Court blocks Pierce Co. park district from ending lease at beloved golf course
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Pierce County court halted PenMet Parks’ attempt to remove current operator.
- Stutsman Enterprise disputes claims of poor maintenance ahead of 2028 lease end.
- Court will consider extending restraining order as legal dispute over course continues.
The current operator of the Madrona Links Golf Course has obtained an order in Pierce County Superior Court to temporarily block PenMet Parks from terminating their lease and installing new management.
This summer, PenMet Parks planned to remove Stutsman Enterprise, Inc., a small business that’s managed the course in the Gig Harbor area for over a decade, and hand over operations to global golf course management company Troon Golf as part of a larger plan to improve the worn-out course, the park district announced on its website in June. Troon Golf was to be the interim operator until the existing lease guiding Madrona Links’ operations expires in 2028, The News Tribune reported.
The park district alleged in statements posted to its website that Stutsman Enterprise refused to perform deferred maintenance and repair deficiencies in the course. Matthew Stutsman, the company’s registered agent, denied these claims in a declaration supporting his request for a temporary restraining order and wrote that the premature termination of his lease would significantly damage the company’s finances.
The News Tribune reached out to Stutsman via email and to lawyers listed as his representatives in Pierce County court records, but did not immediately hear back. One lawyer responded saying that he no longer represents any of the parties involved in the case and declined to comment.
PenMet Executive Director Ally Bujacich told The News Tribune last month that they expected to finalize the transition to Troon Golf on or about Sept. 1. The transition will be delayed due to the court action Stutsman requested, the park district has since announced on its website.
“Updates, including the new transition timeline, will be posted on this web page as information becomes available,” the PenMet Parks website says. Bujacich deferred to the statement on the website when asked for comment via email.
In his declaration filed in court, Stutsman denied allegations that his company has failed to invest substantially in capital improvements at Madrona Links. They’ve spent more than the required minimum of 1.5% of annual gross greens fees on such improvements, as required by their lease, he wrote.
“The capital improvements we have invested in at the Premises include, but are not limited to: Bunker renovation; improvements to the first tee shed and pump house roof; installation of new roof on pro shop; purchase of a John Deere tractor; seeder services; rebuilding of tee box #17; replacement filter cylinder for irrigation system; painting the pro shop and restaurant; tree services; sprinkler equipment upgrade; and stump grinder services,” he wrote in the declaration.
Stutsman Enterprise has “mowed and irrigated” the course as required in their lease with Tyson, and they’ve “otherwise ensured that the Premises are maintained in a good, clean, sanitary, and orderly condition,” he continued.
PenMet Parks’ removal of Stutsman Enterprise before the lease expires on April 1, 2028 would cause a “financial crisis” for the company, according to Stutsman’s declaration. The company currently pays over $9,400 each month to lease 50 golf carts and two turf mowers, and will remain responsible for covering these costs through the end of their lease.
He also wrote in his declaration that PenMet Parks has publicly mischaracterized Stutsman Enterprise’s willingness to go through with the transition to Troon Golf.
“To be clear, I have not agreed, consented to, or otherwise indicated that I am willing for Stutsman Enterprise to vacate the Premises unless PenMet plans to pay Stutsman Enterprise the value of its leasehold interest,” he wrote in the declaration. “PenMet has refused to buyout the Stutsman Lease.”
In a statement on their website, PenMet Parks referenced a letter from Stutsman in January asking that the park district “work with him to do a slow transition of the golf course rather than shut the golf course down.”
“With the expectation that Mr. Stutsman would honor his commitment, PenMet Parks proceeded with procuring a replacement operator, ultimately selecting Troon Golf,” the statement reads. “Stutsman has now informed PenMet Parks that he is no longer willing to cooperate in an orderly transition and has refused to allow Troon access to the information necessary for a transition.”
Stutsman wrote in a supplemental declaration that he wrote that letter to PenMet before he understood his party’s legal rights. “At the time, I was trying to persuade PenMet to work with Stutsman Enterprise to reach a mutually satisfactory resolution,” he wrote. “The letter was not intended as an offer, and PenMet never formally responded to the letter. I was simply indicating a willingness to negotiate. Since that time, PenMet never involved me or Stutsman Enterprise in discussions about the future of Madrona Links.”
Court records indicate that Stutsman requested Aug. 26 that the court convert the temporary restraining order “to a preliminary injunction on the same terms and conditions,” which would maintain the current state of affairs until the court makes a final decision on the case.
Stutsman’s request for a temporary restraining order is part of an ongoing legal case that’s stretched on for months over who is entitled to own and operate the course, per a complicated web of lease agreements between the park district and several private parties.
PenMet Parks owns 80 acres of the course, and a private entity ZTM Holdings, LLC, owns the remaining 14 acres after buying that parcel from the Tyson family, who built the course and operated it for several decades. Stutsman Enterprise assumed operations via a sublease with Tyson in 2014. Hackers Bar & Grill, a restaurant on the course, subleases from Stutsman Enterprise.
Within the last year, that web has fallen apart. PenMet Parks terminated its lease with Tyson, offered to buy the 14-acre parcel from ZTM and authorized eminent domain action — though not yet initiated — to acquire that parcel when ZTM declined to sell at the $2.49 million price PenMet named, The News Tribune reported.
ZTM and Tyson filed a lawsuit against PenMet and Stutsman Enterprise in Pierce County Superior Court on Jan. 21, alleging that Stutsman is responsible for keeping the course in good shape and questioning the park district’s right to acquire golf courses through eminent domain.
Court records show ZTM filed a motion Thursday requesting that the court dismiss all of the claims in their initial complaint. ZTM has determined “that the costs of pursuing these claims through trial would be a waste of ZTM’s funds and judicial resources,” the motion reads.
It’s not clear what this motion would mean for Stutsman’s pursuit of a preliminary injunction. The Pierce County Superior Court website indicated Thursday afternoon that the next court proceeding is scheduled for Friday.
The News Tribune reached out to a representative for ZTM Holdings via email, and the attorney who filed the motion for ZTM via email and phone Thursday afternoon. Attorney Ken Strauss wrote in an email that they “don’t comment on ongoing litigation matters,” but would be willing to provide an update if “there is a change of circumstances where an update would be appropriate.”
This story was originally published September 4, 2025 at 1:31 PM.
