A significant makeover could be in store for the Landa Park Golf Course over the next two years, as the city plans to make $6.3 million in renovations to the 71-year-old municipal course.
It’s an expensive endeavor, and many regulars to the local links say the city might be reaching too far and paying too much to upgrade the only golf course in New Braunfels.
“It needs some work, but not $6 million worth of work,” said Ron Morrison, who was just finishing up 18 holes on Saturday morning.
On Monday, the city council will consider funding the final design of the course renovations on Monday, which Parks Director Stacey Laird-Dicke said would cost around $770,000 and include environmental permitting, archeological studies and engineering costs.
A firm that specializes in golf course design gave the New Braunfels City Council four possible options to upgrade the course in 2007: Do nothing; make irrigation improvements; make irrigation and design changes to most of the course, or give it a complete overhaul.
The council ultimately decided to pursue the third option, which would involve partially re-designing the course, improving the irrigation system and adding extra bunkers and tee boxes.
The changes would require closing the course for more than a year during construction.
Laird-Dicke said, while it would be a long process, the end result would make the course a more attractive draw for visitors and more enjoyable for local golfers.
“It’s a great golf course now, but these changes will make it better a better experience for both residents and tourists,” she said.
Landa golfers Saturday agreed that some sort of refurbishing is in order. But they said they worry about higher greens fees.
“If they have to raise the fees, they’ll drive everybody away,” Hadley said.
Mayor Bruce Boyer said the city’s goal is to have a better golf course, not one that locals can’t play.
“We’ve been looking at options like setting a different fee for residents, because we certainly don’t want to discourage local play through the fee structure,” Boyer said. “At the same time, we have to look at the golf course as an economic asset, and study what makes sense financially.”
If the council votes in the future to issue $6 million in debt to pay for final construction, financial advisors to the city have said that the greens fees collected by city could pay for the annual debt service by themselves, according Laird-Dicke.
Even it if could work out financially, some wonder whether it makes sense to spend so much on a golf course they feel isn’t too far away from being in good shape.
“Really, it would be in great shape if they added a better irrigation system and put some money into maintenance,” said Robert Wallace, after teeing off across the street from Wurstfest. “You also wonder if it makes sense to spend that much money on something like that right now.”
