If you avoided Bowden Golf Course in the past, these renovations may change your mind

The county’s public golf course is set to reopen this month after undergoing major renovations aimed at not only improving the aesthetics but also the playability for golfers.

But will the redesigned Bowden Golf Course attract more players, allowing it to become financially viable?

That’s what Macon-Bibb County leaders are banking on when the historic course on Millerfield Road reopens Oct. 26.

Bowden has had either limited play or been closed since April while the changes have been underway. It’s the most extensive work done on the course in decades.

“There’s no major work been done over here that we know of in the last 50 years,” Bowden director Brandon Doles said. “Small projects here and there but no major work like this. It’s going to allow us to compete with these other courses that have done work and updated their course. It’s a much needed thing. It goes back to the old saying — you have to spend money to make money.”

Highlights of the major upgrades, paid from $340,000 of special purpose local option sales tax revenue, include:

• Reshaped greens complexes that have been resurfaced with Bermuda grass, designed to improve the playing surface;
  
  
• New and reshaped tee boxes, including making the tees more accessible to women and senior golfers;
• Clubhouse renovations and improved landscaping; and
• Improvements to the irrigation system.

The clubhouse also is getting a facelift, and a golf pro will be on site to offer lessons.

Macon-Bibb government saved money on the changes by having Parks and Beautification, Public Works, and Facilities and Maintenance departments help with the course improvements.

Bowden’s future

County commissioners have debated in the recent years how to make Bowden more sustainable.

Some have suggested selling the course or finding another entity to manage or lease it. Others have resisted giving away control of the county’s only public course, an important piece of Macon’s history as it became the city’s first publicly integrated facility in 1961.

From fiscal 2014-16, Bowden brought in $788,803 in revenue. During that same time span, expenses were $1.46 million.

In fiscal 2017, which includes the last 12 months before the latest renovations began, revenue came out to $303,849, and expenses were $709,772.

Commissioner Virgil Watkins helped create a Bowden marketing plan as part of a Wesleyan College Master of Business Administration class project.

It would require increasing the number of rounds played from roughly 12,000 per year to 27,000 to break even financially. The plan listed short- and long-term goals such as creating an event space, dining area and other renovations.

“The opportunities at hand, including property upgrades, heavy marketing, and establishing relationships throughout the community, all together give Bowden the ability to become a local juggernaut among its competitors,” the proposal states.

Commissioner Larry Schlesinger said the improvements to Bowden will make it more player friendly, and county leaders should remain open-minded to what the future of the course may hold.

“We just need to take a look at all the options and just decide what’s in the best interest of the community itself,” he said.

Two of the benefits of a public course are the cheaper fees and membership dues compared to country clubs and other privately-owned golf clubs.

The County Commission will consider next week increasing the fees for the course. Currently, annual membership fees range from $400-$600 depending on the age of the golfer. The proposal recommends increasing membership fees by $100 while the daily rates would increase slightly. Daily rates currently range from $10-$25.

“It’s not going to be anything astronomical where we’re going to be like a private club,” Doles said. “We’re still a public golf course, and we’re here to serve the public, especially the citizens of Macon-Bibb.”

This story was originally published October 5, 2018 at 11:31 AM.