TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Highlands Today

SEBRING GOLF COURSE: Golfers Bring Back 9-Hole Play

Kathy Waters/Highlands Today

Tony Mordenga of Sebring putts at the eighth hole Wednesday at Sebring Golf Course. The course will now offer nine-hole play.

ADVERTISEMENT

By MANDY SHEETS | Highlands Today

Published: May 8, 2008

SEBRING — Sebring Golf Course will now offer nine-hole play to appease disabled veterans and senior citizens who say that's all they can play.

Robert Burdick, a disabled veteran, spearheaded the effort; he played regularly at Sebring Golf Course, previously known as the Sebring Municipal Golf Course, and was recently told he could no longer pay a nine-hole rate.

"I play about once a week with a group of my buddies, who are mostly other disabled veterans," Burdick said. "We would love to play more than nine holes, but at our age, in our condition nine holes is all we can handle."

Tom McClurg, former golf professional for the course, allowed the group to pay $10 plus tax and start at 10 a.m., which was an unpopular tee time for 18-hole players.

"We had a good routine going, and we went off at a time when they usually had an opening between the really early players and the later players," Burdick said. "Then Tom left, and the policy has not been continued by the present golf course staff."

City Councilman Dan Andrews said he thinks the nine-hole play should be open to everyone, not just the group who previously made arrangements with McClurg.

"We have to look at more than just your group if we create a structure for nine-hole play," Andrews told Burdick. "I think the problem would come from not having a starter to control whether a person actually stops after nine holes."

At the $38 rate for 18 holes, the course makes $152 for a foursome; at the nine-hole rate, the course only makes $60 per foursome.

"I believe in public facilities that should be used by the public, but at the same time we have to maximize our potential revenue," said Jim Higgins, superintendent of the course. "We are taking a $112 loss right there if we allow them to pay a nine-hole rate."

Burdick argued the city would actually make more revenue by offering a nine-hole greens fee because the golfers will play there instead of going to other courses that allow nine holes.

Sebring City Council, which administers the course, voted at Tuesday's meeting to establish the rate of $15 for nine holes and allow Higgins to determine the schedule for tee times.

Higgins said he plans to allow nine-hole play to start on the 10th tee before 8:30 a.m. Golfers will play the back nine holes and stay ahead of the golfers who tee off from the first hole at 7 a.m., the first tee time.

The golfers said they were still not completely satisfied with that decision because it limits the time of play. They said they hope the course allows for more flexibility in tee times, especially during the summer months when the course is not too crowded.

"If I want to bring someone with me to play, they should be able to pay the nine-hole rate and play any time we want," said Arthur Allyn, who is a member of the course. "When we tee off at 10 or 11, there is no one out there; sometimes we don't even see another group the whole time."

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT