Rates to rise at Leander’s Crystal Falls Golf Course
Published: 7:38 p.m. Saturday, June 23, 2012
LEANDER — Fees at the Crystal Falls Golf Course will see a small bump beginning in August after the City Council approved a rate increase Thursday.
Most rates will jump a couple of dollars and the cart fee will increase by $1 to keep up with rates at other area courses, Development Services Director Jim Bechtol told the council.
“We feel like they’re competitive with the market we’re in,” he said about the new rates, which will take effect Aug. 1.
The course currently sees between 18,000 and 22,000 rounds of golf a year, Bechtol said. Mayor Chris Fielder pointed out that the city has pumped nearly $400,000 into course improvements over the past few years.
Before unanimously approving the increase, the council questioned whether alternatives had been explored, including a reduced rate for residents and the possibility of cutting costs by closing the course once a week.
Bechtol said residential rates become a “real management issue,” especially on busy weekends, because of the time it takes to confirm that a golfer lives within the city limits. He said there could be an opportunity for a badge system that would identify residents in advance, but that would entail extra costs.
Council Member Kirsten Lynch asked that staff look into a discounted residential rate before seeking future increases.
“Since city taxes are paying for this anyway, it would be nice to give them a little bit of a discount,” Lynch said.
Council Member Simon Garcia asked if there was a day of the week when the course is usually in the red when it could possibly be closed to cut costs.
Bechtol said that just generally depends on the weather, but that the course doesn’t see enough traffic to make it worth closing for day, because even a closed course requires a skeleton staff of maintenance workers.
Bechtol said some busy country clubs will shut down on Mondays to allow the course to recover. He said those courses usually see about 30,000 rounds a year, however, and the number of rounds Crystal Falls sees wouldn’t warrant that.
“We’ve got to capture every dollar that we possibly can,” Bechtol said.
Contact Benjamin Wermund at 246-1150