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Salt Lake City's golf managers hope the ability to lower fees at some public courses will help them escape a financial rough and finally reach the green.

After years of losses and an operating deficit of about $1 million, the managers believe they've come up with a plan to keep avid players and the city's budget writers happy.

If given the authority to set prices, golf managers can offer daily deals at lower rates to fill up a course with players, says Dan Dent, deputy director of the Department of Public Services. Dent and other golf officials say that would lower the rate that available tee times go unfilled, possibly raising the profitability of all the courses in the system.

"To fill up that golf course, we don't raise prices, because that's just going to lower the utilization," Dent said. "We need to lower prices; we need to get more people out to the golf course."

Even if rates at some courses are lowered, Dent told City Council members recently, attracting more golfers would help the sport's struggling bottom line.

Under the proposed changes:

• The city would eliminate the systemwide tiered fee structure in exchange for giving more power to each course and the Public Services Department to change prices depending on market conditions.

• Golfers who buy the discount card known as LoyalTee would get steeper discounts on green fees, but pay more for the card — $49.99, up from $35.

• Seniors and other players would have more times to play at discounted rates.

Council members aren't so sure the changes would be enough to get the system out of the red. If the division can't make it without an infusion of general fund dollars, the future of th e six-course city system may become uncertain.

"From my understanding, this plan still indicates we'd be running a million-dollar deficit," Councilman Derek Kitchen said. "So it doesn't answer the [revenue] question."

If the city's general fund is going to subsidize open lands, Kitchen said, he would prefer it is used by more residents.

"Everybody likes the idea of reductions," Councilwoman Lisa Adams said. "But when you are running at such a deficit, do the math for me on how all those reductions are going to get you to where you need to be."

A public hearing is scheduled for April 18. Kitchen said it was "likely" the council would move the public hearing to a later date.

Three years ago, a report by a Florida-based golf consultant declared the city's public golf system was in a "death spiral," with $22 million in deferred maintenance and capital improvements.

The city closed the Wingpointe and Jordan River Par 3 courses in recent years and last year started a tiered pricing system, with higher green fees during the most popular times.

Dent says the recent changes diminished the value frequent players were getting without turning things around to turn a systemwide profit.

"Right now, without making any changes, our status quo would be roughly a $900,000 loss," Dent said of the upcoming fiscal year, which begins in the middle of the current playing season and ends June 2018.

Across the six courses, about half the available tee times go unused, Dent said. That's space on the course that could be generating revenue.

By lowering fees and giving seniors and students more times to play at discounted rates, courses hope to attract players who Dent said left the system to play elsewhere.

Dent called the current system of changing green fees an arduous process that takes up to two months.

He said flexibility would put pricing control and accountability in the hands of each course manager.

"If we lower our prices too much, we do get more utilization of the courses but we don't quite cover the difference in revenue," Dent said. "What we're trying to do with our pricing is just find that middle ground where we're getting max utilization and max total revenue."

Twitter: @TaylorWAnderson