Palouse Ridge Golf Club: Success or Failure?

The Palouse Ridge Golf Club was booked to full capacity for the Washington State University Homecoming weekend.
Due to a harsh winter the course opened Aug. 29, approximately a month after the desired start date.
“The course gets about 100 players a day which is right at our expectations and our sales merchandise is doing better than expected,” the general manager of the Palouse Ridge Golf Club, Bruce Perisho said.
The club has hosted few events which Perisho said is due to a lack of aggressive marketing. However, the Palouse Ridge Golf Club will be hosting next year’s Washington State Amateur Championship.
Tammy Lewis, the executive director of the Pullman Chamber of Commerce said that the golf course will be excellent for Pullman’s growing tourism industry.
According to a study conducted by Dean Runyan Associates, Whitman County’s tourism revenue has increased from $22.8 million in 1991 to $50.8 million in 2006.
“Forty-percent of the golfers are from out of town,” Perisho said.
Lewis said the golf course can be used in a vacation package with other courses in Eastern Washington. “I am excited because the golf course will bring business to town in the summer months when Pullman is much slower because school is out of session,” Lewis said.
According to Lewis Pullman has not yet seen an increase in business or a noticeable difference in local hotel occupancy.
“Because of the late opening of the course we missed out on primary vacation months so hopefully next year the Pullman economy will get a bigger boost from the course,” Lewis said.
Aside from bringing tourists to the area Perisho said the course will attract better Pullman faculty, more businesses, and retain employees in the area.
The Palouse Ridge Golf Club employs approximately 60 Washington State University students, Perisho said. The employment is entirely seasonal and only a few permanent employees will be kept on staff through the winter months.
Although the golf course is owned by WSU it is managed by CourseCo Inc., a private company based out of California. The company manages 16 golf courses in the United States. The $12.3 million course was built from unrestricted donations Perisho said.
“Most of the Pullman community has a positive attitude about the golf course, but there are those that were not in favor of it,” Lewis said.
The expansion of the golf course has been a long process, it has been in the works for 20 to 30 years, Perisho said.