Naugatuck Commission Approves Fee Hikes at Hop Brook Golf Course

In an effort to close a $60,000 deficit at the , the Naugatuck Golf Commission voted to raise fees across the board for golfers and has initiated a new $20 golf ID card.

Starting this upcoming golf season in April, the cost for a borough resident to golf nine holes will increase $1, making the fee $15, while a season pass for an adult resident increases $60, equaling to $520. For 18 holes, the fee hike goes from $20 to $22 for residents.

See the attached PDF for a great breakdown of the 2012 fee structure, including seniors, youths and non-residents.

In addition, the golf course plans on running a special next month, called “March Madness,” in which the nine-hole course will be open every Thursday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to dusk, Commission Chairman Patrick Corbett told  officials in an email.

Rates during March only will be $12 for nine holes, or $20 for nine holes with a cart. Also, to walk 18 holes the fee is $17 and 18 holes with a cart is $25, Corbett said. 

Apart from the fee changes, a new $20 golf card ID will be implemented also, giving residents the ability to take advantage of membership rates without buying a season pass, said Director of Public Works James Stewart. In addition, Stewart also mentioned that the ID card would act as a registration item, to address the problem of some golfers claiming they were residents but weren’t actually from the borough.

The cards cost about $1 to make. They’ll be made of plastic and will feature a bar code, he said.

“It shows a step toward closing the gap,” Stewart said.

In total, Stewart said his department calculated that all of the new fee initiatives could net a potential $30,000 increase in revenue in the upcoming season.

“The finance commission wanted to see more revenue, that’s no secret,” said Director of Public Works James Stewart. “And it does appear that other courses are more expensive, so this is an attempt to bring it more in line, without becoming the most expensive place around.”

The Hop Brook Golf Course when it was revealed that the course only took in about $450,000 in fees and membership costs, despite having a total budget of $500,000 when factoring in equipment, maintenance, employee salaries and benefits.

During another year when budgets were tight across the borough, the Board of Finance opted to dock an additional $5,000 from the Golf Course budget, effectively eliminating one part-time position. The board also voted to scrap a proposed $14,000 golf cart-rotation program, which was a one-time capital item proposed last year.

The Golf Commission , however Mezzo noted that the finance board has repeatedly wanted an increase in fees in previous years.

In particular, the mayor said other courses in the area have daily rates that are much higher than Naugatuck.

Stewart said 250 people retain annual memberships at the course and, in 2011, there were about 30,000 rounds of golf played, of which 12,000 were non-residents.