Negotiations under way to host a tournament at the course as
soon as next year; Officials say current restrictions wouldn’t
allow it
Morgan Hill – If Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh and their fellow professional golfers are going to hit the links in South County next year, no one has told officials in Morgan Hill.
The owners of the American Institute of Math, or AIM, are negotiating with the Professional Golfers Association to host a tournament at their course at the base of the foothills in east Morgan Hill as soon as next year.
But the owners, electronics magnate John Fry and his partners, have not discussed their plans with the city or made any effort to change the course’s permit, which expressly disallows tournaments. In fact, AIM owners recently decided not to ask the city to change the permit, which currently allows play between April and September and no more than 36 rounds a day. The owners did apply to build a larger building to host the institute.
“If they want to conduct a golf tournament or anything that would involve a gallery they would have to amend their current restrictions and they have not asked to that,” Morgan Hill planner Jim Rowe said. “We have no plans for the foreseeable future to change those use restrictions on the golf course.”
But a PGA tour spokesman confirmed this week that the institute course, as well as a Fresno course, is in the running to host an event as soon as 2007.
Fry could not be reached for comment. His partner, Steve Sorenson, would not disclose what, if any, discussions the institute has had with the PGA, but did confirm that the course was remodeled to attract professional golfers.
“It’s far too premature to make any announcement right now,” Sorenson said. “Certainly the course was designed to accommodate professional golfers. We hope that at some time in the future we have professional golfers out there to test it.”
Professional golfers played the course last fall, but is the course is to host a tournament, institute owners must clear a number of state and local environmental hurdles.
Play at the course is restricted because Fry built it without proper permits. The construction endangered habitat and the area’s streams and groundwater.
The institute is still working to meet environmental guidelines, and an event the size of a professional tournament would likely trigger a new round of typically-lengthy environmental review. In addition to possible ecological consequences, the institute would have to accommodate the significant human and automobile traffic associated with such an event.
Sorenson said the institute will come back to the city if it secures a deal with the PGA. Some Morgan Hill City Council members said Wednesday the approach is reminiscent of the one the institute took when it remodeled the course.
“They better come to the table soon and tell us what they want if they want to have any success at all,” Councilman Larry Carr said. “This is not insurmountable or out of the question, but they shouldn’t hammer out negotiations with the PGA before they come to us.”
Councilman Steve Tate said he is uncomfortable with the thought of the institute chasing a tour event without first proving the course meets its current environmental guidelines.
“If they’re going to pursue it, we need to figure out where they are,” Tate said. “Before they change what they’re permitted to do, are they permitted to do what they’re doing?”
