Mark Klatte hopes to bring his greens keeping experience to some major improvements at the Clarks Grove Golf Course.

Saturday, September 01, 2001

Mark Klatte hopes to bring his greens keeping experience to some major improvements at the Clarks Grove Golf Course.

Klatte purchased the course Aug. 15. He is also the co-owner of Arrowhead Golf Course in Emmons.

&uot;I think it’s in a good location, but the greens need to be improved,&uot; he said of his new property. &uot;But that’s where my experience can go to work.&uot;

Klatte grew up in the golf course business. His family owned Elm Creek Golf Links of Plymouth, and he was a greenskeeper at age 17. His twin brother, Mike, actually studied greens keeping at Penn State University, and still owns half of the family business.

So between the two of them. he said they are usually able to figure out what needs to be done to have the best greens possible on a course. If they can’t, they are members of the National Golf Course Superintendents’ Association, and attend meetings through the association which keep them up to date as well as provide networking opportunities.

What’s more, Klatte has played a lot of golf, so he knows what golfers like in a course. &uot;I used to play in a lot of tournaments when I was younger,&uot; he said.

The Clarks Grove Golf Course, which was built in the 1970s according to real estate broker Hugh O’Byrne, is an executive nine-hole course with three short par-fours. &uot;It’s a great course for kids to learn how to play, for women, and for anybody who just wants to play nine holes,&uot; Klatte said. &uot;It’s an affordable place for whole families to play golf.&uot;

People come from beyond Faribault to play the course now. &uot;I think once we get the greens in shape we’ll be drawing from that far all the time,&uot; he said. &uot;We’re right off the freeway and we’re close to Albert Lea.&uot;

Klatte said he hopes to get the leagues back next year. He’s also got riding carts available for those who need them.

&uot;We want to cater to the public’s needs,&uot; he added.

People have been pleased with what he’s done at Arrowhead (also a nine-hole course) in improving the course since he purchased it in the spring of 1998, Klatte said. &uot;It’s completely staffed, and it’s now doing as well as it’s ever done,&uot; he said, adding eventually he hopes to get the kitchen opened up there.

&uot;I plan to get this one in shape like Arrowhead,&uot; he said.

The Clarks Grove Golf Course clubhouse is open from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. seven days a week, but people can start golfing earlier than that, the owner said. &uot;There’s a pay box and scorecards if they get here early in the morning,&uot; he said.

The course will be open until the snow flies.