Bear Creek Golf Course

Detailed description of Bear Creek Golf Course

Bear Creek Golf Course first opened in 1947 as a 9-hole golf course. The course has been expanded to 18-holes.

This 18 hole, par 71 golf course offers an exciting variety of holes and scenic beauty unsurpassed in the North Iowa area. This course requires accuracy for scoring well. The greens are small, and the fairways are narrow. There is water that comes into play on two holes.

Bear Creek Golf Club plays to a par-72 and measures 6,575 yards. The course rating is 71.3 with a slope rating of 123.

Bear Creek is open to the public and with four sets of tees to choose from, the course can be enjoyed by all golfers.

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From the Mason City, Iowa Globe Gazette:

Forest City, Iowa Purchasing Bear Creek Run Golf Course

Saturday, 05 March 2011 09:53

The Forest City Council on Monday approved a purchase contract and management contract for the Bear Creek Run Golf Course in the southeast part of town.

The city will buy the 18-hole course for $250,000 over 10 years. The first $150,000 will be paid this year and then $10,000 per year after that.

A new non-profit organization called Bear Creek Run Golf Club Inc. will operate the golf course and its facilities including the club house.

Representatives of the city and Bear Creek have been working on management and purchase agreements for several weeks. The sale should be final soon, city officials said.

The privately owned course has had financial difficulties, Bear Creek representatives said.

The sale to the city will eliminate about $30,000 a year the course currently pays in property taxes, helping it operate in the black, Bear Creek representative John Roisen has said.

Not all those at Monday's meeting favored the purchase.

Former Mayor Paul Jefson said buying the golf course was not a good idea, and the city's desire to maintain a "quality-of-life" amenity in the city was not enough reason.

"If another business gets into trouble, is the city going to bail them out because of quality-of-life issues?" he asked.

"We are buying a golf course worth considerably more than what we are paying for it," Councilman Rich Honsey said. "The risk to the city is nothing."

If the management organization does not meet certain financial standards the city can end the relationship and sell the course for more than $250,000 or find another operator, Honsey said.

Councilman Ron Holland said he struggled with the question, but, "I think it's a good decision to do it."