A scant six years after the renovation, gross income at the WP9 climbed to over $1 million and net profits exceeded $200,000. The recent growth in golf stimulated by COVID will subside, but hopefully many of the golfers that have come back to the game, will want to continue to play at city-owned public golf courses. The city of Toledo owns three golf courses, Ottawa Park, Detwiler and Collins Park. They are all in various states of disrepair and need to be updated. Greens fees are cheap, but the quality of golf is not the best. They are collectively treated like the proverbial red-headed stepchild, rather than diamonds in the rough, that just need a good buffing and spit shine. Ottawa Park was the first public golf course built west of NewYork City and could be a historic masterpiece with some tender love and care. Detwiler Park was one of Arthur Hills’ earliest designs and is near the Maumee River. Collins Park sits in Oregon and is so far gone, very few will venture to even try it. I have not talked to a single friend that has been to Collins Park in years. Golf is undergoing a renaissance, it’s time for city officials to realize what an opportunity they have to create a legacy for their community and reinvest in their local municipal courses.
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