by Brian Duthu
Pro Shops
Year to date rounds remain ahead of prior year and are at the second highest level since 2010. Six out of eight months this year have exceeded prior year rounds played.
We will be hosting a Pro-Am on December 11th at the North Course, which will celebrate it’s renovation. This date was chosen for two reasons. It will enable our seasonal visitors to partake in the celebration and it will also serve as a fundraiser for out Winter Celebration charity. This year the chosen charity is the Sun City Posse. Teams will be made up of 3 residents and a Golf Professional from the Southwest Section PGA. Following play lunch will be served at the Mountain View recreation center.
During our Patriot Golf Day Event, $1,650 was raised through the 109 participants. Special thanks to the “Bunker Babes” for their $100 donation. 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.
Snack Shops
Snack shop revenue exceeded budget by $5600, continuing their yearlong trend. Work on the North patio expansion continues and the effort is being made to have it open following overseeding.
Courses
Heavy rainfall, including record September rains, has been a boon for grass. The boon for grass has placed a heavy burden on maintenance staffs to keep up with growth. We are striving to make golf operations self sufficient, maintain turf acreage that is 3 – 4 times that of most other courses and ensure North opens on schedule. Maintaining that balance is not always possible and occasionally falls out of balance. We apologize if our efforts have fallen short of expectations.
Though it is a slow process to watch, the North project remains on schedule for an October reopening. The greens are continuing their fertilization program and are responding as expected. Greens are currently being mowed five times per week. In addition to mowing the greens are top dressed with USGA greens mix each Friday. Some areas that are not responding to sprigging were sodded last week. Fairway lines were painted out in August and are now mown to their new layouts. On August 28th the AGA was on site to give North course its new rating. The AWGA was on site September 23rd to provide a ladies rating. Initial scorecards at for North may be temporary, as we do not want to have a supply of scorecards without a ladies rating for an entire year. Due to the renovation, local rules have been changed and will be reflected on the new scorecard. Local rules for North were developed with the assistance of Missy Jones, our local USGA rules official.
Riverview renovation planning is in the final stages, initial plans have been submitted to Maricopa County. Our pre-bid meeting with contractors that met qualifications, is set for September 30th. Bids are due by October 17th. Construction is slated to begin December 1st and will run through overseeding of 2015.