Golf

HOLLY LAKE RANCH ASSOCIATION

MINUTES OF THE GREENS COMMITTEE MEETING

HOLLY LODGE

Friday, August 12, 2011

In Attendance

Patti Trice, Chairman, Diane Stinchcomb, 18 Hole WGA President, Terry Scritchfield, MGA President, Mary Ann Bradshaw, Member at Large,  Clayton Wood, Golf Course Superintendent, Jeannette Sterner, B Board Liaison and Rob James, HLRA General Manager.

Committee Members Absent

Jay Blint, Larry Walters, Members at Large and Anita Banks, 9 Hole WGA President.

WGA Reports

There was no 9 Hole WGA report.

Diane Stinchcomb reported that the 18 Hole WGA President’s Cup will be the end of August.  There had been two outside tournaments, East Texas Ladies and B & B.  They had a good time and there were several compliments regarding the condition of the course.  One complaint was the tee box on #9 was hard as a rock.

MGA Report

Terry Scritchfield reported that the new metal cups and flags purchased by the MGA were on the course.  The participation in the Club Championship was down and that was attributed to the heat.  He also had heard numerous compliments on course condition.

Course Superintendent Report

Clayton Wood said the word for this past month has been water, water and water.  Split rail fencing has been completed along the #12 cart path.  Clayton said that while not experts with concrete, the crew was able to repair the cart path on #1.  Maintenance also replaced 15 irrigation heads.  There have been varmints (armadillos, skunks and foxes) digging on the #12, #13, #14 and #15 greens.  Also a raccoon has dug a den under the #4 bridge.  The height of the grass on the greens has been raised because of the heat.  Clayton said he had thought of another solution the keep the algae out of the irrigation screen other than building a dock.  He thought they could add an air compressor to blow off the screen.  Personnel had also gone to look at a machine that will pick up the algae around the lake edge and would decrease the amount of algae getting to the screen.  He is waiting for a propeller in order to complete repairs on #12 aerator.  Clayton said they would be fertilizing the fairways this coming week.  The crabgrass on the greens had been treated twice and is still resistant.  They can only do one more treatment.  Diane Stinchcomb asked if watering was limited by time or water allowance.  The golf course is allowed a certain number of water acre feet per year.  There is a meter on the irrigation pump and Clayton has to send in a yearly report.  The watering rate now is 700K gallons daily and an extra 325K gallons on Friday.  A Texas State Commission that oversees water usage usually monitors West Texas and San Antonio areas more frequently.  Clayton says they have been here only once since he has been superintendent.  When he was at Stonebriar, they monitored three times a year.  Clayton said he had investigated the brown spots on #8 and thought it was due to high salt content on the green.  Recent soil test report was fair but did not reflect the liquefaction nutrients for the plant life.  Aeration of the course will take place on the 29th and 30th of August and the course will be closed.  Mary Ann Bradshaw asked if the fencing on #12 had been placed there to keep the geese out of the homeowners yards.  Rob James said the homeowners on #12 tee box had come to the Association complaining about the geese being in their yards and on their porches.  The solution was that the Association would put up the split rail fence and the homeowners would put chicken wire on the backside to keep the geese out.  It was done both for aesthetics and a practical solution to keep the geese out of the homeowners’ yards.  The fencing cost $1,500.00 and took a day and a half to complete.

Club Professional Report

Carl Worley reported the door on the women’s restroom behind the pro shop had been replaced.  Evidently a gust of wind slammed the door into the brick wall, breaking it.  The MGA has allotted $600.00 for sand boxes on all par 3 tee boxes.  Trash bins will be provided but they will need to be attached to a heavy post as they have been run over in the past.  The field for the East Texas Ladies and the B& B was below the required criteria but Carl waived the number and opened the course for the ladies.  He had only one complaint and that was regarding the watering while playing on the course.  He also has had many compliments on the condition of the course.  He said the ladies had a good time.  Carl was asked about the status of neighboring courses and he reported they were struggling because of the heat and overall downturn of 30%.  He stated that Hideaway Lake is running out of water.  Carl said he had 3 carts down.  Two would be repaired under contract and one had been damaged by a timeshare person.  He stated that things seem to be going well and there will be two tournaments this month, an MGA tournament and the 18 hole WGA President’s Cup.  He also stated that the course would be closed the 29th and the 30th.

General Manager Report

Rob James said he had a weird complaint from the Holly Herald concerning spelling of a word in the golf course report.  It is budget time again so bring project ideas for next year.  The plan is to spend more money on aesthetics and the Association is advertising on a web site: Privatecommunities.com.  Holly Lake will be featured for 30 days on the front page and there will be continued advertising for one year.  Hopefully, this will let more people know about Holly Lake since we are a “hidden community.”  There are plans to fix up the front of the golf course by the cart barn.  Rob said the church on Highway 80, where the Holly Lake billboard is located, want the sign moved.  There have been no negotiations with the church at this time.  The grass on number #18 will not be done this year because of the weather but the monies for this project will be carried forward to 2012.  Mary Ann Bradshaw suggested that several small projects rather than a major one could be completed on the golf course.  Several possible projects were suggested for next year.  These included putting soil around golf cart paths, especially #5.  However, there are several other problems to consider such as drainage, curbing and even lowering the cart path as this had been a long standing problem.  Also, suggested was installing split railing across the frontage of #12 and continuing past #13 which would improve the appearance from CR 2869.

B Board Liaison Report

Jeannette Sterner said her concerns had been discussed earlier.  The B Board is meeting monthly with Jody, the 19th Hole and Fore Seasons contractor.  Mary Ann Bradshaw voiced a complaint that paper plates were used for the meal after one of their tournaments.  The food for the B & B tournament,  three salads and a croissant, was good.  The food at the 19th Hole seems to be fine but the Fore Seasons fare is lacking.  It was discussed that Jody may need more direction for the food from the tournament officials.  A question was asked about the dishes in the 19th Hole and Fore Seasons.  The dishes belong to the Association and any breakage is to be replaced by the contractor.  The Association also requires a deposit from the contractor.

Unfinished Business

Golf course committee will report at September meeting so that projects can be budgeted for 2012.

Adjournment

Mary Ann Bradshaw moved to adjourn which was seconded by Diane Stinchcomb.

The meeting was adjourned at 10:50 a.m.

Minutes submitted by

Anita Banks, Secretary

NOTE:  Next meeting will be Friday, September 9th, 2011 at 09:30 a.m. in the HLR Board Room

Greens Committee

Meeting Minutes