RELATED: This Beloved Milwaukee County Parks Golf Course Won’t Reopen

The permanent closure of the Doyne Park Golf Course on Milwaukee’s West Side this year leaves only a trio of Milwaukee County’s traditional par-3 courses still in operation.

One of those courses, the layout at Noyes Park on the city’s Northwest Side, had been facing a similar fate as Doyne but now appears to be safe for the long term.

“It was in the same conversation as Doyne. The same problems,” Milwaukee County Parks Deputy Director Jim Tarantino said at a neighborhood meeting held last week to determine the future use of the former Doyne Park course.

RELATED: Doyne Park Golf Course Is Closed. Now What?

Fewer than 2,000 rounds of golf are played annually at Noyes, which opened in 1975, a figure Tarantino deemed as “not a lot.”

Aiding in Noyes’ survival is a partnership with First Tee Southeast Wisconsin, a nonprofit founded in 2004 that incorporates values inherent in golf into the daily lives of youth who participate in the organization’s programs. First Tee has its base of operations at Noyes, 8235 W. Good Hope Road.

“They do really good work with youth outreach and growing the game,” Tarantino said.

But the life saver for Noyes is a $1 million project, paid for with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding, that will provide much needed improvements to the course’s irrigation system.

“That buys us about three decades for keeping Noyes open,” Tarantino said.

The Parks Department has considered altering the setup at Noyes and possibly shifting from a nine-hole layout to a four-hole practice course with a youth focus.

“But I think we are going to keep it as a standard nine-hole, par-3 course,” Tarantino said.

Besides Noyes, the only “pitch and putt” courses still operating under the direction of Milwaukee County Parks are at Lake Park on the East Side and Zablocki Park on the South Side.

The Lake Park course, 3133 E Newberry Blvd., offers 18 holes, all less than 85 yards. The layout makes the course an attractive option for beginning golfers and families. But a message on the Lake Park Golf Course website landing…