come one, come all

flatirons fills niche for middle class and recreational golfers

Boulder, Colorado is a decidedly upscale community. Nestled in the foothills of the Flatiron Mountains, the city is a hub for major ski resorts, home of the University of Colorado, and a retirement destination for the well-to-do.

New golf courses in the area follow this lead. Most are designed by  prominent architects and built around residential communities. Green fees of $50 or more are the norm.

However, this scenario neglects the sizeable population of middle class and recreational golfers in Boulder, and that’s where Flatirons Golf Club fits in. A public course owned by the city, it averages 55,000 rounds a year with a top green fee of $26.

“Our niche is the grassroots golfer,” superintendent David Brown says. “Our customers come here as much for recreation as a pure golf experience.”

Flatirons has its own charm, with narrow, tree-lined fairways, as opposed to the wide-open prairie-style of most courses in Colorado. And, there are no residential homes lining the course.

Twelve acres on the 135-acre site have been converted to naturalized areas. A big draw to the course is its multiple flowerbeds with different designs every season. There are perennials, annuals, bulb plantings and even corn and squash in the middle of some flowerbeds.

“Every spring this place is full of color,” Brown says. “People are attracted to that, as well as the different plants we’re using. We get many, many  compliments and people tell us this a pleasant place to come to.”

No detail escapes Brown. Tee signs are made from sandstone rock from the Flatiron Mountains. Each marker is a  different stone, and is dressed up  with more landscaping.

There has been a major effort to increase wildlife habitat in the natural vegetation areas. The course is home to deer, coyotes, red foxes, raccoons, skunks and squirrels. There is a pair of nesting red tail hawks on the property, and bald and golden eagles are a common sight.

“We strive for a very friendly facility where people want to come for a good golf experience and to enjoy nature,” Brown says. “It is a tight course that is great to walk. This is an old-style layout with narrow, back and forth fairways with a lot of mature trees. The greens are walkmowed, and for a municipal course we offer excellent conditions. With a season pass, rounds can be as low as $5 or $10.”

Money-maker

Brown pays close attention to the bottom line. After all, the goal of a municipal course is to generate revenue. Flatirons Golf Club has an annual budget of  $1 million ($562,000  for the maintenance department), and  consistently delivers profits of $250,000 back to the city each year. In fact, the driving range nets a $100,000 annual profit.

“The range is one of our main revenue sources,” Brown says. “We only have 18 to 20 spots, and there are days  when golfers are two and three deep. City passes can’t be used Friday through Sunday, and this allows for more outside play.”

Financial discipline is critical. There  is no overtime budget, except for a few big tournaments. The maintenance department is, however, the beneficiary of more than 3,000 hours of community service labor each year. A small number of volunteers tends some of the flowerbeds and native areas.

Equipment is purchased, and each piece is immediately put on a replacement fund program. Flatirons’ mechanic has been with the course more than 20 years, and Brown finds it is more cost effective to have his staff complete repairs instead of paying the city for this work.

Not all the profits the course generates are turned over to the city’s administrative fund. When it opened, Flatirons was a private country club. The aging clubhouse and swimming pool are scheduled to be removed, and there is a master plan for a $3.2 million renovation of the facility. So far, the course has deposited $1 million into a capital fund for the project.

A big draw to the course is its multiple flowerbeds with different designs each season. There is even corn and sqash in some plots.

Charms and challenges

With Flatirons’ charms come several challenges. Greens are small, averaging 4,000 square feet. Tees measure only 2,000 square feet, well below the  minimum of 6,000 square feet Brown prefers for the number of rounds played. There are only 19 bunkers, which speeds maintenance and the pace of play.

The greatest challenge is flooding. The course was built on the site of an old farm and sits on a riverbed. It is flat and full of rocks. Soil quality is poor and there is no drainage, all of which makes growing grass very difficult.

“There is water on 16 of the 18 holes,” Brown says, “and many areas of the course are below the level of the ponds. Watering the property is most difficult. Sometimes we can’t use as much water as we’d like because it would puddle up and we couldn’t mow the greens. It’s a constant battle, and we try to do the best we can.” 

Still, the standards for the course are very high. It features several mowing heights, unusual for a municipal course.

“We cut the grass a little lower around the greens for easier chipping,” Brown says. “We don’t want the rough so long that golfers have to almost step on their ball to find it. They don’t want to lose a half dozen balls a round, and they’ll get more enjoyment from the game if the course isn’t set up so difficult.”

Selecting the right equipment makes this task easier. Brown chooses Jacobsen Greens King 518A walk-behind greens mowers for their ease of operation and high quality cut. Roughs are mowed with the Jacobsen HR-5111.

“The 11-foot-wide cut we get with this mower is essential to maintaining productivity,” Brown says.

The maintenance staff numbers five full-time and seven seasonal employees. There are several part-time employees who work in the morning for an hourly wage and golfing privileges.

“These are primarily retired individuals, and even some with other jobs,” Brown says. “They want to work here because golf is so expensive in this area. This is a good place to work because of the friendships we have, and because  we have a good working relationship with the city.”

Different politics

Whether the course is municipal, private or something in between, every superintendent deals with politics.

“I have city politics to contend with,” Brown says. “It’s just different from the politics at a private club.”

He reports directly to the park  superintendent, and must interact with city council members who may not play golf.

“The lines of communication have to stay open,” Brown says. “The city is considering banning herbicides, fungicides and pesticides, so the council needs to be educated about what it takes to maintain turf at one-eighth of an inch on greens, and what must be done to allow the course to survive in winter. We haven’t used any pesticides for more than 12 years, and we only  use fungicide  in winter. Plus, we’ve got an active pruning  program to keep  the trees healthy.”

Brown has organized a sizeable junior golf program, with more than 300  participants. The course is closed Friday mornings in summer to facilitate the program, and Brown calls it an another example of how Flatirons gives something back to the community.

“As long as we continue to produce revenue,” he says, “the city is pretty lenient with us.”

Find a niche

Brown says municipal courses should never lose sight of the large market for affordable golf. Making the facility attractive only enhances the opportunities.

“Our fee schedule makes a significant difference for a lot of people,” he says. “Most of our golfers are out here for recreation. They want a nice walk and a friendly atmosphere. The experience is not totally about golf. We offer a challenging par 70, and have color and contrast on the course all year. Our niche is to be attractive to that golfing segment. We try to distinguish ourselves from other municipal courses. We’re in the middle of the city, but we want to make you feel like you’re in the woods.”