Atlanta area golfers could pay higher fees to hit the city's links as Atlanta seeks to reap more cash from the half-dozen courses it owns.
An increase of between $1 to $3 for each round, depending on the course, is just one of the proposed fixes outlined in a 68-page report prepared for the city by Colorado-based consulting firm Golf Convergence Inc. Another option: converting the Candler Park course to open park space after two years if the course doesn't turn a profit.
That move seems unlikely. Mayor Kasim Reed's team said he doesn't want to close any courses. Candler Park, the affordable 9-hole neighborhood course, received much of the report's scrutiny because it has lost an average of $46,000 over the past three years.
Michael Short, a Candler Park resident who helped organized a petition drive to keep the course open, said be believes closing the course is a non-starter for his neighbors.
"We want to work with both the parks department and the mayor's office to accomplish what the neighborhood wants," he said. "The fact that it’s a golf course, I think, is attractive to the neighborhood."
Short said a combination of a $2 increase in fees, better maintenance and possibly corporate sponsorships could help the course turn a profit.
"There are sections of this report that say there’s a real opportunity here, specifically at Candler Park," Short said.
One idea floated months ago -- building a driving range at Candler Park -- was deemed financially unworkable. City officials caution that no decisions have been made about how any of Atlanta's public courses from Buckhead to southwest Atlanta could be put to better use.
Atlanta is seeking solutions to shaky finances at other major assets, including the Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center and the Cyclorama in Grant Park. It began taking a comprehensive look at its golf courses earlier this year.
Atlanta is not alone. Seeking solutions for public courses threatened by wallet-tightening among recreational golfers, Cobb, Gwinnett and other counties have tried a range of strategies, from taking back ownership of courses to investing thousands of dollars in upgrades.
The consultant's report documented needs totaling more than $3.8 million over the next three years, including course renovations, clubhouse upgrades and flood protection. But as Atlanta's budget is pressured by declining property values, the city will focus first on cheaper upgrades such as new mowers and digging wells for irrigation.
"I don't have $4 million to invest," said George Dusenbury, commissioner of the city's Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs.
Atlanta may also launch a new marketing plan for its golf courses, including measures as simple as a sign on Moreland Avenue pointing the way to the Candler Park course. Meanwhile, the report points out that Alfred Tup Holmes course could be positioned to capture convention business, if the clubhouse is upgraded and expanded.
Atlanta's public courses serve about 150,000 people per year from the city, surrounding suburbs and, in the case of the heavily trafficked North Fulton course at Chastain Park, across the Southeast. But a limp economy and wet weather have been problematic.
Revenue at the courses has dropped 10 percent since 2009, from $477,000 to a projected $428,000 this year. The number of rounds played has dropped by 17 percent in that span.
Those trends have "created concern regarding whether the golf courses can be financially self-sustaining when considering the increased capital investment requirements," according to the report.
Three of Atlanta's six golf facilities -- Bobby Jones, North Fulton and Browns Mill, which boast the highest loyalty scores -- have the potential to be very profitable and support other facilities with dimmer financial prospects, according to the report. The golf facilities with shakier economics include Alfred Tup Holmes in southwest Atlanta, the youth-oriented John A. White facility and Candler Park.
American Golf Corp. of Santa Monica, Calif., runs the Candler Park course under a management agreement that took effect in 2006. The company also signed leases through 2016 covering North Fulton, Bobby Jones, Browns Mill and Alfred Tup Holmes.
Overall, the city makes about $450,000 a year from the four leases with American Golf Corp. The Chastain Park course in particular is a powerhouse, with 51,000 rounds played last year and enough revenue to help offset a loss at Candler Park.
American Golf Corp. has spent $661,000 on capital improvements at the four courses it leases, according to documents provided by the city. About 43 percent of that spending was required by the lease agreement. But much was not, including a new roof and furnace at Bobby Jones and irrigation improvements at both Alfred Tup Holmes and Browns Mill.
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