Recreation Centers of Sun City, Inc.
Golf and Grounds Report
January 2010
by John Snyder
The RCSC golf courses, depending on which golf course you were at, received from 4.2 inches to 4.8 inches of rain during the week of January 18. This is over 1 inch more rain than was received in all of 2009. The rain filled all golf course lakes and will save at least 86 acre feet of water that was budgeted for application to the golf courses during the month of January. Each golf course receives an annual budget for water usage. This budget is based on the annual water conservation allotment received from the Arizona Department of Water Resources. This annual allotment is then broken down into a monthly budget that is based on two items of data. The first is 20 years of historical water usage on the Sun City golf courses combined with research data published by University of Arizona, Turf grass Consumptive Use Values. The report gives an annual consumptive use in monthly percentages of the annual acceptable water needed for turf. From this data the monthly water budget is calculated for each golf course.
The Get Golf Ready in 5 Days program is continuing in January. The program is $99 and is taught by our local golf pros. Students take five lessons that teach etiquette, chipping, pitching, warm up, irons and drivers. The final lesson teaches how to keep score and basic rules of golf. The program has been so successful in Sun City that the National Golf Foundation has just issued a stipend to RCSC to help support the program. Only 500 of the 1,150 facilities participating in the program receive the stipend. If you are new to the game of golf or returning from time away from the game this is the perfect program for you. Information and signups can be found by contacting Sue Presta at Riverview Golf Course.
All RCSC golf courses are in the process of applying a pre-emergent herbicide to all areas of the golf courses. The pre-emergent herbicide is primarily applied to stop spring crabgrass from germinating. It is more efficient to stop spring crabgrass from germinating than trying to remove it after it has been growing. The cost of the pre-emergent is $27,000.
South Golf Course's back 9 groundwater well is currently down for repairs. The well experienced a bearing failure in the top end of the pump shaft. The well should be back in operation this week. Estimated cost of repair is $5,000.
South's front 9 groundwater well will be pulled for preventative maintenance as soon as the back 9 well is completed. This well was last pulled for inspection in 2002. The well is 46 years old and since 1982 has been filling in with soil at a rate of 1½ feet per year. Costs of repairs are estimated at $52,000. Actual costs of repairs are unknown until the pump is removed and video taping of the well casing are performed.
The South Golf Course master plan is nearing completion. The master plan includes everything that should be planned for in the future for South Golf Course. The 2010 budget has $450,000 budgeted for bunker renovation this summer. The master plan will be submitted to South Golf Course Green Committee for comments at the February green committee meeting. Following comments by the green committee the project will be prepared to go out to bid.
RCSC has hired a Golf Events Coordinator. This is a new position recommended by the golf ad hoc committee. The purpose of the position is to generate 15,000 golf rounds through cardholder and public golf outings. The new person will begin work on February 1.
Golf rounds for 2009 ended the year at 4.6% below 2008. This makes 2009 rounds the lowest in five years. The peak rounds were in 2005. The 2009 rounds were over 60,000 rounds less than 2005. The largest drop in golf rounds were 9 hole regulation and 9 hole executive golf rounds.
Public play golf rounds increased in 2009 by 15% on 18 hole regulation golf courses. The public play rounds generated $294,466 for 2009. This is 5% of the total rounds played.
Planning for the replacement of lawn bowl green plinth boards is under way. The replacement recycled wood has been ordered. The Lawn Bowl Advisory Committee has decided that work can begin as early as March 1. The order of work will be Mountain View, Lakeview west, Oakmont and Bell south green.