Tonto Verde Golf Club Newsletter

TVGC is proud to announce that we will be hosting the 2013 AZ Men's Senior Stroke Play Championship on May 13-14. The event will be played on the Peaks course both days.

There are 108 spots available to compete in this event. We encourage you to sign up on AZgolf.org. Spots will go fast so sign up now. Stay tuned for more information on the event and how you might be able to particiapte apart from golfing.

Accessing The Golf Event Calendar

When you click any of the links that take you to the Golf Event Section on ForeTees you will see a login page. For this you will need your ForeTees login and password. If you have forgotten your ForeTees info you can contact the Golf Shop for assistance.

Greetings!

As we head into April we see the culmination of many of our year's events. Looking at the calendar we see season ending events for the WGA and the MGA. Sometime in the next month to month and one-half many of us will begin our trek north-word for the summer. But once again we can reflect back on the wonderful time we have every year at Tonto Verde even in a year like we just experienced with less than optimal weather.

Don't forget about the Annual Tonto Verde Golf Club Town Hall meeting detailed below. Keeping up with what has happened and what is projected is an important part of being a member of the Tonto Verde Golf Club. Also, don't forget the $50.00 guest fees on Mondays and Wednesdays through May 15th when the guest is playing with a member.

Important Meeting Date

The Annual Tonto Verde Golf Club Town Hall meeting will be held in the Rio Church on April 5 at 3:00 pm.

In addition to the above referenced Town Hall Meeting here are other upcoming meetings. The April Board Meeting will be held at 8:00 a.m. on April 4th in the Multi-Purpose Room. This session will include important proposals from both the Membership and Long Range Planning Committees. Click Here for the meeting Agenda. Annual Meeting will be 8 am on April 10th in the Multipurpose Room for the sole purpose of counting ballots for the election of the 3 new directors and announcing the results. No other business will be transacted during this meeting.

Notes From Your Pro

Greetings golf members! As the calendar turns to April and the wildflowers continue to bloom, we look forward to more of the best golfing conditions in the country. While the best players in the world set their sights on the Masters, 60 of our MGA's finest continue to sharpen their skills for the fast-approaching Desert Classic. The Shootout is back for the 2013 edition of the MGA's showcase event! We encourage any and all Tonto members to come check out the action on Saturday the 13th as flight winners will playoff in a survival style alternate shot format with their respective division crowns on the line.

The AGA and AWGA will be visiting Tonto Verde towards the end of this month to rate both of our golf courses. Any changes to the course ratings, slopes, or handicap of holes will take effect after updated scorecards come in this summer. 58 Spots still remain in the AZ Sr. Stroke Play Championship, which will be held on the Peaks course on May 13th and 14th. So far we have 7 Tonto members signed up and would love to see more. Registration is available through the AGA's website azgolf.org.

New ladies merchandise from EP Pro, Tail, GG Blue and Vera Bradley is now available in the golf shop along with new men's styles from Peter Millar, FootJoy, Ashworth and Ping. We will start selling demo clubs at a discount beginning April 15th.

Portable ash trays are now available at both starter stands. We're asking that all smokers dispose of their butts appropriately in an effort to keep our courses looking beautiful.

I'd like to recognize our last two employees of the month this year. Ron Gobeski received the honor in March for his outstanding work during the frost delay season and Ryan Windett for the month of April because of his consistent tireless efforts in the golf shop.

Until next time, keep em' flying long and straight!

Jeff Ostlund
Head Golf Professional

From The Course

Finally the warmer weather is here, grass is growing, trees are beginning to fill out, spring is in the air and allergies are killing me like crazy!

You will all remember that this season we used a different ryegrass when overseeding our tee boxes. This particular ryegrass (gly-rye) is designed to be roundup resistant and used as an effective tool to eliminate Poa annua (annual bluegrass/wintergrass). Last Friday, Mar. 29, we completed our first trial application of roundup on select tee boxes. We also played around with some different rates on the North practice tee. Moving forward, we will monitor the efficacy, construct maps of the worst affected areas with Poa and potentially broaden the use of gly-rye in the future to reduce our Poa annua populations.

