Minneapolis Park Board moves toward final vote on future of Hiawatha Golf Course

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board will hold a final vote on the $60 million Hiawatha Golf Course Area Master Plan after it passed a committee hearing Wednesday night.

More than 40 people spoke, many of them filled with passion as their made their arguments — 50 written statements were also read. Some speakers went longer than their one-minute time limit — several of the wide-ranging opinions were followed by applause and cheering.

The full park board will hold their final vote on Sept. 7.

The plan was defeated by the previous Park Board in 2021.

The board is proposing 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.

One speaker Wednesday night was Bill English, a Black man who has called Minneapolis home for many years. No matter how the committee vote went, English said he’s ready to continue his fight to make sure the course stays the way it is.  

“If you can put a man on the moon, you can figure out how to protect the water and give us an 18-hole golf course that we deserve,” English urged the park board committee while getting applauded from supporters behind him.

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.