Golf club sheds `old' image

     By W.G. Ramirez
     View staff writer
      Shedding its image as the town's "the municipal," the Las Vegas Golf Club officially unveiled its plush "new" course on Feb. 11 during an afternoon dedication and early evening dinner.
      "It'll always be `Muni,' in a sense that it's still the traditional golf course and it's still for the locals," said general manager Jeff Kern. "It's not `Muni' in the sense of the quality of the golf course."
      Originally estimated at $4.4 million, the 51-year-old course ended up receiving a $5.6 million face-lift.
      Highlighting the project is the extensive California Mission-style clubhouse facility, which includes a 150-seat tournament pavilion, bar and grill, golf shop, locker rooms and banquet room.
      The upgraded course, located at 4300 W. Washington Ave., features a par-72, 6,631-yard layout with 18 new greens, new irrigation on the front nine holes, 312 new trees and a picturesque waterfall on the third hole.
      "I think everyone felt we've done the right improvements," Kern said. "The response has just been great. I haven't heard one bad thing."
      Other improvements include an entryway with wrought-iron gates, a drainage upgrade, a new 8-foot wide cart path, new pull carts, additional parking, a new maintenance building and enhanced maintenance services.
      In November 1997, the Las Vegas City Council voted 3-1 to award Golf Enterprises a 50-year contract to operate and maintain the facility.
      "It's enabled the improvements to happen," Kern said about the contract. "We were committed to $4.4 million but ended up spending more. And that wouldn't have happened without that contract."
      Kern said there might have been some negative feelings in the past about how the deal would end up, mainly because locals didn't want the old municipal course to turn into another corporation/government agency collaboration that would be an overpriced, luxury country club.
      "That might have been because of the way it was run in the past," Kern said. "Golfers will see that we stood behind what we were going to do."
      Kern said the project wouldn't have come to fruition without the help of Las Vegas City Councilman Michael J. McDonald.
      "Councilman McDonald has been instrumental in (this)," Kern said. "He's been very much involved and just been great to deal with. His main thing was he did not want it to turn into a resort, where the locals get shut out."
      Prices increased nearly 81 percent for players under 65 -- from $10.50 to $19 -- and will increase to $24 on July 1, but Kern said the only pay increase thereafter will be based on the Consumer Price Index.
      "And that's typically been around a quarter a year," he said.
      Green fees for senior citizens went from $5 to $7.50.
      Beginning in 2010, the city will receive 8 percent of Golf Enterprise's gross revenues from the course. The city will also get 20 percent of gross revenues exceeding $4 million.
      No money will be paid to the city before 2010.