The Santa Cruz, Calif., property has been working on the proposal for 30 years, and will build a 500,000-gallon storage tank with pumping and filtration station that is scheduled to be complete by May 2017. In San Luis Obispo, Calif., Dairy Creek Golf Course is in danger of closing, due partly to the decreased inmate population at California Men’s Colony treatment plant, which provides the golf facility with recycled water.
The future of Pasatiempo Golf Club in Santa Cruz, Calif., has been secured, at least for the next three decades, Golf Advisor reported.
The property, which features an Alister MacKenzie golf course, recently signed a 30-year agreement with the neighboring community of Scotts Valley for the rights to use recycled city water previously pumped into the ocean, Golf Advisor reported.
“It is an absolute historic event for Pasatiempo,” said General Manager Scott Hoyt, adding that the club has been working on the proposal for 30 years. “It is a huge celebration for us. We don’t know of any other courses that have three water sources like us. This started out as water security. It turned out to be beneficial cost-wise.
“The biggest variable in golf—especially in California—is water, whether you can get it and what the cost is.”
The financial implications of the deal will be difficult on the club in the short term, with Pasatiempo paying for the entire cost of the water upfront—$1.6 million spread over the next five years—leaving no payments the final 25 years of the agreement, Hoyt said. The club has also taken out a loan to pay for an $8 million project to build a 500,000-gallon storage tank and its own pumping and filtration station. Ground will be broken May 17 with scheduled completion in May 2017, Golf Advisor reported.
Hoyt indicated the storage tank will be 85% buried behind Pasatiempo’s 13th green and will be mostly covered by landscaping. No holes will close during construction, Golf Advisor reported.
The deal comes of the heels of a difficult 2014 golf season when the city of Santa Cruz cut Pasatiempo’s fresh-water irrigation supply by 50% due to the ongoing California drought. The subsequent brownout brought scathing online reviews, which scared away some customers, Golf Advisor reported.
The club responded by digging a well, which Hoyt said will be more useful once the storage tank is in place. Drawing from Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley and the well, Pasatiempo now has all the water it needs, no matter how little rain Mother Nature brings, Golf Advisor reported.
“No matter what the golf industry says, firm and fast and brown isn’t good. It didn’t work,” Hoyt said. “We only had enough water for tees and greens. It cost us a boatload of money. If we had to do that every three or four years, it would be financially crippling for us. The customer had no idea what to expect from us (condition-wise) year to year. Now they do.”
In San Luis Obispo, Calif., Dairy Creek Golf Course is in danger of closing after a few low attendance marks during the summer, which county officials are attributing to the dry conditions during that time of year, the San Luis Obispo-based KSBY reported.
“The idea is that the golf program within the county, which is made up of three courses, Morro Bay Golf Course, Dairy Creek Golf Course and Chalk Mountain Golf Course, needs to make enough money to sustain itself, and it can’t,” said San Luis Obispo County Parks Director Nick Franco. “The problem is that our recycled water comes from the California Men’s Colony treatment plant, which is great, and it’s a good partnership, but with the prison population reducing by about half, that means our water delivery has reduced by about half.”
Men’s Colony Lieutenant Monica Ayon said numerous pieces of legislation, a policy change from going from double to single cells at the facility, and the governor’s state-mandated drought restrictions, have all played a part in the drop in inmates, KSBY reported.
“Participation drops significantly in the summer, and that means our revenues drop,” said Franco.
Dairy Creek Golf Course lies within District Two of San Luis Obispo County, which is Supervisor Bruce Gibson’s territory, KSBY reported.
“An interesting connection between criminal justice policy and being able to keep the golf course open,” Gibson said. “I’d certainly like to keep the golf course going, but if it’s not getting played, it poses a real problem.”
The county will look at several options: considering a different water source, adding supplemental ponds, and even converting the golf course into campgrounds or an extension of El Chorro Regional Park, KSBY reported.
“If we, a couple weeks from now, don’t know what direction we need to go, that to me is the worst scenario,” Franco said, adding that the county will not lay off its golf course employees to save money. Layoffs would only happen if a golf course ended up closing, KSBY reported.
The topic is expected to be discussed during next Tuesday’s San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors meeting, where a number of potential solutions will be considered. If no decisions are made, Franco said, the county can maintain the current playing conditions for just one more year, KSBY reported.
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