There has been a director or manager of golf operations for the Portland Municipal Golf Courses since Eastmoreland opened its first 9 holes in 1918. Since 1987, there have only been three directors of golf: golf pro and architect John Zoller, golf pro Vincent Johnson, and now John Ball.
In the landscape of Oregon golf courses, the golf courses owned by the City of Portland (and managed by its Department of Parks & Recreation) are, collectively, pretty important. The courses comprise one of the most varied and acclaimed municipal golf complexes in the country: Eastmoreland (a Chandler Egan design, seventh oldest course in Oregon and two-time host of the USGA Amateur Public Links Championship), Rose City (with a clubhouse on the National Register of Historic Places), Heron Lakes (both Blue and Greenback courses, home of the former NW Open and the 2000 USGA Amateur Public Links Championship), RedTail (a leased property located in within the Beaverton city limits), and Colwood (a golf practice complex that includes a 3-par course). These are all great courses (and Colwood is a great practice facility) that deserve to be played.
The Golf Program Manager, aka the Director of Golf, is responsible for managing the golf program within the City of Portland. This means how the courses and shops run, and how people both inside and outside the City of Portland interface with the courses and clubhouses. Such duties include but are not limited to: ensuring financial stability of the program; managing golf maintenance operations; overseeing the lease agreement with RedTail Golf, LLC (for RedTail), and contract with Kemper Sports Management, LLC (for the other golf facilities); ensuring adherence to the City of Portland’s core values; and providing advice to senior leadership and officials as to the business of public golf. The Director of Golf is an important person in one of the more important golf operations in Oregon. Accordingly, I wanted to find out more about John Ball. And John was kind enough to let me interview him.
Here is some background on John. He was born and raised in Hillsboro, and went to Banks High School. His dad was a teacher and his mom worked at Intel. Golf and golf courses were not on his radar until 1998 when as a high school sophomore who just finished wrestling camp his dad told him to do something productive with his time over the summer. A few of his friends were working at Pumpkin Ridge for the summer and he was able to join them. He enjoyed the time being outdoors, getting dirty, and interacting with golfers and maintenance workers. He continued working at Pumpkin Ridge through his college years.
John enrolled at Washington State (where his father went) with an eye toward working with Oregon Fish and Wildlife upon graduation. But he took an agronomy course and found that is where he wanted to focus his studies. After graduating with a BS in Turfgrass Management, he spent one more year at Pumpkin Ridge as maintenance foreman. In 2005, he took a position with the Northern California Golf Association at its East Bay golf complex Poppy Ridge. He worked his way up to being superintendent by 2009 where he oversaw a number of large maintenance projects (including a 3-year overhaul of the bunkers).
John wanted to get back home to the Portland area, and when the position of Superintendent for RedTail and Eastmoreland opened in 2021 he applied and got the job. He was appointed Interim Director in the Spring of 2024 when Vincent Johnson left for Los Angeles.
As Supervisor, John may be best known (this received national press) for using goats to manage invasive species on Eastmoreland. It was a very eco-friendly solution to a nasty problem (very Portland). As Director, John has already achieved one significant accomplishment: negotiating an extension to 2032 of the contract with Kemper for management of the municipal courses other than RedTail.
And although things are going very well for the Portland courses (in terms of rounds played, net income, and balance of the golf fund) there are some concerns. Golfing operations in Portland have been cash positive since COVID because the number of rounds have increased. However, recent numbers suggest that the number of rounds is decreasing; that the COVID bump is fading. The last fiscal report from the City of Portland shows that the balance of the Golf Fund as of June 30, 2024, was $7,884,711. But in the 2025-26 budget, the City of Portland diverted $1,825,52 from the balance of the fund for non-golf uses and required an additional $1,200,000 to be diverted this fiscal year (from increased green fees). And after the City Council sessions on increasing green fees and using golf fund money for non-golf purposes, it is unclear how friendly or knowledgeable “the powers that be” are toward golf operations.
John is a public course guy. He likes playing for more than just a score. He likes meeting players and staff, being in a beautiful place, and getting outside. He is also on the Board of Directors of the Oregon Golf Course Superintendents Association and has been since 2023. And as can be seen below in answers to my questions, John is a big advocate for Portland’s municipal golf courses.
You have course managers (Kemper and RedTail), you have players and users, you have the City, and you have the Portland public in general. What do you see as your role as director to all of these consituents? Act as a liaison and advocate for public golf and improve accessibility and affordability. I have been a public golf guy for a long time and I want to see the public enjoying courses. I want to support them, seeing what could be done to help each other in golf operations.
Have you been able to meet with players? The various men’s and women’s clubs? I want to start coming out for club tournaments. I try to visit the courses every other week. I enjoy handing logoed golf balls out to kids visiting the properties.
Have you met with city council members or the mayor? I am open to meeting them, but no one has reached out.
What are your priorities for the courses over the next 5 years? Accessibility, equity, financial stability, and making the courses a resource for the community. With my background in golf maintenance, I want to make the courses more consistent, season to season and year to year.
