Director of Golf & Grounds Report – January 2017

by Brian Duthu

Pro Shops

Though we exceeded our revenue budget by a substantial amount, total rounds for the year decreased slightly from prior year. In-season rounds out performed prior year, summer rounds were down slightly and the bulk of the decrease occurred in October as a result of the five day overlap of course closures. Though the overlap resulted in fewer rounds, it did provide a much better window for overseed.

On February 9, Lakes East/Lakes West will be hosting the 9th annual Teal Ribbon Tournament, benefitting the University of Arizona Cancer Center for Ovarian Cancer research. This is a 9:30am shotgun start, 9 hole event open to both ladies and men with no handicap requirement. The entry fee is $30 per person to include lunch at the Sundial Recreation Center following play. Entry forms may be picked up and turned in to any pro shop.

Snack Shops

Total revenue for the snack shops exceeded budget in December, capping off a great year. Snack Shops also met their budgeted net goals for the year. We hope our rainy days are nearing an end and we do remind everyone that the snack shops may close early during periods of inclement weather.

Golf Courses

The preliminary aerification/overseed schedule was presented to the Golf Advisory Committee during the January meeting. We will continue our practice of a single, more aggressive greens aerification. This year we have moved fairway dethatching into the month of May, during which each course will be closed for two days, with Quail being the exception. Moving the dethatching into May will allow for early thinning of the rye grass providing the bermuda with less competition as it emerges from dormancy. Nothing we do will eliminate the problems associated with summer transition, however this process will help us ease into that transition.

During periods of inclement weather, please note that it is never our desire to impose cart path only restrictions, we only do so when the opportunity is high for course damage to occur. Even after restrictions are lifted, there will remain areas that are susceptible to cart damage. We ask for your diligence in avoiding areas that have become saturated, though we realize these areas are not always evident.

Lawn Bowling

All irrigation to all lawns was turned off in November 2016 but they continue to be wet due to excessive rain over the last month. Stimp readings for Bell North were 13.4, Bell South 13.7, Lakeview East 15.3, Lakeview West 15.0, Oakmont 13.8, Mountain View 13.2.

Moisture readings for Bell North were 17.83, Bell South 18.68, Lakeview East 15.42, Lakeview West 16.47, Oakmont 29.99, and Mountain View 16.11.

Mowing is continuing on all lawns once per week to clean the surface. Rolling is being done four times per week when not raining.

The Lawn Bowl Crew replaced two broken backboards at Lake View East and two backboards at Lakeview West. We also replaced a section of backboard at Oakmont.

Bowls USA held the AZ Rinks and Salisbury Singles Lawn Bowling tournaments January 14-18 on the Bell, Lakeview and Oakmont Greens. Some of the best bowlers in the USA and Canada competed. Although there was plenty of rain, the bowlers enjoyed playing on what they consider the finest greens in North America.

Grounds

The recent damp weather has provided ideal growing conditions for weeds. The Grounds crew have given these unwanted plants high priority. Leaves from our deciduous trees have nearly ended their migration to the ground and have kept our crew extremely busy over the last 30+ days.

The grounds crew is currently in the process of freshening a planter at Oakmont, replacing the current planting of Lantana with a Pygmy Date Palm and Japanese Boxwood. At the Bell Center, the crew is sprucing up mini golf, including removing loose and broken railroad ties and adding river rock. The crews are also awaiting quotes for trimming trees in front of the Bell Center and looking for replacement options for pine trees at the softball field. The pine trees that were removed were considered a safety hazard.