About a year ago, Mayor Terry McAlister had issued a challenge to the Golf Advisory Board to find ways to make the course need to draw less money from the General Fund to cover expenses and operations.
Wells acknowledged that the mayor's concern was something many city residents shared.
"I think we have concerns from the community about what we spend out here," Wells said.
Consequently, Golf Pro Tyler Tarpley, who manages the course for the city, put together a presentation of the master plan for Quail Dunes.
"One of the things we do at the golf course is not play golf," Tarpley told the council.
He said the business plan for the course "is fluid."
"What we've had to come to realize over the last two years is we've had to make some hard decisions regarding rates," he said.
2012 numbers
Tarpley explained that the performance of the golf course "comes down to rounds" played.
The course had people play 15,885 rounds last year, but the budget had called for 16,876 rounds.
Still, the 2012 total rounds was up from the 14,716 playing in 2011.
Tarpley said that the 2012 season had fallen a little short on expectations, but he still called it a "successful" year.
This was because the course brought in more than $14,000 in other incremental revenue.
Another revenue source was the snack bar that opened in 2012.
"We opened the kitchen last year, and that put us up another $23,000," Tarpley told the council.
Tarpley said that youth programs had seen a dip in revenue, but that was because fees were cut in half in the hope of getting more kids involved with learning to play and enjoying playing golf.
"We don't look at youth programs as a revenue driver," he said. "They're going to be future customers for life."
Councilman Scott Bryan asked whether a profit had been made from extra merchandise that the council had approved buying for the pro shop for a specific golf tournament, and Tarpley said that it had made money.
All told, the course had projected for $478,484 in gross revenue, but brought in $487,533. In 2011, the total was $407,395.
Goals, objectives
Tarpley went over some of the changes he is making in hopes of bringing more people to the course this summer and in future years.
"96 percent of our play comes from Morgan County, but not just Fort Morgan," he said. "There's a population we need to target more and get people out here."
One of his top goals for 2013 is to increase the number of non-residents who play at Quail Dunes.
"We're finding that most of our non-daily play is coming from the Denver area," he said. "We can get people to drive out here weekly and play golf."
The way he advertises and markets the course is one thing that's changing and that could factor into achieving that goal.
"A new early trend in golf course management is to get away from print and radio" advertising, he said.
Instead, he's using social media and new technology to try to bring golf traffic to Fort Morgan.
The Fore Reservations Email campaign is one such technological tool that Tarpley said should help get more people to play.
Other examples of this are starting a Birthday Club and better utilization of letting people know by email when last-minute or upcoming tee times are available with the Quick 18 Online program.
Quick 18 will allow people to reserve/purchase tee times through the Quail Dunes website, as well as receiving emails about special tee times or rate deals.
Another of Tarpley's goals is to build up programs that help develop local golfers, such as Get Golf Ready, Junior Golf and Ladies League.
Get Golf Ready is a "special PGA program" that teaches "anything you want to know about golf," Tarpley said. "Our job is to take away the intimidating part of golf."
A big goal is maintaining golf course conditions, he said.
This means having the same type of turf on each green, fairway and tee box, as well as seeking to have green speeds be approximately the same.
"Irrigation improvements have been a huge asset," Tarpley said of the new sprinkler system the council had approved for the course.
He said that incremental improvements have already been made, and more will happen this year.
In other cases, "visually aesthetic improvements" are being made to the course.
Strengths,
weaknesses
Tarpley went over with the council what he saw as Quail Dunes' strengths and weaknesses.
He said the course staff members were a definite strength right now.
"I'm really happy with our staff," he said.
And he gave them a big task: evaluating everything that was being done and whether it needed to continue that way.
"Staff's really done a hard look at why we do the things we do and if they're really necessary," he said. "We found some (things) weren't."
Tarpley said that other resources provided by the city were another of the course's strengths.
And Quail Dunes' location was something Tarpley said worked in its favor.
"Location-wise, we're not that far from Denver, Greeley, Sterling," he said.
Tarpley said that the pace of place was another strength.
"We're probably one of the only places you can come out on a Saturday and play in three hours," he said.
Tarpley said the main weakness the course had was the clubhouse, which has limited seating for larger events, not much room for shelter when it rains and limited space for the growing snack bar.
Not having enough room in the parking lot plays into that issue, as well.
But the consistency of the golf course is a weakness until they can get that under control, Tarpley said.
"We're working on that," he said.
While he had the course's practice facilities listed as a weakness, improvements are underway to the driving range. But the practice putting green "could be a death trap" because of its proximity to the green on the ninth hole.
