It’s no secret that the hurt is on at Auburn’s 18-hole municipal golf course.

Last year the self-supporting course required two loans from the City to keep itself out of the hazard.

Several problems have contributed to the woes there, some under the City’s control, some not.

One obvious problem nobody can do anything about — the damp, soggy weather that has beset the region in the last three to four years. The wet stuff has not only depressed business at the Auburn links but also at courses throughout the Puget Sound region.

The Auburn course struggles under a high overall expense structure, owing mainly to debt service on the construction of the 5-year-old clubhouse, which was financed through a revenue bond.

There also is an overall trend toward declining golf activity in the South Puget Sound market. Given the sour state of the economy, golfers have less discretionary money to spend.

Finally, there is Copper Falls Restaurant, which many golfers complain doesn’t really meet their needs and is too pricey.

Is there a solution?

In 2011, the City hired Florida-based National Golf Foundation Consulting, Inc., to help answer that question. The City’s Municipal Services Committee met last week to walk through the report.

NGF recommends that the City prepare and implement a business plan and take a number of steps to make things better, but adds that there is no cure all.

The upshot: users of the Auburn Golf Course should brace for a new normal — things won’t be as good as they were 10 years ago, but they can be “better than 2011.”

Here is a summary of NGF’s recommendations:

• Invest some money to create a casual dining and gathering space for golfers. This includes an awning, a turn window and a bar-lounge area.

“One of the things that’s important is … that they said Copper Falls is not meeting the golfers’ needs,” said Councilman Wayne Osborne. “That also affects the amount of rounds played out there because a lot of people aren’t eating at the restaurant because of the costs and the comfort of being at the restaurant.

“I would think that if we are going to do a business plan, that would be something we should place in there: where are we going to put the golfers so they feel comfortable eating the food that they want,” Osborne said.

NGF is suggesting that the City clarify the terms of the food and beverage concession agreement as they relate to beverage cart and turn-window operation. The current agreement expires in 2014 and at that time NGF recommends that the City consider changing the contract agreement.

“While it is not NGF’s opinion that the problems with the concession are the entirety of the reason for economic stress with the Auburn Golf Course, these problems are a contributing factor,” NGF states.

In fact, given the structure of the current contract, the report continues, the golf course does not stand to earn a lot of money even if the food-and-beverage concession business perks up.

“The downside for the City is real,” the report continues, “in that rounds of golf and green fee revenues could be diminished, especially with tournaments, if the food and beverage concession is not the right match. Our review of other municipal golf courses in the area suggests that this concession operation is missing a key segment in public golf facility service — the needs of the golfers.”

Further recommendations:

• Keep improving on electronic marketing via the City’s Website, e-mail and social media

• Improve marketing and promotion to highlight banquets, gatherings and luncheons

• Provide some level of general fund support to “recognize the broader community benefit (of the golf course) that can’t be measured in dollars and cents.”

• Consider programs to share the expense of debt incurred by the new clubhouse.

• Retain the basic pricing structure, but include practices that allow for fee adjustments on short-term notice

• Reduce the overall high labor expense through increased reliance on seasonal labor as opposed to full-time

Finally, the NGF rejects going private as an option because it would not be cost effective.

“There is no magic bullet for Auburn in privatizing,” the report concludes.