As of today, we will no longer be mixing seed into the divot mix, just straight green sand. Please go ahead and use up what is currently left in your divot bottles. From now thru the summer, we encourage you to sand fill divots everywhere: tees, fairways and rough, on both courses. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation with the different seed mixes this past season. In order to trial these things, it often requires everyone's cooperation.

Also, as of today, you will notice a slightly different practice in our bunker maintenance. As a part of our continuous improvement, we are introducing a new technique to our staff in preparing the bunkers for play each morning. This will include:

Monitoring of sand depths by all staff members
Smoothing of bunker faces as opposed to raking the sides (this to eliminate any further contamination of rocks, stones, etc)
Cleaning of steps daily, where applicable, to make them more visible and essentially safer for your use
Raking of the bunker floors in the direction of the hole location on a daily basis

Our bunkers are always an issue and I would encourage any feedback as we move forward with this.

Our desert maintenance crew have completed the Peaks Course, driving range areas, #18 of the Ranch and are currently working along the left hand side of #5 and #4 on the Ranch. This week, we have an outside crew coming in to tackle the mistletoe that our staff cannot reach on both golf courses. I ask for your patience as we will have a chipper out on the golf course both Monday and Tuesday. I know this is not ideal, but it is by far the most cost effective way in reducing the time spent by an outside company to do this and we really need to get it done before the trees fill out too much and the mistletoe is not as obvious as it is right now.

Wednesday May 8th, will see the 2nd Annual Super's Challenge on the Peaks course.......start getting your teams together for the "Pink Ball Challenge", a lot of fun was had by all that competed last year!

We would like to wish a happy and safe summer to those leaving for cooler climates in the next month and look forward to seeing you all back here in the Fall.

On behalf of the Golf Course Maintenance team,

Dean Hall

Golf Course Superintendent

From The Golf Committee

1. Pace of Play: In order to enhance adherence to the Pace of Play Guidelines (4 hours for 18 holes on the Peaks Course and 4 1/4 Hours for 18 holes on the Ranch Course) the Golf Committee has authorized the Head Golf Professional to issue warning letters to players not adhering to the guidelines and finishing more than nine minutes behind the group in front of them. The receipt by any player of three letters in a season will result in appearance before the Golf Committee to discuss appropriate measures to remedy the continuing violations. For Group Play, if two letters are issued to any players in the Group, the Group Leader will be asked to meet with the Golf Committee to discuss appropriate measures to remedy the violations.

2. New Local Rule: The Golf Committee has recommended and the Board has approved a new bullet point to Local Rule number 3 adding the following as immovable obstructions: All inlaid, ornamental or structural rock formations.

3. The following areas have been designated as hazards: the cross fairway washes on #4 Peaks Course and #'s 13 and 16 Ranch Course and the rock areas on the right side of #'s 16 on both Peaks and Ranch Courses.

From The Membership Committee

The Spring "free dues until Nov 1" promotion is generating considerable interest, along with a number of property sales this season. Donna Watson, a member of the TV Marketing Committee and local realtor reports that at the current rate of sales, we expect that 2013 will be the highest number of sales that we have had in Tonto Verde except for the year of 2005 in which we sold 48 homes and townhomes. A number of these recent sales include pass-through of their TVGC memberships. We are optimistic about adding several more new members before the end of the season.

