Wednesday, Jun. 09, 2010

Raleigh misses ball on golf course

This state is the scene of Ben Hogan's first professional victory, the site of Payne Stewart's final fist pump and an enduring attraction for golf addicts who travel from afar to get a taste of North Carolina's famed public courses.

You'd think the capital city of a state this rich in golf tradition - a city with 400,000 people and mostly mild weather patterns - would have its own golf course.

And, sadly, you'd be wrong.

Somehow, the City of Oaks has never bothered to build or buy its own municipal course. It came close about a decade ago, when Raleigh Country Club was for sale. But the city passed on the chance to turn the private club into a quality public venue.

For those of you who don't spend hours reading golf magazines for swing tips or putting on your office carpet, let this humble hack clue you in: It's highly unusual for a city of this caliber not to own a golf course. And it's especially rare for a city with beautiful weather nine months a year and such a wide array of parks and recreation options.

"Oh yeah, it sure is unusual," said Ronnie Casper, the head professional at the public Raleigh Golf Association course, which is owned by stockholders. "

In Florida and different areas they have them everywhere. As big as this place is, you would think there would be one here. The city just never took it on."

Casper has been at RGA for more than 37 years, and his opinion is shared by others in the local golf community.

I moved here from Oklahoma. I grew up near Tulsa, a city roughly Raleigh's size but with far more golf courses. The City of Tulsa owns four, and Tulsa County runs two.

Even Norman, Okla., a city about one-fourth the size of Raleigh, has its own track.

I've played all of those Oklahoma courses. They aren't Augusta National, but the prices are low and the greens roll just fine. And, they remain busy in the peak of national economic troubles.

Most courses are either quality or affordable. But city-owned links can be both, which is one of the many reasons Raleigh should revisit its golf options.

Why not?

I posed that question last week to City Manager Russell Allen. He offered some valuable insights into the complex financial factors that go into either buying or acquiring a course.

Allen said there are examples of courses throughout the country that lose money, break even and profit.

"It is certainly not some sort of forgone conclusion that you would break even," Allen said. "It's expensive to maintain courses. Depending on amenities, what condition it's kept in, what kind of clubhouse facilities you have, it can be a challenging business."

I know taking on such a project is not the most popular idea in the teeth of a grueling recession, in the midst of the ongoing stalemate on the Lightner public safety center, and with the city's debt soaring higher than a Phil Mickelson flop shot.

But this town could use a low-price, public golf course that doesn't resemble a goat ranch.

The city, after all, is carving out greenways at the hefty price of $1 million a mile. It would likewise take millions to launch a golf course, but the links offer a few perks that the greenways don't, namely, permanent jobs and a potential return in revenue.

Tee it up, Raleigh.

Ray Martin is a recovering golf addict whose handicap has skyrocketed since joining The N&O staff. He now writes about golf more than he plays.