Greg Caton was not able to deliver profitable results for Oro Valley's failed golf courses when he was Oro Valley's town manager. He left our community with a "country club" financial albatross. Apparently, Caton faced a similar golf albatross financial disaster in Grand Junction, Co., where he is the town manager. Caton cut operations to the bone
"After years of deficits requiring city subsidies, Grand Junction's municipal golf courses [there are two] have recently started turning a profit. But it's not from a surge in revenue fueled by a spike in tee times at Tiara Rado and Lincoln Park golf courses. It's due to operational cuts."
According to that town's Daily Sentinal, city leaders got tired of losing money so they cut operating costs. In this case, they cut staffing that they have yet to replace.
Caton has burned through one golf director. He's moved "ownership" of this albatross to another department. And, of course, golf course members are "up in arms" because of reduced staffing and poor field conditions.
Caton rejects third party management
Caton examined turning the operations of the golf courses over to a private company. Troon, a private company, does operate the Town Of Oro Valley golf courses. Caton decided private management was not feasible in his new town because "It would have ensured the courses lost money, to the tune of at least $100,000 a year." A loss of $100,000 per year pales in comparison to the millions in losses in Oro Valley.
Municipal golf is such a headache
Things aren't likely to get better there. The Grand Junction courses need investment and they need management.
You can read more about the trials and tribulations of municipal golf in Grand Junction.
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