Current Membership Information 

369 active Members including 8 pending surrenders

5 active Temporary Members

139 Fully Surrendered

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  ALERT               ALERT               ALERT

Your Tonto Verde Golf Club Dues Selection letter will come to you through e-mail in May.  A link will be contained in the President's letter which will start you on the dues selection process.  PLEASE READ CAREFULLY AND THOROUGHLY, make the correct selection in ALL categories, and submit your choices.  You MUST answer all choices or your submission will not be accepted.  Your response is required by May 31.

Thank you in advance for getting the 2013-14 season off to a smooth start with your prompt responses.

Greetings golf members! The mercury is rising and we're starting to transition to our summer season in and around the club. Reciprocal play is a major perk for those of you who stay into May and later in the summer. Our final list of reciprocal clubs will become available the first week of May. Please keep in mind that these times are to be booked no more than three days in advance through our golf shop staff and the agreed upon rates at other clubs are not negotiable.

We're starting a new summer best ball series called Summer 2-Man. This will be a series of round-robin better ball matches that you schedule with your opponents at your convenience (May 15th - August 31st). The entry fee is $25/player and winnings will be paid out in golf shop credit.  Any matches not played by the end of August will result in zero points. Sign your team up on Foretees today.

Are you a glowballaholic? We've got two more upcoming glow ball events in June. There will be a 9-hole scramble on the Ranch the evening of June 5th and a glow-putting event on the evening of June 28th. Registration will be available on Foretees soon.

The AGA has finished rating both courses from the men's tees. The ratings and slopes have not been made available to us yet. They will be put into effect later in the summer when we get in new scorecards. The AWGA will be out on May 2nd to rate both courses from the ladies tees.

Dean and I would like to remind the early morning groups that they need to stay behind the mowers. The maintenance crew is trained to yield to golfers, but please mind their work in the morning and give them time to complete their daily work.

Lastly we have an announcement for ladies playing the combo tees on the Ranch. On hole #18 we've changed the combo to the gold tee to make the carry to the fairway more reasonable. This change will be reflected in the new rating and scorecard when they come out.

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

Head Golf Professional

Summer is just around the corner, we went extremely close to our first 100 degree day of the year yesterday, what does that mean?  Well, 1) it means more than half of you have probably already disappeared to cooler climates, 2) it means waking up at 3.30am for most of our crew to be here for a 5.00am start, 3) it means verticutting and topdressing greens, 4) it means lowering of mowing heights on tees, fairways and roughs to aid in our spring/summer transition to Bermuda grass!

This month, I just wanted to touch on the importance of a healthy stand of Bermuda grass for a successful overseeding, the cultural practices and work that goes into developing that Bermuda stand.

Most or all of these cultural practices are somewhat disruptive to play, hence we are extremely fortunate to have two courses and implement our "summer closure" schedule so that we can get most of this work done without too much interruption to play.  When I say cultural practices, I'm referring to the dreaded words such as: aerification, verticutting, scalping, brushing, topdressing, re-sodding, drainage work......all events that are both disruptive to play, but imperative to a healthy Bermuda stand and a successful Fall overseeding.  Practices we like to call the "necessary evils"!  This is often a "summer long" process to fill in areas with 100% Bermuda coverage.  Bermuda grass here in Arizona doesn't really start growing aggressively until June/July, however it's vital for us to already be taking the heights down on all our overseeded areas to both stress the ryegrass out some, but also open up the canopy to allow more sunlight through to the underlying Bermuda.  In fact, you will have noticed, as early as February 25 we started reducing our rough heights from the normal 2" mowing height in order to begin this process.  So again, we are fortunate enough to do most of this work on one course while it is closed then continue on the other course when we flip them which is kind of a "win/win" for both our maintenance crew and the hardy full timers that stay around to play in the 110 degree heat!  So in essence, we have another busy summer ahead of us so that we can provide improved playing surfaces again for when you all return next season.

On a side note, I'd like to congratulate Samuel Gonzalez.  Samuel's excellent work ethic, abilities and attention to detail have rewarded him with a promotion to Golf Course Foreman.  Congratulations to Felipe Santiago also, who will assume the irrigation duties vacated by Samuel.  Felipe is another employee with excellent work ethic, a keen eye for detail and an eagerness to learn and further himself.

On behalf of the Golf Course Maintenance team,

Dean Hall

Golf Course Superintendent

• Entry gates are gone for the summer.  Please observe the 90 degree rule. Drive down the cart path until you reach the first ball from your two-some and enter the fairway at 90 degrees at that point.  Then proceed down the fairway until you hit your shot to the green and immediately exit the fairway at 90 degrees.
• Grass seed prices have sky rocketed, we will improvise and adjust accordingly.
• We are now raking the bottoms of the bunkers and smoothing the sides.  This takes less man hours and provides a smoother surface on the sides of the bunkers.
• Join us for the Super's (Superintendent's) Challenge on May 8 - Create your own foursome team... OR... sign up as a twosome and the golf shop will pair you! Format: Four person, team ball event -Each person plays his/her ball but there is one pink ball per hole.

