The Herald-Sun reports that a deal is being discussed in Durham that might see the city acquire the Hillandale Golf Course from SunTrust, which is the trustee of the property. The story is unclear as to how much the city might be on the hook for in terms of money and/or other resources, should the deal take place. The story does detail that the course is losing money and needs improvements/upgrades — to the tune of $2 million+. That’s reason enough for Durham to stay away from this deal. But even more fundamentally, a golf course — entertainment — is about as far afield from a core city service as one can get. It is folly for the city to consider spending money or staff resources on owning or managing a golf course, but City Manager Tom Bonfield plans to talk to city council members about it. Now, if the bank wants to arrange a deal to sell the course to a private firm or person and then donate the proceeds to the city, fine by me. For analysis of why local governments should stay of out what are inherently private services, check out this information.