posted by Joe Polk at 12:02 AM /
After managing to employ and retain only four golf professionals during its first 100 years of existence, Mt. Lebanon Golf Course begins its second century of existence without any.
That's because Mt. Lebanon, a tidy nine-hole municipal layout that celebrated its 100th anniversary last summer, hired Dave Boal, a non-PGA professional, to be the golf-course manager in charge of running the day-to-day operations of the facility.
Link: www.post-gazette.com/pg/08057/860471-136.stm
That's because Mt. Lebanon, a tidy nine-hole municipal layout that celebrated its 100th anniversary last summer, hired Dave Boal, a non-PGA professional, to be the golf-course manager in charge of running the day-to-day operations of the facility.
Link: www.post-gazette.com/pg/08057/860471-136.stm
Labels: dave boal, golf course, matthew cluck
8 Comments:
Any chance of us ever getting an 18 hole course in Mt Lebo? There is some room for expansion at the current course but its probably not enough.
This is unfortunate news for Mt. Lebanon and its large population of golfers. Matt Kluck and Wally Grant had over 70 years of dedicated service to the golf course. 70 years! Matt began working at the golf course long before Wally's unfortunate passing in 1983. Both men represent everything that is great about the game and both are true gentlemen. I had the opportunity to meet both of them at a young age, and had the privilege of working for both men when I was employed by the golf course during high school and college. I am proud to say that Wally and Matt each had a role in shaping who I am today.
Wally was one of the game's great ambassadors. He was the classic 1950's golf pro with the perpetual tan and vice grips for hands. Much like Cary Grant or someone similar, he had a "cool" way about him, but he was no softie. No matter how close I became to him over the years, he was always "Mr. Grant". He would mesmerize me with stories about playing in the U.S. Open and competing against legends like Ben Hogan and Sam Snead. To a 16 year old completely in love with the game of golf, Wally was a god.
Unfortunately, in the age of Tiger Woods where seemingly everyone plays golf, and the equipment fads change daily, professionals like Wally are few and far between. Today, there seems to be far more emphasis on buying the newest titanium driver and less on learning the true lessons of the game. Wally was a stickler for etiquette, and he was not afraid to remind even the most experienced golfer to mind the unwritten rules of the game. What I wouldn't give to have my boys learn this great sport from Wally.
We were incredibly fortunate to have Matt pick up where Wally left off. After all, Matt had the good fortune of being groomed by such an excellent professional. During my many 16 hour days at the golf course, Matt was a wonderful teacher, a great boss and a true friend. I am proud to call him my friend today.
Most residents are not aware that Matt has been at the top of his field for many years. Matt is one of fewer than 50 professionals in the United States to complete a Specialty Certification Program in teaching conducted by the PGA. He has also completed the oral and written criteria to earn the distinguished Certified PGA Teaching Professional designation. Twice Matt has been voted the PGA Teacher Of the Year in the Tri-State section, and in 1999 and again in 2000 he was recipient of the Horton Smith Award for outstanding contributions to golf education.
In my experiences with Matt, he has only ever wanted what is best for our golf course and the game. Matt has fought for increased funding for the golf course, and through these efforts we have been able to not just maintain but IMPROVE one of the assets that makes Mt. Lebanon truly a unique community. Matt, I never had the chance to thank Wally for his efforts, so I would not want to miss this opportunity to thank you for all you have done for Mt. Lebanon.
One final thought - I would often venture up to the golf course alone in the evening to squeeze in a few holes before dark. On one occasion, I met up with Matt and we raced to get a couple more holes out of a great Summer night. We made our way to No. 3 (now No. 1), and teed it up on the Back Tee (that unfortunately no longer exists). It played to about 175 yds. Matt absolutely puréed a 6 iron that drew perfectly towards the pin as if it were on rails. We both knew it was a great shot . . . so great that nothing needed to be said. It landed on the green, rolled about 5 feet and disappeared into the cup. An ace! The first one I had ever seen, and still - by far - the best one I have ever seen.
Matt, I wouldn't trade my wonderful experiences in golf for anything in the world, and I have you and Wally to thank for keeping me interested in the game. Cheers!
"Over the past decade, the leisure activity most closely associated with corporate success in America has been in a kind of recession.
