"What you’re talking about here is big money, a $24.5 million development on a site once occupied by the East and West courses."

After Phil Mickelson's critique at last week's PGA, the Times-Picayune's Peter Finney suggests that a proposed $24.5 million redo of New Orleans' 36-hole City Park courses into an 18-hole, 7,200-yard championship layout by Rees Jones might not be the best approach.

When it comes to City Park, my feeling has always been to build two affordable public courses and not get caught up in the grandeur of building a “championship” course, with all sorts of bells and whistles, at the expense of the average golfers who, over decades, have been the park’s major source of revenue.

What you’re talking about here is big money, a $24.5 million development on a site once occupied by the East and West courses.

You hear City Park CEO Bob Becker say, “We have a chance to build a world-class golf complex,” and it sounds grand. On the other hand, when I hear consultants are estimating, once the entire complex is operational, it will mean an annual net revenue of $900,000, I’m hoping it’s accurate. Still, I’m wondering what those consultants might be smoking.

Let’s say this.

Jones has a $24.5 million challenge to come up with a golf course that will stand the test of time, not for a one-week “championship,” but for 50 weeks a year, over years and years and years, when the touring pros are in another town and your clients are folks trying to break 100.

When it comes to the public golfer, will Rees Jones prove Phil Mickelson wrong?

City Park hopes so.