Five Over Par: Authority Withholds Free Golf Benefit Details

Free of charge and free of scrutiny.

That appears to be the rule as it pertains to a policy allowing past and current members of the Baltimore County Revenue Authority board to play golf for free.

The five-member board isn't paid for its work, which included 10 annual meetings up until late last month when the board reduced its meetings to six times a year.

Instead, board members have been granted the privilege of unlimited free golf on any of the five public golf courses the authority manages.

The authority took over the courses from the county in 1995. Exactly how long the free golf policy has been in place was not immediately available, but Leslie Pittler, an attorney and board member, said the policy was in place when he was appointed in 1998.

It changed last year when Don Hutchinson was appointed chairman of the board. Hutchinson, a former county executive, said the policy was changed to a lifetime benefit for former members without regard to how long they served.

Those free golf rounds extend to guests of the board members.

Additionally, board members also had the ability under the original policy to purchase items from the authority-run pro shops at cost and use golf carts and driving ranges without charge.

But late last month William "Lynnie" Cook asked the board to reduce the unlimited golf play to 40 rounds—eight rounds per member per week. The board agreed.

The board also agreed to charge itself 10 percent over cost on items purchased in the pro shops.

The changes were presented on June 23 as a way to enhance revenue at the authority courses. Revenue at the courses is on pace to be about $300,000 less than projected for the current budget year.

Missing from the brief discussion was any review of how many courtesy rounds each member is using.

And those details don't appear to be coming any time soon.

Cook, in a series of emails, refused to answer questions detailing each member's use of the privilege.

In an initial response last week, Cook said the authority maintains no reports that break down how many courtesy rounds of golf each member has used in 2010 and in the current year.

"The Authority does not produce specialized reports upon request," Cook wrote in follow-up email. "Over the years, we have turned down requests from marketing and real estate companies who wanted to know the demographics of our players (e.g., zip codes, ages, sex, rounds of golf played on weekends vs. weekdays, in-state vs. out-of-state rounds, specific details about our maintenance budgets,  etc.). We have also turned down requests for specific data from college students doing research projects. In short, we will provide upon request various reports and/or document that exist. We do not, however, have the time and/or staff to produce reports upon request."

Cook did provide a breakdown of free golf rounds used at each golf course for 2010 and 2011. Not all can be attributed to board members, Cook wrote.

Free Golf by course for 2010 and 2011. Source: Baltimore County Revenue Authority

The cost of the golf privilege alone can be in the tens of thousands of dollars for each member.

The most expensive rounds of golf are at the county's Greystone golf course. Players there can expect to pay up to $58 during the week and $78 during weekends and holidays.

Using those costs as a basis, a board member who uses his or her games in a foursome during the week and another during a weekend or holiday would receive about $28,288 in free golf annually. For all five members, the total cost would be $141,440 annually.

If you add one more weekday foursome a week under the old unlimited golf rule the costs increase to $40,352 per member per year or nearly $202,000 for all five.

None of those estimates include the free use of the driving range or the other benefits available to the authority.

So far, requests sent to the board members asking them to estimate their use have not been answered by Joseph Blair or Merreen Kelly.

Hutchinson wrote that he typically plays 15 to 20 rounds per year at county courses.

"I have been a member of a golf club for years and play the great majority of my golf there," Hutchinson wrote. "Even so, I feel strongly that as chair of the (authority), I should periodically play the courses that I have fiduciary responsibility for. I anticipate that in the next few weeks I will play at least four of the courses, some of which I have not visited in several months."

Hutchinson said that he typically plays "with a foursome on average, once each year. Otherwise I play with one additional person as my guest (frequently my wife). If there is a twosome or a single waiting for tee time I always invite them to join me, at their cost."

Bonnie Phipps, president and chief executive officer at St. Agnes Hospital, wrote in an email that she had not used any courtesy rounds of golf since she was appointed nearly a year ago.

Pittler, in an email, wrote that he inquired about his use of complimentary rounds earlier this year when Cook first circulated a memo about increasing golf revenues.

"Pursuant to your request, I have no objection to the release of my complimentary rounds," Pittler wrote in an email. "Around the time the enhancement of revenue memo came out I ascertained through the BCRA that I had used I believe 17 or 19 complimentary rounds between May 1, 2011 and the middle of June 2011."

Pittler added: "In addition 95% of the time that I play is in what our golf pro’s determine as non-prime time. I am aware that not only does the BCRA track Board members golf complimentary rounds but also the number of times we use the Fox Hollow Driving Range. When I determined how often I had used the Driving Range I purchased with my own money a $100.00 Range Card, even though use of the Range is entirely different than taking times away from potential customers on the golf courses.

"As you are aware I have constantly argued far more openness at the BCRA," Pittler wrote. "The information you seek in my opinion is public information and is subject to prompt release. I have no idea at this time my rounds for 2010 or any additional rounds for 2011, but I believe the information is readily and quickly available."