This Sunday Chronicle article reviews the status of Houston’s municipal golf course system, which has run a deficit for the past five years, including a cool $620,000 for the most recent fiscal year. Although rounds are down at all muni courses other than the City’s crown jewel at Memorial Park, Brock Park was responsible for over 75% of the losses in the most recent fiscal year.
Frankly, the City of Houston needs to phase out of the golf business entirely. Although providing golf courses for citizens made sense a generation ago, the proliferation of a wide-variety of private daily fee courses in the Houston area have made most of the muni courses not only unattractive by comparison, but also unnecessary. Such a marketplace of private golf courses did not exist when the City of Houston developed its municipal golf system, but given the development of that private marketplace over the past 30 years, there is simply no longer any reason for the City of Houston to subsidize golf operations for a relatively small number of its citizens.
Here is a “thinking outside the box” suggestion for the Houston City Council on the golf course operation. Other than Memorial Park and Hermann Park golf courses, sell the remainder of the golf courses, including a sale or donation of the Gus Wortham Course to the University of Houston, which could then invest the funds necessary to renovate that tract into a potentially fine university course close to the University’s Central Campus. With a portion of the funds generated from the sale of the courses, the City could then fund an endowment to be administered by the Houston Golf Association to promote golf to underprivileged children and citizens of Houston.
The foregoing would be a “win-win” situation for the City of Houston and its citizens. Not only would the City shed the cost of its unprofitable golf operation and provide the city’s main public University with a convenient home for its storied golf program, the City would maintain two very good, profitable and well-located municipal golf courses, and provide its citizens who need it the recreational opportunity to enjoy the game of golf.
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I have many, many memories of staring across the chasm on the first hole at Brock Park when I was a teen and really, really hoping I could get the ball across it. Good memories of a decent little course that is so far removed geographically from what many people consider “golf country” in Houston (i.e. the North and South sides of town) that when I tell people today about where it is, they don’t believe me (“just turn left off highway 90 at the BFI landfill sign and drive a few miles…”).
No regrets to see Glenbrook die. That tortuous layout, where they see how many times they can get you to hit across the bayou, is almost farcical. Always had a soft spot for Gus Wortham, since it was always easy to get on, and is a pretty good layout (used to be the Houston Country Club back in the day). You could also walk twilight there for $12, unheard of these days.
Here’s hoping that by phasing out these courses, there is still a reasonably-priced place for kids to play and learn the game. Our parents used to be able to drop us off at Bear Creek (not a city course) and pick us up 4 or 5 hours later, all for less than $20 to get out of their hair on a summer day. Those were good times, and lead to a lifetime appreciation for the game. I hope kids in future have the same chance, without having to shell out $60 bucks a round.
The only thing that can truly kill golf off is the elitism and snobbery of golfers.
Tom Kirkendall solves the city’s golf course problem
Yesterday the Chronicle ran a Matt Stiles story on Houston’s municipal golf system. Tom Kirkendall has some more thoughts on the city being in the golf course business, and a great idea on how the…
I don’t much have a problem with the city operating municipal golf courses. That being said, I agree that it is senseless for the city to continue to offer municipal golf courses that have failed to compete effectively with the experience offered by other courses.
Other cities (Chicago and Los Angeles come to mind) have fine golf facilities on valuable real estate that manage to do just fine, but they partially do so by offering a unique experience and appealing to a different part of the community (In Los Angeles, the muni courses also offer affordable and accessible golf).
I picked up golf in my late 30’s and was able to do so because I was in Los Angeles at the time and could take advantage of a fine municipal 3-par 9 hole course at Pico and Fairfax (across from Fox Studios). On such courses, those new to golf can begin to learn iron play, get comfortable with playing around those of similar skills and become competent enough to keep their game moving on a regular course. Fathers can play with young children, children’s instructional leagues can form, corporations can use the facility for corporate outings. These courses are wonderful.
Also, a 3,600yd, 9-hole executive course close to the city would offer a unique opportunity for intermediate golfers to play longer holes and for those wanting to play a quick 9 to get in some golf.
Finally, a driving range in addition to Memorial would be handy.
Think of the advantages of an executive 9-hole with a driving range close to the convention center. Possibly create incentives to incorporate some townhouse/condos on or close to the property to create an urban golf community feel, close to the new light rail line and the convention center. Urban renewal that appeals to many demographics and is accessible via mass transit.
The problem isn’t that the city is in the municipal golf business as much as that the city isn’t offering much of a compelling golfing experience. Much like most businesses the city gets into, its not a misguided idea as much as a mismanaged idea.
Charles, the difference between LA and Chicago, on one hand, and Houston, on the other, is that both the former cities lack the close-in space to have good private, daily fee courses. Due to its low density of population, Houston has been able to develop that attribute. Unfortunately, that has detracted from its municipal golf courses and made it more expensive to compete with the private daily fee courses. Memorial is really the only one that can, and that’s only because of the capital invested to renovate the course during the 1990’s. Before that, even Memorial was not competing well.
Being a golfer, I do not have a problem with the City using some of its recreation budget to promote golf. And I would certainly hope that a couple of the city’s golf courses (Brock Park comes to mind) would be sufficiently attractive to a private golf course investor to maintain it as a private daily fee course. However, with good facilities at both Memorial and Hermann, my sense is that some sort of HGA-City program to promote golf is going to be a sounder and more effective program than running most of the City’s muni’s poorly and at a loss.
Good stuff. I definitely agree. I was surprised when I read the Chronicle article. Not being a golfer, I didn’t realize the city owned so many courses. It really doesn’t make sense, except for the Memorial and Hermann courses.
I agree that managing golf courses at a loss is not a legitimate use of tax revenues. Especially so when courses are competing against privately run operations and losing.
I do, however, believe that the concept of municipal golf in Houston is one that is mismanaged, not misguided.
I would VERY much like to see a three-par 9-hole and a 9-hole executive course developed that is close to downtown and is accessible by the new route of the danger train. It would be nice to have a destination for the danger train and have youth athletic facilities accessible via some bus or bus/rail combination without parents having to drive the kids to the facilities. Also, it would be nice to have some facilities for vistors who are in town for events at the convention center to enjoy.
Maybe we should declare it a public safety issue. That seems to be the buzz word that gets things green-lighted by the current administration.