Creative golf management among universities, cities adds value

By |  August 19, 2014 0 Comments
City-of-Phoenix

Logo: City of Phoenix

As some golf courses continue to struggle to stay open in our slowly improving economy, owners and operators need to look for creative ways to stay viable and provide quality golf course conditions and the highest levels of customer service possible. Golf courses need to set themselves apart from their competitors so they can capture enough repeat rounds and the corresponding revenue to be successful.

There are a number of ways to do this, but recently I’ve been involved with a unique approach that the City of Phoenix is undertaking for a couple of their facilities.

The City of Phoenix has six golf complexes. They have recently created partnerships with two local universities to take over the operation of two of their golf courses. These relationships are a true win/win for both the city and the universities.

The general premise behind these partnerships came about because the city was struggling to put funds into their golf operations. As we all know, many municipalities are still struggling financially and their focus remains on the necessary services and programs that serve the majority of the population. These services include: police and fire protection, water/electricity, public works and sanitation. The problem is that recreational opportunities generally take a back seat.

By partnering with Arizona State University (ASU) and Grand Canyon University (GCU), the City of Phoenix will be able to continue to provide golfing opportunities to the community. Conversely, the universities, who have golf teams and want to have a “home course” where their teams can practice and hold tournaments, also benefit from this arrangement.

Basically, these partnerships are long-term contracts (as much as 30 years) and require the universities to invest much needed capital into the facilities and bring them up to today’s golf industry standards. Frankly, the cities have not been able to invest money into the infrastructure to keep the facilities competitive. There are many years of deferred maintenance that have run down the courses.

Another point in the agreement that is very important is that both the city and universities have agreed to continue to strike a balance between university team play and tournaments with public play so the residents still feel welcome at their municipal golf course. There are also stipulations related to affordable, accessible golf for residents.

In both cases, the universities have also agreed to construct new modern clubhouses and golf shops, improve the condition of the golf courses by putting money into new equipment, irrigation systems and in some cases even re-building greens, tees, bunkers, re-grassing and in general improving the entire facility. These improved facilities will provide more visibility and allow Phoenix and the universities to market and promote something everyone can be proud of.

These improvements will not only benefit the golfers who play golf at these facilities, but they will also add value to and improve the local neighborhoods adjacent to the golf courses.

How am I involved in these golf operations? It’s really quite simple. Most universities are not in the business of operating and managing golf courses on a daily basis, so they hire management companies like OB Sports, where I work, to manage and maintain them for the schools. We are fortunate to be involved in these two unique situations in Phoenix and actually reversing the trend of struggling golf course closures by improving them and adding value.

Who knows, this may be a model for other municipalities across the country to save their golf courses and continue to provide affordable and improved golfing opportunities to their residents and visitors of their communities.

This article is tagged with and posted in Columns, Maintenance

About the Author: Mark Woodward

Mark Woodward is president of Mark Woodward and Associates, principal of DaMarCo Golf, CEO of MasterStep Golf Group and a contributing editor for Golfdom.


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