Driving and putting for dough

Golf receipts at the two Ozaukee County-owned golf courses are off to a record start in 2025, earning $607,495 in revenue through May this year compared to $585,240 over the beginning of the season last year.

That’s even though the number of golfers is down slightly, with 15,440 players through May compared to 16,775 golfers through May 2024.

Of the two courses, Mee-Kwon in Mequon drew 8,946 golfers, generating $342,800, compared to Hawthorne Hills Golf Course in the Town of Saukville’s 6,494 golfers and $264,694.

The county raised fees this year, but county Planning and Parks Director Andrew Struck said the increased revenue is also due to improvements in the clubhouse, as well as longer hours due to the indoor simulators that were available through the winter months.

“They (the simulators) don’t count as rounds of golf,” he said.

The increases are even more remarkable, he said, when one considers that the start date at Hawthorne was a month later this year than last, April 11 this year vs. March 11 in 2024. 

In addition, work on installing a new irrigation system at Hawthorne Hills began this spring.

Last year was a record year for the courses, generating $2.95 million, half a million dollars more than in 2023.

In recent years, the county has implemented a gift card system, online IDs, more golf cart rentals and stabilized the vendor services in the clubhouse.

The golf courses are county “enterprise” operations, meaning net revenue raised goes back into the courses for maintenance or to make improvements. They are not supported by the property tax levy.

The courses were able to contribute $100,000 from those profits to support the county budget in 2025.

Plans call for continued improvements to the courses, including reconstruction of the greens on holes No. 2 and 7 at Hawthorne Hills this fall.

That project is budgeted for $292,856.The county also has purchased two new beverage carts for the courses at a combined cost of $30,810.

In April, county officials voted to spend nearly half a million dollars to buy 120 new golf carts, some of which have already arrived, Struck said.