By Brian Duthu
Pro Shops
The Beat the Pro event held on December 8 was successful in reaching our established goal of $2000 with $2,223 raised for the Sun City Foundation. The pros reverted to their generous ways, allowing 65% of the field to “Beat the Pros.” As with any event of this type the volunteers are key to the success. We would like to thank John Dockham for assisting with raffle sales and for monitoring the hole-in-one dressed as jolly old St. Nick. Thanks also go to Rich and Lynn Lybolt for assisting with registration and for aiding our fund raising efforts by selling the tee markers that were replaced at the South Golf Course. We also thank Janine Millette for securing the large number of donations given away in our raffle. Finally a big thank you to all that participated and made this a successful event.
For those that may not know, Sue Presta has recently retired after 12 years of service to the Recreation Centers of Sun City. She will be missed by those she tirelessly assisted with golf event scheduling and rescheduling and by the management staff she kept in line. We wish her well with her retirement. With her departure, Chris Linam, our Pro Shop Manager will take on an elevated role and will be the go to person for event scheduling and merchandise selection and ordering. We wish Chris the best of luck in his new role.
The replacement for the South Clubhouse remains on track for next year. The concept and plans will be presented to the South Green Committee during their January meeting. This presentation is only open to committee members and invited guests. On Monday January 16th the plans will be presented to all interested RCSC members as part of two town hall meetings. The meetings are scheduled for 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., please mark your calendars.
Snack Shops
Sales for November were $948 behind our budgeted goals. Snack Shop revenue for the year is $4,811 ahead of budget.
Golf Courses
The above normal fall temperatures have broken and pushed the bermuda into dormancy. The weakest overseeded areas have had additional seed applied and will fill in as we move through the winter months. All courses are currently mowing fairways at ¾”, this height will remain through the coldest part of winter.
One of the most common course condition remarks we receive involve ball marks and the fact that they are often not repaired. Unrepaired ball marks are frustrating to those that play through them, however not all scars on the putting green are a result of an unrepaired ball mark, they are often a result of ball mark repaired incorrectly. Studies have shown an improperly repaired ball mark can take up to twice as long to heal as a properly repaired ball mark and can cause more damage than not repairing at all. There are new versions of the traditional two pronged ball repair tool, however there is little scientific evidence that they do a better job, any tool can perform the task. The first step in repairing a ball mark is to insert the tool on the turf edge of the depression, not into the depression itself. Once inserted you want to push the tool towards the center of the depression, do not try to push up the bottom of the depression, this tears the root structure, killing the grass. You want to continue inserting the tool around the turf edge of the crater and pushing into the middle. After you have completely worked the tool around the crater, the final step is to gently tap the turf down with your putter.
Grounds and Lawn Bowl
We would like to welcome Joe Thomasson to the role of Grounds Superintendent. Joe had been filling the role on an interim basis and was hired into the position on December 15. Joe has worked for RCSC as an Assistant Golf Superintendent at multiple locations for several years.
We have renewed our commitment to providing drier conditions for Lawn Bowl. During the December committee meeting, the current moisture readings were presented. Readings will continue to be presented to the committee as a way of gauging our success in providing the desired conditions.