DELRAY BEACH, Florida — Upset residents have called on Delray Beach to overhaul its municipal 18-hole golf course, which, some say, is spotted with bare patches and covered with more weeds than grass.
While city leaders agree that the almost 100-year-old course along Highland Avenue, just west of Interstate 95 and Atlantic Avenue, needs major renovations, the upgrades are estimated to cost more than $10 million. That’s not an easy task, especially for a city that has a nearly $11 million budget deficit.
Yet for those who have griped about the well-worn course for almost a decade, talk about the renovations has stretched on for far too long.
“The golf course is in horrible condition right now,” said former Delray Beach Mayor Jay Alperin. “Although it gets a lot of play, it’s no justification for ignoring the needs of the golf course. As far as I can remember, about eight years now, we’ve been told that there was money set aside in the city budget to fix up the golf course.
“They’ve let it fall apart so badly that it needs almost complete re-grassing. Even the equipment that maintains the course is old and falling apart. By ignoring the issue instead of keeping up with it, they’ve made it worse and more expensive to repair.”
When the city discovered that the drain pipes under the course had to be replaced, the renovations were postponed again.
“It was something that was so sizable that we really had to reevaluate,” Delray Beach Mayor Shelly Petrolia said. “You don’t want to put $7 million into a golf course and then be digging it up in another couple of years to replace the infrastructure below.
“The question is, ‘Are we really to the point where that has to be done? Or can we go ahead and do the top of the golf course and then worry about that at a later date? When I say a later date, I mean 10 years or 12 years from now. If that’s the case, let’s get the golf course up and running.”
Delray Beach Golf Club in disrepair: Course was designed by famed architect Donald Ross
Residents have urged the city to put money toward the renovations, noting that the historical course designed by famous golf course architect Donald Ross has the potential to draw visitors from far and wide.
“Nobody’s asking them to move earth,” Delray Beach resident Paul Schmitt said. “We’re just asking them to plant grass. If this course was fixed up, it would have such prestige that we would be able to compete with almost any public golf course in Broward or Palm Beach County.
“I’m fortunate enough I get to play country clubs. I don’t expect it to look like a country club, but compared to 15 years ago, on a scale of one to 10, this course is probably a three, and easily it could be an eight or nine.”
As the years have passed, the miserable condition of the greens has pushed residents to spend more time at other courses across Palm Beach County, some said.
“I used to play that course three times a week,” Alperin said. “I don’t average once a week anymore. I’m tired of not being not being treated well as a citizen of Delray Beach. They’re not worried about me or the other golfers who pay taxes. We should be able to have a reasonably well-maintained golf course.”
Delray Beach Golf Club in disrepair: Does the city have the money to upgrade the course?
The former mayor, who oversawthe renovations of the course in the 1990s, questioned whether the city lacked the funds to move forward with the upgrades now.
“When I was on the City Commission 30 years ago, we created an enterprise fund to run the golf course,” Alperin said. “They were making enough money to pay off the bond that we redid the course in the 90s. Where’s the money going now? Is it going into the general budget, or is it staying where it’s supposed to be at the golf course? You wouldn’t have to go back and fix up what you ignored if you had maintained it instead.”
Petrolia argued that the fund did not have enough money to pay for major renovations.
“The golf course is not a money-making entity, so I’d be surprised to see a whole lot in there,” Petrolia said. “I’ve never seen anything where it’s like, ‘Oh, there’s the money we can use.’ If there’s money, it’s probably not anywhere near what it’s going to take to renovate that course.”
The mayor added that the city plans to find a partner to develop a small portion of the course along Atlantic Avenue and hopes to put the money from the sale back into the course. That portion, she said, could be used for a hotel.
Her suggestion, however, was met with criticism.
“They want to take some of the holes along Atlantic Avenue and either sell or lease them out for development,” Alperin said. “That’s a little crazy. Look across the canal, there’s a shopping center there that’s been struggling for decades. Why put another piece of commercial property or retail property next to one that’s failing?”
While the city figures out how it will pay for the renovations, which the mayor said she would like to see in the process or completed in the next two years, it will also assess if it should turn the rundown course into a premier one.
“With the golf courses that have gone out of business – a lot of places have closed down and they’re building on top of these golf courses instead of restoring them – they’re becoming fewer and farther between,” Petrolia said.
“That makes it more interesting to me to do something really amazing with our course. There are more golfers out there that are looking for places because they don’t have as many to go to. And you’ll be able to charge more for a round, if it’s a really great spot to go golfing.”
vvillanueva@pbpost.com
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