Memphis city leaders want to increase the rounds of golf played on city-owned courses and to do that, they want to hire a “gold enterprises administrator.”
That job was posted on the city’s website Friday. It comes with a salary between $76, 294.93 and $97,276.92. For anyone doing the math at home, that’s more than $5,800 per month on the lowest end and up to more than $7,400 per month on the high end.
According to the posted job opening, the golf administrator would run the golf courses (of course) but would also look for “revenue generating programs to increase gold services to the public.”
The Memphis City Council’s parks committee took a look at the new job in a meeting Tuesday.
The members were told city courses were privately managed before 2000. A study suggested that the city would make more money if they were operated in house and so they were. The golf industry took a nose dive and, though it has stabilized, fewer people are playing at city courses.
So, Memphis Mayor A C Wharton’s administration has suggested hiring a full-time golf manager for the city. Parks and Neighborhoods director Janet Hooks said her department will also need more capital money to improve the courses, which she said will help spur more play on them.
Former Overton Park golf pro Donnie Bailey told council members they should look for someone with plenty of experience in grounds maintenance.
“We also need somebody with a passion and an interest in getting the job done,” Bailey said. “That’s something we’ve not had in a number of years.”
A new golf administrator could be on board within six weeks, Hooks said.