Alisha Tovar has joined the Tonto Verde family as Marketing Coordinator.  The TVA and TVGC have joined forces to create a single Marketing Committee to promote this community, our homes, home sites and golf club.  Alisha is responsible for managing the marketing functions for Tonto Verde including the public side of our website, social media, advertising, events and public relations, and the management of our "Discover Tonto Verde" Program.  Alisha coordinates our TV Website Blog activities, so if you are need of some coaching in this area, you can contact her.  Alisha has a marketing and communications background and has experience in sales and customer service.  She grew up in Arizona after graduating from a design school in Los Angeles, and currently lives in Scottsdale.

If you are in need for marketing information about Tonto Verde to share with friends, Alisha can provide current brochures and literature on Tonto Verde and our Golf Courses, assistance with scheduling your guests in our "Discover Tonto Verde" Program.  She answers questions on Tonto Verde's Facebook Page, Twitter, Website and Blog.  She also welcomes all suggestions and ideas for Marketing Tonto Verde.  Her office hours are Monday - Friday, 8:30 - 5 pm in the office right next to the ProShop.  You can also reach her by phone:   480.471.3566 or Email: atovar@tontoverdeassociation.com

WGA News

The final event of the season was well attended with 90 players in the field.  The format was a 3 Club + Putter Scramble and the competition was fierce.  The winning team was Chris Demma, Marilyn Echelbarger, Sandy Traub and Andrea Bauman with a net score of 61.5.  Only 2.4 strokes separated the next 7 placed teams.  Recognition was given to the Keiko Bates as the 2013 Stroke Play and Match Play Champion, to Ardonna Buck and Judy Sevier who won the Member-Member tournament and to Jerri Dan, Vicki Esbensen, Sandy Traub and Judy Eisenberg, winners of the 2013 Four Member tournament.  The Most Improved Golfer this year was Pattie Green - Congratulations to all.

NEW BOARD

The new WGA Board had its first meeting on April 24th under the new leadership of President, Cheryl Potter and Vice President, Karyn Lyle.  Planning is well underway for next season.   A special thanks to Kathie Sankey for her commitment and hard work as this years' WGA President and to Matt Finch for his enduring professionalism and patience.  Our appreciation goes out to all those women who support the WGA by attending our play days and events and to all those volunteers ensuring that our programs and events run smoothly. 

As we look forward to next fall, there are some housekeeping items we'd like to address.  If your name, email address or phone number was incorrect in the WGA/NDA directory last season, please email your corrections to mfinch@tontogolf.com ASAP.

The 2013-2014 billing selection sheets are coming to you soon via email.  You will need to select "Join the WGA" to be on the roster this fall.

We wish everyone a safe and happy summer. 

NDA - an Overview

We are the Tonto Verde Nine and Dine Women's Golf Association or NDA.  The NDA or "Niners", as they were originally known, had a membership with only 13 ladies in the year 2000.   Under the leadership of Bonnie Dennis, NDA President, the 2012-2013 membership grew to 145 regular members, along with additional social members.  Social members are former NDA members who no longer play golf but enjoy the fun and festivities of the monthly business meetings, events, and social gatherings.

The NDA mission, briefly stated, is to provide a fun, yet competitive, environment for women who choose to play only 9 holes of golf, while improving their game.  Supporting the concept of improving their game, the Rules and Etiquette Chair regularly shares information on new or modified PGA or Tonto Verde Golf Club rules.  Cash prizes are awarded at the end of the season placing emphasis on attendance, recognition of competitive event winners, pars, birdies, eagles, holes-in one, Interclub and Dream Scores.

On the first Tuesday of each month, within the season, the NDA conducts its official business meetings which include a delicious lunch and reports by the NDA board on old and new business, along with golf-related updates from our special guests.  

The 2013-2014 NDA Board is in place with the following officers:  President, Susan Zinke; Vice President, Diane Kirk; Treasurer, Carol Devery; and Secretary, Val Thomson.  Several Committee Chairs are committed to making this a fun-filled and rewarding season.  The NDA season begins on Monday, November 4, 2013, 3:00 p.m. with the annual "Welcome Back Wine and Cheese" party at Linda Carpenter's home.   On Tuesday, November 5, 2013, there will be a 9:00 a.m. Shotgun, followed by the season's first NDA Business Meeting and Luncheon.

As we look forward to next fall, there are some housekeeping items we'd like to address.  If your name, email address or phone number was incorrect in the WGA/NDA directory last season, please email your corrections to NDA Vice President, Diane Kirk, dkirk@centurytel.net, ASAP.

The 2013-2014 billing selection sheets are coming to you soon via email.  You will need to select "Join the NDA" to be on the roster this fall.

For more information on the NDA, please contact NDA Membership Chairs:

Molly Casey, tollytwo@gmail.com; or Barb Rottunda, jbar118@hickorytech.net