At their monthly meeting on Wednesday last week, members of the Golf Committee agreed to forward their recommendation about the Brittany Golf Course to the POA board of directors. After hearing from a number of Bella Vista residents, the committee recommended that Brittany should remain open. The board will make the final decision, probably at its next monthly meeting on June 27.
The committee also forwarded a number of suggestions to increase play on Brittany, including marketing ideas, scheduling group play and free use of golf clubs for beginners. Some of the ideas came from a well-attended community input meeting held last month.
May was not a good month for golf, operations director Darryl Muldoon said. Golf rounds were down for the month and for the year to date. The only good numbers were for guest rounds and merchandise. He blamed the rain for the slow month.
Golf maintenance director Keith Ihms explained that, although there has been a lot of rain, the courses haven't been damaged by flooding because of the locations where the rain fell. Flood damage happens when the areas upstream gets significant rainfall. Rainfall numbers can vary widely in a relatively small area. In May, the Highlands Golf Course recorded 19 inches of rain, but Dogwood only had 7 inches. Ihms didn't have a number for the area in Bentonville that makes up the watershed for Little Sugar Creek, but it wasn't enough to cause the creek to flood.
May was also a month with many cool nights, so the Bermuda grass on fairways isn't in very good shape. Ihms said he has asked that the annual visit from the USGA consultant be scheduled for July rather than August in case the representative has advice.
The committee also discussed a problem with golf carts driving in areas they shouldn't. The new handicapped policy gives members with disabilities more flexibility with their golf carts, but they still shouldn't be driving on greens, Muldoon said. More information about the regulations may be necessary. He's also working on getting signs for some areas.
General News on 06/12/2019