GOLF COURSE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES
NOVEMBER 29, 2007
CHALK MOUNTAIN GOLF COURSE

** DRAFT **

PRESENT: G. Lane, N. Brown, S. Spisak, C. Cornell, C. Decker, G. Broering, J. Davison, D. Sanford, J. Gutierrez
ABSENT:   None
STAFF:       P. Jenny, R. Festa, J. Clay, R. Comerford, C. VanDorn,

Meeting called to order at 6:05 p.m. by Chairman G. Lane

New committee members J. Davison (Dairy Creek Ladies Club) and Javier Gutierrez,  (Chalk Mountain member at-large) were introduced.

Minutes from July 19, 2007 were approved as submitted.

PUBLIC COMMENTS:          

• No public comments for items not on the agenda.

REPORTS:
CHALK MOUNTAIN GOLF COURSE (J. CLAY)

• The bunker renovation project was completed in October. Credit was given to Ray Festa for his involvement and guidance of the project. The feedback from golfers is very positive and the new bunkers are proving to be easier to maintain.
• Golf rounds at Chalk Mountain slowed some during the construction work but seemed to have rebounded in November. Total rounds for 2007 will be the highest year since 2002.  Total revenues for 2007 will be about the same as 2006, but golf rounds are up.
• Chalk Mtn. has sold 113 County Discount Cards for 2008 so far.  Goal is to sell at least 600.
• Players who purchase their annual Discount Cards at Chalk Mtn. before December 31 will be eligible to participate in a monthly tournament, with special prizes, organized by staff.
• Chalk Mtn. has received letter from the City of Atascadero noticing them that they are operating in violation to the City’s noise ordinance. The issue revolves around mowers operating before 7:00 am.  A lengthy discussion followed, including comments from public (Larry Welsh), about operations and noise levels of various mowers. Pete Jenny informed the committee that County Counsel will be reviewing the matter and responding to the City of Atascadero.
• The new sprinklers that were installed in late spring are performing well and contributing to the improved conditions of the golf course.

     MORRO BAY / DAIRY CREEK GOLF COURSES (R. Comerford / C. VanDorn)

• Golf rounds at Dairy Creek, year to date, are up 1.6% compared to 2006.  Rounds for November are up 10.5% versus November 2006.
• Golf rounds at Morro Bay, year to date, are statistically even compared to 2006. Rounds for November are down 6.2% compared to November 2006. Golf courses on the national level are up 1% in rounds comparing 2007 to 2006. 
• The driving range tee at Dairy Creek GC was closed for renovation in October. The tee surface was stripped, leveled and resodded.  Also a new tee was built for the professional staff to give lessons.  The public and golf pros are very happy with the end product. 

OLD BUSINESS

• Pete Jenny reported that the Board of Supervisors approved the 2008 golf fee schedule on Tuesday November 27. There were neither questions raised nor comment from the public regarding new fees.  Jenny praised the GCAC for the effort they put forth in developing the fee schedule.
• Jenny gave the committee a briefing on the following golf course projects:

• The bunker renovation project at Chalk Mountain is completed but the County intends to resume work on tee boxes in spring 2008 utilizing funds ($70,000) from Proposition 40 park grant. The tee work was postponed in late October due to concerns of potential rains and cold weather hampering the establishment of replacement sod. 
• Tree replacement project at Morro Bay GC is progressing well.  The CCC has been busy planting trees and 400 trees have planted to date. An additional 200 trees will be planted for a total of 600 new trees. 
• The waterline replacement project at Morro Bay GC has been postponed until early summer 2008. This is largely due to the fact that the necessary Fish & Game permit cannot be issued in the winter months when the Chorro flats is subject to winter rains and flooding. The most recent large leak in the waterline was ultimately identified and repaired and the pipeline is holding for the time being. Funding for the project will likely come in the form of a loan from the County to be repaid by the golf program.

