Elgin golfers upset at prospect of cart requirement
Some golfers in Elgin are upset the city wants to require them to always use golf carts instead of walking on the course, which they say they can't afford and runs contrary to the city's goal to be a healthy community.
The change at The Highlands of Elgin golf course, which would take effect this season, would require carts for golfing before noon on weekends and holidays. Carts already have been required after noon. Fees would increase from $44 to $64 for residents and $53 to $73 for nonresidents. The city also plans to introduce a new unlimited pass, including golf carts, for $3,350.
The increase would be prohibitive for some golfers, resident James Struck said. He said he's part of a group of 45 to 50 people who golf most weekends at The Highlands, and at least 16 plan to golf elsewhere if the fee is increased, he said.
"For some people it absolutely is the money. They won't be able to afford it," he said.
For him, the issue also is about health, Struck said.
"It's a 7-mile walk of the course, and a lot of us take that as our opportunity to exercise for the week," he said. "I like to walk because it provides a chance to also clear my head. I'm out there in nature ... you're able to de-stress."
Struck said he estimated the city will lose about $15,000 in revenue if the 16 golfers leave.
That's also how much money the city expects to get from the fee increase, according to city spokeswoman Molly Center.
The money is intended to offset the cost of seasonal part-time labor, which is increasingly difficult to find and might require higher wages, she said.
Struck said he was told by a city employee that the fee increase was intended to fund masonry repairs at The Highlands' clubhouse building, which contains a golf store and the Grumpy Goat Tavern.
Center said the repairs are unrelated to the fee increases. The cost was estimated at $300,000, but bids were higher than expected and the project is being reevaluated, Center said.
The city's $3.61 million golf fund budget for 2019 - which includes three golf courses - includes $307,190 in capital expenses and projects a deficit of $260,500. Center said the city plans to offset that with golf fund reserves.
Last year's golf fund broke even at about $3.19 million in expenses. "The 2018 golf season was a very successful season from a general operating, programming and event perspective," the 2019 budget documents state.
Struck said real friendships have formed among the golfers, some of whom have been playing together for decades, and it would be a shame if the group disbanded.
Mayor David Kaptain said he played golf with some of them years ago and understands why they are upset. "I loved to walk and I loved to carry my clubs," he said. "It's part of it."
City staff members will meet with the golfers today to "see if there is common ground that benefits the golf operations and also supports resident golfers," Center said.
Kaptain said he hopes a compromise can be reached.