San Diego officials are exploring how they could use millions in profit generated by the city’s three municipal golf courses — Torrey Pines, Mission Bay and Balboa Park — to help close a projected $120 million budget deficit.
The new effort is separate from a campaign to increase the city’s share of $34 million in annual revenue generated by eight other golf facilities that the city owns but lets outside companies operate.
Among the options under consideration at the municipal courses are expanding the city’s revenue share beyond the current 9.9% and taking away some of $55 million in excess cash the courses have accumulated.
Officials are also exploring transferring revenue from third-party leases, such as the new Harland Brewing restaurant opening at the Mission Bay course, from the golf course enterprise fund to the city’s general fund.
That would make the money available to help balance the budget, particularly in the parks department, where hours at recreation centers and public parks are likely to be on the chopping block this spring.
The city’s general fund now receives just over $6 million a year from the three courses. That includes more than $4 million from the city’s 9.9% revenue share and nearly $2 million in per-acre land-use fees similar to rent.
The golf enterprise fund keeps most of the rest of the money generated by the courses, which rose to $42.3 million in fiscal year 2025 as golf’s popularity continues a surge that began during the pandemic.
When fiscal 2023 is compared to fiscal 2025 at the three courses, rounds played rose by about 5% and revenue by about 15%.
Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera recently asked city finance officials several questions about how San Diego could use more revenue generated by the courses to help the city’s parks system avoid crippling budget cuts.
In an 11-page response memo sent last Friday, Chief Financial Officer Rolando Charvel told Elo-Rivera the City Council has the power to dissolve the golf enterprise fund — which dates back to 1991 — and move nearly all revenue from the courses into the general fund.
“Because the golf enterprise fund was created by the City Council, the council can terminate or modify it in the same manner in which it was created,” Charvel said.
He also suggested the council could make temporary changes to the fund to help weather the budget crisis but then restore the previous policies when the budget stabilizes.
“It is also important to note that the council can elect to do a one-time reduction from the golf enterprise fund for one or two fiscal years,” Charvel said.
Some supporters of the city’s three municipal courses say that raiding the thriving golf enterprise fund to balance the budget could have dire long-term consequences.
The golf enterprise fund now spends much of the money generated by the three courses on maintenance and capital improvement projects, including plans for a new clubhouse at Torrey Pines and a new clubhouse and cart barn at Balboa.
Paragliders sore overhead as a golfer walks down the fairway at Torrey Pines Golf Course on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in San Diego. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Stephen Shushan, vice chair of the city’s golf advisory committee and a board member at the Torrey Pines men’s club, said Wednesday that a sharp dip in spending on upkeep and renovations could have a huge impact.
“For city residents, it’s a great benefit to have these golf courses to play at such reasonable rates,” he said.
But perhaps more importantly, any dip in quality could jeopardize the men’s professional event held every winter at Torrey Pines, Shushan said.
“If they see the course not maintained well, the tour might decide not to keep coming,” said Shushan, saying that TV coverage of the event sends picturesque images of San Diego across the globe and attracts tourism. “There’s a big economic impact.”
Shushan said city golf officials believe the council is focused so far on only taking revenue from third-party leases, like pro shops and restaurants. But he said there is concern that could widen to other revenues.
“You don’t know where it could stop,” he said.
The memo from Charvel warns Elo-Rivera that taking too much from the golf enterprise fund could have negative consequences.
“Ironically, large transfers from the golf enterprise fund could ultimately worsen the general fund deficit by weakening the golf system’s long-term revenue generation,” says Charvel’s memo, which was also signed by City Engineer Rania Amen.
Taking money away would likely lead to higher green fees and reduced maintenance, which would come with “slower turf recovery, declining fairway conditions, inconsistent greens and bunker maintenance delays,” the memo says.
The memo also says taking money away would jeopardize planned upgrades at Torrey Pines that are deemed essential.
“Completing this project is essential to securing Torrey Pines Golf Course as a long-term host site for the annual PGA Tour event,” the memo says.
Elo-Rivera suggested the city could complete the renovations without the $55 million in cash now in the golf enterprise fund by shifting away from an “up-front cash” approach to projects in favor of a more traditional financing approach.
Charvel said the up-front approach has been used because it seemed unwise to allow the golf courses to borrow large sums of money when their finances were shaky.
But Charvel said it makes more sense now that the courses have strong finances to allow them to borrow money by selling lease revenue bonds and to then pay the bonds off over time with course revenues.
Elo-Rivera and other council members, who got the memo from Charvel less than a week ago, haven’t been specific yet about their plans.
Aides to Mayor Todd Gloria released a statement this week saying the mayor would oppose major changes.
“The mayor is not contemplating redirecting any revenue from the golf enterprise fund to the general fund,” the statement said.
If the mayor were to veto any such changes during budget deliberations this spring, a six-vote supermajority of the nine-member council would be required to make those changes happen anyway.
The discussion of shifting revenues away from the municipal courses comes less than two months after a city audit found San Diego is also missing out on millions by not aggressively updating leases for Fairbanks Ranch Country Club and seven other golf facilities the city owns but doesn’t operate.
That 47-page audit criticized city officials for allowing expired leases to remain in place at below-market rates, despite golf’s sharp increase in popularity since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
In fiscal year 2024, the city earned only $3.7 million in lease revenue despite the eight properties — seven courses and the Lake Hodges driving range — generating $34 million in revenue.