Chambers Bay Golf Course set new fiscal records in 2014, even as it reduced the number of rounds played to prepare for the 2015 U.S. Open Championship this June.
The golf course, owned by Pierce County, set all-time annual records for average greens fee, food and beverage sales, merchandise sales, green and cart fees, and total revenue, according to the fourth quarter financial report released this week.
“Chambers Bay is just the third publicly-owned golf course to host a U.S. Open, and that is generating lots of interest,” said County Executive Pat McCarthy. “Golfers are coming from other parts of the state and beyond to play our course. Chambers Bay is now one of the top draws for our regional tourism industry.”
Here’s a look at all-time records in the financial report:
The golf course sold $1 million in merchandise, a 47 percent increase over 2013. Average green fees were nearly 20 percent higher than the record in 2008. Food and beverage sales were nearly 19 percent higher than the record in 2013. Total revenues of $6.9 million surpassed the $6.3 million earned in 2010. The golf course recorded
another year in the black despite a decrease in play that began in the fourth quarter as part of the plan with the United States Golf Association to prepare the course for championship conditions. The course logged 33,347 rounds last year, compared to 38,890 in 2013.
“Our tee time utilization reached an all-time high of 85 percent last year as demand increased,” Executive McCarthy said. “Thanks to the preparations by our team at KemperSports, everyday players are experiencing the best golf Chambers Bay has ever offered.”
Chambers Bay, designed by architect Robert Trent Jones II, offers Scottish links-style golf amid windswept dunes and the ruins of a century-old gravel mine on the shores of Puget Sound.
More information about the golf course is available at www.chambersbaygolf.com .
April 29 update: Here is a PCTV video about the fiscal report.
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