The St. Paul Golf Course is getting back on track, with Bonnie and Vince Cianfagna hitting the ground running and selling memberships over the past weekend, while the future beckons with discussions of putting in a driving range, of creating faster turnaround times for takeout food, and for improving the overall experience for golf enthusiasts.
“We’ve met a lot of wonderful people,” said Vince. “We feel very confident we’re going to get the support that’s needed.”
The Cianfagnas will be running the pro shop and restaurant out of the St. Paul Golf Course clubhouse, and came down to town to get started last week. Vince is a golf professional, while Bonnie is a teaching pro. The pair own and operate a golf course in Chilliwack, which they will continue to oversee while they start work in St. Paul.
“But the focus is going to be here – there’s lots to do,” says Bonnie, as she laid out her plans for the restaurant and clubhouse, which will be undergoing some small renovations to facilitate those plans.
Bonnie explained the pair came upon the opportunity to lease the pro shop in St. Paul, and spoke with Recreation Director Gary Ward about their interest. For the Cianfagnas, it was important to operate both the restaurant and the pro shop, to create a coordinated, smooth process.
“Gary was pretty excited that we wanted to do both,” recalled Bonnie.
For the time being, the town will be handling the golf greens, and has kept on the greens superintendent to oversee maintenance. However, Bonnie said she and Vince would like to take on operating the golf as they do in Chilliwack, with the town owning the land and the couple leasing it.
“This year here is for us to prove ourselves, so we’re asking for the Town of St. Paul to support us,” she said, adding thus far, the support has been “phenomenal.” The Cianfagnas have plans on promoting more tournaments, more fundraisers and developing the various leagues, such as the juniors and women programs, and people have already stepped up and voiced their willingness to help out, the pair said.
While talk in the past has suggested that it is difficult to operate a golf course without incurring a loss, Bonnie had a one word answer when asked if it was possible to run a self-sufficient golf course.
“Definitely,” she said, noting that St. Paul is fortunate to boast an 18-hole golf course when no other such course exists within a 45 minute radius.
She also feels the couple’s expertise as golfers and instructors should stand them in good stead in the pro shop. When people are looking at a $500 driver, they’re not interested in finding out what colours it comes in, but on how it can help their game, she said, expertise that she and Vince are qualified to offer.
One thing that struck the pair when they looked through the golf course’s previous financial statements was that staffing for the restaurant took up to 50 per cent of the costs, where they said it should be more in the 30 to 33 per cent range. Tightening up those staffing costs and “doing things differently” should help cut down on expenses, said Bonnie.
Another concern they have heard from people is that the focus over time became on running a restaurant instead of catering to golfers. After finishing nine holes, people would come in to have a quick bite, but instead, were asked to sit and wait for 20 minutes while their food was prepared, said Bonnie.
“That doesn’t go good with a golfer,” said Bonnie, adding that she and Vince are keen to see people get faster delivery on their takeout orders while golfing.
The couple has heard St. Paul has a great golf course, and their focus is on creating what Vince called, for lack of a better word, “a social facelift” in providing great customer service and making it a very welcoming environment for golfers.
In a happy turn in the story, the Cianfagnas have re-hired several “familiar faces,” including wait staff and cooks, all of whom had their employment terminated abruptly last October when the golf course board ran out of money to pay its bills.
“They’re all happy to have the team back,” said Bonnie with a smile.
The other piece of the puzzle that has yet to fall into place is a driving range, as Bonnie notes, “It’s very important to have a driving range at the golf course.”
Ward says that the town is looking at its options, but planning for a driving range will depend on the town’s budget.
“If it can be this year, great. More than likely, it will be a working project, because of the cost,” he said, adding it will also depend on what town council wants to prioritize.
Ward added it has yet to be determined what will happen in the future with the operation of the golf course, but after a year, the Cianfagnas will be able to renegotiate the terms of their lease. However, he said he felt their presence at the golf course was a plus for the community.
“(With) their knowledge and their ability to teaching lessons, working with the juniors and the ladies’ program, I think they’ll be a great benefit to the golfers in our area,” said Ward.
At last Tuesday night’s council meeting, council looked at membership rates from last year, and at a few options for membership rates this year. In the end, council went with an option to provide a break on membership rates, dropping single membership fees from $925 to $700, and couple memberships from $1,425 to $1,200, as well as offering similar breaks on rates for senior singles and senior couples, and families.
Mayor Glenn Andersen noted the golf course has been through “tumultuous times,” and the town faced a challenge in getting people to come back to the course.
“It’s the task to get people to have confidence in the golf course and the facility . . . We’re trying to be fair and we’re trying to get more people out there to use the course.”
So far, the efforts seemed to be bearing fruit, with Vince and Bonnie estimating around 60 memberships were sold in three days of the sale, including new and returning members, while their goal is to sell 300 total for the year. Based on the support and words of encouragement they have heard, they both feel confident in the golf course’s year ahead.
“As long as we give them a good product, make it a happy environment, then they will stay with us and they will keep coming back to us,” said Vince.
