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By comparison, it brought in about $920,000 in 2009. Revenues had fallen to about $820,000 at the aging course by the end of 2012, just before it closed for renovations. The overhaul's impact on the course's bottom line helped earn it Golf Inc.'s Renovation of the Year award in the California-based magazine's July/August edition. Twenty-two courses -- most from within the United States -- were entered in the decade-old competition and the publication gave nods to the 2014 projects that "transformed aging courses, making them more playable, eye- catching and efficient," according to the digital and print magazine's article announcing this year's winners. Members of the Keller Women's Golf Club discuss aspects of the newly renovated Keller Golf Course in Maplewood on Tuesday, July 15, 2014. President Jan Sherman, left, past president JoAnn Hernandez and past president Maureen Murphy, all of Little Canada, drove the course as a dry run for tours they'll be offering during "grand reopening" festivities taking place this week. (Pioneer Press: Dave Orrick) Keller, which is owned and operated by Ramsey County, beat out courses in Thailand, Florida and Indonesia to earn the magazine's top honors among public golf courses. Los Angeles' Brentwood Country Club won in the private course category. "There was a lot done with a fairly decent amount of capital, but at the same time, they were on a budget and the judges were just very impressed that the architect was able to go so far with this budget," said Laira Martin, the associate editor of Cypress Magazines, which publishes Golf Inc. She added that Mandell's design really helped "unify the course." "One judge described everything as having a meaning and a purpose ... I thought that was a nice way to sum it up," Martin said. Golf Magazine also recognized Keller as having the "Best U.S. Municipal Renovation of 2014," back in January, according to county staff. "We knew this was a special project, and it's really had tremendous results, so it's nice to get that validation from national publications," Oyanagi said. Acknowledging that the course's honeymoon period likely won't last forever, Oyanagi said he thinks the course will still sustain its increased revenues into the future. "There are just so many holes that you find yourself standing there, saying, 'Wow.' I think that will keep people coming back," Oyanagi said. The Keller course is by far the most popular of the five operated by the county, with the others yielding less than $1 million a year in revenue, Oyanagi said. Sarah Horner can be reached at 651-228-5539. Follow her at twitter.com/hornsarah.