Letter to the editor: Shut out of golf

To the editor:

Last weekend my friends and I played golf at Eagle Bend. I was shocked that 18 holes with a cart cost $49. Fees over the years have gone up dramatically higher than inflation. These increases will undoubtedly continue given that the City Commission no longer approves rate increases.

Eagle Bend was sold to the public, initially by local seniors, as affordable golf. It should be affordable because, unlike private courses, it was built on free land and pays no property taxes. The fact that the course consistently loses money is caused by the inherent inefficiency of government. To offset this inefficiency the government does what it always does: passes the cost on to the taxpayers.

We can expect the fees to dramatically increase not only because the bureaucrats now have sole authority to raise rates, but also due to Alvamar going all private, thereby eliminating local competition. A monopoly run by government bureaucrats is the taxpayers’ worst nightmare.

Currently the men’s senior golf, played every Monday morning, has been canceled numerous times due to Eagle Bend scheduling golf tournaments. In essence, the people who initially pushed for a public golf course back in the 1990s are being shut out.