At the monthly Tucson City Golf Greens Committee meeting in June, city officials discussed the possibility of selling/closing Silverbell Golf Course.
On Friday, city officials went public with the possibility. They scheduled a “community workshop” to focus on the financial history of Tucson City Golf, specifically Silverbell. The meeting will be held Aug. 10 at 6 p.m. at the Tucson Police Department Westside Service Center, 1310 W. Miracle Mile.
This is not unexpected.
“We’re looking at the entire golf enterprise with an eye toward making it internally solvent,” City Councilman Steve Kozachik said. “While OB Sports is doing a great job turning things around, golf is still struggling to break into the black. A part of the discussion might well include right-sizing, which could involve the sale of a course.”
Almost all of Tucson’s open-to-the-public golf facilities are in financial trouble. Many generate more revenue in March than from mid-May to mid-October combined.
“We have to expect that it’s going to get worse,” Crooked Tree general manager Rich Mueller said.
Mueller is one of the few public golf operators who has found a niche. His facility, on North Thornydale Road, has two years remaining on its contract with Pima County. He hopes to renew the deal. Mueller has a geographical separation from the five city courses that promote steady play, even in the summer.
On Friday afternoons, Crooked Tree often gets 100 to 125 players for a two-man scramble followed by food and drink for just $25 or $35 a player. Even in the heat of the day, 100 golfers arrive. That doesn’t happen at the five city courses. They are ghost towns by 10 a.m. most days.
Crooked Tree, while far from the height of financial prowess, is an exception. This isn’t just the potential end for Silverbell, it’s perhaps the beginning of the end for more Southern Arizona golf courses.
