For the past 20 years, the Tournament Players Club of Scottsdale’s Desert Course has offered an enjoyable, affordable alternative to the TPC’s Stadium Course, which hosts the FBR Open.

During the winter months, players plunk down $60 to play the Desert Course compared to $250 to play the Stadium. Now, we find out that the TPC Desert is probably going to undergo a $10 million renovation, one that will put it on par amenity-wise, layout-wise and condition-wise with the Stadium.

Worried about the changes? You shouldn’t be unless the Scottsdale City Council for some unexpected reason votes against the renovation project during its annual budget meeting Tuesday night.

Chances are the OK for the renovation will be a “gimme,’’ as my sources tell me five of the six council members are in favor of remaking the Desert Course, which will include the addition of 600 yards of course as well as a new clubhouse. Heck, it might turn out to be unanimous, although only a simple majority is needed.

Seriously, how can any one lose in this deal? The $10 million will be raised with the sale of private bonds, and all the money will be paid back via green fees and other related sales at the course.

That’s right, the taxpayer will not foot the bill even though he or she will be the big beneficiaries (if they golf). Officials in charge of the project have stated over and over that the green fee for the local golfer will remain the same, while non-residents will face a higher fee, probably in the $120 range in peak season.

At this very moment, Tom Beat, the contract officer for the City of Scottsdale which oversees the TPC, and Bill Grove, the general manager of the TPC, are in Florida working out last-minute details with the PGA Tour for the expected approval. My source tells me Beat and Grove are “99 percent certain’’ it’s going to happen.

Or as Grove said following an earlier subcommittee meeting of the city council: “It’s a no-brainer, a windfall for the local guy, because when he sees the final product, he’s going to love what he gets for the price he’ll pay.’’

Earlier this week, I ventured out to the Desert Course just to see what needs to be done. Talking with a few golfers, nobody seems to be complaining right now with the exception of a few out-of-towners who learned about the renovation plans.

“I can’t see the downside if it’s not going to cost more for the local guy,’’ said Dan Puthuff of Scottsdale. Another Scottsdale resident, Chris Warwick, put it like this: “I think the course could benefit from (a renovation). It’s got such prestigious names behind it – the TPC and the PGA Tour – so why not improve it?”

But Mark Boesche of Chicago said he sees no need for change if it means raising the rates. “I like it just the way it is, and part of the reason I play it is because of the price,’’ he said. Ron McBurroughs of Ann Arbor, Mich., agreed. “It could be a little longer, but I thought it was fine, especially for the price.’’

It’s true, the TPC Desert Course is not broke, so why fix it? Well, the chief reason I see is that at 6,400 yards it’s fallen into the “executive golf course’’ category. Seriously, with the new technology, it’s a pitch-and-putt these days, a reputation it will lose when it rolls out at 7,000-plus yards.

According to Grove, it’s also going to be a better layout, with complete changes to the greens, bunkers and tee boxes, as well as some routing changes. Several of the tee boxes will be set up high on the canal berm that lines the course’s southern boundary, and that will give this flat-as-a-pancake layout a little elevation, too.

“I think it’s going to help us get back our position as the best affordable public golf course in the market,’’ said Grove, noting that rounds of golf have fallen off from a high of 70,000 in 1999 to 52,500 last year.

“And it’s going to be very special. For instance, the last four holes in the redesign will be as strong and as beautiful as the last four holes on the Stadium Course.’’

Wow, that’s saying a lot, as the final four at the TPC Stadium are considered to be among the best stretches on the PGA Tour. And even though the Desert Course will be closed from early February until December of 2007 to accommodate the changes, it will be worth it.

The way I see it, the TPC Desert renovation is simply a win-win. The City of Scottsdale gets to enhance one of its prime pieces of golf property, while many of its residents will get a course that’s way better than the green fee they’ll pay.