The Palm Coast Parks and Recreation Department is expecting to almost break even this year and to generate a $93,000 surplus next year at the city-owned Palm Harbor Golf Club. By the city’s estimate, the surplus would decline if the city were to take over course maintenance from a private contractor.
Both findings, to be presented to the Palm Coast City Council Tuesday, relieve pressure on the city and the council to end general fund subsidies to the golf club, let alone sell it. At least for now. The council on Jan. 28 asked its administration to provide new revenue options, an analysis of the club’s course-maintenance contract with Troon Management, and a budget update.
Palm Harbor Golf Club has not been self-sustaining for most of its 17 years. The club has accumulated $3.4 million in operating losses since the city acquired it in 2008, including deficits in four of the last five years, and has cost the city far more in capital expenses. (See details here.)
The club made a small surplus of $10,000 three years ago but returned to deficits–$435,000 in 2023, $168,000 last year–until the city raised group rates from $43 to $46 for a round, raised all rates an additional 3% to keep up with inflation, and on April 1 started charging a 3 percent fee for anyone paying by credit card. The club also added four tee times between the morning and the evening. More rate increases are ahead.
From last Oct. 1 to April 10, the course generated revenue of $984,000 with $977,000 in expenses. By the end of the fiscal year the course is expected to essentially break even (running a rounding-error deficit of $2,300 on revenue of $1.83 million). In 2024, the course hosted 26 tournaments. The course is overwhelmingly used by local residents (locals accounted for 91 percent of 52,661 rounds last year).
“We are expecting to be cost-recovery next year,” Acting City Manager Lauren Johnston said.
Next year the city projects the larger surplus of $93,000, assuming acts of nature like pandemics and hurricanes and acts of political folly like a self-inflicted recession–which economists now rate a 50-50 possibility–do not interfere. The surplus ahead is on a razor’s edge.
It’s also not clear how that surplus fits with needed capital improvements at the course. When Parks and Recreation Director James Hirst presented a summary analysis of the course’s operations to the council last January, he included almost $700,000 in needed priority improvements, including half a million dollars to renovate the greens and $150,000 for an irrigation pump station. On the other hand, the analysis did not include a substantial, intangible benefit the course provides almost 1,000 properties adjacent to it or neighboring it–properties where values, quality of life and aesthetic perks are at least in some ways greened by the club’s proximity.
Troon Management, the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company, maintains the grounds with a staff of 11, two of them part-time, at a projected cost of $457,300 for 2026. The city estimated that it could do the job with seven full-time staffers, for $503,408. In other words, it’s still less expensive to stick with the contractor, though the details of what the contractor provides, as opposed to what city staffers would provide, were not included in the presentation for the council on Tuesday.
None of the city’s parks make money, and none is intended to. In 2017 the City Council took the approach that Palm Harbor Golf should be seen as any other city amenity. The city stopped using a private contractor to run the course and the city’s tennis center and absorbed the operations into its parks budget.
But parks are free to use. Since the golf club is a fee-based operation with restricted public access, some council members have more recently asked the administration to find ways to end deficit spending there. Council member Charles Gambaro floated the idea of selling the golf course if necessary. (Flagler Beach is moving toward just such a sale of the nine-hole golf course it bought the same year Palm Coast bought Palm Harbor.)
That drew an immediate public backlash, as any suggestion that the city should do anything to the club other than run it as a club usually does. (A proposal by a city contractor to build a cell tower on the course property spurred a small rebellion and the threat of a lawsuit. The contractor dropped the proposal.) But Palm Harbor Golf Club has also drawn criticism from two owner-operators of private golf courses in the city, who say the city-owned course unfairly competes with theirs thanks to subsidies or rates.
Palm Harbor Golf Course Projections, 2025
palm-harbor-golf-projections-2025
Bob says
Just sell it and build a mega storage facility. Should be able to make millions a year for the town if run properly.
don miller says
subsidize it if you have to. what other public recreation do you subsidize for seniors while you subsidize youth sports? Seniors pay the taxes, kids don’t.
Brad W says
I think there is a couple things that are notable and questionable with this.
For one, this narrative that we should accept amenities we charge for operating at a loss is acceptable needs to be rejected. The bottom line is that golf course is a business and as it being publicly owned it should at least break even. Draining millions for City coffers is not ok. If we don’t have the talent and expertise to operate it at a minimum of break even then we need to get the expertise to do that including outsourcing the management of it.
Outsourcing is obviously less costly. We need to outsource more for a lot of operations. That is how we save and get better.
2002/2023 we see almost $500k in “catch up” fleet costs but is the next round planned for and when?
Lastly, we have had basically a lot of the same leadership in Parks and this continues to be an issue and we are looking at them to solve it? No, like other stuff we need expert golf folks to be brought in for an expert assessment suggestions.
celia pugliese says
As the mayor confirmed in one past meeting when uninformed councilman Gambaro brought the idea of selling our PHGC probably pressured by developers historically since 2000’s, drooling over building profitable condos on it as we originally and successfully defeated. Now can’t be sold as is a historical amenity provided in our original properties easements by ITT only to be used as a golf course or other sport only! Mayor Norris confirmed contesting anti residents non elected, appointed Councilman Gambaro that the Southern Recreation Center cost us all $600,000 a year. What about that Mr. Gambaro? What about the cost to Holland Park debacled Splash Pad still open wallet in court, after millions to build and fail? What about Carter Park and the milloins spent In Water Front Park new Kayak pad? These are all amenities and all cost us bigger monies than the PHGC but you do not see us like you, lobbying to sell any of them. We are for preserving all amenities wheter we used them all or not! You also fixed in the PHGC because your house is not anywhere near it and will not be affected if sold and you can care less about our homes devaluation if PHGC gone! Please Mr. Gambaro get busy doing positive things until your reelection comes around! Hope your Tallahassee visit in our dime will bring the needed financial help for our depleted utility by the growth making developers rich while expecting us to foot their bill