Editorial: City has Responsibility to Sell Silverbell

By Shane Sharp Regional Staff Writer

June 24, 1999

TUCSON -- The City of Tucson Parks and Recreation is considering the sale of Silverbell Golf Course in order to relieve itself of an incredible amount of debt that has been piling up due to increased competition from privately owned, daily fee courses.

Before the thought of selling Silverbell entered into the picture, a proposal to raise greens fees was toyed with by Parks and Rec's officials. But that proposal failed due to a solid and admirable stance by Tucson's Mayor and Council - citing the fact that raising greens fees would have the most profound affect on senior citizens on fixed incomes who are some of the most frequent guests at the city's muni courses.

So back to square one at the Parks and Rec Department. Annual rounds played have decreased dramatically at both the city's El Rio and Silverbell Courses. Closing El Rio is not an option for two reasons: first, it is the flagship course of the city's municipal system. Once upon a time, this venerable muni was the El Rio Country Club and hosted the likes of the Tucson Open.

Second, the course is located is a fairly low income part of town in which a privately owned facility would never come close to meeting costs. No one wants to say this, but it is true. Besides, if the game of golf really wants to reach out to new markets, selling El Rio is bad public policy.

Selling Silverbell, however, is not a half bad idea. In fact, it is the best idea since remodeling Randolph South. Why?

The course was originally marketed as a "desert style course" at municipal golf prices. But come one . . .the place is a goat ranch located next to a border patrol firing range. If your ball is not absorbed by one of the crater size "ground under repair" areas on the course, then maybe a stay bullet from the government firing range next door will take out your ball in mid flight, leaving you scratching your head. Of course, if you play with a Pinnacle, then maybe the bullet will just bounce off.

Greens fees for top quality golf are too cheap in the summer for Tucson's muni's to compete - its that simple. Despite the fact that the sweltering months in Tucson may lead to an infinite number of grave occurrences, these three digits actually lend themselves to a perfectly functioning private market system in the realm of golf. You can almost feel Adam Smith's invisible hand pushing your golf cart along at a steady clip.

Here's a quiz: you can either play Silverbell for $18, with a cart (wow) and a hotdog (tastes real good on a 110 degree day), or . . . you can play the Golf Club at Vistoso for $12 more in the afternoon with a cart and no hotdog. As far as I am concerned, the hotdog can drop off the face of the earth for that rate. And Green Valley courses like Canoa and San Ignacio are even cheaper - and they throw in steaks, not dogs.

But Silverbell will never sell you say, because it is located on what is essentially an environmentally correct landfill in a deserted area of the city. I submit the Links at Continental as evidence that in Tucson, you can take the most pathetic, unlikely, just a pure despicable location for a round of golf, and still be successful.

So go ahead city, sell Silverbell. It is no coincidence that the City Employees Golf Tournament has in recent years been held at Silverbell. Do you actually think a governmental agency is thinking, "what is the best golfing experience we could provide for our employees, no holds barred?"

Try again. More like "what is the best golfing experience we could provide our employees while not pissing off our legion of players at Randolph, disrupting the respectable desert terrain at Fred Enke, or scaring people by sending them to El Rio?" Throw in the "and we can fill additional capacity at what has to be our worst municipal course," and it is no wonder that half the city's employees think that Silverbell is the only course the city owns.

As Kenny Rogers once said, "you gotta know when to hold em, know when to fold em. Know when to walk away, know when to run."

Run City. Run.

Shane Sharp is a staff writer for GolfArizona.com and Myrtlebeachgolf.com. Contact him at sharp@rockies.com