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As we noted in the October Divot Update, to accommodate the increasing percentage of our members accessing the communications on mobile devices we are changing the layout. This is a more difficult issue on the Divot Digest than on the Divot Update as the Digest was a two column presentation that just does not work on mobile devices. Links to a number of the items that resided in the old left column can now be found below in Information Central. Also below you will find the answer to last week's Quiz. So, this is our first shot on the Divot Digest and expect that we will continue to refine the presentation over the next couple of months.
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From The Vice President
0RDER OF PAYOUT TO THE SURRENDERED MEMBERSHIP LIST (SL)
The Board of Directors of Tonto Verde Golf Club (Club) unanimously approved an amendment to the Bylaws on November 5, 2015. The amendment changes the Order of Sales in 4.08( c ) of the Bylaws for payouts to the SL from one Regular Membership, then one Surrendered Membership to two Regular Memberships, then one Surrendered membership effective immediately.
The Board has analyzed its anticipated capital requirements and potential increases in its operating expenses. Based on this analysis the Club does not have the ability to raise sufficient monies to cover the funding requirements for these matters. Factors considered in this analysis included 1) the overall environment for golf clubs has been declining for a number of years, 2) maintaining our membership with our aging demographics and declining interest in golf by younger people will be a challenge, 3) currently 50% of new home buyers in Tonto Verde join the Club, a negative trend, 4) our dues and assessments are at maximum levels and our ability to continue at these levels is uncertain, 5) even at current levels adequate funds are not available to meet the needs set forth in the capital reserve study, and 6) the golf courses must be adequately upgraded and maintained to meet increasing competition and to maintain the value of our memberships (including surrendered memberships) and real estate.
Jay Simmons Vice President |
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Next TVGC Board Of Director's Meeting Date - December 3rd
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Notes From Your Pro
Greetings golf members! The season is off to fast start with huge turnouts for the opening league events. Thanks to everyone involved for helping make them a success. If you are having any issues signing up for events on tontoverde.org, don't hesitate to ask the golf shop for help. It's easier for us to provide technical support than it is to deal with unexpected additions and/or
cancellations in the minutes leading up to the start of a shotgun. Afternoons continue to be the best time to bring in your tablets, laptops, and mobile phones for technical assistance.
Please be mindful that we structure our tee sheets to accommodate as much demand as possible while continuing to protect time par as a standard for pace of play. To that end, you will see a few 9-hole tee times scheduled off the tenth tees on Thursdays and Saturdays (approximately an hour and twenty minutes after the first tee time). We continue to ask our early morning players to exercise some reasonable patience when making the turn. These additional tee times benefit the greater good in terms of golf course access for our membership.
We've all heard that balance and flexibility are keys to a solid golf swing. This coming Friday, November 13th, we have a unique golf fitness opportunity worth checking out on the driving range. Katherine Roberts, author of "Yoga for Golfers", will be teaching a 75-minute workshop (10:00 - 11:15) open to all members and their guests. The cost is $35/person. Sign up on ForeTees today!
Our first multi-vendor Demo Day is scheduled for Friday, November 20th on the south driving range. Ping, Callaway, Cobra and Srixon will be showing off their new equipment from 10 am - 3 pm. Ecco will also be on hand conducting shoe fittings from 1 pm - 4:30 pm that afternoon.
Save the date for our fifth annual Employee-Member golf tournament which is scheduled for Monday, December 7th at noon. The event is a 9-Hole scramble and teams are generally comprised of one maintenance worker, one golf staff, one restaurant staff and one member. This is an excellent opportunity to get to know some familiar faces in a fun, pressure-free setting.
Congratulations to Kirk Naismith and Scott Finlay for being named Co-Employees of the Month for November! Throughout the summer and fall, these two formed an effective tandem that was willing to take on just about any task regardless of magnitude. From dirty work like painting garbage cans and picnic tables to installing cabinets, fixing ice machines and now taking on the new scoreboard project, these gentlemen consistently bring a "get 'er done" attitude. As veteran staffers, their leadership has been tremendously valuable and worthy of this recognition. Please join me in thanking them if you have the opportunity.
Until next time, keep them flying long and straight!
Jeff Ostlund
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Superintendents Tee Box
Cooler weather has come to the valley, with below average temperatures, 11" of snow in Flagstaff, and it isn't even Thanksgiving. With November here, I can safely say we are finished with overseeding until next year. We had a successful overseed with both courses now open for play. One component of a golf course that gets overlooked by most golfers, unless there is a wet or dry spot, would be the irrigation system. 90 - 95% of an irrigation system is located underground. The only portion that most golfers come into contact with would be the sprinkler heads.
This past summer, the Club spent $260,000 upgrading the fairway sprinklers and controllers on the Peaks course and finishing the heads around the greens on both courses. I can say that we now have a more efficient system in the fairways and around the greens, which helped us have a successful overseed. These new sprinklers are the same age and type, and they all turn at the same speed. We can better program the nightly irrigation cycles due to the heads being the same type. In the past, we had no less than 5-6 sprinkler types on a given area around the property, which allowed for uneven watering and wastefulness of a precious resource. As we transition from the summer Bermuda to the winter overseeded Ryegrass, there are a few practices that golfers need to be aware of going forward. 1st - we are now using a sand, seed and mulch mix for divots in the fairways. When filling divots, we ask that you only fill the ones in the fairways and not in the roughs. We do not overseed the roughs, and filling these divots would allow spotty Ryegrass to grow in the roughs. 2nd - carts will be allowed to go off the path on November 9th on the Peaks and November 30th on the Ranch. We ask that all carts utilize the 90-degree rule when leaving the path to get to their ball in the fairway. Then proceed back to the cart path to limit traffic on the turf. This is especially crucial during the colder periods of December and January as we do not get much turf growth due to the cold. And limit the amount of traffic in the roughs as the Bermuda will go dormant and will have almost no growth once the soil temperatures drop below 55 degrees.
As I have written in past Divot Digests, we have been reworking the bunkers on each course to make them more consistent hole to hole. We have added new sand to a handful of bunkers and utilized a new implement on our mechanical bunker rake to "fluff" the sand. This has made a big difference in the playability and drainage in the bunkers. One procedure that needs to be readdressed is the rake placement. Towards the end of last year, the Green's Committee decided to go forward with a 50/50 bunker rake placement. That is, the head is in the bunker, and the handle is sticking out of the bunker. Although there is no perfect position for the rakes, this is what works best for the maintenance staff on an efficiency standpoint.
Safe travels for those traveling back to Tonto Verde, as we look forward to everyone's return for the upcoming season.
Keep it in the short grass, Travis Blamires Golf Course Superintendent |
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From The Golf Committee
The Golf Committee recommended, and the TVGC board approved two important items at their November 5, meeting. First, by the time you read this, our new cart facility should be open and our new cart fleet should be here and available for use. Our new electric carts, with built-in GPS, are free for TVGC members to use and try out until December 31, 2015. In order to assure that there are enough carts to go around, you will need to specify CGC (club golf cart) in the Trans drop down box when you add your name to ForeTees. Enjoy!
Second, the Golf Committee adopted and the TVGC board affirmed this policy: The Tonto Verde Golf Club will continue to play in accordance with the USGA Rules of Golf, except as appropriately modified by local rules. In order to post scores and maintain a legitimate handicap, as of January 1, 2016, all golfers must comply with Rule 14-1b which prohibits anchoring a club when making a stroke.
Click Here for everything you should ever want to know about Rule 14-1b, rules changes for 2016 and a lot more.
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From The Membership Committee
Joining the Tonto Verde Golf Club over the past few months:
Robert & Rebecca Bennett, Edina, MN - Donald & Lori McCormick, Prior Lake, MN - John Russett, Minnetrista, MN - Gregg Stedronsky, Chaska, MN - Don ("Doc") & Claudia Holliday, Scottsdale, AZ - Ron & Jackie Smalec, Burlington, Ontario - Larry Holden & Sally Storey, Westlake, TX - Michael & Maureen Coli, Lake in the Hills, IL -Gary & Cathy Munger, Crosslake, MN - Greg & Susan Springmeyer, St. Albans, MO
Please greet and welcome these new members when you have a chance to do so!
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From The MGA
The Opening Day Golf Event welcomed 120+ golfers for breakfast and a short MGA update on the coming events. We played a Shamble, with 2 net of 4 balls. The winning team shot a 32 under par 112 to win $86.10 per man. The winning team was: Don Eggebrecht, Jim Sundahl, Bill Otteson and Len Svensson. The Handicap Committee has been notified to watch your postings closely! We had 36 players who received some sort of pro shop credit for their participation.
We are still looking for subs for Fall Best Ball, let the pro shop know if you can be a sub. You earn an MGA point for each match you participate in. Sign-up is now open for our December MGA Meeting and Dinner. Click Here to sign-up and make certain to let the Club know if you will be staying for dinner.
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The MGA Cup
Once again this year MGA members will be playing for the right to participate in the year-ending MGA Cup and $6,600.00 in prize money. Here are the twelve events that will accumulate points.
