Our mission
Portland Parks Golf Mission
Established in 1918, Portland Parks Golf has a robust history as a core recreational offering for the City of Portland and its residents. In recent years as a multi-course system, over 330,000 rounds of golf are played on Portland Parks’ courses each year. At each of our sites, we take great pride in providing both public and private events, competitions, and lessons from our phenomenal instructors. Our facilities also host several member clubs who play our courses on a weekly basis.
The golf system’s mission is to support the Portland community’s overall health and wellness by making Portland Parks public golf courses accessible to people of all backgrounds. In order to promote a feeling of community, we are dedicated to fostering a friendly and inclusive atmosphere. We want to encourage and equip people to use our public courses and appreciate the surrounding natural beauty through community participation and education.
- Municipal golf courses provide affordable access to golfers regardless of socioeconomic status.
- We offer variable green fee rate structures which provide multiple pricing options in order to accommodate all users.
- Each one of our courses has a free practicing chipping & putting green, this provides a perfect space for golfers of all skill levels to practice their game.
- Our maintenance crews are committed to maintaining the highest quality of course conditions, enhancing everyone’s recreational experience.
How is Portland Parks Golf Funded?
Portland Parks Golf is an enterprise fund. There are no tax dollars involved; user fees – which include facility revenues such as green fees, cart fees, driving range fees, food & beverage sales, etc. –fund all operating expenses. Any earnings over expenses remain in the fund for future years and improvements. The golf fund’s reserve enables it to prepare for course investments, maintenance, as well as weather-related revenue disruptions. Like any other business, in order to keep up with inflation and other cost pressures, periodic fee increases are implemented when needed. However, golf’s mission is to remain affordable for the community, so these increases are normally very nominal from year to year.
Portland Parks Golf courses are maintained by city employees of Portland parks staff, while the clubhouse and service operations are managed by KemperSports and its staff. KemperSports is a third-party golf management company with a long history in municipal golf management across the United States. The company has been a strategic partner and operator of some of Portland Park’s courses since 2008.