Golfers’ protest stops course closure

Published 4:29 pm Monday, November 9, 2009

Kitsap County had planned to close the Village Green Golf Course in Port Orchard during the week as a cost-cutting measure, but a vocal lobbying effort by course regulars prompted the Parks Department to change its mind.

“I was looking at financial records and it looked like this facility wasn’t making any money,” said Interim Parks and Recreation Department Director Arvilla Ohlde. “I thought maybe we should slow this down and posted new hours to only be open weekends and holidays. But the club members called and asked for a meeting, and we are going to keep it the way it is now.”

About 20 regular golfers met with Ohlde and Parks Superintendent Dory Leckner on Nov. 4, underscoring their dependence on the facility for their daily recreation routine.

Currently, the course is open from dawn until dusk every day, and has a regular clientele of what is best described as senior citizens — even as members describe their age group in less flattering terms.

“People in our age group tend to die off,” one golfer said, “so we’re not getting a lot of new members.”

“We could get more children to come here and it would generate green fees,” said another. “And we can teach them how to play golf, which keeps the whole thing going.”

Fees need to stay competitive, because no one will golf at Village Green if it only costs a few dollars more to go to the better-equipped Gold Mountain course in Bremerton.

Ohlde acknowledged that parks’ existence are not required by law, but their presence “is part of what makes us a community. We fight tooth and nail to make sure parks stay alive for all the good citizens who want to do stuff.”

The 43-acre course is small as golf courses go, although it does include a full 18 holes.

Most of the holes are par 3, with a few par 4s.

And while it lacks a prestigious reputation and a fancy clubhouse, it’s not a pushover. The presence of trees along the fairway makes it a challenging course.

“We’ve had a lot of good golfers come here and not do very well,” said one club member.

Oldhe said the purpose of the meeting was to clarify how the course is to be operated and explain the financial structure.

The course is supported by the county, with costs partially covered by green fees.

“All the money that is made here goes right back into the support of the facility,” she said.

Oldhe said she plans to stay connected with club members to look for ways to maintain and improve the facility.