by Brian Duthu
Pro Shops
As I mentioned in last month’s report, the RCSC Management Team’s 2017 charity of choice for the Winter Celebration is the Del Webb Sun Cities Museum. The Golf Division is hosting a Beat the Pros fundraising tournament on December 4 against teams of two at the North Golf Course; registration is $40 with lunch served at Oakmont Recreation Center following play. Additionally, the snack shops are selling Duck Bucks as part of our fundraising efforts. Each Duck Buck purchased gives you an entry to the duck race held on December 8 at Lakeview Recreation Center. If your duck finishes in the top three you receive a share of the winnings. Rumor has it that the Golf and Snack Shop ducks have had more rigorous training this year.
Registration for Get Golf Ready classes is underway and the $99 fee includes 4 days of instruction as part of group of 8 students or less, as well as a 5th day of on-course instruction. The program covers swing fundamentals as well as golf etiquette and an introduction to golf rules. The program is part of a national initiative of the PGA of America to grow the game of golf. The golf professionals also offer private golf instruction at a location that is convenient to the golfer. Contact information for the professionals can be found on the website at www.suncityaz.org under the Golf tab, then Lessons or at one of our golf pro shops.
We now have Ping Demo clubs available at the Riverview Pro Shop that can be used for on-the-course trials; these are available Monday-Friday. We have a selection of drivers, fairway woods, hybrids and putters. A credit card number is required for the demo to cover loss or unusual damage while in your possession. Please remember if you are in the market for a new club we can order from any manufacturer and can match pricing on current year models to the “big box” stores.
Golf Courses
All courses have opened from overseeding. Lakes East, Willowcreek, Quail Run and North are scheduled to lift cart path restrictions on November 24. Should this date change, golfers will be notified via email. We have been receiving positive comments on course condition, post over-seed and they are appreciated. The success of overseeding is not fully realized until after the first frost of the season and the summer bermuda goes fully dormant.
As play increases, so does the stress on our courses. We remind all golfers that we all have a responsibility to keep our courses in good condition. Golfers can assist by filling their divots, raking sand traps, replacing rakes in bunkers parallel to play and repairing ball marks. During times of cart path restrictions, please remember to take your sand bottle to the fairway.
The plans for the Willowcreek greens and turf reduction for both Willowbrook and Willowcreek are now on display in the Willowcreek/Willowbrook pro shop. We encourage anyone that is interested in this project to come in and view the plans. This project is scheduled to begin on March 5, 2018, though both courses will not fully close until April 9, 2018. Both courses will reopen in the fall of 2018 following overseeding.
Snack Shops
Through October, snack shops have held their own, exceeding budget by $2,266. Snack shops are now operating under winter hours and remain open until 5:00 p.m., except in the rare cases of significant inclement weather. We respectfully remind everyone that all food and beverage consumed in the snack shops or adjacent patios, must have been purchased through the snack shops.
Grounds/Lawn Bowl
The east lawn bowl green at Lakeview has opened for play following summer maintenance. Unfortunately, we will not be able to open the west green for play until the spring/summer of 2018 when the bermuda is actively growing. We have taken advantage of the late growing conditions and applied fertilizer to all Sun City greens. Green speeds range from 10.8 seconds at Lakeview to 14.5 seconds at Bell.
New rock has been installed along the walkway leading to the Lakeview miniature golf area. Two new Tipu trees have been planted on the west side of the Lakeview center, to replace damaged trees. The Tipu trees were selected as they are fast growing and make for a great shade tree.
