Although Bolado Park Golf Club’s president told members a “miracle” is needed to stay open, agricultural district leaders who oversee the state-owned recreational spot are hopeful that golf will remain as the primary use.
Bolado Park Golf Club’s President Ed Barrios recently sent a letter to members about the financially troubled, nine-hole course, according to the document submitted to the Free Lance last Friday. The letter dated Nov. 8 cites a membership decline and lacking outside play in telling members they would need to “create a miracle” to save the golf course.
The document mentions an immediate debt of $40,000 while Barrios writes that he hopes sending the letter to local media outlets may create awareness and help to save the course. Bolado Park Golf Club last came public with its serious financial troubles in late 2010, when club leaders previously talked of a possible closure before finding the money to stay open.
Barrios’ letter acknowledges how golf courses throughout the state are closing or “barely hanging on” – due to declining interest – and says Bolado Park Golf Course is at that “crossroad” now.
Barrios in an interview with the Free Lance said the club’s biggest problem is a need for more members. Bolado has seen an uptick in play from other players but not enough to offset the deficit, which Barrios estimated at around $1,500 a month.
Bolado Park Golf Club is down to 36 members and needs to double that number to remain sustainable, Barrios said. In its heyday in the 1990s, there were close to 300 members.
“Golf is decreasing nationwide,” Barrios said, “and we really didn’t want to shut this place down because it’s a treasure for the county.”
That downturn for golf has hit the local industry hard, as the two private clubs in the county have experienced difficulties of their own with decreased demand. Barrios said the club’s problem isn’t maintenance, which has been kept up well over the past 12 months for a relatively inexpensive cost. Rather, it is simply a demand issue. That has the 33rd Agricultural District – which oversees the nearby Bolado Park fairgrounds as well – exploring options for a prospective, new operator.
The 33rd Agricultural District of the state owns the land on which the golf course is built and leases it to the club for $2,000 monthly, an amount lowered in recent years to help the club stave off debt issues. The club also spends about $2,000 monthly on water costs. There are additional costs for food and beverage supplies and the leased carts, Barrios said.
Mike Cullinan, president of the 33rd Agricultural District, said board members have been “extremely patient” with the club.
“They’re trying the best they can,” Cullinan said of the Bolado club leadership. “Most of them don’t have the experience of running golf courses.”
About three weeks ago, the district put out a request for proposals to attract potential operators. Cullinan remains optimistic a new operator will show interest and step up to the proverbial tee. The deadline to submit a proposal to run the course is at the end of November, while Cullinan hopes to have everything resolved by Jan. 1.
“We anticipate probably getting some proposals,” he said.
Paul Rovella, vice chairman of the agricultural district board, agreed with the sentiment about trying to keep golf as the primary use on the property.
“We don’t have any plans to shut it down or anything like that,” Rovella said. “The group that’s out there right now has been a very passionate group about the golf course. I think that passion is extended beyond just the current board.”
Rovella mentioned the popularity of the First Tee program in Salinas and wondered whether that might work well at Bolado Park. And although golf may not be affordable to a majority of local residents – a set of golf clubs and other equipment alone can set an average family back too far to even consider the sport – Rovella believes it’s the relative affordability of Bolado compared with other local courses that can drive demand.
“I think it’s a matter of getting the word out that there is this affordable option out there,” he said.
Affordability depends on who’s paying the membership or greens fees, but Rovella believes there is a “niche market” for golf at Bolado Park.
Right now, there is a discounted membership charge of $500 annually for the first year, though it normally runs $900. A membership for residents under age 17 is $250, while those costs do not include cart fees of $600 annually if members choose that option. A membership for a “man and wife” combination is $1,350, according to the Bolado Park Golf Club website. There is also a deal for a one-month membership of $100.
As for course fees charged to non-members, the regular weekday fee is $17 while the weekend fee is $24 for adults – with lower fees for “twilight” play after noon.
Although agricultural district board members are supportive of efforts to keep golf at the location, they are realistic about looking at other options if the sport does not pan out there. The course was built in 1946 on land deeded to the state in perpetuity with a guarantee it remains used for recreational purposes.
Rovella said the long-term use remains unclear. In the short term, the district has an interest in continuing on with golf.
“I think if there’s waning or no interest in running the course, or at least not any interest in doing it in a fashion that is not a burden on the 33rd Agricultural District, then I think at that point we start looking at other options,” he said.