WGA News

DESERT VISTA CHALLENGE between Tonto Verde and Golf Club Scottsdale runs on April 9 at the beautiful Golf Club Scottsdale. This competition is open to lady golfers of all skill levels with teams capped at 12 players each . The format changes every 6 holes from Better Ball of Partner to Alternate Shot and Scramble. There are only 2 spots left - so sign up today. $60.00 includes Green Fees, Lunch and Cart.
HOLE IN ONE Congratulations go out to Janet McGee. On March 16th she aced #7 on the Peaks course using 6 iron for 120 yards. This is Janet's third hole in one.
CLOSING DAY SCRAMBLE AND DINNER April 23rd is the last WGA event of the season. If you can't golf but would like to attend dinner you can make reservations using the TVA website under the "Event Calendar". Registration for this event closes at noon on April 21st. The 72 hour cancellation policy is in effect for the dinner.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES The WGA invites all members to get involved in next season's activities and events. Do a little or do a lot - If you have an interest we welcome you to explore the many opportunities available. There are Volunteer forms on the bulletin board beside the computer in the golf shop. Please return to Kathie Sankey.
SUMMER INTERCLUB is just around the corner! This year, we will be playing some wonderful courses, including Desert Highlands, and Troon Country Club. Summer Interclub is a great way to meet new friends and to play golf in a supportive atmosphere. You will be playing on a four-member team with women from other clubs--and you will be playing with women who have similar handicaps. This league is open to all members of the WGA 18 hole league but was originally designed for higher handicap players. Sign-up will be on Four Tees, beginning in early April. If you will be here sometime between May 13 and June 13 please consider this opportunity.

Click Here for the full Event schedule and to register.

MGA News

The Spring Best Ball rained out match is scheduled to be played on Wednesday April 17th. There will be tee times established for the matches and also for those not playing matches. If the competitors agree, the match may be played any time before that date, as long as it is completed by April 17th.

Sign up for our April 3rd monthly Golf & Breakfast Meeting. We will begin at 8AM with breakfast and a short business meeting, followed by our shotgun golf event around 9:30AM. Please use ForeTees "Golf Events tab" at the top to sign up.
Sign up to qualify for the Interclub team for the April 8th match at Stonecreek GC. You will be asked the question on ForeTees when you sign up for April 3rd golf.
Updated MGA Cup standings are now posted and can be found on ForeTees under the MGA tab on ForeTees under "major events" then scroll down almost to the bottom to MGA CUP point getters 3.19.13. The two day medal event for the top 48 point getters and ties is scheduled for April 22nd and April 23rd. The field will be playing for a share of the $6,000 pool. All participants will cash. Many more points to be earned by playing in our remaining MGA events.
Be sure to save the date of April 24th for our Annual Meeting and closing Golf and Awards Dinner. Registration will open April 1st.

Click Here for a full list of events and to sign-up.

Nine & Dine News

In January, a nominating committee comprised of Judy Burns, Molly Casey, Nancy Nielsen, Karen Morehouse and Terry Uffelman was formed to select and recommend a slate of officers for the elected positions of the Nine and Dine Association Board of Officers for next year.

The following is the recommended slate of elected officers for the 2013 - 2014 season:

President: Sue Zinke

Vice President: Diane Kirk

Secretary: Val Thomson

Treasurer: Carol Devery

The current NDA Board will vote on the above recommendations and this slate will be presented to the general membership at the final meeting on April 16, 2013. Additional nominations can be accepted from the floor on April 16, 2013. An election by vote of hands will be taken at that time.

NDA important dates

April 2 - Tuesday - 8:15 a.m. mini clinic - Fairway Bunkers

9 a.m. Shotgun - Peaks Back Nine

April 16 - Tuesday - 9 a.m. Shotgun followed by the closing luncheon.

The NDA will celebrate another successful season. We will express our gratitude to Bonnie Dennis, outgoing President, and her Board and elect the 2013-14 NDA Officers with Susan Zinke as the new President Susan will announce her Board for next year.

Tell Your Friends!

The Tonto Verde Discovery Program has launched!

Contact Gary Loving at gloving@tontogolf.com

or Click Here for more Details!

Your Communications Committee
Tonto Verde Golf Club