A City Owned Golf Course....  

January 10, 2000

Everything is up to date in Lake Wales… Great new Mall, brand spankin’ new city hall and now, as I read in the papers we are going have a new municipal golf course!  According to City Hall that golf course may be ready for golfers in another couple of years!  We are assured that this will expand recreational opportunities, be a “first class” operation and expand the tax base.  As a golfer, this sounds like a great thing to me….  More choices, my golf subsidized by the taxpayers… But who will play? 

We know have two first class golf courses within 5 minutes of Central and First Streets.  The Lake Wales Country Club is a superbly run and cared for golf course.  True, it is private but many, many residents of Lake Wales are members and play their golf there.  Oakwood Golf Club is a public facility that is possible the nicest golf layout in Central Florida,  the new  owners and hard at work making it even better.  Just south of town we have Highland Hills.  A little farther south we have Lily Lake, a challenging 9 hole par three course.

 A little way out of town we have a pleasant layout at Indian Lake Estates.  North of us we have the Grenelefe layout, Diamond Back and Sun Aire golf courses.  East of us we have Bartow Golf Course.  A little further we have Winter Haven with several choices.  Haines City?  Sure,  they have the fine Southern Dunes layout. 

 One of the rationales for having a golf course on this property is a survey of the area that says there are many, many golfers that can’t get on the course.  The term used is “Unmet rounds of golf”.  Let me tell you about my own survey.

 As I write this on Friday afternoon, I called each one of the courses mentioned and was able to get a tee time for tomorrow, Saturday.  That tells me that maybe we are over golf coursed or under golfered!  To be fair, if I did that little survey in the middle of March, it may be a little more difficult, but I know I could play golf with a little work!  Remember, if you build a golf course you have to mow, fertilize, debug, and staff twelve months a year.

 Around the area we have seen the problems of municipally run golf courses.  Before we seriously think about a city golf course, I would ask the following… 

1. Do golfers really have a problem  getting  tee times on courses within a 10 minute drive?
2. Do they have any problem finding a quality golf course?
3. Could we use this land to meet other areas of “unmet needs” that are not provided by the private sector?
4. If it is to be a golf course, I would ask that the land be sold or leased at fair market rates and that the developer be the one to take the business risks, not the taxpayers of Lake Wales.

 A resounding “No” can answer the first two questions.  The third question can be answered by a little investigation.   If you had money to invest in a golf course, would Lake Wales be where you would put your money.  The market place should answer, not a market that is skewed by the lure of low cost land and subsidies by taxpayers.

 And you can be assured that the taxpayers in some way or manner will subsidize the golf course.  I have some understanding of governments competing with private industry.  I am associated with the private camping business and all over the country, counties, states and the federal government have campgrounds that compete with the private campground owners.  It is difficult to compete when you have to pay taxes, earn enough to put food on the table with an entity where pricing is not an issue, the land costs zero and you never have to pay real estate taxes.  (Of course they never have to pay income taxes of course, but with their pricing they would never make a profit!). 

I would think carefully before saddling the taxpayers with a business that takes constant care, diligence and imagination to succeed.

 I think that Lake Wales has many ‘unmet” needs, but a golf course is not one of them.  Perhaps we could use a corner of that land and have a city owned funeral home and small cemetery…  After all our Mayor and commissioner, Cliff Tonjes has said that that there would be a city owned golf course “over my dead body”.  When and if a golf course is a reality… we would be prepared!