Retired coach Nancy Williams

Public golf courses in New Jersey are holding their own, according to The Record. Here, a golfer is pictured in a file photo.

(The Star-Ledger)

By Mary Diduch/The Record

WOODLAND PARK — As golf participation around the country decreases or remains relatively flat, local publicly owned courses appear to be holding their own — taking in more revenue than the escalating costs associated with running them — although fluctuations in weather patterns affect their bottom lines.

But in an age when towns are working under ever-tightening financial constraints, public officials and course managers tell The Record that the courses provide an important niche for players who want to get involved in an expensive sport for a reasonable price.

Still, course managers acknowledge the need to get creative — whether it's giving incentives to boost membership or undertaking renovations — to keep facilities competitive with private clubs and attractive to a younger crowd that might not have the same time or interest in the game as older generations. And to offset rising business costs, that could also mean raising fees slightly.

The township of River Vale purchased its golf course in 2010 as a means to preserve open space, so it has not been around as long as some other municipal courses like Paramus. While the course isn't generating a windfall of money in the short term, it isn't losing money, said Genarro Rotella, the town's business administrator.

"It's a benefit to the town because of the preservation of the open space," Rotella said. "It's not inhibiting the town or costing the town at this point."

Nationwide, golf participation - determined by the number of rounds played — was up 1.1 percent in July from the same month in 2013, according to figures from Kissimmee-based Golf Datatech, which has been compiling these monthly reports since 1999. But overall participation had dropped 1.4 percent so far this year, compared to last year, according to those figures.

In New Jersey, there were 6.8 percent more golfers in July of this year than in July 2013, but the state still has seen a 0.2 percent drop overall this year so far - essentially flat, said Golf Datatech's co-founder, Tom Stine.

Stine said golf participation peaked before the Great Recession, around 2007. Since then, consumers have been cautious with leisure spending, and play has not returned to those levels, he said.

"Coming off the recession, people are more concerned about how they spend their discretionary funds," Stine said.

Still, the biggest determining factor for how the industry does in any given year is based mostly on the weather, Stine said.

"The fact of the matter is people don't play golf in the rain. They don't play in the snow, they don't play in extreme cold, or in extreme heat for that matter," Stine said.

To make up for the decline in players, some courses have raised fees slightly, observers say.

The number of rounds played dropped in all five Bergen County courses - Darlington, Orchard Hills, Valley Brook, Rockleigh and Overpeck — from 2012 to 2013, to ounty figures show. Those numbers are down from 2009, except at Darlington, which saw 800 more rounds played in 2013 — to 40,751.

However, those figures seem to contradict what some players have experienced. Many say the courses are bustling more than ever.

Freddie Barber of Fort Lee has been playing at all Bergen public courses for about 11 years. He said he enjoys the public courses because they are cheaper and in good condition, and he has noticed more people coming to play.

"Five years ago, I don't think it was nearly as bad," said Barber, who was playing at Overpeck recently.

But revenue-wise, all of the county-owned courses are pulling in the same amount or staying roughly flat with minimal drops and increases. Only Valley Brook, in River Vale, saw a 27 percent drop in revenue from 2009 compared with what it brought in last year, which was around $1.2 million, according to county figures.

In North Jersey, public courses are holding their own because private clubs - with some in the region, like Franklin Lakes' High Mountain Golf Course, closing this year — are more expensive in an era when golf is not as popular but more time-consuming than other activities, some municipal course overseers and public officials said. But with rising costs, public courses have to work harder to keep their profits in the green since taxpayer dollars are at stake.

Doug Meeks, the golf pro at Old Tappan's member-only, nine-hole green, said the course has seen a decline from its peak 15 or 20 years ago. Back then, the course had around 400 members and a waiting list. Now, the course has around 340 members.

Still, revenue has risen every year since 2009 at Old Tappan - up 3.13 percent from 2009 to 2013. Meeks said the course must work to stay afloat. To attract new members, it offers specials in the fall, such as allowing members to put 10 percent down on the membership fee and pay the rest in spring. "We're not dying and it's not like we're in trouble, but it's not up to snuff," Meeks said.

Park Ridge resident Mel Beer, 85, is a member at the course. He said most of the players at the Old Tappan course are retired and older, which for the most part has kept the membership steady over the years, with some years seeing more players and rounds played than others. But he said when he first joined 10 to 12 years ago, there must have been more players overall. "There doesn't seem to be the same waiting list," Beer said.

On average, the Paramus Golf Course, which recently underwent improvements, sees about 7,000 rounds of play per month — the same as it saw in July. In its record year about five years ago, July saw 9,000 rounds because of great weather with little rain, said Andy Schuckers, course superintendent.

"While the golf industry as a whole is down nationwide, we are in a great position here," Schuckers said.

Schuckers and Meeks pointed to a change in sporting lifestyle when it comes to golf. An older population still plays regularly, but younger parents do not take time to hit the course as much as they used to. Increasingly, parents are putting their children into year-round traveling sports, like soccer.

"It's a time crunch," Schuckers said.

Howard Gottlieb, 74, lives in West Orange but plays at public courses around the region. He said course regulars blame time constraints and the economy for the dip in play nationwide, but he doesn't see a noticeable decrease on the green — though the "parking lot is not as full as it used to be."

But as costs rise, as they do each year, and participation slides, courses around the country will look at ways to bring in players.

River Vale's course saw a $56,162 drop in revenue from 2012 to 2013. Revenues largely dipped in prepaid memberships, and a similar dip is expected this year, according to the budget approved this year. To make up the difference, the resident membership fee increased $10 since the course opened a few years ago, Rotella said.

Two years ago, Rotella said, great weather led to a lot of rounds played. In 2012, the course saw about 35,000 rounds, compared with 33,000 last year. The course is on track to hit 33,000 rounds again this year, Rotella said. "We're always looking to do more, trust me," Rotella said. "If everything stays flat, that's not good."

Massive upgrades at the Passaic County-owned Preakness Valley Golf Course in Wayne are credited for an uptick in revenues. The six-year, $6 million renovation, which was completed about a year and a half ago, included new tee boxes and irrigation, said Nick Roca, the course's manager.

As a result, the course brought in $1.12 million from January to August of this year, compared with $1.11 million during the same period last year, course figures show. June and July saw an extra 400 rounds of golf, he said.

Roca said the two-course facility provides a niche among the more expensive private clubs by offering more golfing opportunities to those who might not otherwise have been able to afford the sport. The renovations also have helped. "We will never be a country club," Roca said. "But we will be around to afford people an opportunity to play a really good sport — a lifetime sport — at a reasonable cost."