Golden Valley’s Brookview Golf Course Receives $19K Grant for Tree Restoration

Brookview Golf Course in Golden Valley offers options for players of all skill levels.

“We have an 18 hole regulation golf course, a nine hole par three course, and a driving range,” says Golf Course Superintendent Brian Haley.

But Haley says playing at the city-owned course has felt different these last few years, as the emerald ash borer has forced the removal of hundreds of diseased ash trees.

“The golf course is designed to have the trees on it as part of the challenge,” says Haley. “So having lost a lot of trees, has kind of changed the way the golf course plays from its original intention.”

Brookview once had around 400 ash trees, making up roughly 30 percent of its total tree canopy.

Now, the landscape is drastically changed.

A Changing Canopy

“I want to say we have about 45 left, so 350 ash trees we’ve cut down, in the last four winters and a couple over the summertime,” says Haley.

Initially, for every three ash trees taken down, staff strategically planted one replacement, focusing heavily on species variety.

“We’re doing a wide variety. We’ve done oak trees, maple trees, coffee trees, ironwood trees, buckeye trees, elm trees. We’ve done some birch trees,” says Haley.

Grant Boosts Brookview Tree Replanting

Now, a $19,000 grant from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is helping accelerate those efforts, boosting the replanting ratio to one tree for every two removed, while assisting with removal costs and ongoing sapling care.

“It’s been huge for us,” says Haley. “The tree removal would have happened either way, we would have found a way to do it, replanting the trees also would have happened, but probably would have taken us five, six, seven years to be able to afford this many trees.” 

Haley believes building a vibrant, diverse canopy today will ensure Brookview remains not just a great place to play golf, but a beautiful one for years to come.

“I’m really optimistic about the direction we are going in,” says Haley.

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