Tribes see top-notch golf as a good bet with casinos

By Brian Bakst

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

local angle

Among the 50 tribal-owned golf courses in the country, Arizona tribes lead in the United States, with eight courses found on reservations throughout the state.

Located mostly in metro Phoenix, the golf courses include those for the public and guests staying at nearby resorts and casinos.

Tribe: The Cocopah Indian Tribe

Course name: Cocopah RV and Golf Resort, an 18-hole resort course built in 1988 that is part of the Cocopah Casino. Located at 6800 Strand Ave. in Yuma.

Tribe: Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation

Course name: WeKoPa Golf Club. Offers two courses with 36 holes, built in 2001. Located at 18200 East Toh Vee Circle in Fountain Hills, northeast of Phoenix.

Tribe: Gila River Indian Community

Course name: Whirlwind Golf Club. Offers two courses with 36 holes, built in 2002 as part of the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass resort and casino. Located at 5692 North Loop Road in Chandler.

Tribe: Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community

Course name: Talking Stick Golf Club, a 36-hole course built in 1997, located on the reservation, at 9998 E. Indian Bend Road.

Course name: Cypress Golf Club, an 18-hole course built in 1963. Part of Casino Arizona in Scottsdale. Located at 10801 E. McDowell Road.

Tribe: San Carlos Apache Tribe

Course name: Apache Stronghold Golf Course, an 18-hole resort course built in 1999. Part of the Apache Gold Casino Resort in San Carlos, along Arizona 70, five miles east of Globe.

MORTON, Minn. — Dacotah Ridge Golf Club sits deep inside Minnesota farm country, far from any four-lane highways and surrounded by towns with tiny populations.

But the remote location hasn't kept golfers from flocking to test their skills against the stiff winds, rolling hills and demanding greens at the club, whose owner, the Lower Sioux Indian Community, just happens to operate the Jackpot Junction Casino Hotel a few miles up the road.

In Minnesota and elsewhere, American Indian tribes that have mastered the casino gambling trade are increasingly venturing into the golf course business.

"The native tribes that own casinos are realizing that you have to have something more than just a casino to bring guests in," said Henry Boulley, a member of Michigan's Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa and the organizer of the Native American Cup golf tournament.

"When Native American tribes put up a course next to their resort, they don't put up just a run-of-the-mill course," he added. "They put up a really spectacular course."

There are more than 50 tribal-owned courses in 16 states, and another 20 or so are planned, according to KlasRobinson Q.E.D., a consulting firm that works with tribes. More than half are situated near casinos.

The building boom has been recent, with at least 40 percent of them constructed since the turn of the century.

Last spring, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation opened a highly touted 36-hole golf complex — one private course and one for the general public — adjacent to its Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut.

In February, the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe rolled out a plan for a $400 million casino and golf resort in central New York.

Next month, the first full season of play opens at The Meadows of Mystic Lake Golf Course owned by Minnesota's Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, which runs one of the Midwest's largest casinos.

Golf and tribal casinos mix well, said Sean Hoolehan, the president of the 21,000-member Golf Course Superintendents Association of America. Hoolehan knows that well as superintendent of the Wildhorse Resort and Casino on the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon.

"Gamblers aren't necessarily golfers, but golfers are generally gamblers," Hoolehan said. "It's a good bet that when you bring in golf groups you'll get some of them to spend time in the other facilities."