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January 12, 2016
Greetings!
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Tonto Verde Golf Club
Election of Directors - Process
This is the official notice of the process in place for the nomination of directors for the Tonto Verde Golf Club, Inc. Board of Directors. As required by the bylaws section 8.01, a Nominating committee of five people has been approved by the Board. Mike Morehouse will chair this committee again this year and members include Jerri Dann, Marianne Johnson, Farrell Odom and Judy Sevier.
There are three vacancies created by expiring terms. If you wish to run for a Board position, please contact Mike at mikemorehouse@hotmail.com. Preference will be given to candidates who have served on the Board, committees, and task forces or in leadership positions with TVGC golf associations. The list of nominees will be posted in the golf shop by February 12th and ballots will be sent in early March.
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From The President
The Board of Directors met in the clubhouse on January 7th at its regularly scheduled meeting. The agenda was short as there is much work and discussion being done in our many committees at this time.
The Board discussed and approved several items:
Course Access: Resident and golf member Steve Curry requested permission for construction equipment to access residential property over golf course owned property. The access point is off Tonto Verde drive, west of #14 Ranch tee box. Access is not near any of the golf course and will not interfere with play as traffic will move thru the desert. Approvals have been obtained from neighbors. We have an agreement that any disturbed area will be returned to its original condition. Total construction will be approximately six weeks with two weeks of equipment in and out. The request was recommended by the Green Committee and approved.
GPS Lease: Jeff Ostlund submitted a proposal for two features of the Club Car GPS (Global Positioning System) to continue. Those are the Golf Experience and Connected Car Tracking modules.
- Golf Experience Module = Dynamic distances to points of interests by simply touching the graphics on the screen
- Connected Car Tracking Module = Real-time positioning of all carts and pace-of-play tracking/notifications
These additions to the Standard Connectivity Module will enhance the golf experience and provide efficiencies for managing the cart fleet while on the course. The cost of these additions is $22,000 per year.
Nominating Committee: As required by the bylaws a chair and committee were approved. Please see the Election of Directors Process above.
Much progress has been made by the Long Range Planning and Green Committees towards finalizing a capital plan to be submitted to the membership. Meetings will be scheduled to inform all as to plans and voting. Stay tuned.
Scott Thiss
President
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The Next Board of Directors Meeting is Thursday February 4th at 8:00 am
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Notes From Your Pro
Greetings golf members. Due to the recent bout of weather, many are struggling to shake off the rust that tends to develop on one's golf game over the holidays. If you want to come out firing like Jordan Spieth did in Hawaii, I'd strongly recommend you consider some assistance from our staff of capable professionals. Quality repetition is a key to breeding confidence and utilizing a second set of trained eyes is a proven approach to expediting the improvement process. Click Here for a link to our updated golf instruction brochure. Our pros are eager to help you channel your inner Spieth!
Both the MGA and WGA start their Match Play Championships this week. Understanding rule differences that exist between match and stroke play can certainly play to your advantage. There are several scenarios in match play where a transgression might result in your opponent canceling your shot and requiring you to replay it; whereas in stroke play, the same transgression would result in a 2-stroke penalty or no penalty at all. A few examples of this include: playing out of turn, hitting from outside the teeing ground and hitting an opponent or his/her equipment.
Another rule distinction in match play is the way you settle disputes over penalties. Stroke play allows you an option of playing two balls and getting a ruling later when there's doubt over a procedure. In match play if a doubt or dispute arises between the players, a player needs to make a claim. If a golf professional isn't available to provide a ruling within a reasonable time, the players must continue the match without delay. The claim may only be considered if it has been made in a timely manner (before any player in the match plays from the next teeing ground).
For more information on the uniqueness of match play and other rules interpretations, we encourage you to consult the golf shop. Best of luck to those of you squaring off in the tournaments this week!
The following is a list of upcoming activities that may be worth noting on your calendar:
- Multi-Vendor Demo Day - Friday, February 5th (10am -3pm) - Ping, Cobra, Callaway, Srixon
- TaylorMade Fitting Day - Thursday, February 18th (10am - 2pm) - Sign up for an appointment in the golf shop
- Thursday Afternoon Clinics (3-4pm) - Sign ups available on tontoverde.org
- Ladies Golf Breakthrough Series - Ashli Helstrom has designed a new clinic series for ladies starting on Mondays and Wednesday afternoons in February. Click Here for more details.
