MITCHELL — A local advisory board wants to set the record straight on how profitable the city-owned golf course has been and the upward trend in course use.
The Mitchell Golf and Cemetery board, during its meeting on Thursday, Oct. 16, was all in on a new five-hole short course at Lakeview Golf Course for kids, juniors, ladies and seniors and was hesitant to raise rates in 2026. The board recommended that the Mitchell City Council move forward with the project.
Early this month, the
Mitchell City Council kicked the topic back to the municipal golf course and cemetery-care advisory board
after Golf and Cemetery board council liaison Dan Sabers, a Mitchell city councilman, told the council he couldn’t speak for the Golf board on reducing a $1.55 million project plan down to $1.053 million for a five-hole short course.
Golf and Cemetery Board President Jeff McEntee noted that about 60% of the project will be funded by Lakeview Golf Course, and that the course is bringing upfront funds for the project.
The proposed five-hole short course is the equivalent of a slow lane to relieve traffic at the busier than ever Lakeview Golf Course.
The proposed short course would encompass five acres at the current bowling green north of the Lakeview Golf Course Clubhouse. Each hole of the short course is planned to be no more than 100-yards long with simple tee areas, according to Parks and Recreation Director Kevin Nelson.
The “bowling green” area shown here is proposed to become a five-hole short course north of the Lakeview Golf Course Clubhouse on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2025 in Mitchell.
Marshall Mitchell / Mitchell Republic
The “bowling green” area shown here is proposed to become a five-hole short course north of the Lakeview Golf Course Clubhouse on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2025 in Mitchell.
Marshall Mitchell / Mitchell Republic
A short course is less intimidating for new and inexperienced players, according to discussion. Nelson told the Mitchell Republic that he wasn’t sure if any additional land purchase was included in the short course estimate. There are two acres being considered north of the bowling green.
Golf and Cemetery board member Joel Reinesch unapologetically took issue with recent Mitchell City Council member John Doescher’s comments that the golf course needed to raise course rates, increase memberships, and play more rounds.
Rounds and memberships are on an upward trend. Since 2018, Lakeview rates have increased by 30%, and play has increased 50% since 2021, according to Reinesch. Memberships have increased by 93 in 2025.
“That is why we are wanting to do this par three course because we have so much traffic on this golf course,” Reinesch said.
Tee times are tightly scheduled at 8-minute intervals and Reinesch questioned where more rounds would fit in. A mix of beginner and seasoned golfers are on the same course, with new golfers maintaining a slower pace.
The golf course can’t sustain this for another five years, he said.
Reinesch called the project a no-brainer and said that the city of Mitchell needs to figure out if it is in the golf course business.
“If we’re going to be in the business, let’s do it. Let’s do it right,” Reinesch said.
Reinesch called the topic of competing with Wild Oak Golf Course an “elephant in the room.” Nobody is cheerleading Wild Oak more than those on the Golf and Cemetery board, according to Reinesch.
“There is absolutely room for two well-run golf courses in this town,” Reinesch said.
General golf course rates were raised by 5% across the board in January 2025. The rate raises are not insignificant, McEntee noted. The parks department evaluates a 3% to 5% rate raise each year. However, the golf course has been on an every other year cycle for raising rates.
“I think we’re right where we need to be,” said Lakeview Golf Course Clubhouse Manager Eric Hieb, who noted that increased rates may discourage people from coming out to the course.
McEntee noted that Lakeview could raise fees by 40% and “not lose a nickel.” However, McEntee was not in favor of this. A hike of this kind would mean not retaining customers who could not afford the rate increase, according to McEntee.
“(Lakeview) is not a country club, but a city golf course,” McEntee said.
The Golf board made no decision on raising rates as the agenda item was discussion only. A final decision on raising rates is expected by the end of the year. The board also took no official vote on the short course, but each member voiced approval.
The city-owned golf course is busy, with more than 38,000 rounds of golf estimated to be played this year. According to Hieb, it’s been a great year for the golf course with more events hosted and more families playing. Hieb credited the addition of the First Tee Junior Program with increasing the number of junior golfers playing and practicing.
The construction of the five-hole course would not affect play at the golf course, according to McEntee. Families can still play on the short course when an event closes the course, Hieb added.
On Wednesday, councilman Doescher sent the Mitchell Republic an email correspondence, which he requested City Administrator Stephanie Ellwein send to the council. Doescher does not plan to be at the Monday, Oct. 20 council meeting and the email stated his concerns about the city’s enterprise fund being self-sustaining.
Doescher noted that a selling point from the Golf and Cemetery board was that the proposed five-hole course would be for kids, and questioned whether kids would be allowed on the regular course.
“If the additional holes are to ease the pressure on how busy the course is they should be making a lot of money,” Doescher said.
Nelson told the Mitchell Republic that the city budgets conservatively for golf course revenue and that revenue has increased a little each year.
“We did better than what we budgeted, but we also did better than last year,” Nelson said.
Lakeview membership fee revenue for 2024 was $170,000. Projected revenue for this year was $166,000, and so far, the municipal golf course has surpassed this number by more than $31,000.
The $900,000 short course project has a $63,000 design fee and $90,000 contingency, which brings the estimated total project cost to $1,053,000.
In the proposed 2026 budget, the short-course has been balanced out
with $417,000 in general fund dollars, a reallocated $75,000 Lakeview equipment loan payment to the city, and a reallocated $11,000 for course chemicals, $250,000 in private pledges and $300,000 from golf reserves and designated funds. For the time being, the rest of the proposed phase 3 upgrades will stay on the drawing board.
“We’re in the sweet spot,” Nelson said. “We’ve got a lot of membership revenue, and we have tremendous rounds played.”
Sabers will bring the board’s recommendation to move forward with the five-hole short course to the council on Monday, Oct. 20th.
