State Sees New Course

In an about-face, the State Department of Environmental Conservation announced on Monday that it had canceled its plans for a major upgrade of the Sag Harbor Golf Club at Barcelona. At the same time, however, the D.E.C. revealed that it will transfer jurisdiction of the course to the State Department of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, effective immediately.

The Parks Department, in turn, has announced that it will take over the management of the course when the Sag Harbor Golf Club's contract expires at the end of April.

"We're in the process of having the land deeded over," said George Gorman, director of recreation for the Parks Department's Long Island Region. "This will be the first new state park on Long Island in about 10 years. We're going to try to do more things at that course to make it better known to the public."

New Fee Structure

Under state control, the fee structure will change. Golfers now pay $10 for unlimited play during the week and $15 on weekends. When the Parks Department takes over, greens fees will be $10 for a nine-hole round during the week and $12 during weekends. Mr. Gorman said that is $2 less per round than at other state courses.

The state will also offer a $200 yearly pass, good for off-peak play Monday through Thursday after 3 p.m. Golfers can now pay $220 for an individual, or $350 for a family, for unlimited play at any time.

"My preference is that the Sag Harbor Golf Club should continue to manage the course and should be given a long-term lease because they've done a good job," said Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. "This is better than the request for proposals, but it is still unnecessary in my opinion."

Prefer Status Quo

Mr. Thiele, along with members of the nonprofit club, has spearheaded the drive to maintain the status quo at the nine-hole course since the D.E.C. announced earlier this year that it wanted to turn it over to a private manager willing to invest up to $1.2 million in capital improvements over the next 20 years.

The Sag Harbor Golf Club, formally incorporated in 1949, has run the course under a year-to-year contract with the D.E.C. since 1990, after the state acquired the 341-acre Barcelona Neck preserve.

The state's decision to take over the course "goes back to 1995," according to Mr. Gorman, "when a New York State audit stated that the course was improperly managed. There were significant control and accounting weaknesses. Loss and thefts could occur and not be detected."

He added, however, that the state's report "didn't accuse anyone of anything."

Turned A Profit

Marshall Garypie, president of the club, conceded that an audit had cited "sloppy bookkeeping" procedures, but he added that the D.E.C. "had never given us any direction" as far as financial controls were concerned. Last year, the state "set some guidelines for us and we followed them right to the letter," he said.

Once those changes were instituted last year, the club turned a profit of $65,000, which has been earmarked to repave the entrance road, and made at least $35,000 in capital improvements, including the purchase of a new tractor, a mower, and the construction of new tees, with mostly volunteer labor, Mr. Garypie said.

"The state has acknowledged the fact that they are going to lose money the first year and probably the second year," he said. "And we've generated a profit."

Although Mr. Garypie said the club "is trying to get a spirit of cooperation between the state, the towns, and ourselves," he said he was "still concerned about the fact they are kind of misleading the public" about the club's management of the course.

Paul Bailey, a member of the club's board of directors, said the state would lose money "because if the Sag Harbor Golf Club is out of the picture, you will have to pay someone to do that work" which is now handled by volunteers. The club currently employs two full-time workers, adding part-time help as needed.

"There's an extreme irony here," he said. "You have a Governor whose agenda is to privatize everything from hospitals to jails. Here we have a private club operating at a profit, and now it will be staffed by civil servants and lose money. It doesn't make sense."

Irrigation Planned

But Mr. Gorman said the state does not anticipate a "significant loss" this year and plans to upgrade the tees, greens, and sand traps. The state expects to turn a profit in the coming years, he added, and if it does, it will invest $300,000 in an irrigation system.

Mr. Thiele has called on the state to extend the club's lease at least another year and, if it does not want the club to run the course, set up a management committee made up of government officials from Sag Harbor Village and East Hampton and Southampton Towns, all of which have passed resolutions supporting the club.

"If the state is going to operate the course, it shouldn't be operated from Albany or up west," he said. Under the new state plan, "the taxpayers won't do as well, and golfers will play less," he said.

Development Fears

Club members have already gathered well over 1,200 signatures on petitions, which, along with scores of letters in support of the club, have been sent to state officials. "Everyone feels that if the state comes in, it is really going to take the golf course away from the local people," Mr. Garypie said.

"We'll have a Montauk situation," he added, referring to the state-run course at Montauk Downs. "In Montauk, it's almost impossible to get on that course unless you are staying at a motel or have some connections," he said.

In a letter to the State Parks Commissioner Bernadette Castro, Mr. Thiele has asked the state to agree to restrict development on the remaining 300 acres of the Barcelona Preserve "to insure they remain in their natural state in perpetuity." When the D.E.C. first announced its plans for the course this year, fears were raised that the property would be developed.

Mr. Thiele has also asked the state to reconsider its fee structure to offer discounts for golfers who want to play 18 holes and to allow season pass holders to play before 9 a.m. He has also asked that the off-peak season be extended to let pass holders enjoy unlimited play before Memorial Day and after Labor Day.

On Friday, Ms. Castro and the acting D.E.C. Commissioner, John Cahill, toured the 50-acre course with a reporter from Newsday. Local reporters were not invited.

Mr. Garypie said he feared the state was trying to generate UpIsland support for its takeover bid. "This is their next step to try to squeeze us out," he said.