Congratulations to Tyler Rohrer for being voted our employee of the month for January. In his fourth season working on our outside service staff, Tyler has stepped up to take a lead role in managing and maintaining the new cart fleet. His consistent work ethic, positive attitude and problem solving ability have continued to solidify Tyler as a major asset to our team.
Until next time, fairways and greens!
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Superintendent's Tee Box
Happy New Year Tonto Verde members. And with the New Year finally came the beginning of the much anticipated El Nino weather pattern. The golf course received 2.54" of rain between Tuesday the 5th and Friday the 8th. Thursday saw the greatest amount with 1.04" of rain falling before 1:00 PM. This was a good storm as the rain fell over a period of days and not hours. If the weather models hold correct, this pattern could be the norm until April.
This storm will be beneficial for both golf courses and how we manage the salts in the soil. Prior to the storm, the Maintenance staff had applied gypsum, or calcium sulfate, to all overseeded areas. Calcium has a greater affinity to the soil particle than sodium. When a large amount of water is applied following a gypsum application, the calcium goes into the soil solution and replaces the sodium on the soil particle. Sodium can then be flushed through the profile. We can flush with irrigation water, but it contains salts and other impurities, so it is not a true flush. By utilizing natural rainfall, the flushing action is greatly improved as rain water is pure and has no impurities. On the topic of water, Jim Uffelman, Walt Conway and I met with the Rio Verde Utilities to discuss water that is supplied to the golf course. Our main concern was how the effluent (treated wastewater) and well water is distributed between Tonto and Rio Verde courses, and how will Trilogy impact future water quality? Basically, we tend to take more effluent during the winter months when more residents live in Rio Verde, and less in the summer. The water district splits effluent delivery 50/50 between Tonto and Rio. Currently we use about 20% effluent, and 80% well water. In the future, the effluent percentage will increase to both Tonto and Rio once Trilogy becomes built out, as there will be more homes supplying wastewater. For Tonto Verde, most of the effluent is supplied to the Ranch course, as it is pumped into the clubhouse lake. The Peaks course tends to get mostly well water, as there is no true effluent pipeline to the Peaks lakes. Water is the biggest input we apply to the courses, as we water almost every night. In terms of water quality, the effluent and well waters both have high amounts of salts in the water. One statistic that I found during a recent water test was that with every 325,000 gallons of water put on the course, we also put over 2000 pounds of salt. Our management plan to deal with salts will change year after year, as the quality of water will change, along with soil and weather conditions. We will apply amendments as necessary to displace the most harmful salt, sodium, and to keep other nutrients in the soil in balance. Aerifying, topdressing and other cultural practices will continue to improve the root zone with which the turf grass roots grow in. As I have expressed in prior articles, we ask that all carts utilize the 90 degree rule. Carts should leave the path at a 90 degree angle to their ball. Then proceed to hit the ball and maybe your partner's ball, then get back on the path. I have noticed carts getting on the turf right past the tee box then getting back on the path near the green. We are trying to also avoid carts driving down the roughs, as the Bermuda is not growing right now due to the cold temperatures. Less turf damage will result by limiting the amount of traffic on the fairways and roughs from using the 90 degree rule. Here's to a happy and prosperous new year. Keep it in the short grass, Travis Blamires Golf Course Superintendent
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From The Golf Committee
Expanding Two Association tournaments to include both courses
The WGA 4-Member tournament filled up (96 players) in four minutes on the first day of sign up on January 2. There were some 29 members who signed up too late and were on the waiting list. The WGA and the MGA are of the opinion that they'd like the Club to be more accommodating of this sort of demand by allowing them to use both courses, thus closing the golf course to non-participating members. The MGA has battled pace of play issues in the Desert Classic with 120 players trying to play on one golf course for each day of the event. The Golf Committee has had an unwritten policy to allow use of both courses when participation reaches 150+ members, a threshold only the MGA member-member achieves.
