No Gimmes For Area’s Youth Golfers Public Courses No Longer Offer Free Play To Washington Junior Golf Association

Spokane’s top young golfers are about to learn a lesson tougher than the 16th hole at MeadowWood: There’s no such thing as free play.

Not on Spokane’s public courses.

Not anymore.

Spokane County commissioners decided this week that a state law interpreted differently in other communities forces them to charge the Washington Junior Golf Association to use Liberty Lake Golf Course for its district championship in July.

The tournament would cost the association $1,600 - $8 a day for each of the 100 competitors. That’s the county’s standard fee for young golfers.

The city of Spokane offered one of its courses for half that cost, local organizer Steve Prugh said.

Neither offer sounds good to Prugh and other WJGA officials, who say they’ve never paid to use any of the state’s public or private courses. The nonprofit organization, which is dedicated to getting kids involved in the sport, has held tournaments in Spokane and elsewhere since the mid-1970s.

“In the Inland Empire, we’ve used every golf course and we’ve never had to pay,” said Prugh, the head golf professional at Manito Golf & Country Club.

Three privately owned courses and the University of Idaho are hosting qualifying tournaments. None of them are charging. Prugh’s club hosts the WJGA state championship once every six years.

Prugh said he may have to accept the city’s offer because he doesn’t have time to lobby other courses for free use. His deadline is Friday for getting tournament brochures to the printer.

A state law designed to prevent favoritism and corruption prohibits local governments from giving away anything for which they normally charge.

While some legislators say it wasn’t their intent, county attorneys have interpreted the law to mean the county must charge nonprofit groups for use of county facilities. The county can provide a discount as long as it covers its own expenses, attorneys advise.

“I’m the first one to step up and say, ‘Support youth,’ but we can’t waive (golf fees),” said County Commissioner Phil Harris, a former Boy Scout executive.

In addition to the legal issue, commissioners said letting the tournament golfers play for free wouldn’t be fair to paying golfers. Greens fees, not county taxes, pay for the courses and their upkeep, and commissioners recently raised the fees to pay for much-needed repairs.

The county would lose at least $1,300 during the tournament because other golfers couldn’t use the course, said Fran Boxer, the county’s assistant chief administrative officer.

The Spokane championship is one of five district tournaments statewide. The best golfers from each will compete in a state championship in Bellingham.

WJGA golfers between the ages of 8 and 17 who survive qualifying tournaments pay $25 apiece to play in the district championships, said WJGA Executive Director Jerry Fehr. The money covers association and tournament expenses, and provides lunches for the golfers.

Fehr said his organization probably won’t charge Spokane competitors more than those in other regions because, “it wouldn’t be fair to those (Spokane) kids.” But he worries about finding more sponsors to cover the added cost.

Fehr also worries about the future of youth golf, even as superstar Tiger Woods is leading record numbers of kids to the sport. More and more frequently, courses are turning down WJGA requests for free play, Fehr said. Until now, the association was always able to find a free alternative course.

“The thing that keeps us going is that we don’t pay greens fees. If we have to pay greens fees, it’s a serious problem,” Fehr said.

The county policy against gifting first affected business at the Spokane Interstate Fairgrounds, where in 1996 the county started charging youth groups and other nonprofit groups for events. Organizers of the Junior Livestock Show paid $18,000 to use the fairgrounds last year.

Some agricultural groups say the policy is forcing them to look to other counties or private facilities to host their events.

High school golf teams pay nothing to use county golf courses. But that’s only because their schools allow the county to use their gyms and baseball diamonds for recreational league sports, said Boxer, who noted the schools typically use the courses when few other golfers are out.

, DataTimes