The Brookings Register
BROOKINGS — Potential cost increases, along with a possible solution to its water woes, made Edgebrook Golf Course a focus at the Brookings Park & Recreation Advisory Board meeting on Jan. …
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BROOKINGS — Potential cost increases, along with a possible solution to its water woes, made Edgebrook Golf Course a focus at the Brookings Park & Recreation Advisory Board meeting on Jan. 6.
While the City Council will have the final say on all matters of pricing, board members, on a voice vote, approved a motion regarding 2025 fees for golfing. In a word, all of them would increase anywhere from $10 to $30, depending on the package and timing of purchase.
“We try to keep the numbers as low as possible because we want to make sure that the golf course — everybody can go golfing and afford to (do so) as much as possible,” Parks, Recreation and Forestry Director Kristin Zimmerman said.
There would be little change in green and cart fees from 2024 to 2025 — ranging from $1 to $3 increases — while driving range fees would stay the same from last year. Golf cart packages, though, would see more significant boosts, anywhere from $25 to $60.
On a positive note, though, golfers will have a better experience with carts this coming season, because Edgebrook is upgrading to lithium battery-powered carts. They last longer and hold a charge better than the traditional electric carts and come in at about the same cost to acquire.
Potential cost increases aside, Zimmerman said Edgebrook remains very popular with customers — so much so that sometimes folks are having trouble booking tee times up to three days out. This is especially evident in bookings during the morning hours, over the lunch hour and after 5 p.m.
“That’s another reason why I wanted to raise the fees a little bit, is to kind of hopefully curb some of that demand,” she said, emphasizing that, “It’s lovely to see the golf course get used so much, and it’s a great activity to keep people active throughout their life.”
In another Edgebrook-related issue, board members learned the years-long water woes the golf course has faced could be a thing of the past — almost. The solution currently being worked on involves drilling a well south of the course across 20th Street South.
Assistant Director of Parks, Recreation and Forestry Josh Bauman explained that work is underway with engineers on drawings regarding options for what the land where the test well is would look like, along with details on how to get the water across 20th Street South and into Edgebrook.
Zimmerman said the hope is to break ground on the project come spring. She noted that the landowner has been very accommodating and has “been working with us very well.” Once underway, the project would take four to six months to complete, so a fall finish date would be anticipated, barring unforeseen circumstances.
Long story short, it’ll be another summer with potential water issues, depending on what Mother Nature does with regard to snow and rain totals in the months ahead. After that, though, things will hopefully change for the better.
Zimmerman said the wellhouse — which will contain two pumps — would be on the property south of Edgebrook, with an underground pipe directing the water into the west pond on the golf course, where it will be aerated via fountains. Lining will be used in the west pond to ensure the water put into it by the well isn’t lost to leakage into the aquifer.
Bauman said the east pond will remain unlined and its water levels will rise and decline naturally; if there are times of heavy precipitation, water from the well would be turned off, and a water line connecting the east and west ponds would be opened, allowing the east pond to drain into the west pond, and the combined waters would then be used to keep Edgebrook green and lush.
Zimmerman described the landowner as “great” and is considered to be a “partner.”
She noted that, if all goes well, plans are for the city to purchase the land where the well is, with a permanent access easement across private land to it.
— Contact Mondell Keck at mkeck@brookingsregister.com.