Source: Charlotte Observer
The Mooresville Golf Course, in its fourth year of revenue shortfalls, must get out of the red by next year, or town board members will consider alternative ways to operate the course.
The Board of Commissioners gave Director of Golf Charlie Roberts the message at its retreat last week. Alternatives the board discussed included privatizing the course or making it a subsidized recreation program, such as youth basketball, instead of a self-supporting enterprise.
Board members said they believed golf should remain a town amenity but can't continue to subsidize it in its current form.
"Charlie has done a lot, there's a lot of good programs," Commissioner Danny Beaver said. "We can't continue to see it bleed."
The discussion comes as the town launches an outside audit of golf course finances.
Resident Harold Salisbury believes he found a $20,000 discrepancy in golf shop inventory by examining public records. Any number of accounting or inventory management errors could have caused the discrepancy, Salisbury said, and he wants an audit to uncover the problem. "I don't know what caused it," he said.
Internal Auditor Deborah Hockett will work with an outside firm to conduct the audit.
Roberts said Friday he welcomed the audit. "If there's any problems, I'm welcome to change," he said. "I have done nothing that I'm ashamed of."
Recent struggles
The Mooresville Golf Course has a long history. Burlington Mills built the front nine in 1949 to provide recreation for its workers.
In the 1970s, Burlington turned the course over to the town, which built the back nine. The golf course was set up as an enterprise fund, which means it is supposed to operate on money generated by fees, not taxes.
The course did well in the 1990s, but rounds played and revenue started to fall after 1999. In fiscal 2001-02, the course covered a shortfall with savings from more successful years, said Maia Setzer, director of administration and finance.
In 2002-03, the town board gave the golf course $200,000 from the general fund, Setzer said. In 2003-04, the amount was $143,696. The amount budgeted for this year is $190,119.
Roberts, director since 1993, has blamed declines on increased competition, the economy, bad weather, aging greens, vandalism and an overall decline in the golf industry. He says he has cut costs as much as possible without cutting core programs. The course employs three PGA professionals.
At the retreat, he gave a presentation that focused on the successes of 2004. Revenue was up 11 percent over 2003, while expenses grew 4 percent; 9-hole rounds increased 24 percent; and driving range revenue was up 147 percent, largely due to a competitor leaving the market.
The town also signed an agreement with a local charity to make the golf course a site for a junior golf program called First Tee. He offered the board four options: continue the course as it is now; remain an enterprise fund but cut staff and education programs; make the golf course a general-fund program; or privatize.
Commissioner Mitch Abraham said he liked the idea of privatization, but worried that a private company might penny-pinch while trying to make a profit and give the course back to the town in worse shape.
Commissioner Mitchell Mack said he wanted the golf course to better control its costs, but liked the idea of making it a recreation program. "We pay for tennis, we pay for soccer," he said. "The golf course is almost a necessity for our status."
Around the region
Mooresville leaders looking for alternatives could study the region. Other Charlotte-area governments own golf courses, operated in different ways. But many agree that golf is in a slump regionwide.
"It's in one of those valleys right now," said James Alsop, branch manager for enterprise services of Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation. "There are 88 courses in the metro area. The number of courses exceeds the demand for golf."
In Mecklenburg, private companies run the five county-owned courses, and they must pay the county a minimum rent each month, Alsop said. When golf course revenues slip, the companies have to cut costs to make the rent, he said.
Gastonia operates its course as an enterprise fund, much like Mooresville. The course generally breaks even, but the city usually pays for capital improvements, Assistant City Manager Larry Wood said. The Gastonia course has noted a soft market, but discounts the price of golf to compete, he said.
The course does not employ PGA professionals, but contracts with area golf pros to provide programs such as junior golf in the summer, Wood said.
The city of Concord opened the Rocky River Golf Club near Concord Mills mall in 1997. The city contracted with a private company to run it, and set it up as an enterprise fund.
But the course is in the red. The city has spent more than $3 million on the course since it opened, including debt service for the course's construction. This fiscal year, the golf course received $402,613 of its $2.1 million budget from the city general fund.
Tega Cay, S.C., is planning to spend $2.5 million on a 27-hole course if voters approve a referendum. The course has reported losses of $4 million since 2001. In Monroe, the golf course is a part of the recreation department.
"I don't think they've quite made expenses the last couple years or so," said Matthew Bunch, golf course manager.
The course employs one PGA professional, but doesn't have a large focus on golf education, Bunch said. "You go and play your golf," he said. "Our driving range facility isn't much."
