MOORHEAD — Green fees in Moorhead for a standard 18-hole weekday round will increase by $3 in 2027 at Village Green and the Meadows following what could be another record-setting year for rounds played in the city.
In late August, the Park Advisory Board approved the 2027 golf fee structure. Since 2024, the typical 18-hole rate for Moorhead’s two 18-hole golf courses has increased 22.9%. Next year’s rate will be $43 compared to $35 in 2024.
Moorhead recreation director Sean Brandenburg said 61,855 rounds were played in 2025. This season, by late August alone, the Meadows had 1,000 more rounds played compared to 2025.
A slow start to the golf season gave way to a dry, hot summer.
“That cold early season definitely slowed us down a bit,” Brandenburg said. “Without the rain for July and August, it’s been very busy so it’s definitely caught us back up.”
A golf cart drives on the grass behind a golf course rules sign on Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026, at The Meadows Golf Course in Moorhead.
Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum
Moorhead has various rate charts, with some discounts for junior and seniors play before 1 p.m., for example. An adult non-restricted, single-course pass will increase $25 next year to $825. The same pass for both courses goes up the same amount to $925.
“Our wages are going up quite a bit and that’s one thing we’ve tried to keep pace with, and taking that into account as well as inflation,” Brandenburg said, “also just trying to adjust the best we can without trying to price people out and obviously keeping in line with other metro courses too.”
Earlier this summer,
Fargo announced its golf rates for 2027
. That city’s two 18-hole golf courses will have a typical daily green fee of $46.75 next year.
“We feel that our courses are right on par with Edgewood and Rose Creek and we’re making sure that we’re able to stay right in that area,” Brandenburg said.
Introduced more than 20 years ago, Moorhead’s gold pass (cart, greens fee, range balls) will increase by $100 to $1,900 in 2027.
According to the a Golf Datatech report posted by the National Golf Foundation, North Dakota and South Dakota had 43.3% increase in rounds played in July compared to July 2025, by far the highest in the nation. That has led to a 14.6% increase, trailing only Indiana and the Cincinnati area, in play so far in 2026 over last year.
The NGF noted across the U.S., July was the first month of 2026 to show a notable year-over-year decline.
The record amount of play in the area has at times made favorable tee times competitive in Moorhead. In a sense, Brandenburg sees both sides of that issue.
“As a new golfer myself, if the course is packed, you kind of feel that pressure. You don’t want people breathing up under your neck,” Brandenburg said. “But also from the operation standpoint, we definitely need the courses busy because there is some city subsidy that is going into golf. From what we’ve heard from our elected officials is we need to work to reduce that.”
Doug Orvik watches his ball after teeing off on Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026, at The Meadows Golf Course in Moorhead.
Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum
Devin Wadholm chips the ball on Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026, at The Meadows Golf Course in Moorhead.
Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum
Rob Beer is the sports editor for The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. He’s been a journalist with Forum Communications since 1991. He can be reached at rbeer@forumcomm.com.