- Fall Best Ball
- Spring Best Ball
- Playing in the Monthly MGA meeting games
- Being a winner of events
- Desert Classic
- Guest Day
- Men's Mixers
- Match Play
- Verdes Cup
- Three designated Wednesday play days
Watch the calendar and future Divot Digest and Updates and make sure to sign-up.
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From The WGA
What a way to start the season! 116 WGA ladies participated in the November 3rd season-opening shamble event, followed by a cocktail reception attended by 120. Congratulations to all the winning teams. We hope to see another great turnout for the November 10th brunch meeting and cart partner best ball event.
November 17th and November 19th are the dates for the very popular Member-Member event. At this time, we have a full field with a small wait list. Don't hesitate to sign up on the wait list if you want to play; there is always a chance that plans change.
There's still time to Click Here and register for the December 1st Guest Day. Sandy Palmer is chairing the event with assistance from Karen Reams and Pam Thorstenson, and they have planned a fun day of golf, prizes and a delicious dinner.
Inter-club team play starts this month. Best of luck to the team members, pictured below, for another successful season
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From The NDA
Notes from the Membership Chair
The Nine and Dine Association is happy to have 5 new members. They are; Joyce Ardern, Carol Hayes, Marybeth Johnson, Becky Peterson and Judith Worcester. Please give them a warm welcome.
"Toys for Tots" Our annual "Toys for Tots" will be held on December 1, 2015 at our monthly Golf, Lunch and Business Meeting. You can Click Here to register for the 9 am Shotgun start. We will be playing a Scramble on the front 9 holes of the Ranch Course. A Luncheon and Business Meeting to follow. If you cannot golf you can sign up for the lunch only. Please bring an Unwrapped Gift for "Toys for Tots". NDA/WGA Mixer It's time for a NDA member to invite a member of the WGA to join us for nine holes of golf. The event will be held on December 8, 2015. There is a shotgun start at 2:00 pm on the front 9 holes of the Peaks Course. For this event, all combination NDA/WGA members will play as a NDA member. You can Click Here to register.
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From The Lady Putters
Lady Putters Celebrate Opening Day
Lady Putters kicked off their 2015-16 season on Nov. 4 in style! While putting for the event had to be cancelled due to inclement weather, Mother Nature treated the sellout crowd (over 90 women) to a double rainbow gracing the putting course during cocktail hour.
Special Event co-chairs Jackie Singler and Karen Ellis can take a bow for creating "Tiaras, Tees and Toddies," and attendees dusted off their favorite tiaras and bling to mark the occasion. Decorations, artfully created by the talented Nancy Widick and Julie Theiler, made the evening extra special.
Lady Putters is beginning the season with 137 members including 15 new members. Putting takes place every Wednesday morning with Registration at 10, putting on the Tonto Verde 18-Hole Putting Course at 10:30 and lunch after. If you are interested in joining this convivial group, contact Sue Long at 480-550-2509 or seplong@cox.net. Don't wait. Come join the fun!
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Golf Cart Facility Update
The Golf Cart Facility is operational. The Power was turned on and we received a Certificate of Occupancy from Maricopa County Mon, Nov 9.
Landscaping has been started this week by Pamm Torrence, Travis Blamires and staff. With internal staff and volunteer work by Pamm, the expense will be minimal.
The Event Space adjacent to the Cart Building and Putting Green been started. Rich Varda is designing a plan and Outside Services, lead by Scott Finlay, will be doing the construction. Again expense will be minimal as only materials are required.
Overall we are on budget.The Sprinkler System is being researched and will be addressed at a later date.
Thanks again to all who have contributed their time and talent to the project.
Dave Burns
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Golf Spin Radio Show Live At Tonto Verde
Once again, we will be hosting the Golf Spin Radio Show on the 14th of November. The show will run from 9 am to 11 am and be will set up on the patio. Our residents can watch and listen to the show in the dining room. As a part of the show, they will be interviewing some of our golf staff and residents. Click Here to hear the radio commercial that Jeff Ostlund cut as a part of Tonto Verde's association with the Golf Spin Show.
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Short Quiz Answer
As many of you guessed, the answer is Jody Rosenthal Anschutz. One other point, brought to my attention by Keith Swanson, is that Jody was also a four-year NCAA Women's Golf All-American at the University of Tulsa. Jody continues to be active with the LPGA, particularly with the Solheim Cup. You may have seen Jody standing behind the first tee at the last Solheim Cup.
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Information Central
Click Here For The Golf Event Calendar
Click Here For The Divot Digest & Divot Update Archive Click Here for Board Of Director Meeting Minutes
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