Evan Chandler
Golfers seem to approve of newly proposed rates for the Marty Sanchez Links de Santa Fe, as long as officials ensure projected revenue goes toward improvement and maintenance of the course.
Mayor Alan Webber and District 1 Councilor Signe Lindell introduced the bill which proposes new rates and adjusts old ones for course usage Aug. 28 during the governing body meeting. City officials proposed creating loyalty member rates for City of Santa Fe and county residents. To become a loyalty member, city and county residents pay a $69 fee, which goes back into an individual’s first game of the year. Then, for each game following, city residents will pay $35.
Marty Sanchez Links de Santa Fe Men’s Golf Association President Keith Crow, who has played at the course two to three times a week since 2014, tells SFR he generally supports the new proposed rates.
“I think they are more than fair for locals. It seems like the city really protected them, and I’m happy to see that,” Crow says, adding he believes “guys aren’t going to care” under the condition “there’s a correlation between progress on the course and our rates.”
However, he notes he’d like to see out-of-state players paying a higher green fee and suggested city officials create a yearly pass option for city players.
“This would have a two-fold benefit as it generates a large amount of cash flow for the city in January as everyone pays for the year, and it makes for an easier payment process for the players,” Crow says. “Albuquerque has done this for years with great success.”
Sol Bentley tells SFR he has played golf at the Marty Sanchez Links de Santa Fe for 15 years. He notes he used to play more frequently—four to five times a week—but stopped going as often in recent years as newer management teams haven’t kept the course “in as good a shape” as in earlier years. Still, he says the proposed rates are “fair” for a municipal course.
“They’re not killing the rates too much,” Bentley says. “I think, for a municipal course, it’s a really, really good rate for residents.”
However, he adds he hopes to see those fees go toward improvements to the player experience, including better maintenance of the course and keeping the restaurant and other services “up to par.”
“Some of those things I would love to see be acknowledged and taken stock of,” Bentley says. “When you’re out there with a group of guys and there’s 200 people on the golf course and you can’t even so much as get a bottle of water or something, it’s kind of a bummer.”
Webber tells SFR the new proposal seeks to create “a better revenue stream” for the course’s management and operations. A fiscal impact report on the proposal estimates $200,000 in revenue yearly with new changes. The City Council approved a contract Jan. 10 with golf course management firm Troon Golf to operate the course for more than $11 million over a four-year period.
“Our rates have been unintentionally low, and we’re not getting enough revenue to do a good job of paying for maintenance and upkeep,” Webber says. “We also haven’t kept up with competitive rates of other golf courses, so we’re trying to fine-tune them.”
Indeed, the bill’s memo indicates city officials tasked Troon with evaluating course rates and the company found rates have remained unchanged since 2020. Parks and Open Spaces Division Director Melissa McDonald described that as an “uncommon practice in the golfing industry” in the memo.
McDonald tells SFR the city set out with the intention to not raise rates for city residents when drafting the bill while diversifying the types of players covered within the rates.
“City residents still will be able to pay what they’re paying now if they become a loyalty member,” McDonald says. “We’re just adding more rates so that we can get better coverage of uses and bring in revenue. The out-of-state and the tourism rates are really where we’re focusing a lot of our intentions.”
With the more specific categories, she adds, city officials can get a better idea of who is using the course.
Lindell, a frequent golfer, agrees, telling SFR the golf course is “going in the right direction.” She notes she’s especially happy about new twilight rates, which charge a reduced fee for adult players who come later in the afternoon to play golf.
“It’s a terrific addition so families can go after school or work,” Lindell says. “And it won’t cost a lot of money.”
The bill will head for public comment at the Sept. 11 governing body meeting, then to Quality of Life and Finance committees before a final vote Oct. 9. If approved, new rates will take effect Nov. 1.
