The City of Sierra Vista took ownership of its local golf course, 2770 St. Andrews Dr., back in September of last year after Castle and Cooke left the property. They're now partnering with Paradigm Golf Group, who will be operating the course.
"We want people to feel welcome here,” said Director of Parks, Recreation and Library Services for the City of Sierra Vista, Laura Wilson.
Over the past few months, the changes Paradigm has focused on have centered around customer service. The biggest change, they say, has been upgrading the driving rage. The upgrades include adding a covered structure over the stalls and adding radar tracking technology.
Director of Sales and Service for Paradigm Golf Group, Jake Wilson, is from Sierra Vista and says the new technology will hopefully be part of the main attraction for locals and visitors.
"When I was younger, we used to just ride our bikes on the ball fields, but this gives us a whole new atmosphere, something to fun to do with, like a big group of people," he said. "It's going to be very exciting for someone who is a local.”
The system allows users to play different golf games, like 'closest to the pin', 'longest drive', and more. It also allows people to play, virtually, on courses all over the world.
"A lot of people compared it to Top Golf, but it's better because it's more it's more affordable and it's more fun,” said Director of Golf Operations for Paradigm Golf Group Bryce Veler.
Paradigm Golf Group is in charge of operations at the golf course, while the City owns the property.
“The city does not pay them a dime to operate the course, and if there are losses, Paradigm absorbs those," Wilson said. "So they're a highly motivated company to get this up and running and to get to their break-even in profit point.
"When it was semi-private before, it wasn't really accessible for everyone to try. This will give you different modes to try golfing or to have an entertainment experience like the in-range system that is more fun and enjoyable.”
In addition to the technology, each bay will have seating areas and food service from the restaurant on site.
Paradigm pays the City 2% of its revenue each month. The money goes into a fund to be used toward capital improvement projects on the golf course.
The first swings in the new bays should happen in February, as work is expected to be completed in the next two weeks.
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Alexis Ramanjulu is a reporter in Cochise County for KGUN 9. She began her journalism career reporting for the Herald/Review in Sierra Vista, which she also calls home. Share your story ideas with Alexis by emailing alexis.ramanjulu@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook.
