The Yarmouth, Mass., facility has undergone a $2 million, two-year renovation to position it for growth in a highly competitive golf market.
The transformation is complete at Bayberry Hills Golf Course in Yarmouth, Mass., where a two-year, $2 million renovation has concluded and play has resumed, the Dennis, Mass. Wicked Local reported.
Competition is heated in the area and amid the renovations, the course is likely to be a financial boon for the community, Wicked Local reported.
Patricia Armstrong, Yarmouth’s Director of Community Services, recently gathered a group of town officials and others connected with the golf community to celebrate the upgrade to Bayberry Hills, according to Wicked Local.
“This is now one of the best courses on [Cape Cod],” she told the website.
“That’s where Yarmouth should have always been, because Yarmouth was the first course on the Cape in 1902 when Bass River started,” Armstrong added, referring to the other town-owned course.
According to the website, Yarmouth’s town-owned golf courses generated $3.3 million in revenue in fiscal 2017, a drop of $122,000 from the previous year.
Expenditures exceeded revenue by $143,112 for fiscal 2017, according to the Annual Town Report.
As has been a trend in many areas, including trendy Cape Cod, the golf industry is battling a number of factors that have led to fewer rounds played, including the cost, time factors and other issues. This has led to competition among the dozens of town-owned and private golf courses on the Cape.
Jim Armentrout, Yarmouth’s Golf Director, told the website that the Yarmouth courses, “had a surplus in its enterprise account up until the current year.”
While the construction project would negatively impact fiscal 2017 and 2018 at Bayberry Hills, Armentrout said revenue will “drop below break even this year” but begin a recovery now that the improvements are in place.
City officials told the website they were pleased with the work of Tim Gerrish, the course designer hired by the town, who fulfilled several criteria for Bayberry Hills.
“We wanted a golf course that looks difficult, plays fair to the average player and still remains challenging to the accomplished player,” Armentrout said.
Gerrish, based in Providence, R.I., formerly worked with the Cornish-Silva company that designed Bayberry Hills in 1988.
As part of the renovation, more than 3,000 trees were removed to create wider fairways. Bunkers were rebuilt. Forward teeing areas were also added and three tees were resurfaced. The golf cart path system was also improved, eliminating some wear and tear from playing surfaces.
The end result is a nearly 7,300 yard course that officials hope will attract new business and repeat players paying greens fees in addition to the course’s members.
Bayberry Hills was originally was designed by Geoffrey Cornish and Brian Silva. It opened in 1988. The layout includes 27 holes.
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