The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board is holding a public hearing Wednesday for residents to voice their opinions about the $60 million Hiawatha Golf Course Area Master Plan.
The plan was defeated by the previous Park Board in 2021.
The board is proposing that the course be cut in half, reducing it from 18 holes to nine.
Some Hiawatha golfers explained the course is widely used in the community and the proposed plan would affect many people.
“I started a golf program for youth out of Minneapolis McCray Park, and this is our first season and to lose this will be a real heartbreak,” Hiawatha golfer Jesse Dolinar said.
Dolinar has been teeing it up on the golf course for the last three decades. He said the Hiawatha Golf Course plays a key role in his game.
“This course gets a lot of play between the practice range and people golfing. Eighteen holes to drop it down to nine would be a significant loss,” he said.
Many Black residents and golfers are against reducing the golf course in half because they said it’s taking away from a historic staple that’s been in Minneapolis for decades.
The course is tied to the fight for civil rights when famous Black golfer Solomon Hughes convinced the course to end its segregation policies in 1948.
At recent meetings, the park board has been divided over finding the best way to prevent flooding and high water problems at Hiawatha.
Some board members said shrinking the golf course would allow them to put environmental changes in place to stop the pumping of millions of gallons of groundwater into Lake Hiawatha every year.
“I know there’s a delicate balance between environment and golf,” golfer John Glacer said.
Some Hiawatha golfers explained it’s a tough problem to navigate.
“I love the location of the course. I think it could be in a little bit better condition when we play, but I’d rather play an 18-hole course if you ask me,” Glacer said.
The MPRB Planning Committee will vote on whether to advance the master plan to the full board following Wednesday’s public hearing.