The days of free golf in East Dublin are over, but Victor Forstmann Golf Course is still ideal for the golfer on a budget.
The city took over the quirky, nine-hole course two years ago after the financially ailing textile company said it could no longer keep it up. For the city, golf course maintenance has been a learning experience, but players say the course has improved, even if they do have to pay to play now.
For years, the course was unusual in that golfers could play for free. The company originally built it for employees, but eventually allowed the public to play. Always on the rugged side, it had severely declined when the city took it over and began charging people to play.
Stevie Meeks, a former employee of the plant, started playing there when the course opened in 1960. He still plays almost every weekend.
"It's been better since they took it over," he said. "It's nothing like Riverview (Dublin's municipal course), but they are working on it. We enjoy it."
On the greens, golfers might have to take relief to avoid putting through a small ant hill, and playing out of the unraked bunkers can be a real adventure. But for the golfer of limited resources, Forstmann is still the course to play. Green fees for nine holes are only $3. A cart can be rented for an additional $4.25.
The city expects the course to continue to advance in quality.
"We figured it would be three years before we could really do anything," East Dublin Mayor George Gornto said. "It would take that long to improve it."
City Manager Larry Drew estimated the course generates about $400 a week, but costs about $2,000 per week to maintain.
Gornto said that doesn't give the true picture. As a part of the deal, Forstmann agreed to be annexed into the city, and Gornto said that allowed the city to charge a higher franchise fee to the power company. When that is factored in, he said, the course is more than paying for itself.
"It's really not costing the city anything," he said.
On weekends, the city accepts green fees and rents carts at the adjacent Boy Scout cabin. During the week, golfers are expected to drop money in an "honor box" at the first tee. But in a sport in which honor is an essential element, many golfers haven't grasped that concept.
"There's a lot of them who don't pay, I'm sure," Drew said.
Carts can be rented during the week at city hall, and the city will take the cart to the course.
The city doesn't have anyone on staff with prior experience in golf course maintenance, so it has relied heavily on the advice of others. Extension agent Raymond Joyce has been instrumental, Gornto said, and managers at all three of the county's other courses have lent their advice.
After all, the Forstmann golf course is credited with bringing many people into the game.
"It's amazing how many people learned to play golf there," Meeks said. "I don't know how many people I've talked to, that's the first place they played."
It's still an ideal course for the beginning golfer. In addition to the low cost, it has no water hazards, and the city has cleared out most of the brushy areas that gobbled up wayward shots. But perhaps most of all, it's a low-traffic course. On a weekday, golfers can hack their way around all day long and never have a witness.
And for the experienced player, it presents some unique challenges. Where else would a golfer attempt a shot over a moving train?
Gornto hopes that by next year the course will be in good enough shape that the city can start having regular course tournaments to bring in additional revenue.
Mark Tarpley, a part-time firefighter for the city, does much of the maintenance work at the course. He doesn't play golf and knew nothing about looking after a course when he started.
"All I knew about grass was that you were supposed to cut it," he said.
Having almost gotten around the learning curve, he expects golfers to see more improvement in the course next year. Despite some of the problems that still exist, most people are happy just to see the course still open and getting better.
"The people that play, they are real satisfied," Tarpley said.
Source: The Macon Telegraph (Georgia)
