The D.W. Field Golf Course in Brockton, Mass. is boasting its best financial numbers in decades, even as municipal courses close across the country. Hiring a manager with a degree in turf studies paid immediate dividends when more than 300 broken irrigation heads were repaired within his first three months on the job, transforming the course’s reputation among local golfers.
The city-owned D.W. Field Golf Course in Brockton, Mass. set a course record this year, raising a projected $1.1 million in revenue as municipal courses across the country struggle to break even amid the sport’s decline in popularity, The (Brockton) Enterprise reported.
Nick Giaquinto, chief of staff to Mayor Moises Rodrigues, said the late Mayor Bill Carpenter didn’t play much golf, but he helped secure funding for new staff members and capital improvements that have transformed the course’s reputation among local golfers, The Enterprise reported. One such hire was a manager with a degree in turf studies, who replaced a self-trained predecessor. City officials say the new hire repaired more than 300 broken irrigation heads within his first three months on the job.
“The reputation was that the course was neglected,” said Giaquinto. “Nothing we did in the mayor’s office generated as much of a response as improvements at the golf course.”
The return on investment came quickly, according to Superintendent of Parks Timothy Carpenter, who said the course is now profitable enough to subsidize some of the parks department’s other operations, The Enterprise reported. Revenue projections for this year’s golf season are the highest in city history, according to Carpenter.
Carpenter, who has no relation to the former mayor, told The Enterprise the bulk of that money comes from cart rentals, seasonal passes and greens fees.
“We’re bucking the trend,” said Paul Coutoumas, a golf professional at D.W. Field Park with experience at other municipal courses in the region, The Enterprise reported.
Nationally, there are more municipal courses open now than ever before—about 2,800 according to the National Golf Foundation—but they are serving fewer golfers than they used to, The Enterprise reported. The foundation estimates that during the past 15 years the number of Americans playing golf has fallen from 30 million to 24 million, tightening the financial binds on municipal courses that offer access to an expensive sport for low fees.
Just this year, municipal courses in Houston and Detroit closed, The Enterprise reported, while Seattle and Louisville announced plans to consider alternative uses for the land some of their courses occupy. In Massachusetts, Stoughton’s Cedar Hill Golf Course is among the many that require subsidies to stay open.
Offering nine holes of golf for a $20 green fee, Cedar Hill pulled in just under $206,000 during the latest fiscal year, according to Town Manager Robin Grimm. With operating expenses that approach $250,000, Stoughton asks its taxpayers to cover the difference, The Enterprise reported. In nearby West Bridgewater, town officials sold the right to operate the publicly owned West Bridgewater Country Club to a private company, which pays the town $330,000 per year, according to Town Manager David Gagne.
Financial records for the municipal course in Braintree were not available upon request, The Enterprise reported, but Boston and Bridgewater reported that their golf operations are in the black.
Bridgewater’s Olde Scotland Links breaks even most years, according to Town Manager Michael Dutton, The Enterprise reported. The 18-hole course brought in $1.4 million of revenue during the past fiscal year. Boston, meanwhile, reported $3.2 million of revenue from its two 18-hole courses.
Brockton may not have the most popular course in the region, but city officials can boast that it’s growing in popularity, The Enterprise reported. Carpenter said the D.W. Field Golf Course has nearly doubled its revenue since he took over the parks department in 2011, from $650,000 to a projected $1.1 million this year.
“No longer is it really just for Brocktonians,” Carpenter told The Enterprise. “We are much more of a regional golf course than we were five years ago.”
Brockton’s other two golf courses, Thorny Lea and White Pines, are both privately owned, The Enterprise reported.
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