The Pellucid Perspective - May 2018 - 6

PHOTO BY DAVE SANSOM, COURTESY OF FORREST RICHARDSON & ASSOC.

GOLF COURSE
OPERATIONS

Baylands Golf Links a win-win-win
proposition times two?
Creative Palo Alto muni rebirth about to be revealed
By Jim Dunlap

A

rchitect Forrest Richardson, who created the redesign of
the former Palo Alto (CA) Municipal Golf Course into
the new Baylands Golf Links, calls it a win-win-win for
its environmental sensitivity, flood control achievement and creation of a high quality public golf destination in the Silicon Valley. If the course proves as popular as expected, the project could
also be called the cliche triple win for Richardson, the city of Palo
Alto and multicourse manager OB Sports.
Scheduled for a Memorial Day grand reopening, the project
started modestly enough with a plan to widen San Francisquito
Creek for flood control and perform some minor sprucing up
of the largely flat and not particularly challenging course layout.
As it evolved into a more imaginative and substantial redesign
and reconstruction project, Palo Alto's mayor and city council
members essentially decided in for a penny, in for a pound and
approved not only a bond issue to cover the nearly $10 million in
project costs but also a three year, $9 million course management
deal with Scottsdale-based OB Sports. While some might question the city's wisdom in committing $20 million or so to a public
golf project in the current golf industry environment, OB Sports

6 The Pellucid PersPecTive

will pay all course operating expenses out of its management fees
in addition to a lease fee to operate the course restaurant, the
city will hopefully be able to pay off the 30-year bond in plenty
of time to begin realizing a profit from greens fees and pro shop
revenues, and the new layout will attract more play at higher rates.
For its part, OB Sports will not only shepherd course operations
and conditioning, but also implement a dynamic pricing model
to maximize greens fee revenues, which in turn the company
hopes will contribute to their reaching revenue goals necessary to
trigger a bonus from the city.
"It's not the typical management arrangement, in that we will
be paying all the expenses," said OB Sports COO and Principal
in response to a question about the $3M annual management fee.
"If the course achieves the rounds and rates we forecast, it should
work out OK [for the city]," Green said. He said the course will
offer a three-tiered pricing schedule for Palo Alto residents, Bay
Area residents and a third (higher) rate for other players in addition to the dynamic pricing system within those rates. Residential
rates will reportedly fluctuate between $40 and $60 during the
week and $52 to $80 on wekends.
May 2018



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Pellucid Perspective - May 2018

TOC
NGF 2017 industry report released: facts served “sunnyside up”
Baylands Golf Links a win-win-win proposition times two?
Club manufacturer service frustrates green grass customer
April golf weather impact: A sea of red but March utilization hits 60%
Detroit fortunes looking up; golf market to follow?
It is, after all, all about the money
The Pellucid Perspective - May 2018 - TOC
The Pellucid Perspective - May 2018 - NGF 2017 industry report released: facts served “sunnyside up”
The Pellucid Perspective - May 2018 - 3
The Pellucid Perspective - May 2018 - 4
The Pellucid Perspective - May 2018 - 5
The Pellucid Perspective - May 2018 - Baylands Golf Links a win-win-win proposition times two?
The Pellucid Perspective - May 2018 - 7
The Pellucid Perspective - May 2018 - Club manufacturer service frustrates green grass customer
The Pellucid Perspective - May 2018 - 9
The Pellucid Perspective - May 2018 - April golf weather impact: A sea of red but March utilization hits 60%
The Pellucid Perspective - May 2018 - 11
The Pellucid Perspective - May 2018 - 12
The Pellucid Perspective - May 2018 - Detroit fortunes looking up; golf market to follow?
The Pellucid Perspective - May 2018 - 14
The Pellucid Perspective - May 2018 - 15
The Pellucid Perspective - May 2018 - It is, after all, all about the money
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