In any development, obtaining financial backing can be an arduous experience. The role of Tire Farms, at the financing stage, is to provide the developer, and more importantly, his banker, an extra margin for error. Simply put, the Rain Trap System reduces capital costs for construction of a given course. Building a course using the Rain Trap System civil engineering technique costs the developer less than building the same course without this system. Given that the revenues will be the same in either case, the developer using the Rain Trap System can acquire his financing more easily and/or on better terms because his lenders can be repaid with less debt service burden on operating revenues.
All else being equal, the developer of a Rain Trapped course will more likely receive the financing he needs than the developer of a course without the Rain Trap System.
Once financed, the golf course developer must contend with another hindrance before he can begin construction. Tire Farm's role at the government approvals stage is also straightforward. Ultimately, the same local governments which issue building permits for golf courses are also responsible for disposing of waste tires. So, the local government has a large tire problem which the developer using the Rain Trap System can help to solve. Simply put, a Rain Trapped course serves the purposes of the local government issuing the permits quite aside from its recreational and/or aesthetic attributes.
All else being equal, a local government will more likely issue the necessary permits to a Rain Trapped course than to a course without the Rain Trap System.
Once the course is approved, financed, and built, it must then be operated profitably. Again, Tire Farm's contribution to the developer's side of the ledger is quite clear. The operating costs for a Rain Trapped course are lower than the same course without the Rain Trap System, because the Rain Trapped course requires less water, fertilizer, and chemical treatment. Lower operating costs mean better margins. This translates directly to higher operating profits or lower green's fees.
All else being equal, the owner of a Rain Trapped course will realize more profits than a competitor operating without an installed Rain Trap System.
In sum, the private golf course developer will use the Rain TrapŠ System civil engineering technique because he can then:
Because this is a new application in golf course development, those developers who make use of The Rain Trap System in their construction plans now, will have several remarkable advantages over their competition.
Alan Strachan Vice President Tire Farms, a California Corporation e-mail odell@sonic.net