by Brian Duthu
Pro Shops
Slightly cooler temperatures and a later start to over-seed resulted in a revenue deficit to budget. On a bright note, merchandise sales did exceed budgeted goals, and we thank you. We have several items at Riverview that would make great Christmas gifts, including a Golf Buddy Laser Range Finder or an Orange Whip swing training aid, stop in and do some last minute shopping.
The free clinics conducted in October and November proved to be popular once again. For the month of November, a total of 423 students attended the clinics over four consecutive Saturdays. The highest single day count was 110 students on both November 7 and 14.
The Beat the Pro event held on December 10 was successful in reaching our fundraising goal of $2000 with $2,478 raised for the Sun City Fire Department. This year, only 3 teams managed to beat the Pro’s score of 63; they were, Wayne Van Horn & Nicky Vornholt, 62.8, Noel Johnson & Arthur Jenkins, 62.5 and Keith Smith & Royal Halvorsen, 62.6. The winning teams will be awarded $260 ($130 per player) for their winning efforts. The trick shot show by Brad Denton was informative, fun and entertaining, with a nice mix of golf tips, impersonations and skillful trick shots. Brad also aided our fundraising efforts hitting tee shots on the 12th hole.
The group from Pure Grip will be on site installing grips December 18 at Willowcreek. This will be your last opportunity with Pure Grip this year. They offer a wide selection of grips and are installed using air. Since no solvent is used, there is no drying time and the clubs can be used immediately after install. Pure Grip may add dates in 2016 and we will announce that schedule if it becomes available.
Snack Shops
Total revenue for the snack shops, also was affected by over-seed schedule and weather, missing budget by $1,600.
Golf Courses
The two greens affected by Pythium Blight at North have been reopened. Though not fully recovered, we felt additional downtime would have been of little benefit. The greens on the front 9 at South were affected by rain during over-seeding. The rain slightly washed the greens, leaving behind a rippling effect. The greens most affected were the 5th and 6th holes.