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Todd Kueppers is excited about the changes being made at the Chisago Lakes Golf Course and wastes no time telling everyone about it. His goal is to make a day at the golf course enjoyable for all ages and abilities.

Kueppers has been the general manager and golf professional at the course for six years. He had many ideas on how to improve the course, driving range and facilities when he came on board, but it took the hiring of superintendent Brian Brown in 2003 to really put the wheels in motion.

Brown has been a tremendous asset for the course, Kueppers said. “He can do a lot himself instead of hiring it out,” Kueppers said.

Kueppers said it’s important that the two work well together and have the same goals in mind for the course.

“We have the same kinds of ideas of what to work on,” he said. “What I try to do is make it run as smooth as I can for him to be able to get things done.”

Right now, Brown is working on leveling a hill on the driving range. Before this, golfers wouldn’t be able to see where some of their shots landed. The hill has now been leveled and re-seeded. The soil taken out was then moved and used for a tee box project to improve the grass at all the tees.

Brown re-worked the green on hole #9 by adding a bunker in front of the green. The grass was stripped and used to start the tee box project. To save money on the bunker project, Brown was able to take some extra sand from other bunkers on the course instead of purchasing new sand. “Installing the bunker cost $200 instead of $2,000. It’s also a perfect example of how Brian utilizes everything here,” Kueppers said.

The staff has also been working on improving fairways and greens on the course by adding more irrigation heads. It is also a way to make sure water is used more efficiently on the course. “Water use is something golf courses get a bad rap for, but it’s something we pay attention to,” Kueppers said.

In the last two years, Kueppers estimates at least 40 trees have been added on the course. In places some larger trees were cut down because they were impeding golfer’s views of their drives, while in other spots trees were added to give the course a nicer look. “Sometimes courses can be boring without enough trees,” Kueppers said.

On hole #14 for example, the dog leg to the left was completely hidden behind a corner of trees. Brown and Kueppers worked to re-design the edge of the fairway by taking out some of the trees, pruning others and cleaning out the underbrush, “so that people at least have a chance of finding their ball if it goes in there,” Kuepper said.

The new design of the par 5 hole gives golfers a better comfort level for their first and second shots. “Now they have a chance to hit a longer club because they can see where it’s going to go,” Kueppers said.

There are many other things Brown is working on to keep the course in shape and Kueppers is pleased with how much it has improved in the last two years. He is also careful not to work his new superintendent too hard. “There are things that will take time – we don’t want him to get burned out,” he said.

Aesthetics are also an important element to the improvements at the course. The tee box at hole #17 was enlarged and landscaping with a decorative wall and a flower garden was added below the tee. Several fast-growing trees were planted in front of the machine shed in the middle of the course so the shed will be virtually out of sight in a few years.

Kueppers said Brown will be working extensively to improve the red (women’s) tees on the course, with new grass and larger tee boxes.

A very long-term goal for Kueppers is to do something with the swampy area next to hole #14. It has a large enough island in the middle that he envisions someday having a green in the center. “That’s a far-off goal,” Kueppers said.

For now, Brown and Kueppers have enough priority projects to last this season. One of the most noticeable endeavors is construction of a new 1,100 square-foot pro shop. The shop is being constructed off the south end of the building so it will overlook the course. The current pro shop is in the lower level on the north end of the building, with no view of the course at all.

The new pro shop will include an outdoor patio that wraps around to connect to the existing deck of The Gallery restaurant, adding more outdoor dining space.

Crews just started moving the air conditioning and wiring to prepare for construction last week. The entire project should take about 3 to 4 months, Kueppers said. “It will be nice because it will put the whole operation on one level,” Kueppers said. “It will make it much more convenient for golfers.”

Kueppers knows that people want to have fun when they come to the course, but they also typically can’t afford to spend all day there. “We’re working to try and keep things moving and get people out there,” he said. “Time is the new money – we want to create a fun atmosphere but at the same time we know that people have other things they need to do, so wer’re always working on the pace of play.”

Kueppers makes sure he golfs the course often to notice how the improvements being made are affecting play and to take note of what else should be done. He is also excited that the course now offers video instruction with golf lessons so golfers can see what their swing looks like and try to improve it.

By the start of the season next spring, the course will be totally turned around – literally. Kueppers said they will switch the front nine and back nine around, so that hole #10 – now located next to the parking lot – will become hole #1 and be closer to the new pro shop. The switch will make it easier for employees to keep an eye on the first tee when sending out golfers and also speed things up on the back nine, Kueppers said.

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