Photo Credit: Fairfax County Park Authority
To borrow from Mark Twain, reports of the death of golf have been greatly exaggerated—at least in Fairfax County, Va. It may seem counterintuitive, but while interest in golf has been waning across the nation, the Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA) has been investing in its seven golf courses and adding new programs. As a result, it is now reaping the rewards of that initiative with increasing revenue from growing numbers of golfers. For example, FootGolf was added in July 2015 to draw people of all ages onto the Pinecrest Golf Course. Programs such as Starting New at Golf and The First Tee have been encouraging children to give golf a try. Special events for women have been designed to attract more female golfers while active-duty and veteran military personnel benefit from special pricing on Military Mondays.
Last year, the park authority took its commitment to golf to a new level with a major renovation at the Burke Lake Golf Center, which includes a par-three course adjacent to the county’s 888-acre Burke Lake Park. In May, the ribbon was cut on a major renovation to the driving range. In December, officials gathered once again to officially open the new clubhouse. The $7,160,000 project was financed by voter-approved park bonds, and taxpayers are seeing a great return on their investment. Revenues from April to December of 2017 were up nearly a quarter-million dollars over the same period in 2016.
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When the old golf complex opened at Burke Lake in 1970, Gunsmoke was still entertaining TV audiences and the ADA was something associated with dentists. By the 2010s, both the driving range and clubhouse had seen better days. These time-worn facilities were no longer meeting the demands of golfers and failed to meet requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act—the other ADA.