By: Brian Duthu
Pro Shops
Total revenue for March missed budget by $20,643 or by 3%. Green Fee/Cart Fee revenue alone missed budget by $27,421 or by 4%. Merchandise and Driving Range revenue both exceeded budget by $2,306 and $1,935 respectfully. “Get Golf Ready” revenue for the month was $2,562. We are looking at changing the start time to 7am beginning in March to open up more prime time green fees.
Despite the poor performance in March, golf finished the quarter on a positive note. Total revenue for the quarter was $70,484 ahead of budget (3%) and $95,129 ahead of prior year (5%). Up to $48,475 of this increase can be attributed to activity generated by Short Term Privilege Cardholders. Public play declined $9,400 from previous year; increased play from within Sun City was a contributing factor to this decline. Driving Range and Merchandise revenue were also up considerably over prior year. It is also important to note that without the lack of rainfall, these revenue gains would be lower.
Snack Shops
Snack shop performance has been strong as well, exceeding budgeted goals for March by $966. For the quarter revenue was $17,047 ahead of budget and $17,339 ahead of last year.
Golf Courses
Lakes West irrigation project is still on schedule for a May 1 start. The permitting process with Maricopa County is nearly complete.
Green Aerification also begins May 3 at Willowbrook. Please remember to check the aerification schedule on our website,www.sunaz.com, for a complete listing of dates. Aerification is necessary to remove organic matter buildup in the soil profile and to relieve compaction. It is our goal throughout the summer to impact 20%-30% of the putting green surface. The first aerification is performed with a 1/2-inch tine and impacts approximately 10% of the surface. The second aerification uses a larger 5/8-inch tine and impacts approximately 15% of the surface area. The larger tine is used for the second aerification as it occurs during the peak growing season for our Bermuda greens.
The lack of rain YTD continues to affect our golf courses. March rainfall allowed the golf courses to save 49 acre feet of water to budget; however, we are still 54 acre feet of water over budget for the year.
May brings heat and along with heat comes transition. Transition is the time rye grass begins to die and the Bermuda grass begins to grow. As part of our continuing plan to improve transition, RCSC courses will chemically remove the rye grass at four courses. This will begin at the end of May (depending on temperature) and includes Lakes East, Willowbrook, Riverview and South. The chemical removing of the rye grass allows the Bermuda grass to have 100 days of growth. This is the length of time Bermuda grass needs for proper health prior to overseeding. This is the second year of a modified 5 year plan, combined with hollow tine aerification in June and vertical mowing in July.