After deliberation, the Golf Committee adopted a proposal to allow the MGA's Desert Classic and the WGA's 4-Member tournaments (120 participants +/-) to use both courses in 12:30 shotgun starts. This will allow non participating members to play in an 8 a.m. shotgun start on those tournament days.
Tournament dates that will effect non-participant play are:
WGA 4-Member- Tuesday, February 2, and Thursday, February 4
MGA Desert Classic- Thursday-Saturday, April 7-9 (Includes a morning shotgun on Saturday April 9)
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From The Handicap Committee
Based on a review of recent posting reports, we are providing the following statistics on the period from 11/1/15 - 12/31/15
Men (Most are MGA Members)
310 TVGC members played at least one round
217 members (70%) posted at least 80% of their rounds (Silver Star)
156 members (50%) posted at least 90% of their rounds (Gold Star)
105 members (34%) posted 100% of their rounds (Platinum Star)
Women (Most are either WGA or NDA Members)
238 TVGC members played at least one round
149 members (63%) posted at least 80% of their rounds (Silver Star)
119 members (50%) posted at least 90% of their rounds (Gold Star)
86 members (36%) posted 100% of their rounds (Platinum Star)
Our stated goal is to achieve an average "Posting Percentage" of 90%. At present we are seeing about 50% of our members reaching this goal with a large number of those players posting 100% of their scores. Thank you to all who received Silver, Gold, or Platinum Stars. We are making progress but we still have a lot of work to do.
Some suggestions:
- Run a Posting Report on yourself. Instructions were provided in a previous Divot Digest/Update and are available via the Golf Shop. If you find something you think is amiss, the Golf Shop staff will be happy to help you rectify the situation.
- Download the GHIN app onto your smart device and post from home using your PC or smart device if you choose not to (or forget to) post in the Golf Shop.
- Notify the Golf Shop anytime you make a tee time reservation but don't play or play a non-qualified round (i.e. scramble, shamble, play alone). They will mark your tee time as "No Post" or will remove it entirely.
- Compare scorecards after each round and encourage your fellow competitors to follow you to the posting computers so all scores from all players in your group are posted.
- Double check the date associated with your posting as well as the tees you played to ensure handicap accuracy and minimize mismatches between rounds played and scores posted.
On A Related Note
In light of the many rain days we've had over the past week or so, it's possible that your name was on the tee sheet, and you opted not to play.
If that's the case, and you have not already done so, kindly contact the Golf Shop and have them remove your name from the tee sheet for days on which you did not play.
As always, thank you for your commitment to ensuring the integrity of the game.
Handicap Committee
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From The MGA
The Men's Golf Association has several events upcoming. The Verdes Cup is our annual competition with Rio Verde. This year we will be playing at Rio Verde in a 1 pm shotgun followed by cocktails and a filet mignon dinner. Click Here to sign-up. Selection to play will be by a lottery to fill the 48 spots. If you were in the lottery last year and were not selected, you are automatically on this year's team if you sign-up.
While you are on the website, sign-up for the following events: February 3 Golf Competition followed by our MGA Dinner Meeting. Spring Best Ball begins on February 10. Our Annual Guest Day is February 15 at 12:30 followed by dinner, so get your guest on board. The Guest Day field is about half-full.
Interclub is going strong, Captain Bill Banholzer has got our team into fourth place of the twelve team league and with three more matches to play this year we have a chance to repeat as Desert Interclub Champions. If you would like to be considered to play, Click Here to sign-up on the website for the remaining matches.
Change in TVGC / First Tee of Phoenix Liaison
As of January 1, Bob O'Roark of the MGA will now be the Tonto Verde Golf Club's liaison to the First Tee of Phoenix. Equipment to be donated to The First Tee can be dropped off in the Golf Shop. Periodic trips downtown will be made to ensure your donations are received in a timely manner.
Thank you all for your past and continued support of The First Tee of Phoenix. Your generosity is benefiting many. More than 100,000 Phoenix area children and young adults are positively influenced by this wonderful organization each year. The Phoenix Chapter knows Tonto Verde well, and is very appreciative of our longstanding relationship.
Again, Thank You!
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Click Here For The Golf Event Calendar
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From The WGA
Happy New Year from the WGA.
The pro shop has opened both courses for play for the 4-Member Tournament on February 2nd and February 4th so that everyone who wants to play will have a chance to do so. Click Here to sign up on ForeTees.
