Grand View gets creative to attract golfers

Eric Peterson isn't afraid to set an example.

The director of golf at Grand View Lodge did it on the golf course last week when he eliminated his head PGA golf professional, Jack Wawro, from The Pines match-play bracket. A bitter defeat for Wawro, who some in the golf business consider the best playing pro in the area.

Peterson and his staff are also showing their creative side off the course with hopes to increase traffic at GVL's golf properties.

For instance, The Preserve in Pequot Lakes now has beverage cart happy hour and free hot dogs. Happy hour pricing includes 30 to 50 percent off on the beverage cart starting at 2 p.m. daily. From 4 to 8 p.m. players can indulge in free hot dogs.

"We've had to come up with exciting and creative ways to keep players coming back," said Peterson. "We want to keep our price integrity so we're trying a couple of different things at the Preserve to enhance the experience."

Peterson and his staff have extended their free Sunday afternoon tee times on the Garden Course for adults who bring a child 16 and under.

"It's a get out and play program for us," said Peterson. "We want to do our part for junior golf, as well as grow the game. This is a great way to get the family out.

"We've seen some good traction with this from the local players. It's open to anyone, though. Families who are on vacation, if other resort owners read this, we welcome them to send their seasonal or weekly guests over to enjoy some family fun."

Despite its many accolades, even GVL is not immune from the dwindling economy. Peterson said the courses are seeing less corporate play. He said many corporations are still visiting, but many are not golfing.

There's also been a slight decline in package play from the growth trend the last couple of years.

"We have seen an increase in member play and that's encouraging and our public play has been flat," said Peterson.

The future does look bright, however, as tee sheets in August and September, generally busy months for resorts, are filling.

At The Pines, Preserve and Deacon's Lodge even non-golfers can partake in the dinner specials.

"We've had to get creative," said Peterson. "Other places are going to have to as well. We've done things to add value to the golf experience here and hopefully get people coming back to play."

The best of the best

For the Brainerd Dispatch Labor Day special section at the end of the summer, I've been asked to compile what I think are the best 18 golf holes in the lakes area.

Since my golf skills mirror John Daly's fashion choices (awful), I've recruited two top-flight players in Glen Hasselberg, Staples-Motley head boys' and girls' golf coach, and his daughter Dana Hasselberg, a member of two state champion and one state runner-up team.

To make the selection more fair, we've broken the courses into "resort" and "non-resort" courses with exceptions for Golden Eagle and Whitefish, which will be included with the resort courses.

The committee started our tour of area courses last Thursday. We will hit every course in the lakes area to find, what we believe, are the best 18 holes.

In addition to our favorites, if you would like to vote for your top 18, drop me an e-mail at the address below.

If enough responses come in, I'll include those with the Labor Day package so readers can see how the lists compare.

jeremy millsop, sports writer, may be reached at jeremy.millsop@brainerddispatch.com or at 855-5856.