$14.5 million for Bobby Jones?

Surely you’ve heard that business admonition about real estate: Never fall in love with the property.

Sometimes it is difficult not to, especially when it’s a legacy piece of land — like Sarasota’s city-owned Bobby Jones Golf Club.

Its history is almost priceless. 

In two months, Feb. 13, the club will celebrate its 89th anniversary. On that day in 1927, legendary golfer Robert Tyre Jones Jr. personally dedicated the opening of the original course designed by the famed golf course architect Donald Ross. 

During its nearly 90 years, Bobby Jones’ courses have hosted such golf luminaries as Walter Hagen, Tommy Armour, Gene Sarazen, Patty Berg, Babe Didrikson Zaharias and Louise Suggs. Even Babe Ruth. And it has served as an affordable golf venue for hundreds of thousands of Sarasotans and visitors.

It’s a landmark property. 

So it’s understandable how an appointed study committee can see value in recommending $14.5 million worth of renovations to the deteriorating golf club. 

But that’s a lot of other people’s money. And a lot to spend on a persistently money-losing recreation venue.

In Charles Koch’s recent book, “Good Profit,” he wrote how CEOs constantly confront the challenge of how best to deploy their limited resources. When faced with a money-losing venture, Koch wrote, CEOs evaluate their choices and tradeoffs: whether they have the capital and people to turn the venture to profitability; whether to sell it to someone who may have the wherewithal to revive the venture; or whether to shut it down.

This is the same process city commissioners face with Bobby Jones. They must ask themselves: Even if they had $14.5 million of unborrowed money sitting in front of them, how would they deploy it? To renovate a historic golf club? To pay down employee pension debt? On facilities for homeless? Upgrade infrastructure?

Further: If that money were spent or invested, what would produce the highest or best return on the investment?

What are other options? Here are two that should be on the list: What would be the consequences — pro and con — of shutting down or selling Bobby Jones?

As best you can, try not to fall in love with the property.