Golf Committee shares ideas for 2018 budget

Golf Committee members and the volunteers who help on several golf courses have some ideas for the 2018 POA budget. The committee made their list after talking to members of the Friends of the Highlands, the Friends of Dogwood, and Scotsdale’s Lads and Lassies.

Among the high-priority items are play managers for peak times and more water and ice available. Play managers patrol the course to monitor the speed of groups and refill water coolers. As a cost-cutting move, the Property Owners Association stopped employing play managers in 2013.

The committee also suggested leveling specific tee boxes, and relocating some gold tee boxes. Some existing programs should be expanded including the Junior Golf program and the Get Ready Golf program, while the Ambassadors program needs more publicity.

Friends of Dogwood asked for ball washers and some landscaping improvements.

Friends of the Highlands want a bigger scoreboard.

At Scotsdale, the volunteers asked for mulch, tee ball washers, and a bench at the driving range.

The committee heard from Golf Maintenance Director Keith Ihms, who said work on the Highlands is on schedule and the course, along with a new snack bar, should be open in late September.

Berksdale, Ihms said, is still being maintained as a golf course while a hydrology study of the creek is arranged.

The No. 8 green at the Country Club will reopen in late September. It was damaged during the April flood.

Golf Operations Director Phillip Wright reported that he had met with the leaders of many of the local golf groups about the sign-up process. Because of the closure of Berksdale as an 18-hole course, the other courses have been busy this summer which makes play slow. It’s important for the groups to provide an accurate number of tee times needed for each day of play. Otherwise golfers are turned away when the course is not actually full, which costs the POA money.