The Fort Walton Beach City Council approved a proposal Tuesday to install new golf technology at the municipal driving range, authorizing the city attorney and city manager to negotiate a contract with TrackMan Golf Solutions for a system that will add 25 touchscreen monitors and radar tracking.
- The council voted 5-1 to move forward with the project, selecting a monthly payment option of $6,950 over five years totaling $417,000 rather than a one-time upfront payment of $372,000.
Finance Director Nicole Nabors recommended the monthly option because it will be funded by user fees rather than taxpayer money.
“The one time fee, obviously we save the $45,000, but we’re paying for it upfront out of [the] fund balance, which is the taxpayer money,” Nabors said during the meeting. “Option two, with the lease, you’re going to be paying more, but we’ll be offsetting it with the user fees.”
Golf CourseDirector Jacob Hill told the council this was the second time he had brought the proposal forward, with changes made since October to include entertainment features and screen displays rather than just mobile-based technology. The system will include 25 32-inch touchscreen monitors along the driving range and three radar units to track shots.
- The driving range has already exceeded revenue projections for the fiscal year, reaching $155,080.57 of its $160,000 budget through May, compared to $108,648.07 for the same period last year. Hill said the range averages approximately 60,000 buckets of balls each year.
The new system will increase bucket prices from the current $3, $7 and $10 structure to $5, $10 and $15. Hill projected the price increase would have generated an additional $11,995 in revenue for April 2025 alone.
Councilman Payne Walker cast the lone dissenting vote, expressing concerns about spending decisions and requesting staff not bring projects with unclear financial details. Walker questioned whether the expense would impact the city’s charter amendment spending caps.
“I won’t be able to support it because of the concerns of the 3% cap that has been mentioned many times by every member up here,” Walker said.
- However, City Attorney Jeff Burns clarified during the meeting that the lease arrangement would qualify as a capital expense since the city will own the equipment after the payment period, exempting it from charter amendment restrictions.
Councilman David Schmidt supported the proposal, citing confidence in the golf program’s ability to generate revenue that offsets taxpayer subsidies previously used for the golf course.
“The reason why I’m supporting it is because of how much confidence I have thatt this program is helping us offset the dollars that we were taking to subsidize golf that was coming from potholes and other public safety dollars,” Schmidt said.
The new system will make Fort Walton Beach the only TrackMan Range facility in the local area, which provides real-time tracking of ball flight data including carry distance, launch angle and spin rate. The installation will include weatherproof and theft-resistant monitors designed for outdoor use.
City Manager Jason Davis and City Attorney Jeff Burns will now negotiate final contract terms with TrackMan Golf Solutions, with some clerical details and legal provisions still requiring clarification before execution.
