#3 Permanent Tee Time Memo
CITY MANAGER’S OFFICE MEMORANDUM
April 16, 2012
TO: Golf Advisory Committee
FROM:Rebecca Smith, Management Assistant
Steve Loomis, Golf Course Manager
SUBJECT: Permanent tee time discussion
Request
At the March committee meeting, Rick Berry brought up the topic of permanent tee
times (PTT) and questioned if the program could be expanded. In April, Rick Berry
requested this item be placed on the April committee agenda.
Staff requests the Committee discuss and review this topic and provide feedback to
staff regarding the permanent tee time program.
Management Assistant Recommendation
Because Riverside Golf Course is a public course and we desire to offer golfing options
to all community members, I am not in favor of simply expanding the program because I
do not wish to further limit the tee times available to general public and further decrease
our opportunities to obtain general public golf revenue.
If the Committee sees value in expanding the program one or two weeks, I would like to
see an option implemented where we keep one of every six tee times available to
general public during the PTT hours of 6:30-8AM on Sunday mornings.
The Riverside PTT fee is reasonable and I do not recommend lowering the fee to
participate in the PTT program, particularly due to our ongoing need to close the annual
general fund subsidy to the courses. For 2012, I recommend the fee stay at $120. Staff
noticed this fee has not been included on the annual list of fees the Committee reviews
each year; this fee will be added for review for the 2013 budget process.
In addition, at a future meeting the Committee may wish to examine whether it would be
prudent to provide an option for season pass holders to be able to make tee times
earlier than the general public. Having this option in place may reduce the number of
PTT participants, while also encouraging golfers to become season pass holders.
KemperSports General Manager’s Recommendation
As mentioned above I’m also concerned how this program affects our general public
players. Expanding the current program would certainly add value to those golfers
currently participating in PTT’s but it could also limit management’s ability for other
future programming. Based on our analysis of other golf courses and existing PTT
structures I’d recommend one of the following three options:
1. Keep all PTT programming as established for 2012.
2. Keep the PTT at 18 weeks, reduce the fee by $20 per foursome to a total of
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$100 and add one public tee time every 6 time within the current PTT
structure.
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3. Expand the PTT weeks to 22 weeks (Mid April – 2 week of Sept), keep the
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fee at $120 and add one public tee time every 6 time within the current PTT
structure.
Background
Riverside Golf Course offers a PTT program on Sundays from 6:30AM – 8:00AM.
Participants pay $120 per tee time (not per person) in addition to the course fee to
participate in the program, which allows a team of four golfers to reserve the same tee
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time for the majority of the summer. Riverside’s PTT is offered from May 6 –
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September 2 or 18 weeks. Five (5) of the summer Sundays are excluded from the
program due to tournaments taking precedence.
Historically, the majority of golfers (37 of 52 or 71% in 2011) who participate in the PTT
are season pass holders, with the remaining fifteen being employees (3) or public
players (12) in 2011.
Looking to 2011 data, 13 tee times were available during the PTT time period of 6:30AM
– 8:00AM; 100%, or all 13, of these times were used by PTT participants. There are 29
tee times available from 6:30AM – 10AM, a very popular time for golfing. Of those tee
times, 49% were reserved by PTT participants for the summer months.
Analysis
To understand PTT details at other courses, staff completed a survey of regional
courses and also included Madison and Milwaukee municipal courses. Rick Berry also
provided information for three municipal courses in the Racine/Kenosha area. The
results are in the attachment. Highlights of the survey include:
Of the 15 courses surveyed, 4 or 27%, offer PTT.
Of the 15 courses surveyed, 11 or 73% do not offer PTT.
Of the 4 courses with PTT, Riverside's cost is second lowest at $120.
Of the 4 courses with PTT, 2 or 50% provide an option for non-PTT participants
to obtain a tee time during the PTT time period
The course that charges less than Riverside for the PTT program is one of the
two courses where an option for non-PTT participants to obtain a tee time during
the PTT time period is implemented
7 days in advance is the most common regulation concerning making tee times
for the public.
4 of the 15 courses surveyed, or 27%, provide an incentive to allow season pass
holders/members to make tee times in advance of the public, while the remaining
11 do not offer any incentives.
Pros & Cons of a PTT Program
Pros
1. Affords golfers the option not to have to schedule tee times each week
2. Affords golfers the security in knowing they have the same scheduled tee time
each week
3. Affords golfers the ability to obtain the most desirable tee times because past
PTT participants are able to reserve the same PTT from one season to the next
4. PTT fee provides a small revenue stream (approximately $1,560 per year)
5. PTT reduces some staff time in scheduling tee times in the pro shop
Cons
1. Scheduling tee times is becoming easier with online tee time scheduling and 24-
hour tee time scheduling coming soon, thus PTT may not be seen as beneficial
or as needed in comparison to having to call the pro shop during business hours
each week, as golfers had to do previously
2. Limits ability for new or less routine golfers to obtain most desirable tee times
3. Does not offer all community golfers the same opportunity to obtain the most
desirable tee times
4. With most PTT participants being season pass holders, the course would likely
obtain more revenue from general public golfers, in comparison to the PTT
revenue because PTT takes place during a very popular golfing time period
where we would be able to fill those tee times general public golfers
5. Staff time in scheduling tee times is likely to become negligible once the 24-hour
tee time scheduling joins the existing online tee time option
Attachments:
Program description of PTT program
Survey results
CC: Jacob J. Winzenz, Assistant City Manager