Lakeview golf course rebounding under new management

Officials with CourseCo. recently went before the Nye County Commission, sitting as the governing body for the town of Pahrump, to provide the company’s annual plan for Lakeview Executive Golf Course.

Despite seeing multiple setbacks since securing the management contract for Lakeview in 2019, CourseCo. has managed to make progress over the past 12 months. New leadership has taken the helm, several upgrades and improvements have been made and the amount the course costs the town each year to run has decreased.

Aaron Hensley, a senior operations manager with CourseCo, and Tanner Bown, general manager at Lakeview, were both on hand to provide the presentation and answer questions on Wednesday, June 22. Hensley began by outlining the most recent challenge the company has faced, the intense summer storms that swept through Pahrump last summer, wreaking havoc all across town.

“One of the major issues that needs to be brought up is the severe storm event that happened in the area at the end of July (2021). Lakeview obviously was not left unscathed throughout that process and it being an outdoor recreational activity, it was certainly adversely affected during that time period,” Hensley explained. “So we had a great plan to start the year and then unforeseen circumstances really hit us and had us behind the eight-ball.”

Hensley noted that numerous holes were flooded, resulting in turf loss, and the course was even forced to close due to the floodwaters. There were downed trees on the property too and the buildings that house the pump stations that are used to water the course, along with the maintenance facilities, were inundated with several feet of water. “It was just really a complete mess across the entire property,” Hensley reported.

He added that the storm had occurred just weeks after he was assigned as the senior operations manager for Lakeview and the clean-up effort took somewhere between 90 and 120 days. The course is still somewhat beleaguered from the storm, though, so a greens renovation is one of the capital plan projects listed for the coming fiscal year.

Switching gears, Hensley said one positive change that occurred in the last year was the formation of an ad hoc committee to help guide the direction of the golf course.

“During last year’s report to the commission, there was some discussion about potentially having an advisory committee of some form,” he remarked. “We actually loved that idea… We said hey, let’s go ahead and form it from avid golfers throughout the facility. There were several who stepped up last year when we presented and we want those people on the committee as well, we want their opinion.”

That committee is now fully formed and functioning.

Another constructive step forward was the establishment of a volunteer program, to allow people to offer their labor and time to assisting the golf course. “I’m happy to report that as of October of last year, we now have a formal volunteer program. There’s a list up in the golf shop and as volunteer work becomes available, we’re able to connect to people who want to give back by volunteering for specific tasks,” Hensley said.

As for the future, the presentation detailed two other major capital improvement projects for the next 12 months, including pump station upgrades at Lakeview and at the former Willow Creek course, both of which are used to help irrigate the Lakeview greens.

CourseCo. will also be hosting several non-golf related events in the coming months, in an effort to attract a variety of patrons to the site. There will be a Movie Night in August, following by an Animal Adoption Event in October and a Holiday Spirit Day in December. For 2023, the company plans to have an Easter egg hunt as well.

Along with all of its other expenditures for operating, CourseCo. is projecting total expenses of $482,381 for fiscal year 2022-2023. Total revenues are projected at $402,650. That means the town of Pahrump will need to cover about $79,000 in expenses over the next year.

As detailed by the presentation, in fiscal year 2021-2022 the operation of the golf course cost the town of Pahrump $175,954. Compared to last year, this is a decrease of almost $100,000 and that decrease in net loss is part of a trend that has held steady over the last three years.

Commissioner Donna Cox, who was on the board at the time the commission decided to purchase Lakeview, was originally against the idea of the town acquiring the course and hiring out a management company. However, she remarked that she was feeling a bit more comfortable about the situation now.

Commissioner Bruce Jabbour added that he too had been critical of the course in the past, due to the fact that it was operating “in the red” but he said he was now confident that company would be able to eventually turn that around and make the course a revenue source instead of a draw on the town coffers.

The full, 22-page presentation on Lakeview Executive Golf Course can be found online at www.NyeCountyNV.gov as part of the Nye County Commission’s June 22 agenda.

Lakeview is located at 1471 E. Mount Charleston Drive South. For more information visit www.LakeviewGolfPahrump.com

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com