Handicapped flags considered for golfers
The Joint Advisory Committee on Golf was doing just what it was meant to do last week, according to golf operations director Darryl Muldoon. All the joint advisory committees serve as a liaison between the board and the membership. During the committee’s monthly meeting, Muldoon reopened the discussion of expanding the use of handicapped flags to older golfers and got some input from the committee.
The flags are still fairly new in Bella Vista. A golfer with handicapped plates on his vehicle can ask for a flag at the pro shop which gives him the right to drive a cart much closer to the greens.
The flags are only issued when driving on fairways is allowed. During some weather conditions, golfers are asked to drive only on cart paths and flags won’t be issued on those days. Also, carts are never allowed on the greens or on the collars — the area adjacent to the greens.
Bill King, a self-described “avid golfer,” asked the committee to consider extending the use of handicapped flags to golfers older than 80. He spoke at last month’s Golf Committee meeting and again at the last board meeting.
Muldoon said he doesn’t believe many golfers will take advantage of the offer, but he doesn’t know the ages of golfers so can’t predict a number of users.
Keith Ihms, the golf maintenance director, said he doesn’t think expanding the use of flags will hurt the courses.
The POA always has to balance the needs of the golfers with the conditions on the courses, general manager Tom Judson explained, but he wasn’t opposed to trying the new rules for a year.
It may even help with the speed of a game, committee member Susan Nuttall said.
Muldoon also heard from committee member Mary Riorden that some women golfers are unhappy that one of their favorite tournaments was cut from the 2019 schedule.
Last month, Muldoon told the committee that he cut several of the less popular tournaments in order to open up more times for group play. After listening to Riorden and a member of the audience who runs the Women’s Golf Club, Muldoon said he would consider adding the twoday tournament if they could show him that 104 women were interested in participating. That number won’t completely fill the course, he noted, but it would be enough to make closing the course to other players worthwhile.