An original proposal for the first rate increases at the city’s four courses since 2008 would have tripled prices, to put them on par with those at Tascosa Golf Club and Amarillo Country Club. But a compromise was then adopted by the City Council, which feels the quality of its courses justifies the hike, even with declining play and cost-recovery rates.
Golfers will have to shell out more to gain access to the city of Amarillo, Texas’ four municipal courses after a new rate increase goes into effect, but the cost will still be the most affordable in the city of 200,000 in comparison to private-club options, the Amarillo Globe-News reported.
The issue of membership fees at the Ross Rogers and Comanche Trail golf complexes has been a hot topic since City of Amarillo officials proposed tripling the cost of playing the city’s public courses, the Globe-News reported. At a September 12th meeting, the City Council then approved a suggestion to instead double the annual rates.
Annual golf passes for city courses will now rise from $930 to $2,000, the Globe-News reported, while unlimited weekday play for seniors will cost $1,000, up from $570.
Cart rental is another $1,400 annually for the general public, and $1,000 for seniors.
A “mini golf pass” priced at $400 entitles players to 20 rounds at any of the four courses at the two public complexes, the Globe-News reported.
Green fees will increase between $3 and $7 based on the day and time, though they’ll be included in the mini-golf pass and memberships.
Golf course maintenance fees will also inch up a dollar to $4 at Ross Rogers and $3 at Comanche Trail, the Globe-News reported, but will be included in annual or mini-golf passes. Incentives may also be offered for tournaments or non-peak play.
Municipal memberships last increased in 2008, Comanche Trail golf pro George Priolo told the Globe-News, from $860 to $930. Senior rates increased from $590 to $640 as well, then fell to $570 in 2013, when Friday play was eliminated from the package.
“The consumers have had a pretty good deal for many years,” Priolo said. “I don’t think that’s any secret.”
The rates proposed and approved on September 12th will keep the courses more affordable than Amarillo’s private clubs, the Globe-News reported, because they represent a reduction from an original proposal that would have put the municipal prices on par with those at Tascosa Golf Club and Amarillo Country Club.
A full Tascosa Golf Club membership, which includes use of the pool, tennis courts and links with a cart for all immediate family members, is listed at $4,400 on the club’s website, the Globe-News reported, and that matched the previously proposed price for one person playing a year with a cart at city courses.
Tascosa’s 1,150-person cap, however, can be a roadblock for prospective new members, the Globe-News noted.
Amarillo Country Club does not list membership rates online, the Globe-News reported, and the club’s golf pro, Zack Vinson, declined to release them when contacted by the newspaper. A City of Amarillo analysis reported $5,000 memberships, the Globe-News reported, although Vinson said practically none are currently available.
The new rates will also bring the cost to play at Ross Rogers and Comanche Trail more in line with those at city courses in peer cities, the Globe-News reported.
Yearlong memberships under the original proposal would have been 1½ to three times more expensive than courses in the Texas cities of Abilene, Lubbock and Waco, as well as similarly sized cities outside the state, such as Lincoln, Neb., and Greeley, Colo., the Globe-News noted.
The new rates were seen as manageable for regular players like Kevin Brennan, who was using his membership at Comanche Trail on Friday. Brennan told the Globe-News he would likely talk to his wife about renewing her Christmas gift for another year.
But the rate that was originally proposed, Brennan added, would have likely been too steep.
“[Tripling membership rates] would make me seriously doubt whether or not it would be worth it,” he told the Globe-News. “[But] the prices that we’ve been paying for the quality of the courses, especially at Ross, are awesome.”
Had the City Council voted in favor of the fiscal year 2018 budget including the original price increases would have made Amarillo’s municipal courses some of the most expensive in the area, the Globe-News reported.
Hidden Hills Golf Course in Pampa, Texas offers a weekday-only package at $525 per person and $425 for seniors, plus $75 to add a spouse or $125 for another family member. Players can hack away at Pheasant Trails Golf Course in Dumas, Texas for $615 ($435 for seniors). The rates at Palo Duro Creek Golf Course in Canyon, Texas are practically identical to the City of Amarillo’s current pricing: $900 for an annual membership and $570 for those over 60 on weekdays.
Golfers gave the City Council an earful at numerous meetings that were held about the proposed rate increase, the Globe-News reported, including one that was held at the Ross Rogers Golf Complex. When Kalin Audrain went out to play on September 8th, four days before the city scaled back its proposed fees.
“I’ll pay it just because I enjoy golf and I can afford it, but there’s a lot of people that will quit [playing] because there’s not a cheap avenue for golf in town,” Audrain said at the time. “It’s going to decrease the amount of golfers in Amarillo, for sure.”
City officials claim that Amarillo’s four courses are better maintained and offer more variety than others in the Texas Panhandlee, the Globe-News reported—especially those at Ross Rogers, which ranked first and third in the Dallas Morning News’ 2016 list of economy courses.
“We understand it’s a major impact on people’s pockets. We’re still the most affordable golf around,” City Manager Jared Miller said after proposing the $3,000 increase.
“People will dispute that because they’ll say, ‘I can get a better deal in Canyon for an annual pass.’ And I get that,” Miller added. “You can make a better deal, bottom-line dollar-wise. But you’re getting out on one course, [with] that one course being, I would speculate, not near the quality of any of our four courses.”
Golfers were due for a green-fee increase, Priolo, the golf pro at Comanche Trail, said, and coughing up a few extra bucks per round should be a manageable discomfort for weekend warriors, Still, he was shocked by Miller’s $3,000 membership proposal.
“It’s a pretty drastic jump for one year,” Priolo told the Globe-News. “I’ve been [at Comanche Trail] for 26 years and I’ve never seen any increases like that.”
The impetus for raising the city rates has come because Amarillo is projected to recover just 45 percent of its golf course expenditures this year, the Globe-News reported, marking the latest in a steady decline from 70 percent in 2000. Comanche Trail’s 35 percent recovery rate is the lowest of the millennium, the Globe-News added.
Miller has set an ultimate recovery goal of 75 percent for the city courses, the Globe-News reported.
Golfers played about 203,000 rounds at all Amarillo courses, public and private, in 1995, the Globe-News reported, and are on pace for only 152,000 rounds this year, despite adding 64 holes over that time period, according to City of Amarillo statistics. On the four municipal courses, 41 percent fewer rounds will be played in 2017 than 22 years ago.
Councilmembers previously questioned the city’s heavy subsidies for an activity that serves a limited clientele, the Globe-News reported. In addition to the rate increases, officials will also look at options such as reducing operating costs and marketing the courses more heavily via the Amarillo Convention &Visitor Council, Mayor Ginger Nelson told the Globe-News.
And while city officials are loath to shut down one of the four courses, if a route closer to profitability can’t be found, that may be the unfortunate next step. “We’re going to have to make some hard decisions going forward,” Miller told the Globe-News. “How do we increase play? How do we get more efficient with our management? How do we attract more golfers?
“And fundamentally, how much golf can we realistically offer to our community?”
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