It won’t cost golfers much more to hit the links on Kenosha County courses this year.

Green fees at Brighton Dale Links and Petrifying Springs Golf Course will increase a dollar or two for most tee times, under a rate structure approved by the county Highway and Parks Committee last week.

One rate will remain the same: Early bird tee times, before 8 a.m. on weekdays, will remain $20 for 18 holes and $10 for nine holes at both courses, unchanged from 2009.

A new spring and fall rate structure will offer savings to golfers who hit the courses before April 30 and after Oct. 4, while season passes will remain static or, in some cases, fall below last year’s prices.

Dan Drier, the county’s general manager of golf operations, said rate increases were held to a minimum with regard to the economy, and a desire to keep as many golfers using the facilities as possible.

“We’re trying to take steps so we can get the golf courses off the tax levy,” Drier said.

Golf’s drag on the county’s bottom line has generated tension in county government for several years, with tax levy subsidies for the courses topping $500,000 a few years ago.

County Executive Jim Kreuser started a restructuring of the golf operation after he took office in 2008, hiring Drier from the Lake Lawn Resort in Delavan.

The 2008 golf deficit ran about $328,000. Final numbers for 2009 will become available after last year’s budget is closed out later this spring.

Upgrades await golfers

Drier said off-season improvements have occurred at both courses this winter.

An irrigation system upgrade is continuing at the 45-hole Brighton Dale complex, 830 248th Ave., while a clubhouse renovation is complete at 18-hole Petrifying Springs, 4909 Seventh St., Drier said.

Meanwhile, the county is spending more than $900,000 on upgrades to the courses’ golf cart fleet — a plan that involves purchasing, rather than leasing the vehicles, which officials say will amount to a long-term savings.

Spring-fall rates new

Under the spring and fall rate structure that the courses are debuting this year, fees will run anywhere from 20 to 35 percent lower, prior to April 30 and after Oct. 4.

An 18-hole round with a cart, $42 at Brighton Dale and $40 at Petrifying Springs during the prime months, will run $32 at both courses during the spring-fall season.

Again, Drier said, the goal is to keep more golfers on the courses, more often.