Biddlecomb Column: Park Authority just can’t hit the fairway

“Golf courses and cemeteries are the biggest waste of prime real estate.”

— Al Czervik, “Caddyshack”

Rodney Dangerfield’s proclamation from the all-time greatest golf film is especially true if this prime real estate causes our local park authority to lose more than $1 million a year. Then again, this is the
Prince William Park Authority, which has the ability to lose money when betting on a basketball game between the Harlem Globetrotters and Washington Generals.

The latest woes were revealed last week when the Park Authority’s executive director told county supervisors its three county golf courses would lose $1.08 million this year — most of it in debt service.
This brings up the question I’ve asked for years: Why is Prince William County in the golfing business?

The Park Authority’s knack for losing taxpayer dollars is well documented over the years, though things have improved since former Board of County Supervisors Chairman Sean Connaughton took on the
semi-autonomous authority earlier this decade.

Back then, county supervisors threatened to withhold badly needed tax dollars unless the park authority improved its bottom line and worked with a little more transparency. The controversy centered on
expensive softball fields and park construction that ran consistently over budget. Golf courses, too, were at issue.

The three golf courses were losing money and the Park Authority was chastised for not heeding its own citizen surveys. One Park Authority survey found that residents wanted more open space and
hiking trails. The Park Authority responded with a proposal to clear 3.5 acres of prime Lake Ridge forest land to make room for a driving range to be used by First Tee — a noble organization that introduces golf to kids who would not ordinarily get the chance.

The debate back then got a little out of whack. Some supporting the driving range accused opponents (including myself) of being against “the children” and against the game of golf. For the record, I’ve
been playing golf for 15 years, almost exclusively on public courses.

My argument — as was the argument of others — was that the Park Authority had three courses that were not being fully used and should be made available for First Tee or any other youth program. The
Park Authority ultimately pulled back from the project.

The operation of the Park Authority’s three golf courses has been cause for concern ever since I had the county government beat 11 years ago. I’ve seen the data presented at board meetings in the past
where Prince William Golf Course, Forest Greens and General’s Ridge were losing money and changes needed to be made. At least we were told changes were being made, but the debt keeps rising.

Now the losses are getting embarrassing. That’s $1 million dollars driven off the fairway and into the water hazard. But each year it seems the Park Authority gets to take a drop penalty and continue
playing.

This year could be different. Prince William Board of County Supervisors Chairman Corey Stewart indicated last week that he’s tired of the Park Authority taking Mulligans on its golf course finances. “This
is a dead dog,” Stewart said last week. “We need to put it out of its misery.”

There’s no gray area there, folks. Maybe its time for the Park Authority to get out of the golf business. While these courses — like other Park Authority operations — are funded through a mixture of
proffers from developers, user fees and other indirect funding mechanisms, taxpayers do shore up the Park Authority’s budget on a yearly basis.

Is it too much to ask the Park Authority to put out feelers to see if one or more of its courses are an attractive investment for outside buyers. The land itself is valuable, even in a down market.

The Park Authority should also consider the prospects of closing its courses to see if conversion into more traditional parks is feasible. There’s no shame in working to provide more athletic fields, bike
paths and hiking trails for county residents. As it is today, nearly every piece of level ground in Northern Virginia already has houses or highways on it.
If closing one or more of these golf courses were to threaten my ability to get a tee time, I’m sure they would be earning more money than they do today. In fact, if there were a shortage of golf courses in
our area, our three Park Authority golf courses would sell fast . . . and at a handsome profit.

Alfred Biddlecomb is the former editorial page editor for the Potomac News and Manassas Journal Messenger.