For over 100 years, golfers have gathered at the University of Minnesota’s Les Bolstad course.
“I love this golf course and the university environment,” said Tim Anderson before he played in a Thursday match. “We just got such a great club here and it’s been so much fun over the years.”
“Probably the best memories is the comradery here and the friends I’ve met over the years,” said David Okita, a former club president at Les Bolstad. “Ranging from the students that work here to the senior guys who’ve been playing here probably since before I was born.”
But now, those times are ending. The university announced that this season will be the last. They’re selling the land.
“We found out the day of the announcement,” said assistant director of golf Adam Tilsner. “We had no prior notice before the University decided to sell the golf course.”
Anderson has been playing at Les Bolstad for 51 years.
“Kinda sad. I feel sad not only for the golfers here but for the crew,” said Anderson.
The course employs 60 students, from checking golfers in to mowing fairways.
“We’ve had employees that have worked here starting as a freshman in undergrad and worked through grad school,” said Tilsner. “I’ve had some employees that have worked here for eight years and they still come back and say that this is the best job that they’ve ever had. They really rely on this job to pay for their tuition.”
The U of M said in a statement: “We recognize this course holds generations of memories for our community. This decision reflects careful consideration and was made in light of today’s challenging financial environment.”
Okita learned to play golf at Les Bolstad in his freshman year at the University of Minnesota and has been playing there ever since.
“I wish that they would reconsider,” he said. “I wish that they would give it some more time. The golf course has been generating revenue for the last several years.”
An historic place and a daily reprieve. On this day, members of the Gopher football team arrive for their tee time, trading pads for putters.
“It hasn’t quite sunk in yet that this will be the last season because you know in golf we try to take it one shot at a time and one day at a time,” said Okita. “So just try to have fun while we can and we never know.”
Les Bolstad will close in the fall as it has for decades. This time, it will not reopen.
“Yeah. I don’t know,” said Anderson. “I haven’t digested it real well yet.”
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