Can the La Porte City Golf Course Be Saved?

Last week we learned about the unfortunate plans to close the La Porte City golf course. The announcement was made on the La Porte City Golf Club's Facebook page which left very little room for hope of the course remaining open. However, residents in La Porte City, the state of Iowa, and other parts of the country have been fighting to keep it open.

When the initial announcement was made that the course was planning on closing on September 10th, the owners did mention they were open to suggestions on how to keep the course open but hadn't found any ideas that made sense. It turns out, that a lot of people are doing what they can to help the course.

$400,000 needs to be raised before September 10th, for the course to remain open. KCRG spoke to two Iowans who have been recruiting pledges from anyone who's willing to help out.

Matt Craft told KCRG he's been golfing at the La Porte City Country Club for a long time.

I’ve been a member here for a long time, ever since I was a kid. My parents have been members here for a long time, and my grandparents have been members here for a long time.

Corey Lorenzen said there were a lot of people who didn't want to see the course go.

There was an outpouring of a desire to try and coordinate efforts to save the golf course in one form or another.

This hasn't been an effort put forth by only people from Iowa. They both have seen heavy donations from people in different parts of the country. Craft told KCRG donations have been coming in from people all over the United States.

They might be living in Colorado, Washington, Minneapolis, wherever and they’ve said, ‘I don’t live there, I don’t play golf, but I’ve got 500 to 1000 dollars to put toward the asking price.

I'm someone who loves the game of golf. I'm really hoping Corey and Matt, and any Iowan who enjoys the La Porte City golf course, are able to raise the money needed to keep the course around. Both of my parents grew up in a small town and on the weekends it always felt like people were either out hunting or out at the golf course.

Anything to keep the game growing and keeping local golf courses available is good for the game of golf. On the La Porte City Golf Club Facebook page, there are tons of comments from people talking about the great memories they've had and how much fun they've had playing there. Hopefully, La Porte City golfers can keep making new memories. We should find out by September 10th.