By Charles Wolfe
The Associated Press

FRANKFORT - Kentucky's 22 state-owned golf courses turned a profit last year, state officials said Tuesday, in part because four new courses drew more players from neighboring states.

The courses would have been more profitable had not an examination of records turned up 32,000 unpaid rounds of golf in the fiscal year that ended June 30, Parks Commissioner George Ward said.

Some free rounds were for legitimate promotions or charity events. But many were taken by government officials, Ward said at a news conference. "We made it clear to people at the parks that local officials and people in state government and personal friends need to pay for golf just like every other person," he said.

The golf course system turned a $227,000 profit for the year, as opposed to a $169,000 net loss the previous year, the department said in a statement.

Four courses opened during the period, three of which were profitable: Hidden Cove Golf Course at Grayson Lake, Mineral Mound in western Kentucky and the course at Dale Hollow Lake Resort.

The fourth course, Eagle Ridge at Yatesville Lake, opened late and was closed all winter to protect its new turf. It operated at a $265,000 loss, according to the department.

Hidden Cove turned the biggest profit of the lot - $243,000, more than the net gain from the system as a whole.

Without the new courses, "the system would have been close to break even," Ward said.

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On the Net:

Department of Parks: http://www.parks.ky.gov