Dogwood Friends benefit golf course
A new volunteer group is forming around the Dogwood Golf Course, organizer Alycyn Culbertson said. She was contacted by the new manager of the golf shop, Paul Gomez, who suggested that volunteers could make an impact at the course.
It’s not the first volunteer group in that area. In 2013 the “Dollars for Dogwood” golf tournament raised $2,500. According to a letter printed in The Weekly Vista on June 5, 2013, the project was undertaken to develop the 18th hole into a signature hole. Later that summer, the letters that spell Dogwood were installed. The letter writer and tournament organizer, ZaDean Auyer, has moved out of the area.
The Metfield Neighbors group was meeting regularly as recently as 2014.
The new group will be Dogwood Friends, Gomez said, because it’s just about golf. Three groups share the building at Metfield. The pro shop is at one end and the POA’s Membership Services office is on the other end. The middle of the building which includes a meeting room, is managed by the Recreation Department. Two other golf courses in Bella Vista have active volunteer groups. The Friends of the Highlands and Scottsdale Lads and Lassies work at those two courses.
The Lads and Lassies has over 80 members, Scotsdale Golf Shop Supervisor Elizabeth Gowan said. They have one annual meeting, but keep in touch through email the rest of the year. When the course flooded a year ago, it was volunteers who walked the course, picking up rocks and reporting maintenance issues.
“They help out with all the flowers and the flower beds and they build little things we need like score boxes,” Gowan said.
They raise money with an annual golf tournament and then spend it on the course, she said.
Friends of the Highlands have a similar role, which they’ve been doing for about 10 years, Highlands Pro Shop Manager Marisa Nabholz said. This year, the POA replaced the ball baskets for the driving range and the Friends group plans to turn the old baskets into planters to scatter around the course. They also maintain flower beds, including the one incorporated into the Highlands signature hole.
The volunteers are willing to do whatever is needed, she said, and they take a lot of pride in the course.
Culbertson got involved at Dogwood through another volunteer job. She’s also a member of the Bluebird Society and is often at Dogwood checking the bluebird boxes that the group maintains. She got to know the maintenance crew, who passed her name on to Gomez.
“I’m excited about more beautification projects,” said Culbertson, who is also active with the Bella Vista Garden Club. “You don’t have to be a golfer to participate.” Some people who live on the course but don’t play have expressed an interest in working on beautification projects.
Gomez has several projects in mind, including the flower beds just outside the pro shop. A golfer came in to suggest they add a box for scorecards on the second tee for people who forgot to pick up a card when they checked in.
An organizational meeting is planned for 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 12, in the Metfield snack bar.
Two other golf courses in Bella Vista have active volunteer groups.