Leawood determined to solve golf course woes

Leawood’s Ironhorse Golf Course has spent and lost a lot of money to persistent maintenance problems, and now city officials have lost patience.

A $1 million renovation project was supposed to remedy stubborn maintenance problems at the course, but frustrations have continued.

The poor condition of greens that were completely rebuilt two years ago is being blamed for disappointing revenues at the municipal course this year.

“A significant amount of money was spent to completely renovate and redo the greens, and there were promises to the public,” said Dick Fuller, chairman of the city’s Golf Course Committee. “We thought there would be a quality much superior to what we had been seeing. But for whatever reason the greens didn’t grow in as they should have and they are not in the condition they should have been.”

The course, which opened in 1995 at 154th Street and Mission Road, often has posed maintenance challenges. Bad drainage, poor soil conditions and inadequate air circulation all have been blamed at times for the problems.

Councilman James Azeltine, who serves on the golf course panel, said city officials are well aware that frustrated patrons are not too interested in the whys.

“The golf course business is extremely competitive, and golfers don’t care what the explanations are for the problems. If they don’t like things, golf course customers tend to vote with their feet,” Azeltine said.

The city had anticipated more than 26,000 rounds of golf would be played this year, but the course is on pace to have about 20 percent to 25 percent less play than that. The recession has hurt golf courses nationwide, and the economy is seen as being partly responsible for Ironhorse’s disappointing numbers. But course conditions definitely have made things worse, Fuller said.

Ironhorse greens fees are among the highest for public courses in the metropolitan area, and city officials are well aware that players demand top-flight conditions when paying those top prices.

“Our goal is to have the best public golf course not just in the metropolitan area but in the nation,” Azeltine said. “Because of past successes at Ironhorse, expectations for it are very high and we are determined to meet those expectations.”

Azeltine said he was the only council member who opposed a City Council decision a year and a half ago to make golf course maintenance a city staff responsibility. The problems since then have convinced other council members that a professional outside contractor would be best.

“I believe smaller cities like Leawood should not be in the business of managing a golf course. That’s not where our expertise lies,” Azeltine said.

The firm ultimately selected will do both the maintenance and overall management of the course. Applicants are being asked “to explain how they are going to address the problems and how they are going to market the course,” Fuller said.

Among the applicants is Orion Management Solutions Inc., which currently handles clubhouse management and course marketing.

What happens to the current maintenance crew is not clear.

“Any company chosen would have the option of keeping some or all of the current employees,” Azeltine said.

Despite the past year’s problems, Azeltine said he is confident the new greens will survive. In fact, he said, the putting surfaces have improved this fall and now are in good condition. But the city does not want to risk a regression next summer.

Officials believe the proposed change to a private firm can bring the course back to good health.

“It’s an excellent layout, and it’s unfortunate that we have not been able to meet the expectations of players,” Fuller said. “We certainly had hoped we’d be back to where we were as one of the top golf courses in the Midwest (after the renovation). That didn’t happen. But I have every expectation that sometime in 2010 and certainly by 2011 we will be back to that level and even above.”

In addition to mending the grounds, the city knows it will have to repair relations with area golfers.

The city discounted greens fees because of course problems, but even doing that created fallout. Some patrons who paid almost $3,000 for a yearly pass last spring say it would have been cheaper to pay for each round individually in view of the discounts that did not exist when they bought their passes.

Contact Loren Stanton at 385-6068, or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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