Greens Committee
Bill Stokesbury, Chairman
Forrest Aven, Co-Chairman
Bill Dunlap, Secretary
Meets the Second Friday of the month 9:30 am
(The meeting is open to anyone who wishes to attend)
The Greens Committee members are leaders of various groups, members at large, staff and board member.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Golf Course Greens Committee Organization
And
Mission Statement
ORGANIZATION:
The Greens Committee shall consist of seven volunteers of good standing with the Holly Lake Ranch Association, three staff members and one B Board liaison. A representative from the MGA, WGA, and WGA 9 hole players, four members at large (appointed by B board members), golf professional, greens superintendent, HLR General Manager and a B board representative.
The committee shall meet regularly once each month and other times deemed necessary. A Chairman, Assistant Chairman, and Secretary shall be elected at the first committee meeting of the fiscal year. Minutes shall be kept of all committee meetings and will be made available to all committee members and others upon request. All meetings are open to HLRA members.
The committee shall have no final decision making ability, but may only make recommendations to administrators, directors or higher boards.
MISSION STATEMENT:
THE MISSION STATEMENT OF THE greens Committee is to function as a cohesive unit and work together with the course superintendent when making recommendations regarding changes or maintenance of the golf course. The committee shall invite input from said superintendent.
The committee's primary goals are to strive for improving golf course playability, maintain integrity, allow and promote aesthetic value to the course and listen to ideas and concerns of all golfers.
+++++++
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
February 2008
by Jeanette Sterner
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOLLY LAKE RANCH GOLF COURSE
GREENS COMMITTEE YEAR END REPORT
NOVEMBER 2007
By Lee Bayley
To remind, the Greens Committee is made up of the president of the MGA, president of the WGA-18, president of the WGA-9, the HLR General Manager, the HLR Golf Pro, the HLR Course Superintendent, a representative of the B Board, and four appointed members-at-large (this year each is a member of the MGA). That's right, this year 5 of the committee were members of the MGA. That is not unusual but it does cause raised eyebrows about the campaign to get more MGA people on the committee.
Seated: l-r Joyce McConnell, Vanette Ball, Jeanette Sterner
Back Row: l-r Carl Worley, Lee Bayley, Toby Richardson, Bob Thomas, Clayton Wood, Rob James, Howard Hunt
October was one of the most beautiful months at Holly Lake Ranch and here it is already nearing the end of November. We had a great meeting November 2nd and got a lot done. The golf course is nice and green and we are enjoying good playing conditions. The weather has been wonderful. Fall golf at HLR is as good as it gets.
OVERSEEDING HAS BEEN DONE. Good job Clayton and crew. It was not in this year's budget, but Clayton and Rob worked out a way to get the seed and pay the company next year….fly now and pay later. It has been several years since we last overseeded but the procedure is to overseed each winter for two years in a row and skip the third year. It is the same system farmers use to rotate crops. Clayton can give you full details of how it works…but…the end result is we play on grass through the non-growing season when other grasses go dormant. We appreciate your patience with the cart-path-
only rules to let the rye grass get started with heavier watering. Playing on grass during the winter will make it worthwhile. It is really nice to look at, too.
There has been a lot of good volunteer work with our club this year, and we want to say “thanks” to all who donate their time and talents so generously. Though there was no organized effort to have volunteers do grooming and sanding work on the holes, some of you did it just the same. The course belongs to all of us who play, and we need to show a sense of pride in keeping it the best we can. Thanks, again, to all who take the time to sand their divots and pick up broken tees and litter. Next spring we hope to have an organized sanding day again, so watch the pro shop window for information. A good rule to follow, leave the tee boxes, fairways and greens better than you find them.
The MGA has been working for some time on a plan to enhance hole #6...adding a waste bunker strategically to stop errant shots from rolling down the hill into heavy brush and out of bounds. That plan was approved by the Greens Committee and sent on to the B Board. They approved it on November 12, and work should be starting soon. The waste bunker will not be like other sand bunkers in these ways: 1. It will be firm sand and not fluffy as in other sand bunkers…fairly easy to hit off of. 2. You can ground your club. This should speed up play on that hole by decreasing the amount of time looking for balls that have rolled down the hill. All work on this project will be done by Clayton's crew. The MGA also has contributed funds to go towards creating “targets” on the driving range. It will be like having several greens at various distances from the tee box. This will be a great addition for practice. Those nice distance markers we have been enjoying on the Par 3 holes are courtesy of the MGA, too.
Next year's officers will be Bill McDaniels, President; Bob Blanton, Tournament Director, and newly elected officers Dee Givens and Bill Medders.
