Evening star., 1940-01-12


The only way the "a private and
semi-private courses within a 12-
mile radius of Akron's center can
compete with the public course is
by selling memberships at less than
cost and compensating for this by
the income derived from liquor sales
and gambling devices. A great
"squawk" goes up whenever it is
proposed to build another public
course.
And courses in the other four
cities go on up from there. Cleve-
land has in its city parks the High
land Park courses. two of them.
Another course is being built and
third is contemplated. In its metro
politan parks. two more Net earn
ings on the Highland Park courses
for 1898 were 23,630.31. Net earn
ings on the two metropolitan park
courses were $l2,67531 for 1887.
This money goes back into park
funds and Improvements result. On
August 81. 1898, the 18th National
Amateur Public Links tournament
was held at Highland Park, with
the largest registration on record,
from nearly every State in the
Union and including one entrant
from Hawaii.
In Cincinnati two golf courses are
operated by the Recreation Com
mission instead of by the parks. For
the year 1887 receipts exceeded ex-
penditures by $5,000 Cincinnati's
one metropolitan golf course runs
itself at profit. too.
In Milwaukee the five public
courses showed a net profit of ST.
26725 for 1886. Since then the
profit has increased to the mark set
in previous years. such as 1882 when
the five courses showed a profit of
$13,850.41.
Milwaukee Profits Help Budget.
It is interesting to note that in
Milwaukee net of $201 900 from all
park activities, golf, tennis, SWIM
ming, refectory. concerts, ETC.. is be-
ing applied against the 1910 budget
of 81 ,083 ,07600. No wonder the city
fathers approve of the direct opera
ton of golf and other fee games, in
stead of letting the operations out
on contract!
In Minneapolis golf did not do as
we'll in 1898 as in the other cities
with the exception of Akron. A net
profit of only $500. "a was made. But
out of earnings in Minneapolis two
clubhouses have been built-not
shacks, but beam and timber and
masonry buildings with clubrooms,
refreshment stands. dining halls.
They are beautifully appointed in
side. They are rented out for par
ties in the off season. Often it is
impossible to reserve one of them, so
popular have they become.
In the other cities golf profits have
gone in greater or lesser degree into
similar improvements.
Some of these courses were visited
by this writer during the tour. They
were visited in winter after a
dry fall. 1t was hard to find any
bare spots, and the greens, while
not green, due to the advanced sea-
son, were covered with grass which
would be credit to any fine private
club.
In no city were anywhere near as
many rounds of golf played per year
as in Washington. And with such
a large demand for public golf in
Washington it would not seem nec-
essary that fees here be as high as
in the other cities. The relatively
high fees elsewhere mean that few
golfers carry the load. Here many
carry the load. But in these other
cities no one seems to mind the
fees of Is to IS cents.
1t must be because they know
where the money is going. They
can see where it goes, right there
in front of them, or if they think
they can't, they can go look at the
public books of the parks or recre-
ational officials.