine to illustrate this point. At Greenbelt, the weekend rate for nine holes is $13, $20 with a cart. At Otter Creek’s east nine, the weekend rate is $17.50 with no additional charge for a cart.
He added that Greenbelt members would be able to transfer their membership over to Otter Creek with a discount on the original 18 holes. Those who chose not to transfer would receive a prorated refund.
“We believe that those who golf today at Greenbelt will be able to transfer to Otter Creek, and that rate of transfer will be reasonably high," he said. "That’s an estimate that comes from the Greenbelt staff.”
In the community golf report, it was estimated that 70% of Greenbelt members would be willing to transfer over to Otter Creek.
After Lienhoop’s presentation and comments from parks board chairman Mark Levett, the meeting was opened to comments and questions from the public.
Bryce Turner, a scholarship golfer at St. Francis, referenced a survey he created with fellow Columbus North graduate Zachary Schiavello. The survey, which received 113 responses, showed that if Greenbelt closed, less than 15% of the respondents would go to Otter Creek.
Turner and Schiavello also started a change.org petition to "save Greenbelt," which had more than 1,679 signatures as of July 9.
Steve Cohen, who operated Greenbelt and Par 3 courses prior to 2015, when the city took over management, said he thought Otter Creek is important to the Columbus community.
“The money it brings in with the outings, the groups, the tournaments — it brings in a lot of the economic stuff that we rely on," Cohen said. "I would like to see something worked out where Otter Creek remains Otter Creek and Greenbelt remains Greenbelt.”
He suggested that the city might be able to increase rounds played at Greenbelt by promoting the course more. He also pointed to the community’s support for its golf courses in the past.
“Twelve years ago, the golf courses were flooded," Cohen said. "The community and the golfers came to our rescue. They supported us. They stood by us. They did not quit. We went to a modified golf course for three years. … They didn’t go anywhere else and play. They stayed right there at Greenbelt.”
Cohen also expressed surprise that after operating the golf courses for 40 years, he wasn’t asked for his opinion on the city’s options.
Doug Bieker, the head coach for Columbus North boy’s golf, suggested closing Par 3 and the east nine of Otter Creek, as well as promoting Greenbelt with ideas such as a "kids play free" program might increase demand for golf. He also requested that the city take the time to listen to its citizens on the issue, as many other speakers expressed the sentiment that it seemed as if the decision had already been made.
“You have an opportunity tonight and in the next couple of weeks to kind of actually restore faith … that this wasn’t a done deal, that the people’s voices will be heard," Bieker said.
Lienhoop said that while the city’s recommendation to the council and the parks board is to close Greenbelt, it is not a "done deal."
“We’re not finished yet with the decision process," he said.
Other comments from the public included complaints that Otter Creek is too intimidating for children and not suitable to the elderly, as well as that the Otter Creek east nine is not interchangeable with Greenbelt.
Several people mentioned the convenience of Greenbelt’s east-side location, rather than having to drive to Otter Creek, which is located at 11522 E. County Road 50N. Some suggested finding a buyer for Greenbelt so it could remain open.
"Whether there’s a buying group and an option to take over Greenbelt depends upon whether they’re able to come forward, you know, with some kind of serious offer," Lienhoop said. He added that any proposals to buy Greenbelt would need to be submitted to the parks department.
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Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop said that the city’s community golf report, a study of the use of local golf courses and their finances, showed five possible scenarios for golf options:
- Closing Greenbelt while keeping Par 3 and Otter Creek open.
- Closing both Greenbelt and Par 3 while keeping Otter Creek open.
- Closing Otter Creek while keeping Greenbelt and Par 3 open.
- Closing the east nine of Otter Creek while keeping Greenbelt, Par 3 and Otter Creek’s north and west open.
- Closing Greenbelt and Otter Creek’s east nine while keeping Par 3 and Otter Creek’s north and west open.
Lienhoop said that the city’s recommendation is to go close Greenbelt sometime in mid-August and to work to improve the playability of Otter Creek’s east nine.
Both Lienhoop’s presentation and the community golf report can be accessed at the parks department’s website at https://columbusparksandrec.com/projects-planning/.
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