Prices have gone up at this popular public golf course in Miami-Dade. Here’s why
Prices are up for everyone at the popular Granada Golf Course in Coral Gables as part of a plan by the city to clamp down on overcrowding, reduce wear and tear of the land, and make more money ahead of pricey renovations.
Both residents and non-residents will pay up to 42% more to play golf at the public course, though a discount is now being offered to active military and veterans. Membership perks are also changing, with the city axing unlimited play time for annual members and removing reserved tee times that were always set aside for several longstanding golf associations in the city.
“If they take our tee times, our organization[s] will no longer exist,” said Steve Elmore, who has been a member of the Granada Golf Association for 45 years. He described the association as a social group that fosters friendship through golf while also raising money for charities and other community initiatives.
City leaders said they made the changes to reduce overcrowding and to help cover costly maintenance and renovations. City Manager Peter Iglesias and Fred Couceyro, director of the city’s community recreation department, have told commissioners that the course is being utilized far above the recommended capacity for a course of its size.
“We are losing a lot of money,” Lago told the Miami Herald, describing it as a tough decision that he knows will not make everyone happy.
“But we have to just bring our pricing into the 21st century,” he added.
While the course’s low rates have attracted hordes of players, the city has determined that much of the problem stems from the golf course’s 86 annual members, who provide the least amount of revenue yet account for one-quarter of the golf course’s total usage, according to Couceyro. He estimates annual members were paying, on average, $5.41 per round, far less than non-members.
“The course is operating beyond sustainable levels,” Iglesias said, with operating costs increasing faster than revenue. The city is predicting a loss of $600,000 at the golf course this year as it faces rising maintenance costs. Commissioners last month approved a one-year $969,478 contract with BrightView Holdings, the same company that maintains the historic Biltmore Hotel’s golf course, to restore and enhance the Granada Golf Course.
An analysis by city staff found that the annual members accounted for 24% of the rounds played at the par 36 nine-hole golf course.
“What that means in plain terms is that the entire city is subsidizing a very small group of high frequency users,” Lago said, describing it as a situation where other members of the community are “paying significantly more and getting significantly less access.”
The changes, which were approved unanimously last month by commissioners, were brought up again during Tuesday’s City Commission meeting by Commissioner Melissa Castro, who was seeking to modify them after hearing from upset golfers. Castro, Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson and Commissioner Ariel Fernandez agreed to delay a vote on the matter to give themselves more time to speak with golfers and look for alternate solutions.
The newly adopted changes remain in effect for now. Here’s how they will impact your golf time:
Granada Golf Course price changes
Both residents and non-residents will pay more for golf. Some examples:
- For residents, the cost to book a reserved tee time will now cost $30, up from $22. For non-residents, it will cost $39, up from $28.
- Residents who want to play late in the afternoon or early evening will pay $27, up from $19 for the “twilight” rate. Non-residents will pay $35, up from $26.
- Golf cart rentals cost a dollar more and are $18. The facility’s ride-and-save rate, which bundles a game of golf with the golf cart, will cost residents $45, up from $38. For non-residents, the bundle will cost $59, up from $45.
- The city also created a 50% discount for veterans and active military.
What about Granada’s annual members?
Those most affected by the new rates will likely be some of Granada’s most loyal golfers.
There are 86 people grandfathered in to an annual membership that has not been available to the community since 2022. The membership came with a series of generous perks, including unlimited golf time, for a range of $921 to $2,332, depending on resident status and if the membership was for one or two people.
That’s changing under the new membership structure. Some key changes:
- Golf-only memberships no longer exist. People will now be required to pay for a golf and country club membership, which will give members access to Granada and to the Coral Gables Country Club’s fitness amenities, including the gym, pool and tennis center. A single resident with an annual membership will now pay $2,100, up from $921. Single non-residents will pay $2,730, up from $1,331.
- No more unlimited rounds. Members will now get up to 30 complimentary rounds per year, with a golf cart included. Once a member hits the 30 rounds, they’ll get a $5 discount on each additional round.
- Changes to priority tee time. Members will now have seven-day priority tee time booking. That means members can reserve tee time up to seven days before, compared to non-members, who can book a tee time up to five days in advance.
Changes for Granada Golf Association and other members
Changes are also coming for golfers who are part of the independent Granada Golf Association, the Greenway Women’s Golf Association and the Coral Gables Women’s Golf and Bridge Association. The three not-for-profits have existed in the Gables for over 50 years and have a combined total of 135 members, according to the city.
Members of those groups pay association fees, plus the regular resident and non-resident rates, to golf and are not affiliated with the city. One of the perks association members get is “priority access to prime tee times,” though they don’t have any written contract or agreement with the city, according to a presentation made to the commissioners Tuesday by Couceyro and Assistant City Manager Carolina Vester.
The new changes strip the groups of their priority block times for play, which members argue will essentially force the associations to shutter.
“We don’t understand why after 60 years of tradition and supporting this gem of a golf course for the community, the Coral Gables residents and seniors, why [commissioners] would want to take away this great community-building legacy,” Dawn Fine, an officer of the Greenway Women’s Golf Association, told commissioners, pointing out that the changes would price out many retired seniors.
Golfers who spoke at this week’s meeting described the associations as social groups that are critical for the health and wellness of seniors and disputed the city’s claims that they were withholding popular play times from others. Instead, they argued that the weekly reserved tee times for each association were often scheduled for periods of low use on the golf course. Fine and others argued that scrapping their guaranteed and fixed tee times would also make it harder for members, many who are seniors and not tech-savvy, to reserve tee times and gather together to play.
Peter Izaguirre, who has served as president of the Granada Golf Association for 24 years and uses both the golf course and the country club, told commissioners he finds it unfair that under the new changes, people who want access to the country club only have to pay for the club, but people who want to play golf will have to pay for both.
Elmore, who manages tee time reservations for the Granada Golf Association, says he gives members a weekly deadline to confirm play before releasing the unused slots back to the city for other golfers. He also penalizes members with a two-week suspension if they’re no-shows to their booking.
“Yes, there are a core group of people that hold an annual membership at Granada through the city that are abusing the privilege, but that’s no reason to take it away from everyone,” said Elmore.
What’s happening now?
Castro, Fernandez and Anderson, who has positioned herself as an advocate for accessibility for seniors and people with disabilities, appeared troubled hearing the negative impact residents believed the changes would create for Gables seniors.
“We have a high population of seniors. They are the backbone of our city,” Castro told the Herald after the meeting, noting that she’s been contacted by many angry residents over the changes.
Castro submitted a series of ideas during this week’s commission meeting to lessen the impact, including offering a 30% senior resident discount and formalizing an agreement with the three associations to set aside certain tee times for their members.
Both Castro and Fernandez also proposed similar annual membership rate changes that, while pricier than the previous rate, wouldn’t require golfers to pay for the country club and would still impose caps on complimentary rounds to reduce play at the overwhelmed golf course. Castro described her proposal as a one-year pilot program that would let the city track more data on golfers’ habits.
Commissioners are set to take up the golf discussion in a future meeting, though a senior discount appears unlikely. Vester indicated Tuesday that the goal of the increased rates is to reduce overcrowding and increase revenue, and many of its players are 65 and older.
Elmore, one of the many golfers affected by the changes, said he understands and supports raising rates to improve conditions at the golf course. He just wants to secure his group’s tee times.
“We just don’t want them to ruin the atmosphere and the community that’s at Granada Golf Course,” he said.