Our season-long Match Play tournament begins this week and sign-ups close on January 13, so there is still time to sign up and play.
"It'll be here before you know it." The 2016 Hohokam Invitational event is scheduled to begin with practice rounds on March 13-15 and tournament rounds on March 16-17. Sign-up on ForeTees is ongoing.
If you did not sign up for the WGA brunch on January 12 at 10:30 a.m., you can still attend the WGA meeting that follows at around 10:50 a.m. Our guest speaker this month will be Scott Thiss, President of the Tonto Verde Golf Association, who will update us on the work of the association and committees. The regular game day event will follow the meeting at 12:00 p.m..
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From The CGA
The sign up for the Mixed Member/Member tournament on January 31st is still open. The pro shop will flight each couple according to combined handicap. Click Here to access the tournament on Golf Events on ForeTees.
The Friday night couples event on January 8th was cancelled because of all the rain. The next one will be on January 22nd. Come out for some fun and social golf at 3:00 and dinner off the menu afterward. Our turnouts have been great this year! If you haven't tried these, come join us!
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From The NDA
We hope everyone had a restful holiday and are ready to golf and dine once again with the NDA ladies. We would like to remind you to "Save the Date, February 18, 2016 for our annual NDA Couples Event". Please watch for further details regarding this fun filled event.
We would like to remind you to fill in your divots on the courses when it is "cart path only". You must take the bottle of sand with you when you walk to your golf ball. This has not been done as well as it should be in the past. Also the tee boxes have containers there with sand, so remember to fill your divots on the tee box as well. "It is our duty as members to do this".
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Marketing Update
As of this week, 12 couples have booked our "Discover Tonto" 4 day/3 night package and 4 couples have put a tentative hold on dates. The month of March is totally sold out, so a new "Tonto-For-A-Day" program was put together to accommodate out-of-town visitors that want to look at property with a Realtor, play our course and sample The Mesquite Grill. No qualified prospect will be turned away. Each week, on average, over 25 phone calls and web inquires come in regarding our "Discover Tonto" package. If you see a "Marketing" couple listed on the tee sheet, please feel free to join them! Everyone is welcome to be an Ambassador for Tonto Verde. Although November and December were slow months for visitors, 3 Realtors have reported that they have shown property to multiple "walk-in" visitors to our Clubhouse.
Realtors and Hospitality Committee members now staff our lobby Wednesday through Sunday to greet visitors, give tours and show property. Our neighbor, Trilogy, has significantly increased their advertising (have you seen the billboards in the airport and on the 202 freeway) so we expect to see increased traffic to our corner of the Valley. This Saturday, January 16th is the next Tonto Community Open House Tour. Our friendly residents are our secret to success. Thank you!
Shari Cashman
Director of Marketing, Tonto Verde.
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Electric Cart Building Landscaping & Event Space
Hi All and Happy New Year, following is the current status:
Landscaping: Pamm Torrance is continuing to work with Travis's crew adding berms, boulders and plantings transitioning from the practice range thru the event space. As you and many have observed, it is "Looking Good". The trellises were installed with assistance from the outside services staff digging footings and pouring concrete. Landscape lighting will be added. Pamm is planning to continue on by replacing plantings on the hill in front of the cart building to the proshop area. Many of the "scrub" bushes will be removed and compatible desert plants will be added.
Event space: Pavers and Planters have been installed. Scott Finlay is nearly complete with the score boards which are made of metal materials that will not deteriorate.
Budget: We are within the budgets established for the Building and Event Space. Exception is the Sprinkler System.
Sprinkler System: Rich, Scott and I had a conference call Dec. 17 with the Contractor, Brian and Brady. Direction was given to get bids from 2 fire Protection Engineers that would pass certification at the lowest cost. Water pressure specs. from our current locations have been submitted to the FP Engineers and we should hear back later this week.
Again, many thanks to all the volunteers and staff for their Work, Attitudes and Pride. They are polishing our Brand.
Dave Burns
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TVGC Board Meeting Dates
February 4th
February 28th
March 28th - TVGC Town Hall Meeting
March 31st - Annual Meeting/April Board meeting
April 28th
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