Calling the tee boxes and greens "unplayable" and "un-puttable," officials last week closed nine of the 18 holes at the Lakeview National Golf Course, which is owned by the city of Two Harbors.
On Monday, the Two Harbors City Council voted to hire a turf specialist to inspect the course and report on its condition. The resolution also calls for the withholding of contract payments to course manager Kyle Ness and Associates.
Ness said it wasn't in his "best interest" to talk about his dealings with the city but did say that nine holes in the "upper course" have been closed. Those are the newer holes added when the course was expanded to 18 holes.
He said the course obviously "needs some attention."
The original nine holes at Lakeview are clay-based, meaning they hold moisture better, council members said. The new holes are sand-based and look starved for moisture as the tee boxes and greens have large swaths of nothing but sand. They're "dead," said council member Jason Kuettel, and embarrassing for a course that should be a jewel in the area.
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"I wouldn't want people from out of town playing those holes," he said.
The city has hired a turf consultant for the course, which Kuettel said he believes the city has a right to do under the management contract, and that the cost of the consultant would come out of payments to Ness.
About $50,000 has yet to be paid and the city expects to pay $3,000 to $5,000 for the consultation.
The city's contract with Ness runs through 2011. It still owes for expansion and improvements on the course, about $600,000 on a bond term set to expire in 2015.
Ness was hired in 2009 after a
$2.75 million deal to sell the course fell through in 2007, and the course manager was let go. The city has been making improvements at the course ever since, but has struggled to make the venture pay off for taxpayers.
The course contract calls for Ness to bring in $180,000 in greens fees a season. Any extra revenue past $190,000 brings a bonus to the management team. Council members said they haven't yet reached the minimum mark.
