The Glen Golf Park is a nine-hole muni in Madison, Wisconsin.

It is also a picnic ground; a fresh-air yoga studio; a venue for live music and movie screenings; an outdoor classroom and — you get the picture. There are things to pursue here beyond par.

Though The Glen, as locals know it, draws inspiration from historic courses across the pond, it is not so much an homage to the past as it is a beacon for the future. It points to something deeper in the game’s potential and the robust role that munis can play in civic life.

“You have this beautiful open space right in the heart of Madison,” says Theran Steindl, golf operations manager for the city. “So, the question becomes: How do you make it a valuable asset to all the neighbors, not just golfers?”

Golf was the property’s raison d’être when it opened to the public in the late 1920s. In those days it was called Glenway Golf Course, a name that endured until this past summer, when renovations were completed and the whole place was reborn. Reimagining the muni was a group effort. But a driving force behind the transformation was Michael Keiser, son of Bandon Dunes founder, Mike Keiser, and a co-developer of Sand Valley.

In 2016, the younger Keiser had followed his then-fiancée, Jocelyn, to Madison from central Wisconsin, where he’d been getting Sand Valley off the ground. By the following year, he and Jocelyn were married, and both had fallen hard for their new home. This was a city where they could put down roots.

In the morning paper, Keiser read a story about the local munis. Madison had four, and they were bleeding money. A task force had been formed to find a sustainable path forward.

Keiser had some thoughts. He also had concerns about bureaucratic sloth.

“I’m from Chicago, where government does not exactly have…