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(ajc.com)
To those who regularly play it, Candler Park Golf Course is like a eccentric old neighbor: a little fuzzy around the edges, set in its ways and, when in the right mood, pretty good company.
So when rumors began circulating recently that the 84-year-old facility could be closing, concerned linksters have responded as if to an illness of a friend.
Atlanta's parks commissioner says Candler Park residents and/or golfers need not worry that the money-losing course will close anytime soon.
But a wide-ranging financial study of the city's golf courses could bring about a variety of changes at the neighborhood course, where adults take their dogs on morning walks and children sled during snow days.
Atlanta is not alone. Seeking solutions for public courses threatened by the wallet-tightening by recreational golfers, Cobb, Gwinnett and other counties have tried a range of strategies, from taking back ownership of courses to investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in upgrades.
The study by a Colorado consultant, due later this month, could spur ideas for how Atlanta can maximize its revenue from courses ranging from the heavily trafficked one at Chastain Park to the quirky nine-holer at Candler Park.
"We're doing our due diligence," said George Dusenbury, the city's commissioner of parks, recreation and cultural affairs. "There are no short-term plans to shut down the Candler Park golf course."
But he added: "Asking the city what it's going to do in four or five years is very tough for us to answer."
American Golf Corp. of Santa Monica, Calif. runs Atlanta's Candler Park course under a management agreement that took effect in 2006. The company also signed leases through 2016 covering the city's four other courses: North Fulton Golf Course at Chastain Park, Bobby Jones, Browns Mill and Alfred Tup Holmes.
Overall, the city makes about $450,000 per year from the four leases with American Golf Corp. The Chastain Park course in particular is a powerhouse, with 50,000 rounds played last year and enough revenue to help offset a loss at Candler Park.
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