SNOHOMISH – The fairways are uncrowded, the views are terrific, the prices are reasonable and the restaurant is brand-spankin’ new.
Michael O’Leary / The Herald
That is the challenge at Flowing Lake Golf Course, where owner Stan Laz and general manager Marilyn Woolworth are hoping to boost their sagging business by restoring an image that has suffered in recent years.
In particular, Laz and Woolworth acknowledged, golfers were not always given the kind of red-carpet welcome that keeps them coming back.
“They were getting bad attitudes from the people that were running it,” Laz said. The result, he added, was that “we were going down. There were no customers.”
Woolworth agreed. “We had kind of a reputation as a bad-attitude golf course,” she said.
That began to change about 18 months ago, the two say, when they assumed management of the 18-hole course on a hilltop overlooking Flowing Lake east of Snohomish. The transition was completed last month when Laz became sole owner of the property that he had once shared with his brother.
The new customer-service strategy, Woolworth said, is that “we’re going to out-nice everybody.”
The other part of a two-prong makeover plan at Flowing Lake is an expansion of the course. Previously a par-66 layout, the course is growing to a par 68 with the lengthening of two par 4s into par 5s. One of the new par 5s (No. 4) is ready now, while the other (No. 15) is scheduled for completion later in the summer.
When people saw that Flowing Lake was only a par 66, Woolworth said, “they tended to pooh-pooh it as a competitive course. Stan knew that in order for us to compete, we needed to offer up more than what we were offering.”
The idea, she went on, is to put Flowing Lake on par with neighboring full-length courses. “We want to play with the big boys,” she said.
Perhaps the biggest obstacle facing Flowing Lake is one that cannot be corrected – location. It is roughly an equidistant 15-minute drive from Snohomish to the west, Monroe to the south and Lake Stevens to the northwest, and getting there is a bit of a trek, particularly for those visitors unfamiliar with the area and its many back roads.
“All of us in the pro shop are real well versed in giving directions so we can get people here from wherever they might be coming,” Woolworth said. “And sometimes we have to give them directions on how to get out, too.”
However, she added, “once they get here, they absolutely love it. We know we’re not the biggest course out there, or the fanciest. But I don’t think there are too many courses out there that are prettier than this course. We have no houses. And sometimes deer wander through. It’s very serene.”
And whenever golfers whack a bad shot, they can simply turn and admire the picturesque scenery to the east, including nearby Mount Pilchuck, still sprinkled with snow this time of year. Just like that, some of the bad feelings drain away.
Guests also will enjoy Flowing Lake’s new restaurant, which opens for the first time Friday. Designed and operated by Brooke Miller, it is located in the same building that housed the onetime clubhouse (the current clubhouse is up the hill, nearer the parking lot) and will offer a full breakfast and lunch menu.
Last year Flowing Lake totaled a modest 14,000 rounds. The goal this year is 20,000, Woolworth said, “and I think that’s a legitimate target.”
Another objective is to revive the former men’s and women’s clubs. Woolworth said she hopes to “have a men’s club up and running by the end of the season.”
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