Two other area golf courses objected to the Niceville, Fla., golf course’s public status, reporting “a decrease in rounds played at their facilities.” The facility went private on December 9, and the public must now be accompanied by an authorized patron to play a round.
The Eglin Golf Course in Niceville, Fla., which features two layouts, went private on December 9 after two other area courses objected to its continued operation as a public course, the Fort Walton Beach-based Northwest Florida Daily News reported.
The two courses’ objections are based on a number of concerns, including “a decrease in rounds played at their facilities, which they attributed to Eglin Golf Course’s public play status,” according to Maj. Jennifer Mack, commander of Eglin Air Force Base’s 96th Force Support Squadron, the Daily News reported.
However, Eglin’s courses could return to public status if the base and the objecting courses can come to an agreement meeting an Air Force requirement that the arrangement is “mutually beneficial to the installation and community golf entities,” according to a news release from Eglin.
The objections to Eglin continuing to operate as a public course were filed by two of the three courses the base is required to consult periodically regarding its courses’ operation. Those courses are the municipal course in Fort Walton Beach and the courses at Bluewater Bay and Rocky Bayou Country Club in Niceville, the Daily News reported.
A base spokeswoman would not say which two courses filed objections about Eglin’s courses. Even if just one of the courses had objected to Eglin’s courses remaining public, the base would have been required to move to private status, the spokeswoman said.
“We are actively engaging with the courses to garner feedback,” Mack said.
Under the new status, the public can still play on the courses, but must be accompanied by an authorized patron, according to the news release. Authorized patrons include active duty, reserve and retired military members, military dependents, Department of Defense civilians and contractors, and certain other people who meet Air Force eligibility requirements, the Daily News reported.
Golf courses on Air Force bases serve primarily as morale, welfare and recreation activities for Air Force members and their families. They can, however, be offered for public use with concurrence “from local golf facilities within a 10-mile radius or from local government/community leaders whose authority encompasses golf facilities within a 10-mile radius of the installation,” Mack said in the email.
The Air Force must obtain that local concurrence every two years, and Eglin previously had approval from the affected courses, Mack noted. As a result of the objections, the Eglin courses’ new private status “will remain in effect until further notice,” Mack said.
According to Mack, the golf courses want to return to public status, the Daily News reported.
“Our goal at Eglin Golf Course is to continue public play in a manner that continues to build positive relationships with similar local businesses,” Mack wrote. “For example, in the past Eglin Golf Course and local courses have hosted ‘Home-and-Home’ golf tournaments, a practice that showcases all the participating courses’ attributes. We’d like to continue to build these types of events in partnership with the community.”
Mack also noted that the course’s switch to private status will negatively affect its relationship with local schools, for which Eglin has provided access to its course for golf programs, the Daily News reported.
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