Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Bogied news coverage

It took 17 months but the Tennessean is finally reporting what the Tennessee Center For Policy Research pointed out in July of 2006--the state run golf courses are losing taxpayer money hand over fist. In an article penned by TCPR titled "A Needed Slice: Operating in the Red Is Par for the Course" you can read details like this:

The Jack Nicklaus-designed Bear Trace courses were built in the mid- 1990s at a cost of $20 million to the state. A private firm—Redstone—managed the courses, but because of their remote locations—in far-off places like Henderson, Winchester and Harrison along the state’s southern border—there was little demand for the lavish resorts. The private management company, which successfully runs a PGA tour course in Houston and several other distinguished courses, tired of hemorrhaging money— $6.85 million over the past three years—on the out-of-the-way courses and returned them to the state. Without the management expertise of Redstone and carrying a decades-long track record of failure in the golf business, the state government figures to lose even more than the private company. The difference is that, under state management, the loses incurred by the courses are paid by taxpayers.

If you want to take a sneak peak at what the Tennessean will report on next year you can read the TCPR's 2007 Pork Report today.

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