The golf course has changed names a couple of times in recent years, but Frank Walsh has been a regular since 1955 at what is now known as Northeastern 18. Even these days, at age 89, he plays a couple of rounds per week at the facility that’s nearly as old as he is.
You might think that after all these years, Walsh feels a certain sense of ownership of the oldest course in Sterling, Colo. — and that’s a safe assumption. But after what’s happened in the last three years, that feeling goes well beyond the number of rounds Walsh has played at Northeastern 18, or the fact that he lives near the 14th green.
Walsh and his son Bill were pivotal figures not only in bringing the former Sterling Country Club back from the brink of financial ruin, but in a philanthropic endeavor that led to a unique new setup for the course in northeastern Colorado.
After there was a failed attempt to make the course financially viable as the semi-private Pawnee Pines Golf Club, the Walshes stepped up in a major way to give the facility a new lease on life, and keep it linked with the Sterling community more than ever.
Frank and Bill Walsh, longtime fixtures in the oil and gas industry in the area, donated a huge chunk of money to Sterling-based Northeastern Junior College so it could purchase the course and have some operating capital. In turn, the college plans to use the course and adjoining restaurant as a hands-on educational facility for students, most notably for those interested in studying turf management and culinary arts. Northeastern JC took over as owner and operator of the course — renamed Northeastern 18 — on Jan. 1 of this year. And as part of the transaction, the course became a public facility.
“This is a really positive situation for us,” Northeastern JC president Lance Bolton said in a phone interview this week. “Not many colleges have an opportunity like this. We feel a real responsibility to make it work in every sense — both for us and for the community.”
There are certainly other higher-education institutions that own golf courses, but most are NCAA Division I universities with prominent golf teams. While Northeastern JC is reviving its golf program after it was dormant for about a decade, that wasn’t the reason the Walshes gave the college the money to take over the course.
“My son and I decided it was for the good of the community and the college,” Frank Walsh told COgolf.org this week. “The college is the only one (in the town) with enough personnel to make use of it.”
Suffice it to say Bolton was very impressed by the extent of the Walshes’ generosity to the college — $1.6 million.
“Frank Walsh is a remarkable philanthropist,” Bolton said. “It’s amazing what he’s done for the community. He thought it was important that this asset remain in the community and that it was controlled by the community.”
Given the bureaucracy often involved in such matters, it’s amazing how quickly this deal fell into place. But the situation evolved over the last three years. With Frank Walsh noting that membership declined from a one-time high of 350 or 375 to about 110, Sterling Country Club “went broke, basically,” he said. At that point, in 2007, roughly 25 people put in about $25,000 each and Pawnee Pines was launched as a semi-private facility. But the financial situation didn’t improve and with the club seriously in debt last October, the Walshes stepped in to see if they could buy it, then donate it to the college.
The father and son worked out a $1.3 million deal for the course, restaurant, building, machinery, water rights, etc. Then — after the state board of community colleges approved the setup — the Walshes donated that $1.3 million amount to Northeastern JC, along with another $300,000. The school then used that money to buy Pawnee Pines, then rename it Northeastern 18. The restaurant at the facility is named the Plainsman Grill, which fits right in with the school’s mascot, the Plainsmen and Plainswomen.
“It all moved very quickly,” Bolton said. “The initial meeting I had with Frank Walsh was in November. I was quite surprised at first when he came to me. My first feeling was one of gratitude. That’s a tremendous asset for the college to take on. The next feeling was of some apprehension, knowing we knew little about running a restaurant and course. But eight months in, I feel we’ve done quite well. It hasn’t been mistake-free, but we’re making progress.”
Vernon Harbart, the head professional at Sterling Country Club from 1986 to ’99, returned as director of golf in June.
“I’ve been kind of impressed by how much public play we’re getting,” Harbart said. “Of course, I’d love to have more. But with two public courses in a town of this size (the other being Riverview Golf Course), it’s been kind of a surprise. I figured we’d do a lot less.”
Harbart estimates that 60 percent of the staff at Northeastern 18 are students at the junior college, which has a full-time enrollment of 1,100. But that’s just the beginning of the link with Northeastern JC. Already, golf-related physical education and community education courses make use of the golf facility. And as soon as qualified faculty can be put in place, turf management and culinary arts programs will utilize Northeastern 18 as a real-world training site, probably starting in 2011.
“First and foremost our priority is education, so we want to link what we do at the course with the core mission of the college,” Bolton said.
But even now, with the new course-related curriculum in its infancy stage, Bolton feels ownership of the course is already paying dividends in terms of enrollment.
“I can’t quantify it, but I think it’s played a role in our enrollment being up 12 percent this year,” he said. “This (Northeastern 18) is part of our tour. It’s given us a way to differentiate ourselves. I’m pleased with what it’s accomplished.”
And course ownership certainly has given Northeastern JC a boost as it re-establishes its golf program. After recent tryouts, a men’s team began tournament play this week, though the meat of the season comes in the spring. The Plainsmen will host a tournament at Northeastern 18 on April 8-9.
No golf scholarships are awarded yet — that may come later — and Northeastern will compete at a Division II junior college level this season, but the plan calls for the Plainsmen to be juco Division I beginning next fall. There is also hopes of adding a women’s program.
Northeastern 18 ownership “is definitely a factor in allowing us to get the program going,” said golf coach Darrel Parker, who also coaches women’s basketball and teaches at the college. “It’s a great facility and it gives great incentive” for players to attend Northeastern JC.
Up to this point, one of the major priorities at Northeastern 18 has been getting people accustomed to the course being a public facility for the first time in many decades. So far, so good in that regard.
“I live near the 14th green and there are a lot of people out there (playing),” Frank Walsh said. “It looks like they’re doing pretty damn well. We’re happy with how things are going.”
But there are still plenty of challenges. For instance, Harbart said there was a time when the course’s Labor Day weekend tournament — which was then an invitational — attracted 216 players and had a waiting list. This year, when the 87th Labor Day event is played Sept. 4-6, Harbart would be happy to have half that many competitors.
“It was a big deal when I was here before,” said Harbart, who is accepting entrants until Sept. 2 at northeastern18.com. “We’re in rebuild mode.”
It’s all part of a new era at Northeastern 18, where learning to do things a new way is par for the course.
“I’d say 99 percent of the feedback I’ve heard has been very positive,” Bolton said. “But business needs to continue to grow for us to operate the course in the positive.”
