Watching the crowds pass slowly by, Golf Operations Manager Andy Mar was happy with the turnout at the Golf Expo in Riordan Hall. After all, he pointed out, every person who joins a golf group is committing to about 25 rounds of golf. So if 10 or 12 people join groups,"That's a big bump," he said.
Since 2010, the annual Expo has given golf groups the chance to recruit members. Groups range from the Men's 18 Hole Golf Association, with hundreds of members playing once a week from April to October, to small groups of friends who don't actually recruit at the Expo.
Some groups, like the Trappers, play year-round. Others, like the Metfield Mommies, play summers only, but share many members with a winter only group, the Snowflakes.
Some groups always play the same course, but the big groups move around the Village and often fill the course by themselves.
Before last week's Expo started, leaders of the groups were asked to meet with the Golf Committee and POA staff.
The staff wanted to encourage them to keep their tee times up to date. When members cancel, the group reserves more tee times than they actually use, so the courses must turn away other players, Golf Committee Chairman Jake Grasmick said.
"That's money out of your pocket," he said.
Once again, the POA will do without play managers on the courses, he said, so members of the groups can help out by picking up broken tees and fixing divots.
Mar told the leaders that they could call him if they found problems with their schedule. This year, he explained, he is scheduling one full day of maintenance at each course each week and that made scheduling more challenging. He's also trying to make sure that there are always open tee times in the morning. Groups like to play in the morning and that sometimes crowds out individuals, which isn't fair, he said.
"We're still working through some issues with the new software," he said, but he believes it will improve.
Several leaders wanted to talk about the availability of drinking water on the courses. Without the play managers, the coolers aren't always filled promptly.
Grasmick said that in other areas, golfers don't expect to find coolers full of drinking water and bring their own bottled water.
Board member Ruth Hatcher assured the audience that the board understands their wishes and staff will try to keep the coolers filled.
Golf Maintenance Manager Keith Ihms answered a question on grass, explaining that Bella Vista is in a transitional zone and there is no perfect grass for this climate. Maintenance days will help his staff work on big projects, like top dressing greens. Improvements may not be evident immediately, he said.
Inside the auditorium at Riordan Hall, the line stretched around the front of the hall with golfers shopping for marked-down clothes and equipment. Several tournaments were also represented. The unofficial kick-off to the new season of golf was a success, Mar said, and a good time for golfers to socialize.
Sports on 03/25/2015