GRAND RAPIDS, MI – "Indian Trails Golf Course will have to boost business by at least 2,000 rounds per year and generate upward of $100,000 annually from a new driving range in order to make ends meet and fund ongoing repair costs, according to city projections.
Despite a skeptical eye from both First Ward representatives, the Grand Rapids City Commission on Tuesday, Sept. 8, voted 5-2 to spend $2.8 million from a pot of income-tax revenue on a practice range and a list of neglected maintenance at the city-owned golf course.
"The alternative, to continue to allow it to bleed red ink, is not a good alternative," Mayor George Heartwell said.
...The 18-hole, par-68 course continued to lose money until the last two years, when it has made a slight profit.
However, the city has not addressed necessary maintenance, administrators said.
"The infrastructure of this course is so brittle it's going to break in the near future and then parts of the course are going to die," clubhouse manager Lance Climie said.
...Several area golf courses have closed in recent years.
In many cases, like at the former Summergreen Golf Links in Hudsonville, courses are being converted to housing..."
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