Golf Course Needs Some Green

Craig Curley, chairman of the town's Golf Commission, got worried when the number of rounds played at H. Smith Richardson Golf Course dropped from 46,000 in 2008 to 43,000 in 2009.

Curley said the commission tried to figure out why that happened and ruled out the bad economy because the number of rounds played at other municipal golf courses had increased. The commission then thought maybe the rates at H. Smith Richardson Golf Course were too high, but they determined the rates were similar to municipal golf courses in other towns.

Residents can play 18 holes of golf on weekend days and holidays for $27 with a golf ID, which is an annual cost of $35 for adults and $25 for residents who are 17 years old or younger. Non-residents can play 18 holes of golf on weekend days and holidays for $54.

The commission then decided that the condition of the 18-hole, par-72 course on Morehouse Highway, specifically poor drainage at some holes that led to "cart path only" designations days after it had rained, "was a significant factor in lost rounds and lost revenue."

"The drop-off in rounds in 2009 was a big alarm for us," Curley told the town's Board of Finance Tuesday night. "We really feel like we need to re-invest in the infrastructure of the course to stem the tide."

Curley presented the Board of Finance with a list of improvements needed at H. Smith Richardson Golf Course that total $4.45 million. He said he didn't expect the improvements to be done all at once and said they would be manageable financially if spread over a decade.

Town boards approved $180,000 in the 2010-11 fiscal year, which begins July 1, to replace drainage systems at the golf course and also approved $17,500 for a new greens' roller, which would create a better putting surface, and $20,000 for a new mower, which will replace a 1988 mower and be used to mow banks of the greens.

Curley said today that the $180,000 would finish work to replace drainage systems at the course, excluding bunkers. He said the poor drainage impacted play in 2009 because the course had to have "cart path only" designations on sunny days after it rained. He added, "When you've got standing water on golf holes, it's a problem from a play perspective."

Curley identified additional expenses over the next 10 years as $250,000 to replace drainage systems under bunkers, also known as sand traps; $170,000 to expand tee boxes; $150,000 to redesign several greens on the course; $150,000 to dredge ponds and watercourses on the course; $100,000 for a biorack filtration system to wash off equipment; $3.3 million for renovations to the clubhouse and cart barn, which date to the course's opening in 1972; and $150,000 for a restroom facility.

Curley said the course had delivered a surplus to the town in the past several years and that revenue had increased, despite the drop-off in rounds, because the commission had raised rates to play.

If the drop-off in rounds is reversed, and the number of rounds increases by 1,000 each year before leveling off at 47,000, the course would generate a total of $20 million over the next 10 years and a cumulative surplus of $2.8 million, Curley said.

But if no improvements are made and the course loses 250 rounds a year over the next 10 years, the course wouldn't generate enough money to cover its operating expenses in 2013-14, Curley said. He said the difference in projected revenue if the town made improvements and didn't make improvements totaled $4 million over the next 10 years. "The revenue will effectively pay for these improvements," he said.

First Selectman Ken Flatto questioned whether the lost rounds were due to residents or non-residents not playing at the course, and Curley said rounds played by residents had been "fairly static" and that 80 percent of the drop-off was due to non-residents.

Members of the Board of Finance had no comment on Curley's report but thanked him for coming to the meeting and presenting them with the Golf Commission's 10-year plan for improvements at H. Smith Richardson Golf Course.

Curley said the next requested improvement, to be made in the 2011-12 town budget, would be to replace drainage under bunkers. Maintenance workers get distracted from other work by having to pump water out of the bunkers, Curley said. "Many of our bunkers are still the original bunkers, and, over time, drainage systems need to be replaced," he said this afternoon.