Will operator of beloved Pierce Co. golf course be evicted? Here’s what we know
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- PenMet Parks seeks court order to evict Stutsman Enterprise over deferred course repairs.
- The park district plans to hand over management to Troon Golf if eviction is granted.
- An ongoing legal dispute originates in a complex web of ownership and lease agreements.
The private business operating the Madrona Links Golf Course near Gig Harbor faces potential eviction following legal action taken by the local park district earlier this month, as the park district continues its efforts to revamp the declining course and change the way that it’s run.
PenMet Parks filed a complaint in Pierce County Superior Court in mid-October to evict Stutsman Enterprise, Inc., alleging that Stutsman has failed to fix deficiencies he’s responsible for correcting at the course. The complaint also requests monetary compensation for any unpaid rent while Stutsman remains at Madrona Links and damages from the deferred maintenance.
The course at 3604 22nd Ave. NW, just outside Gig Harbor city limits, operates under a complicated web of lease agreements and split ownership involving both 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, which 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.
Disagreements over who is responsible for addressing issues such as unhealthy turf, septic system issues and bumpy cart paths have generated a prolonged legal dispute that has yet to come to a resolution.
Within the last year, PenMet Parks terminated its lease with Tyson, offered to buy the 14-acre parcel from ZTM and authorized eminent domain action — though not 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.
PenMet Parks seeks removal of Stutsman Enterprise from Madrona Links
In an update on their website Oct. 28, the park district indicated that Stutsman had until 5 p.m. Oct. 29 to respond to their most recent legal action requesting his eviction. Court records show that no response has been filed. Efforts to reach Stutsman or his lawyer Oct. 30 were unsuccessful.
The park district filed for the eviction after giving Stutsman Enterprise 15 days to correct issues identified at the course, the PenMet Parks website says.
If the court grants the park district’s request for an eviction, PenMet Parks will proceed with transitioning operations to Troon Golf, a global golf course operator they selected to take over management until the current operations lease expires in 2028. The transition will begin the “restoration of the public golf course to the condition expected by course users and stakeholders,” the park district update says.
Previously, Matthew Stutsman of Stutsman Enterprise filed a court declaration in September denying the allegations that he has failed to invest substantially in capital improvements at Madrona Links. He wrote that they’ve spent more than the required minimum of 1.5% of annual gross greens fees on such improvements, as required by their lease, and have completed a host of improvements such as seeder and tree services, upgrading the sprinklers, rebuilding a tee box and more.
They’ve also mowed and irrigated the course and have “otherwise ensured that the Premises are maintained in a good, clean, sanitary, and orderly condition,” he wrote in the declaration. He also stated then that Stutsman Enterprise would not vacate the premises unless the park district “plans to pay Stutsman Enterprise the value of its leasehold interest.”
Potential sale of ZTM’s 14-acre parcel
The park district is also moving toward a purchase of ZTM’s 14-acre parcel.
“We are working cooperatively with ZTM toward the purchase and sale of the property,” PenMet Parks spokesperson Brynn Grimley wrote via email Wednesday. “We hope to have this complete by early 2026.”
Court records show ZTM filed a motion in early September 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 read.
On Oct. 28, Tyson Limited Partnership filed a motion in court to bring ZTM back into the lawsuit and extend the trial until April or May 2026.
“Now that ZTM obtained new counsel and has dismissed itself from the case, Tyson must bring a claim for indemnification against ZTM to ensure all remedies are available or else be barred from seeking them later,” the motion says.
Beau Bailey, an attorney representing Tyson Limited Partnership, told The News Tribune via phone Thursday that his client’s position is that “this is a dispute between PenMet, Stutsman and ZTM and the Tyson family is kind of caught in the middle of things.” The Tyson family hasn’t been involved in the course for a number of years, Bailey said.
The hearing is scheduled for Nov. 14, when the court will decide whether to grant Tyson’s motion. If it’s granted, they’ll file a new complaint and ZTM will have 20 days from when that complaint is served to respond, Bailey said.
A mediation date is scheduled for Dec. 3, according to Tyson’s motion. Bailey noted that all of the parties are interested in coming to a resolution during that mediation, which has the possibility of ending in a settlement.
The News Tribune reached out to a representative for ZTM Holdings, LLC and ZTM’s lawyers via email Thursday morning but did not immediately hear back.
This story was originally published October 31, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
