(Photo of City Park GC by Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite.com)

The city council approved new maximum fees that could make playing 18 holes at any of Denver’s six courses cost up to 51 percent more, with season passes raised to be on par with what the area ski resorts charge. But the director of the Parks & Recreation department admitted that actual rates will be determined by market demand.

At some point in the next two years, golfers may have to pay more to swing and putt at city-owned courses in Denver, Colo., reported Denverite.com, the website of Colorado Public Radio.

The Denver City Council passed new maximum fees on April 6th by a vote of 7 to 0, Denverite.com reported, with several council members cast out to a virtual Zoom island where they could not vote.

But exactly when prices will rise, and by how much, remains an open question, Denverite.com reported. While the city’s golf division can now legally raise greens fees by as much as 51 percent, the market will determine the actual cost, said Scott Rethlake, Director of Golf for Denver Parks and Recreation.

“Really, the customers set the fee, as they do with any business,” Rethlake told Denverite.com. “If I go to council and ask for a $50 increase and nobody pays it, then that wouldn’t make any sense, because we wouldn’t make the money we need to operate.”

The new maximum fees for the city’s six courses—City Park, Willis Case, Overland, Kennedy, Evergreen and Wellshire—were set at $44 for weekdays and $55 for weekend/holiday play for 18 holes, and at $24 (weekday) and $29 for 9 holes. Maximum senior rates were set for $27 (18 holes) and $16 (9 holes) at all times, and maximum Junior rates were set for $19 (18 holes) and $12 (9 holes).

Maximums for season passes were set to be on par with what area ski resorts charge, Denverite.com reported.

Rethlake believes $47 for 18 holes on the weekend and $36 for 18 holes on a weekday are the sweet spots and what the market will let Denver charge, given its competition, Denverite.com reported. If those rates stand, Denver’s courses would remain at the bottom half of the local market, according to a Parks & Rec analysis that compared Denver’s prices with 31 other area courses.

The fee hikes will also help to fund youth golf programs, Denverite.com reported.

The city’s golf courses also need to charge more to keep up with higher operations costs for labor, fuel and fertilizer, Rethlake said.

But Rethlake will ultimately defer to the market, which could very well keep prices low. “I don’t know that we anticipate things changing very much, until things get to at least semi-normal,” he said, “and who knows when that’s going to be.”

No fees would change until May 1st at the earliest, Rethlakes said.

City Councilwoman Candi CdeBaca, one of those who was unable to vote on April 6^th, had previously voiced her objections to any fee increases, Denverite.com reported, because they would undermine the public’s ability to play golf. And with the COVID-19 pandemic having currently shut down Denver’s city-owned courses indefinitely, CdeBaca said, it has become an even worse time to raise prices.

“We know that these golf enterprises, specifically City Park Golf Course in my district, is one of the few affordable golf courses for people who enjoy the sport and don’t have the luxury of expendable income at the levels most golf courses require,” CdeBaca said when casting a vote the previous week against publishing the fee-increase bill, Denverite.com reported. “So at a time like this, we want to encourage as many people to experience it as possible, and we limit those possibilities by increasing these fees.”

Basing prices on demand “eliminates low-income people from utilizing our golf courses,” especially on the weekend, CdeBaca added.

But the prospect of any increase wouldn’t be enough to drive Don Holloman away from the courses, Denverite.com reported. Holloman plays Denver courses all the time with his buddies—or at least he did before the courses closed. He’s older than 62 and technically a senior, and is also retired and plays on the weekdays, so the most he would see would be a maximum bump of $4 in greens fees.

“We’d rather not pay it, but we would still play,” Holloman said. “That wouldn’t keep us away. Truth is, the Denver courses are a deal.”