The WGA-18 has been busy beautifying areas of the golf course. We're sure you have noticed the planting of crepe myrtles on hole number 9 and the removal of old steps leading down to the green from where carts are parked. The retaining wall really helps set it off. Not only is it prettier, but it is also safer. At this writing the project isn't completed, but it is looking great. The crepe myrtles between holes #2 and the #8 green are another enhancement from the ladies.
Next year's officers are President-Glennda Ferrell; VP/Tournament Chairs-Pat Stoecker and Claudia Dougherty; Secretary-Diane Stinchcomb; Treasurer-Carol O'Dea; Play Day-Ida Brewer; and Social-Kit Medders.
The WGA-9 believe neatness counts….they have purchased “foot scrapers” to be placed at the entrance of the 19th Hole. Now we can clean our shoes before entering.
Next year`s officers for WGA-9 will be President-Twilla Wanker; VP/Tournaments-Carol Kuntsman; Secretary-Phyllis Neece; and Treasurer-Kay Calvert.
Good job ladies. Both the 18-holers and 9-holers appreciate the work that Clayton and his crew do for them throughout the year.
Course Superintendent Clayton Woods reports continuing work to keep the course in good shape. As requested by the Greens Committee, the mowing heights were altered slightly to contribute to more fun and less time looking for balls in the rough. There are a few spots where the rough will be cut a little bit higher…behind the green on #12 for example…to keep balls from rolling out to the street. However, the talk that the Greens Committee told Clayton to remove the rough is completely inaccurate. That misinformation created some unnecessary confusion.
There is growing concern about some of the dead trees on the course becoming safety hazards. The dead pine between holes 3 and 4 has been removed and will be replaced with a pretty cedar type of tree. It is a Carolina Sapphire and it will be over 15 feet tall in just 2 or 3 years. There are approximately 70 other trees around the course that need to be dealt with.
With the overseeding taking place, we have been pumping more water on the fairway and less into the lakes, It will appear some are lower than normal, but that will be taken care of. As of this writing the heavy watering schedule has been completed.
Golf Pro Carl Worley reports golf operations, tournaments and daily play going well.
The tournament schedule for 2008 is now being formed. If you have requests you must check with Carl as soon as possible.
Assistant Pro Ian Finch will be leaving us the first of the year. He is taking a six month leave of absence from HLR and golf. He plans to do some traveling beginning by visiting his uncle in Australia. We have enjoyed knowing and working with Ian and wish him the very best. We look forward to his return. A familiar face will be helping out in the pro shop, as our friend Babs Givens has been hired to fill the vacancy.
On October 1 we returned to the Sunday-Monday cart path only system for golf carts. The over 70s who have registered in the pro shop will continue to use the 90 degree system on all days of play. November 4 we returned to CST and the shotgun start times changed. For the morning session, you must call before 8:15 and be on the practice green at 8:30 for hole assignments. For afternoons you must call before 12:15 and be on the practice green at 12:30 for hole assignments.
Carl reported the night tournament and the Assistant Pro's skins game were a success. All participants said it was a lot of fun. These skins games, to benefit our assistants, were started about seven years ago and have raised about $40,000.00 to give to the guys. It's another way we show them how much we appreciate their work.
Editor's note: We appreciate the work Carl, Darrel and Ian do to keep us playing and having fun. Thanks, guys.
++++++
For safety and courtesy purposes, remember, golf carts do not have the right of way on HLR streets. If a car pulls up behind you, please move to the side and let it pass. The stop signs on the cart paths are there for your safety. The car has the right of way and will win all arguments with your smaller cart.
++++++
Looking back at 2007
It seems we didn't accomplish as much as hoped but some things were notable. These are a few of the items that were accomplished this year. The Sunday-Monday cart path only rule was continued again this year with the modification of allowing those 70 years of age and older to ride on the fairways on all days of the week, weather permitting. GRASS: Returning to a system of overseeding was approved for this year (2007) and money put in the budget for overseeding next year ( 2008 ) as well. Volunteerism guidelines were written by the B Board and put into place. One major volunteer work day took place this year cleaning and thinning the area of trees between 2 and 5. The MGA and WGA were able to fund several projects this year with most of the work being done by Clayton's crew and all being applauded by the Greens Committee. Clayton and the Greens Committee worked out a system for mowing heights of the fairways and roughs. A plan for tree removal and replacement is in place. You probably have noticed that on many holes dirt has been brought in to smooth the transition from dirt to cart path. The low spot in the #16 fairway has been raised to avoid puddles. The mound has been created to the left of the #9 fairway. Many drainage problems have been corrected or are in the process of being done. The on-course restrooms have received a lot of dressing up thanks to several volunteers. A very thorough set of minutes was kept for all meetings to be passed on to next year`s committee to give them a running start. Newspaper and website articles were published by the committee. As a result, we feel communication has improved for all; and the general membership is better informed.
++++++
Thanks for all your help and enjoy your Holly Lake holidays.