Any new programs or policies you want to implement? Activating our golf spaces to benefit golfers and non-golfers as a community benefit is a priority moving forward.
What do you see as the biggest challenge for the courses? Always looking for ways to achieve and maintain financial stability for golf course operations. I also want to keep working to remove the reputation of golf as a rich white man’s sport.
What do you see as your personal biggest challenge? Relationship building within the City, and with partners outside the golf program. I want to be the golf program’s biggest cheerleader and advocate for those reaching out to participate in and improve on the golf program.
Since becoming director, what has been the biggest surprise? Going through the budget process. It was new for me and new for the City. Also, trying to be available for everyone.
Do you believe that since the COVID bump the number of rounds at the courses are starting to drop? What do you think should be done to reverse that? We will see! The numbers from the National Golf Foundation are showing a slight decline in rounds played but COVID was five years ago now and golf is still a popular activity. Golfers tend to be very committed to the game and Portland Parks Golf – like all of Portland Parks & Recreation – is committed to access and affordability for all. We continue to work to make our courses appealing, to expand the game’s appeal to new players, and to enhance our courses and offerings.
The courses have a sizable capital maintenance backlog (estimated to be between $16-$22 million). Is there a capital maintenance item you see as having to be addressed quickly? Any thoughts on how to reduce this backlog? Policymakers have the ultimate authority on where funds are spent; people are encouraged to voice their opinions to the City Council and other leaders.
Vincent was a strong proponent of increasing use of the courses by increasing diversity of users especially women and people of color. Do you share this view? Absolutely, as do all of us at Portland Parks Golf!
How will you do this? I will most definitely work on maintaining relationships with existing partners that seek to increase the diversity of users on the courses. However, there are almost certainly going to be organizations and groups that I might never encounter solely on my own. I am hoping that other groups that I work with, such as the Golf Advisory Committee, can assist the program in identifying and attracting groups and programs that can expand who uses the courses. The GAC is a dedicated group of golfers that love our courses and community and want to see our system grow and stay relevant. We are lucky to have them and to benefit from their continued efforts.
Do you plan to maintain the Eagle Caddy program (and its relationship to the Evans Scholarship Program)? The EAGLE Caddie program is a VERY important part of our system; this is the arm of our program where we can advocate for youth across the city and provide real-world experience for young Portlanders that may not have an opportunity for higher education otherwise. The Kemper Sports Community Engagement Manager is pivotal in the role of helping to communicate the benefits of this program to young Portlanders.
Any new programs to increase the diversity of young people using the course? Obviously player and junior development are integral to the operation. We cannot grow the game if we are not encouraging new players to the game. Additionally, are adding technological improvements to the operation to seek additional users. We recently added TopTracer shot-management technology to the Eastmoreland driving range.
How about attracting juniors and seniors to play? YA Golf! is still available and we encourage participation! Youth and seniors are the only discounted greens fees to encourage the participation of two user groups that can be the most vulnerable to economic factors. This is also why we have our Gold Star Program – seniors 85+ receive complimentary golf at our courses when a senior rate is available.
Heron and Eastmoreland are Audubon Certified Courses. Do you plan on continuing this certification? Definitely! Environmental stewardship of our public lands will always be a part of our mission.
Any plans for improved environmental management of any of the courses? Environmental stewardship of our public lands will always be a part of our mission, and we are always reviewing opportunities to showcase that stewardship.
Any plans to open any of the courses or the clubhouses for activities other than golf (walking paths, bird walks, concerts)? Since we are Parks and Recreation properties, we are always looking for opportunities to activate our spaces for golfers and non-golfers alike. Events such as Fitness in the Park already occur at Rose City and we are always looking for additional events to add on our calendar. Recently I have been working with Adaptive Recreation to potentially open spaces for programming to individuals with developmental or physical handicaps.
Any plans to increase professional tournaments on any of the courses? I wish I had a crystal ball to see the future – that being said, our program is always open to reviewing events that make sense financially.
If you had an unlimited budget, what changes would you make to the courses or their operations? If I had a magic wand, with unlimited budget, I would love to build a new clubhouse at Heron Lakes and new irrigation systems across all the properties.
What is your favorite Portland municipal course? RedTail! I may be somewhat biased because it was a course I drove by growing up, and I was the superintendent there for four years.
What should Portland golfers know about you? Public golf is my passion, and I love seeing families and friends making wonderful memories on and off the golf course.
What should people know about the Portland courses? Our local City of Portland golf courses are wonderfully curated pieces of public land and are maintained by a proud group of local greenskeepers and operated by folks that are passionate about what they do.
Why should golfers play the Portland municipal courses? There is no other place in the Pacific Northwest where you can experience such a variety of fun and challenging golf, for all skill levels, like the Portland Parks Golf courses.
Anything you would like to add about you or the Portland courses? Portland Parks Golf is the best!