John Lieser's St. Cloud Times Golf Column May 21

By John Lieser   
   In Brainerd a few weeks ago, prior to Central Lakes Conference (CLC) boys’ golf meet at Cragun’s “Dutch” course, I saw two large busses drop off junior high school kids at the club’s expansive range. That startling number was the impetus to write this column. What is the status of boys’ golf in the CLC?
    I sent out an email asking the nine boys’ coaches the following questions. Does your school offer junior high golf and how many are participating? What is the cost to play golf at your school? Is golf growing, declining or stagnant? What do you see as golf’s future at your school? Here are the responses from eight of nine CLC coaches who shared their comments.
    In St. Cloud, Apollo has only 13 students out for boys’ golf in grades 7-12. The school has no junior high program, charges $145 to play, and unless more students take up the game, the competitive future looks dim. Despite the fact that Apollo’s home course, Territory Golf Club, and its new manager Chad Seim is enthusiastic about the program, the bottom line is still a paucity of players in the program.
    At St. Cloud Tech, Coach John Scharenbroich had this to say, “We have 43 players out for golf in grades 7-12, charge a $145 fee to play, and the numbers in the program are steady. This year we had 14 7th graders out. As to the future of golf at Tech, it’s uncertain. Many of our golfers are hockey players and that sport has a priority over golf. Some play golf just for the fun of it. It is more difficult to find kids who are just dedicated to golf. I feel we need courses to continue to engage junior golfers and encourage them to practice and play tournament golf in the summer.”
     Rich Spiczka coaches golf in Sauk Rapids-Rice, and he weighed in on his program. He concluded, “We have nearly 30 boys out for golf in grades 7-12. We charge $210 to play, have good kids, but only three or four play golf outside of the school season. In my opinion, very few kids do things on their own anymore. The days of having ‘gym rats’ or ‘golf rats’ are rare due to lack of access, and in some cases, the courses are too far away. Golf takes a lot of time, and many kids can’t focus on one thing long enough to finish a round of golf. Today, kids have too many other options in the summer.”
     Paul Court is the coach at Rocori and commented. “We have junior high golf but the numbers are low. Rocori is a baseball school and it may be a cause of our low numbers. We charge $185 to play varsity golf and $110 for the junior high. Many of our junior players are just learning the game. I don’t see young players playing golf any more either alone or with their parents. It is frustrating.”
     Mike Sieben, golf coach at Sartell-St. Stephen, had this perspective, “We have junior high golf and we have 40 kids in the 7th and 8th grade. They pay $50 to play and play inter-scholastic and intramural meets. At the high school, we have 25 kids out in grades 9-12, and the cost to play is $91. Blackberry Ridge’s Brock Swanson and Pine Ridge’s Frank Gruska are very supportive of our program, and that positive culture is why golf is popular and growing in our school.”
     Bryan Mara coaches in Willmar and expounded. “All middle school sports were cut five years ago; some sports were reinstated, but not golf. Before the cuts, we had more than 100 kids participating and now the middle school is run by community education. We charge $300 to play varsity golf and $100 in the middle school. Eagle Creek GC head professional Joel Jacobson has been great for our program, and two local members provide $100 junior memberships for those who want to join golf. I am very concerned with the state of our program. There are such a limited number of families in our area playing golf.”
    Brainerd’s Brian Wallace responded, “We have more than 100 kids in junior high golf and had to
cut it off at 105. We charge $200 for the junior high and $250 for the varsity. I credit Chris Foley and the Legacy courses for the recent success in our numbers. They want to grow the game by actions not words. They give deep discounts for kids to play in the summer. For example, the kids get an unlimited membership for the par three courses and the range for $125. The future for Brainerd High School golf looks bright.”
    Alexandria coach Rick Larson had this perspective on his school’s successful program, “Alexandria Middle School has 70 boy and girl participants in grades 6-8. The cost to play for the JV/Varsity is $110 and $95 for the middle school. Golf is an equal sport to baseball and track, and that could be attributed to the popularity and status of the annual Resorter’s Golf Tournament held in August, the open arms encouragement of head professional Rob Rebrovich, and teaching professional Lisa Kluver, and the legacy effect of British Open champion (1996) Tom Lehman. Moreover, the Scott Dirck Golf Academy at Geneva Golf Club has embraced all of our golfers and is a great year-round training facility for all our players. The future of golf in Alexandria is excellent.”
     In summation, one can see that the CLC playing field for boys’ golf is not stagnant as some programs are viable and others moribund. It is quite evident which is which.