By Coral Gables Gazette staff

The Coral Gables City Commission voted unanimously on May 5 to preserve priority tee times for three long-standing golf associations at the city-owned Granada Golf Course, resolving a weeks-long dispute over access while rejecting every proposal that would have reduced revenue — a signal that the commission’s broader shift toward financial discipline at the nine-hole course is not reversing.

The vote protects the Granada Golf Association, the Greenway Women’s Golf Association, and the Coral Gables Women’s Golf and Bridge Association — groups representing roughly 150 members who have played at Granada for decades, some for more than 60 years and one for more than 90. Membership caps were written into the resolution to prevent expansion that could limit public access, with the Granada Golf Association capped at 60 members, the Greenway Women’s Golf Association at 55, and the Coral Gables Women’s Golf and Bridge Association at 35. The city retains the ability to adjust tee times for maintenance, tournaments, and seasonal demand.

What the vote does — and does not — do

The resolution formalizes what had been an informal arrangement. The three associations had operated for decades without written contracts, relying on consistent access to reserved weekly tee times. The city’s decision earlier this year to raise fees and restructure golf memberships — including eliminating unlimited play for approximately 86 grandfathered members — left those arrangements without formal protection.

Tuesday’s vote restores that protection. It does not restore the $900 unlimited golf membership. Mayor Vince Lago was explicit on that point, referencing a meeting he had held with association members including Dawn Fine, an officer of the Greenway Women’s Golf Association. “I was never in opposition as I spoke to Dawn, when she came in and said about the tee times, is not an issue for me,” Lago said. “What the issue was for me was the fact that $900 for unlimited golf is just way too much wear and tear on the facility.”

The distinction mattered enough that Lago corrected Commissioner Melissa Castro on the commission floor when she stood to applaud the resolution. Castro had withdrawn her own competing tee time resolution and asked to co-sponsor Anderson’s — apparently believing the measure included the unlimited membership provision. It did not. “I don’t think she realizes that this doesn’t include the unlimited golf,” Lago said.

Castro pushed back. “With all due respect, I think the one who doesn’t understand and didn’t read the resolutions was you,” she said. “The tee time was a different resolution, and the membership is a different resolution.”

Two proposals fail on 3-2 votes

With the tee time question resolved, the commission turned to two additional proposals that both failed along the same 3-2 alignment — Lago, Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson, and Commissioner Richard Lara voting no; Castro and Commissioner Ariel Fernandez voting yes.

Fernandez proposed a golf-only membership at $2,500 per year capped at 100 rounds, available exclusively to the approximately 86 current unlimited members who are Coral Gables residents. He framed it as a compromise that would reduce course wear by eliminating unlimited play while giving members an option that didn’t require joining the full country club. “Their biggest concern is they don’t want to pay for something that they’re not going to use,” Fernandez said.

Anderson voted no. “Residents out there that are struggling don’t want to subsidize golf,” she said. “We’re already underwater on this.”

Castro’s separate proposal — a 30 percent senior discount for residents 65 and older — also failed 3-2. Castro argued the discount was modest given existing perks. “All our appointees — and our 250 board members — get free golf,” she said. “Not 50 percent off, not 30 percent off. Free golf. Veterans also get 50 percent off. So when I’m asking for a simple 30 percent for our city community, it’s not a big ask.”

Lago countered that board members account for only 1.5 percent of total course usage, and that approving a senior discount without knowing its financial impact was premature. “Before you vote on something and give a 30 percent discount and handicap the financial viability of the golf course, let’s see what we stand,” he said. “I don’t need to vote on things on a whim.”

The financial picture

City Manager Peter Iglesias stated the course’s financial position plainly: the annual cost of maintaining Granada Golf Course runs between $1.3 million and $1.4 million. Revenue depends on approximately 50,000 annual rounds at $30 per round — generating roughly $1.5 million, leaving a margin of approximately $300,000 that disappears quickly under pressure from discounts, expanded memberships, or reduced usage.

“We cannot afford to have extensive play,” Iglesias said. “We need to be able to keep this golf course at a high level, and that requires $1.3 to $1.4 million, and we cannot afford to have extensive play.”

Lago added that the course has turned away at least 20 golf tournaments due to scheduling conflicts with association tee times — foregone revenue he said the city needs to recover. “This amounts to a significant amount of money that’s beneficial for the Granada golf course,” he said.

The city has hired BrightView as its new golf course maintenance contractor. Planned improvements include new tee boxes, shelters, and turf work. The course will close briefly on May 12 and 13 for initial work and is expected to reopen May 14.

Associations respond

Monica Shaner, president of the Greenway Women’s Golf Association, addressed the commission after the tee time vote passed. “The tee times are not just a scheduling matter for us,” she said. “They are the foundation that allows these communities to exist. And without protected tee times, our associations cannot survive, and over time, they would fade away, taking away a multi-decade tradition of community service and support.”

Anderson, who sponsored the tee times resolution, framed the associations’ value in broader terms. “There is an epidemic of loneliness in our community, and this is a vehicle by which we help resolve a lot of that,” she said.

Lara called the unanimous tee times vote “an elegant resolution” that provides the three organizations with “priority continuation in a reasonable and sustainable way going forward.”

A long, at times chaotic session

The golf discussion occupied roughly two hours of a nine-hour commission meeting and involved multiple withdrawn motions, competing resolutions on overlapping topics, a motion made on a deferred agenda item, and extended debate over whether Fernandez’s membership proposal could be voted on without a corresponding agenda item. Lara offered a blunt assessment of the proceedings. “I feel very bad for the residents watching and those present here today,” he said. “We all just take a breath. Take a moment. Everybody resets.”

Castro withdrew two of her golf-related resolutions during the session — her tee time resolution after deciding to co-sponsor Anderson’s, and her own membership proposal after seconding Fernandez’s version. The commission ultimately voted on Fernandez’s proposal as a motion related to the membership agenda item before proceeding to the senior discount vote.