The Business of Waterbury Golf Courses

Waterbury golf courses are losing money and the mayor along with the Board of Alderman are going to meet to see how this could be reversed. The courses do not pay local taxes so as a business it has an advantage. Both have had major renovations done within the last ten years which include irrigation, cart paths, redesign (East Mountain), state of the art equipment; most of which have been paid for by government grants from the state. The courses are in better condition then they were over a decade ago when they operated profitably so what happened?

For the most part golf courses are tough businesses to run. Pro-shops, carts, green fees pay for equipment, maintenance and employees. The difficulty comes from year long expenses paid for with seasonal income. Even though private courses don't have the advantage of an operating budget stemming form city hall or renovations from state grants not to mention running tax free, for the most part they are profitable and in better shape.

What troubles the operation of Waterbury courses is its business structure. Each course has a manager (foreman) that oversees the daily maintenance. Both managers answer to a general manager. The general manager answers to a committee which sets policy and a mayor who is in charge of the city. To qualify to be a foreman the individual has to have knowledge of golf course maintenance. To be the the general manager the qualifications are more extensive which includes the knowledge of different types of grass how it grows, what inhibits its growth, how to treat it. Along with this knowledge comes chemicals and its application. Here is where the problems arise. Take a car dealership for instance; who would be better to run such a business the person who knows how to fix even to build a car or someone who knows how to sell them? In Waterbury the business of selling fees is the guy who has the knowledge of grass, so if new equipement is needed the likely way to pay for it is to charge more in fees. In 1992 to play eighteen holes cost $13, today it is more then doubled. With each increase in fees comes the likelihood of less business. Today the courses have less business, better shape, less business.

When the Mayor and Board meet they may get bogged down on the wrong side of the ledger. That is to say expenses could be trimmed, altered, put off budget, blaming managers etc. None of this will serve the long term financial health of the parks. The courses could run in the black if the analysis of the operations are done from the perspective of business, not accounting practices or blame or politics. The qualification of a general foreman seems to be the crux of a solution however essential knowledge of maintenance is, it does not include what it takes to run a business. It is not practical to ask for a business degree along with the necessary horticultural training for a position, but without it there is a void that needs to be filled.

Politics is not the same art as business and it is in the sphere of the latter that will determine the fate of the former. That is not to say that a solution could not be found. The decision makers have taken a step to look at the problem and not let it deteriorate. That this is being done when the town is running a surplus is politics at its best, the mayor and the board ought to be commended.