Golf rounds were down in April

Golf rounds were down again in April, Golf Operation Manager Andy Mar told the Joint Advisory Committee on Golf last week.

When April 2015 was compared to previous years and to the amount predicted by the POA budget, the total played at all six courses was 15,469 rounds compared to 18,332 in the budget and 18,752 in April 2014.

Members who pay with a golf value card was the category that seemed to affect the total, Mar said.

In April 2015, 3,380 members used a value card to pay 18 holes and 447 played nine holes. The budget called for 4,645 value card 18-hole rounds and 780 value card nine-hole rounds.

The price of the value card and the price of rounds were raised this year. The value card went from $100 to $163 and 18 holes of golf with the card went from $15 to $17.50. An 18-hole round of golf without the value card costs a member who has a photo ID $21.50 (up from $19 in 2014). A member without a value card or a photo ID pays $27 (up from $24) and a guest pays $30.50 (up from $28).

Golf Committee Chairman Jake Grasmick commented that weather has also affected the number of golf rounds played in 2015. He said a friend had tracked the number of days the courses were closed due to weather and found that number is up significantly.

Weather is also affecting the grass, Maintenance Manager Keith Ihms said. Temperatures have been below average this year so the Bermuda grass is not as green as it should be. But, he said, courses that were not overseeded in the fall are in much better shape than they would have been if overseeding continued.

The transition from the winter Rye to Bermuda would not be complete at this point and there would be bare spots. He said complaints about the lack of overseeding will stop when people realize how much better the Bermuda grass is doing.

Ihms told the committee that finding part-time employees for the golf courses has become an issue as the work force ages. While older workers are reliable, some are not capable of the physical labor involved.

While he would prefer to hire full-time employees since they tend to stay longer and that cuts down on training costs, he said the problem with full-time employees is keeping them busy all winter.

Some positions at the courses were eliminated last year, but since it was a nice summer no one really noticed. If the weather turns hot and dry this year, golf employees will be forced to spend more time watering and less time mowing and trimming. Golfers may see differences on the courses this year, he said.