Letter prompts city to form golf course advisory committee

The City of Rhinelander is moving ahead with the creation of a golf course advisory committee after a number of members and regular players submitted a “letter of concern” to city administrator Patrick Reagan and the common council regarding the direction of the city-owned Northwood Golf Club.

The council discussed the letter, dated July 20, during its Aug. 14 meeting.

“We are providing this correspondence due to concerns about the direction the Northwood Golf Course leadership is taking,” the letter reads. “We see the negative impact the course has suffered with the recent change in staffing at the course. We can provide some specific details, our feeling about the course and its play/revenue to date and provide some recommendations about possible changes to help the course continue to survive in a competitive golf industry.”

According to the letter, the course had 93 members providing regular play and revenues in 2022. Forty-two members switched course memberships to the Pinewood Golf Course this year, the letter said.

In addition, three leagues moved from Northwood to Pinewood and at least 10 golf outings moved from Northwood to other courses.

The letter notes that the “city council has little regular personal exposure to the course as its leaders don’t spend time at the course to feel the effects of the decisions that have been made.”

“We think Oliphant (Golf Management, the firm that manages the course for the city) has not made the best decisions/recommendations to help the course survive,” the letter concludes. “A return to previous leadership would be helpful or a new leadership team or management plan is needed. We want to see our city’s golf course remain viable. We recommend a golf course committee of regular players and members be appointed to help provide guidance to the council for future decisions.”

The letter was signed by approximately 80 individuals. One of the signatories also spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting, expressing many of the same points set forth in the letter.

The council discussion on the proposed advisory committee consisted primarily of alderpersons insisting that no council members should be appointed to serve on the panel. It was unclear what prompted that particular concern as no one suggested the committee should include anyone other than Northwood members and players.

Also on the agenda for the council’s Aug. 14 meeting was a presentation from Justin Fox, regional manager for Oliphant Golf Management.

Fox acknowledged some members have left the club, and the organizers of some of the annual golf outings chose to bring their events to different courses this last year, but noted that some of the annual golf outings routinely move from course to course. 

He also stated that Northwood would be focused on winning back the members who left. 

A copy of Fox’s presentation is available on the city website as part of the Aug. 14 meeting materials.

During the discussion, it was disclosed that former Northwood manager/pro Kyle Christian was terminated by Oliphant in February and now manages the Pinewood Country Club in Cassian.

City Council president Eileen Daniel and alderman Steven Jopek pressed Fox for information as to Christian’s separation from Oliphant but Fox stated that he could not discuss personnel issues.

Because his move from Northwood to Pinewood was referenced in the “letter of concern” submitted to the city, the River News reached out to Christian for comment. 

He sent the following statement published below verbatim.

“When I came to Northwood Golf Club as General Manager/ PGA Professional, I was told my priority was to grow the golf operations and make Northwood a profitable business. Northwood was coming off some difficult financial years. During my five years at Northwood, we more than doubled the membership base. We also added a lot of League players and booked a lot of outings and events. As a result, revenue doubled and we became profitable. I really enjoyed my time at Northwood. The people from Rhinelander were outstanding and a big part of our success at Northwood.

Last fall, I had a very constructive meeting with the mayor and a prominent City Council member. We discussed the future of Northwood. The two options we discussed were a possible Sale or Lease option for Northwood. I have always had a goal of owning my own golf course. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Golf Management with a Minor in Business. We discussed that a Sale would involve the normal Sale process of a business and I was very willing to write an offer for fair market value for the golf operations. I understood it would be a negotiation with the City. The Lease option would provide a monthly revenue stream to the City while I would oversee the golf operations. I felt these were two strong options to continue the progress we made over five years. We even discussed meeting with the City Council in a closed session to present these two options. The mayor decided not to move in this direction as he never followed up. His focus seemed to be on the non-revenue Winter activities at Northwood. My focus as a General Manager/PGA Professional was to continue the positive direction for golf operations and continue to provide a great golf experience for the residents and visitors of Rhinelander.

In January, Justin Fox from Oliphant came to Northwood and terminated my employment. He would not explain the reason. The only thing he said was “I was no longer a fit for the City and Northwood Golf Club.” As a new management company for the city, Oliphant decided to bring in their own management. I noticed from the August 14th meeting documents, their Profit and Loss statement thru July showed a loss of Net Income.

Within one day of leaving Northwood, Pinewood Country Club contacted me and I accepted a position to oversee the golf operations at Pinewood. Pinewood Country Club is 14 miles from Northwood. Ernie Rose, owner of Pinewood, has been outstanding to work with and 2023 will be a record year at Pinewood. I need to thank the Pinewood Country Club members for making me feel welcome. There were also 43 Members, 76 League players and 10 outings that followed me from Northwood Golf Club to Pinewood. My entire Pro Shop staff, Head Chef, bartenders, and beverage cart staff also came to Pinewood CC. I was overwhelmed by their support and am thankful to all of them. I love living in the Rhinelander area. I bought a home in Rhinelander and was married last year. Rhinelander is a special place to live and the main reason is the people of Rhinelander.”

After receiving Christian’s statement, the River News offered Mayor Kris Hanus and Fox an opportunity to respond.

“We are not going to comment on any HR (human resources) questions about Kyle,” Fox told the River News via email.  “As far as the proposed special golf committee, we are committed to aligning with the goals of the City Administrator and the Mayor about the future of Northwood Golf Club. That has been a high priority for us since we started in 2022 and we will continue to focus on that. We would welcome anyone who aligns with the goals of the City of Rhinelander and the future of Northwood Golf Club.”

For his part, Hanus noted that Christian was an employee of Oliphant not the city. The city pays Oliphant to manage the course and make all decisions related to the hiring and firing of employees, he added.

 He stated that Oliphant advised the city of the management change, as a courtesy, but the city played no role in the matter. 

As for the meeting last fall, Hanus said he understood Christian’s proposal but does not believe selling the course would be a prudent move for the city, in part because the proceeds from a sale would not go to the city. 

Hanus said it is his understanding that the proceeds of any sale of the course, if a sale is even legally permissible, would go to Wausau Paper Company, or whatever corporate entity survives Wausau Paper Company, as the land was originally donated to the city by Wausau Paper in the 1980s with a specific restriction requiring that it be used as a public golf course. 

Ahlstrom-Munksjo is the current owner of the Rhinelander Paper Mill. It acquired the mill from Expera Specialty Solutions in 2018. A private equity firm called KPS Capital Partners L.P. acquired the specialty paper business from Wausau Paper in 2013 and named it Expera.

There is also the matter of the land donation made by Dr. Lee Swank last year. That property, approximately 416 acres, is located near the course and is in the process of being developed as a silent sports recreational area. 

“I think this is going to be the crown jewel of Rhinelander’s outdoor recreation facilities in the future, it might be 20 years (before it comes to fruition), it might be 30,” Hanus noted. He said the advisory committee would be a productive way for the city council and administration to receive feedback from players and members. Five to seven members seems like a good number and he looks forward to making appointments, he added.

“We will be collecting names of people that are interested in serving on this committee and I will be forwarding these to the Mayor so that he can make the appointments,”  Reagan told the newspaper.

To watch the council meeting, visit www.hodagtv.com. 

Heather Schaefer may be reached at [email protected].