Pro-am golf tournament seen as benefit to town

Event to offer a combined purse of $19,000

Willow Creek Head Golf Pro Matt Call and Mountain Falls Head Pro Neil Pierce, joined forces to promote a pro-am golf tournament at both courses tentatively scheduled for March, with the town of Pahrump providing the $25,000 in start-up costs.

Saddle West Hotel and Casino Director of Operations Ryley Young, a member of the Pahrump tourism advisory board, said the town funds would be paid out of room tax money.

"It's a unique opportunity to bring a tournament to this town that wasn't presented before," Young said.

A summary of the Pahrump Valley Pro-Am Classic states "benefits from this event will undoubtedly be far reaching and long term, we plan for this to be the first of many Pahrump Valley Pro-Am golf tournaments. The benefactors of this tournament will be both the contestants and the affiliated businesses and ultimately the entire town of Pahrump."

The tournament would consist of 25 professional golfers and 75 amateurs, Call said. "We're hoping to draw golfers from Phoenix, Denver, Salt Lake City areas," he said.

The pro-am would be a chance to expose a higher caliber of golfer to Pahrump, Call said. The event would offer a combined purse of $19,000.

The plan is to have one professional and three amateurs on each foursome. Play would be two best ball, one low gross for total score. Amateurs would receive 80 percent of the certifiable U.S. Golf Association handicap. Professionals will play for an individual stroke play purse.

A $5,000 prize will be offered for the top professional golfer, $2,500 for second place and $1,500 for third with prize money offered down to seventh place. The top amateur team payout will be $4,000, second place will be good for $2,000 and there will be a $1,000 third place prize.

Pierce said the tournament would especially help his new golf course get some exposure. "It's a great time of year for both our golf courses. They should be in great shape," he said.

Entry fees will be $500 per team, which includes lunches both days, a Saturday night dinner and the rounds of golf at Mountain Falls and Willow Creek Saturday and Sunday. The date was originally set for mid-October, but Call said the date was pushed back to March to attract more golfers. Entry fees will recoup $12,500 of the cost based on a full field of players. Hole sponsorships at $100 per hole for 36 holes are projected to raise another $3,600. All excess proceeds will be returned to the town board.

Town board member Joe Sladek said the worst that could happen is it would cost the town $10,200. The other large golf tournaments in Pahrump don't include golf pros and people who play on tours, like the Inferno over the Fourth of July, the Saddle West annual Fall Roundup golf tournament and the Saddle West Shoot-out in the spring. Pierce said it could be like a mini-Nevada Open.

"It'll be a recurring event that should be self-sufficient in the future," Young said.

Town board member Tim Leavitt said he personally didn't like the concept of using town money for a profit-making business like a golf course. But he applauded the fact it was the first recommendation of the tourism advisory board -- consisting of representatives from Pahrump lodging establishments like the Pahrump Nugget, Saddle West and Best Western -- on how to spend room tax to promote tourism.

"Those who contribute to the room tax fund are those that are making these recommendations to us," Leavitt said. He said the town was trying something new.

"I think this is a fabulous idea. My concern is how often does a town sponsor a golf tournament?" town board chairwoman Mary Wilson asked. "Aren't those usually corporate sponsorships?"

Young said he couldn't recall a town sponsoring a golf tournament, but said there are numerous nonprofit organizations that do so.

"This money should be marketing money, it's about the quality of services this town can provide," Young said. He said two marketing companies being interviewed by the tourism advisory board during the same meeting were excited about the proposal.

"The tourism board has been charged with bringing in tourists and that's what this is," town board member Paula Glidden said, who is listed as the tournament director.

"We're already famous for our golf courses," said resident Elissa Couch.

Resident Mike McInerney said there will be 100 golfers in town but questioned how many tourists would be in the gallery watching the pro-am tournament.

Leavitt said room tax funds can't be spent on anything but tourism.

"It's not yours and my tax dollars. It's money paid by people who stay at the Saddle West, Best Western, The Nugget," Wilson told resident Harley Kulkin.


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