by Fred Seely
Editorial Director
The PGA Tour is opting out of its contract to operate the Golf Club of Jacksonville and the City is seeking other operators for the Westside facility.
The course, now 17 years old, is owned by the City and was built with an operating agreement with the Tour. It was designed by Bobby Weed and is adjacent to the Bent Creek housing development off 103rd Street.
“When we got into the project, there wasn’t much golf in that area. Now, people have choices. We feel like we did our share. We provided affordable golf,” said Vernon Kelly, the president of the Tour’s Golf Properties division. “Play has fallen off somewhat and the Tour simply doesn’t want to put more money into it. Our niche is Tour golf, not operating municipal facilities.”
The City is now preparing the Request For Proposals and hopes to advertise the project soon, according to Pam Wilson, the spokesperson for the City’s Parks and Recreation Department.
The course was built at a time when there were more golfers than courses, a dynamic that now has turned around. The City did not own a course and was under pressure to fill the void.
(The City owned both the now-defunct Brentwood and what is now Hyde Park, and sold both in the early 1970s to avoid integrating them.)
Kelly explained, “When we started, we had several motivations. One was the fact that it’s our hometown and we wanted to do something here.
“We also noted the trend in municipal golf around the country. Municipal courses all too often get into the political process and the course suffers. The City is expected to provide very, very low rates, yet keep up a course. They can’t raise fees without problems from the politicians, who are hearing from those on fixed incomes.
“And, money is too often siphoned off to other areas of the City budget.”
He added, “With our operating the Golf Club of Jacksonville, that insulated the course from the City. We had affordable fees, yet we also could maintain a quality facility.
“We also thought that we might show the way for other cities — a demonstration project, if you will. If we could do it here, they could do it in their towns. For whatever reason, that never caught on.”