Herschlag: Golf, A Follow Up To Charlie Russell’s Letter

It is important to understand that before COVID the golf course was bleeding significant amounts of money. Even after the general fund (that’s you and me) picked up the tab for over $1,000,000, for course improvements.

Since COVID the course has begun to show a positive cash flow, but when looking at the Capital Improvement Program (cip) which estimates costs and expenses from 2024-2033, you and I are still on the hook for millions of dollars for the golf course. Four and a half million dollars for a new clubhouse and another $1,080,000 for course improvements on top of the over $1 million that has already been spent on irrigation, tree removal and other costs.

Here’s what’s really interesting. The course shows a projected balance for working capital, a reserve fund of $731,514. The $731,514 question is, where did the money for this fund come from if the golf course was operating at a loss for all those years. Did it come from the city picking up a significant portion of the tab for the course or was there a magnanimous anonymous donor helping to keep the course afloat?

And what are the plans for the working capital? Will the funds be used to pay back the general fund (you and me) for the money that was used to keep the golf course operating all those years or will it be used to pay for the new clubhouse?

And speaking of the new clubhouse, why did the city spend $136,356.25, on plans for the new clubhouse only to have the NH Golf Association pull out of a potential lease. A lease that we were given the impression was a done deal. How is it the city went ahead and spent this money on plans for the new club house with what we now know was a hope and a prayer the NH Golf Association would sign a lease? Will the money that has just been flushed down the drain come out of the golf course’s reserve or will it be one more bill you and I are required to pay for.

And one more set of numbers. It is projected in the golf course’s pro forma that from 2025-2029, the golf course will once again be operating at a loss to the tune of $314,667.

For the record, all the numbers I have used were taken from the approved 2024 budget that can be found on the city’s website.

So here are the real bottom lines and there are two of them. The first one is the revenue the golf course uses to pay for a portion of their expenses. And the second one is the money you and I pay for golf course expenses.

Until the golf course reimburses the general fund (you and me) for all the money we have spent keeping the course operating over the years and they are able to pay ‘all’ their expenses from revenues generated by the course, the golf course is still operating at a loss.