The total number of people who play has declined or remained flat each year since 2000, dropping to about 26 million from 30 million, according to the National Golf Foundation and the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association.
More troubling to golf boosters, the number of people who play 25 times a year or more fell to 4.6 million in 2005 from 6.9 million in 2000, a loss of about a third."
(quotations from The New York Times).
Part of the problem is cost, and right now, Mt. Lebanon doesn't have that problem. It's cheap to play there.
But what are the usage statistics for the Mt. Lebanon Golf Course?
How many rounds per year?
How many different players per year?
Is this an amenity that's a luxury enjoyed by relatively few residents, or a resource offering opportunity that a broad swath of the community takes advantage of?
Or something in the middle?
Mike, I'd say it is probably in the middle.
The golf course used to see about 25,000 rounds a year, but there is some more recent data available from the Commission sub-committee that studied its operations a couple of years ago.
It would also be safe to assume that many rounds are played by repeat customers, but I'm sure the same can be said of the tennis courts. For example, you can probably find the same 4 people occupying the same tennis court on a Wednesday night at 7 PM from week to week.
Since I sense yet another round of golf course bashing coming up, I think to be fair you must ask the same questions about all of the amenities in Mt. Lebanon . . . from the library, to the pool, to tennis courts, to the ice rink. I think if you polled the residents about their use of each facility, you would find that many residents use some and not all, some probably use one and not the others, and still some use none of them. I doubt we have too many residents that use all of these facilities on a regular basis.
Is it a privilege? Absolutely. Is there a cost associated with recreational diversity? Most definitely.
However, I think those of us who have remained in Mt. Lebanon for so long, and those who have selected Mt. Lebanon more recently, have done so (at least in part) because of the variety of recreational opportunities.
I don't mean to bash the golf course, only to raise questions that seem timely in light of the recent news regarding the pro.
I agree that comparable data regarding other resources should be shared. Data on usage should be taken into account when funding and expansion/contraction decisions are on the table. The data should not be determinative, but it should be considered.
There's a connection between public subsidies for these recreation resources and the earlier discussion about selling sponsorships for those resources. Who pays, and who benefits? I have no problem with selling sponsorships for athletic fields and even some features of public parks. Part of the question in both cases is quality of life, and symbolic, but part of the question is also dollars and cents.
As someone who grew up in Mt. Lebo, but has since moved away many years ago, I really enjoy your blog. Every time I come for a visit, memories of Beverly Road, Lebo Park, etc. come back. Good times, indeed. As someone with some experience in the hyperlocal online world, I really think your blog is a great example of utilizing self publishing and local knowledge to create a great online experience.
Now to the point, during my Mt. Lebonan days, like Dave Franklin I too was a former regular at Mt. Lebanon golf course. I share many of Dave's sentiments re: Matt Kluck. Matt not only is a great teacher, but during his tenure at the course it was always maintained well. And even more importantly, Matt made it a welcoming place for players of all ages and abilities.
By the way, don't let Dave fool you, the greatest hole in one he ever saw was the one he himself hit in 1984 at Ponderosa...at least it was the greatest one I ever saw....
If Mt Lebo's golf course was a true 18 hole course I don't think we would be having this discussion. Cranberry Highlands sounds like it has been a huge success and, as this CNNsi suggests, municipal courses and still thrive.
The South Hills could use a new mid-priced course. We already have South Park, which is very reasonably priced, but also packed on the weekends.
As for some of Mike's questions on usage, when I lived in the city I used to come out to play after I got tired of Schenley park, which is really cheap and a good place for beginners. Mt Lebo is also relatively cheap and its much nicer than Schenley, but thats not saying much. Mt Lebo is also the course where the beginners from the area go to play, and worse - the slow players (my good friend is one of them). I'm not knocking beginners, but if a golf course wants to be considered great it needs to expand, increase the quality of the course, and hike up the prices.
From the 2006 Municipal Annual Financial Report, after averaging 97-98 and 05-06 (to smooth out spikes) rounds are down 26% over the 10 year period to about 23,000 for the recent two year average.
If we recover the revenue of the lost 8,000 rounds at $20 (9 holes + cart), this incremental revenue would support capital improvements of about $2.0 million. Which is close to the anticipated cost of the proposed improvements.
The course was about breakeven in 2006, so we should be in good shape - if we get back the 8,000 rounds.
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