by Brian Duthu
Pro Shops
Total rounds for July increased 15% over prior year. This is the fifth month in a row that rounds have increased over prior year. Recent round performance has helped to make-up for the early deficit; year-to-date the Golf Division is within 568 rounds to prior year.
We currently have 74 participants signed up to play in our “Patriot Golf Day” event on September 1. This is slightly behind our 77 participants from last year; however, we are hopeful that we will pick up a few last minute entries prior to the date of play. “Patriot Golf Day” was organized with the help of PGA of America to raise funds for the Folds of Honor Foundation. The money raised is used to fund scholarships for spouses and children of military service men and women killed or disabled while serving our Country. Starters will also be collecting donations through the pro shops from September 1 through September 6.
Snack Shops
Snack Shop revenue exceeded budget slightly; however, remains slightly behind budget year-to-date. Snack Shops continue to have a regularly scheduled closing time of 1:00 p.m., but this closing time can be extended based on demand.
Courses
Overseeding will begin on October 9 on Riverview, Lakes West, Willowbrook and South. As we did last year, we have a built-in overlap period during which all courses will be closed. The overlap period this year begins October 23 and ends October 27. We will also be continuing with the expanded overseeding around green complexes, which was well received last year.
As a reminder, as we move into September, rough heights will be raised. The higher height of cut helps protect the rough from cart traffic as it moves into dormancy and throughout the winter. The height of cut is not raised to increase difficulty, though increased difficulty is a by-product of this procedure. We thank you for your patience and understanding.
The summer is a very busy time for the maintenance crews and we appreciate the patience and understanding shown as we moved through our cultural practices of greens aerification, fairway aerification and verticutting. In addition to our cultural practices, the amount of turf actively growing increases dramatically, as rough emerges from dormancy. The monsoon season complicates things further by requiring cleanup following storms and accelerating the rate of growth on our courses. We appreciate the hard work and effort put forth by our maintenance crews and we hope you do as well.
Lawn Bowling/Grounds
This summer the greens at Lakeview were frazed to remove thatch, top-dressed and laser leveled to level out the surface. Currently, the greens are being watered heavily and fertilized weekly. Once they have grown back in sufficiently, they will receive more top dressing and will be laser leveled once again.
The softball field had some of the weaker areas re-seeded as well as receiving the final fertilizer application before overseeding. In addition to seeding, the weak areas were dethatched with a spring tine rake. The entire field has been top-dressed and an application of herbicide was used to reduce nutsedge.