Opportunities, threats
The course's new name and logo seem to be having the desired effect of getting people excited about the golf course, Tarpley said, citing this as an opportunity for growth.
"All of a sudden they recognize it and say, 'That's a cool place,'" he said.
Improved customer service in the pro shop has helped, too, Tarpley said.
And more targeting marketing had led to more off-peak bookings.
He said that other opportunities this year included improving the overall appearance of the clubhouse facility, as well as improving the course as money and staff allowed and participating in or hosting community programs.
Some of the threats Quail Dunes faces include an oversaturated market for golf, ongoing drought concerns, a still somewhat down economy and overall industry decline.
Another threat is a decline in the number of pass holders, he said, although that may play into the business model for the future anyway.
Costs, revenue,
city transfer
Every year, the city subsidizes operations at the golf course, transferring money from the General Fund to the Golf Fund.
In 2012, that transfer was $276,454. In previous years, that number had fluctuated up and down.
"We want to minimize that and be as fiscally responsible as possible," Tarpley told the council.
Tarpley explained that last year, the total expenses at the course were $763,987 and the total revenue was $487,533.
With 15,962 total rounds played, it would have been necessary to have a minimum per-round cost of $47.86 just to break even, he said.
But the average revenue per round last year was $30.54.
While some increases to rates are inevitable, Tarpley said that other adjustments to how people pay to play golf might make more sense.
He explained that in 2012, 188 individual pass holders played 9,189 rounds, for an average of 49 rounds each.
"That accounts for 58 percent of total rounds played," Tarpley said, adding that 10 percent of the pass holders played more than 110 rounds each.
While rates and pass costs and types are already set for 2013, Tarpley proposed considering some changes for the 2014 golf season.
He suggested having an unlimited rounds single adult pass that costs $1,000 or a $450 individual value card, which would mean paying a $5 per day user's fee for a round.
He said the Golf Advisory Board had looked at rates and passes available at 68 different golf courses.
"The trend is the annual pass is going away," Tarpley told the council. "After looking at these 68 different courses, what we found is an annual pass is rare, and if there, the cost is extremely high."
With his proposed plan for 2014, Tarpley said the goal was "The more you play, the more you pay."
He said that annual pass holders might not like this, but if they were the ones playing the most on the course, they should be helping to support it the most, too.
"We need this customer category to generate more revenue in order for the course to remain open," he said. "The golf course operation recognizes we are not in a position to keep going with what we've been doing. We need to start recovering money on a daily basis. Unfortunately, your base customers have to pay, too."
Tarpley said that the pass structure he had proposed for 2014 likely would mean a boost of $18,000 in revenue.
"We do have a segment that identifies that $450 pass (with daily fees) as a good deal," Tarpley said. "This price structure is a good fit for us."
Council reaction
Mayor Terry McAlister asked Tarpley if he had seen "any problems competition-wise" from Brush's Bunker Hill Golf Course.
"One of the trends out here is a little bit of price-gouging," Tarpley said. "We can't afford to do that."
He said he looks at the Brush course as a competitor, but that Quail Dunes has an advantage because it's an 18-hole course with a driving range and clubhouse.
Wells pointed out that this presentation was the response to the mayor's challenge.
"Golfers understand that they still get a very good deal," Wells said.
Wells and Tarpley both said that the message that had been received at a public meeting about possible changes at the golf course was "let's support each other and keep the golf course here."
Councilwoman Deb Forstedt pointed out that the 2012 transfer had been "well under what we had budgeted," and she commended Quail Dunes staff for making that happen.
Councilman Scott Bryan told Tarpley that, "I think probably you are the strongest link out here."
But Bryan also pointed out that criticism of the course was "always about the numbers, not about you."
Wells said that he had found that "hands down, the amount of complaints I get about the golf course have been considerably less" than what past city manager had heard.
McAlister said he was "really happy" with what he had heard.
"I don't remember seeing a plan like this before," he said, calling it "impressive."
The mayor said he knew some people would not like the coming changes at the golf course, but "you can't have your way all the time."
He thanked Tarpley and other golf course staff for their hard work.
"You're making it pretty, making it playable," McAlister said. "You've done a good job."
He said that while the city is not a business, sometimes business-like decisions had to be made.
"We can only subsidize it for so long," he said. "We're fortunate that even though we have a golf course, we're still financially above and beyond a lot of cities."
--Contact Jenni Grubbs at jgrubbs@fmtimes.com.
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