Fairfield Glade Community Club’s director of golf says the amount of play during the first four months of the year shows that “it’s looking really good for golf” as club leaders assess the effect of the closing of all eight timeshare associations and the visitors they brought.
Raise a birdie shot and give a toast to the weather and golf packages for bringing much of the optimism.
Jeff Houston said he budgeted for 6,000 rounds to be played in March – the same as last year – but that 7,900 rounds were played. Last year in March, 8,000 rounds were played.
“We had great weather,” he said in a presentation to the membership during the board of directors’ meeting April 23 at The Center. “March was a great month for us.” The weather was favorable to golf in March 2025, too.
But what “really matters,” Houston said, is what happens in April, May and June when players with the timeshares had visited Fairfield Glade.
The signs in April were promising. With what Houston said was “perfect weather,” by the third week of the month rounds were up about 700 over April 2025.
He said golfers who formerly were with the timeshares are now booking rounds through golf packages.
In addition, Houston said the number of rounds that guests played so far this year was 400 higher than the same period last year.
“So right now it’s looking really good for golf,” he said.
Chief Financial Officer Jason Lambert said the number of rounds community club members have played was encouraging and that “we almost doubled our golf package rounds for the first quarter, which was extremely encouraging as well.”
General Manager Bill Ward said the timeshares had produced an average of 20,000 rounds annually. They were not factored into this year’s budget. That strategy reflects the message members were given during the 2026 budget presentation in November when they were told the community club must become “self-sustaining.”
“The belief is that is the best path for Fairfield Glade going forward,” Ward said.
According to the latest budget report, 12,570 rounds were played during the first three months of this year, 2,525 more than what was budgeted.
Golf revenue amounted to $655,200, above budget by $116,600.
What happens with golf revenue and rounds played going forward is heavily influenced by the weather. Just a day or two of steady rain can affect the number of rounds played long after it stops – sometimes for a few days – partly because carts are restricted to the cart paths when there is concern they could still damage the courses.
“A lot of our members won’t play if it’s cart path-only,” Ward said.
The budget report showed that 4,250 rounds were lost in the first quarter because of bad weather.
Houston announced to the membership that all five courses will be getting electric carts, which will replace gasoline-powered carts.
He said he planned to submit to the board in May a request to spend $225,000 to convert the Heatherhurst cart barn so it can accommodate the needs of electric carts, which are powered by lithium batteries.