• Cody VanDorn reported that he held a meeting with the Marshal staff from MB and DC on November 26. Changes to the existing program were covered which included golfer education for pace of play and accountability for better management of players on the golf courses. 
• A two-month test began at Morro Bay GC on October 15, where tee time intervals are being increased to evaluate its impact on pace of play.  During this test period, the tee times are being spaced at 9-minute intervals, where previously they were at an alternating 7- and 8-minute interval.  The feedback for the committee members was positive and they reported groups were now finishing their rounds in about 4 hours and 10 minutes. This is a significant improvement.  Festa reported that staff had done a financial analysis of the new tee time intervals and stated that although the change has had a positive result, it does have a risk of significant loss of revenue. The longer tee time intervals could potentially result in over 5,000 less tee times annually during the time period of 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., which could translate into a loss of over $120,000 in revenues.  Festa informed the committee that staff would soon be installing clock check stations on tees at Morro Bay to test their impact on pace of play as well. He cautioned that implementing too many variables at the same time would make it difficult to evaluate their individual impact on pace of play. Staff will continue fine tuning tee time intervals, clock check stations, player education and improved marshalling program in an attempt to find a blend of changes which achieve the desired 4:10 round of golf and minimize the potential loss of revenues. This is a work in progress.

NEW BUSINESS

• Joel Clay shared some highlights from the recently completed customer satisfaction surveys at Chalk Mtn. The results showed a significant improvement in satisfaction compared to the survey completed in March 2007. Of note was a 33% improvement in customer loyalty index (customers who would recommend the golf course to a friend).  Other improvement scores were: Overall Course Conditions up from F score to C score; Conditions of Greens up from D- score to C score; Overall Experience up from C- to B- score. The improvements are a credit to the energy and efforts put forth by the Chalk Mtn staff and the impact of recent capital improvements.  Most pressing area of needed improvement identified in recent survey was tees.  Festa told the committee that he received a call from the National Golf Foundation last week regarding the survey results and they said they rarely see a survey with such dramatic improvement as Chalk Mtn. has shown.
• Ray Festa announced his pending retirement from the County. Ray will be wrapping up a 34-year career with County Parks and expressed his appreciation to all GCAC members for their dedication to the program and for all the guidance given to him over the years. Festa expressed his confidence in the staff and concessionaires at the County golf courses and knows that the program is left in capable hands. The County will begin recruitment for a replacement Golf Superintendent with the expectation of filling the vacancy by March 1. Pete Jenny added that the County would not easily replace the experience of Festa and asks for the committee and the public’s patience and understanding during the transition period.

The Meeting was adjourned at 7:35 p.m.

NEXT MEETING: Thursday, February 21, 2008, 6:00 p.m. at Dairy Creek Golf Course

GOLF COURSE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES
AUGUST 23, 2007
CHALK MOUNTAIN GOLF COURSE

The Parks Commission will hold a public meeting to consider all 2008 Parks and Golf fees on Thursday September 27, 2007 at 6 pm at the San Luis Obispo Veterans Memorial Building.

GOLF COURSE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES
JULY 19, 2007
DAIRY CREEK GOLF COURSE

PRESENT:   G. Lane, N. Brown, S. Spisak, C. Cornell, C. Decker, G. Broering
ABSENT:     D. Pestrello, D. Sanford
STAFF:         P. Jenny, R. Festa, R. Comerford, J. Clay

Meeting called to order at 6:02 p.m. by Chair G. Lane

Minutes from May 31, 2007 were approved as submitted.

PUBLIC COMMENTS:          

• Nancy Brown brought up a question she received from a golfer regarding the status of the MB waterline project. Nancy said she had contacted Golf Course Supervisor Tom Massey for a project update.

REPORTS:
CHALK MOUNTAIN GOLF COURSE (J. CLAY)

• The sprinkler head replacement project at Chalk Mountain is in full swing.  New sprinklers have been installed on nine holes and the entire course will be converted in the next couple of weeks. The heads are working very well. All sprinklers are regulated to produce the same pressure and flow. 
• Bids are due in on Friday, July 27 for the County project to renovate all sand bunkers at CM.  The project will involve removing all old sand, reshaping bunker edges, replacing new sand and sodding around bunker edges. A new source of bunker sand was found at a plant in Greenfield. This will save the project approximately $10,000.
• One new bunker will be added on hole 5.  The original course design had a bunker on this hole. The intent is to restore the original design.
• CMGC recently sustained vandalism on the 4th green.  A vandal wrote “NO MOWING BEFORE 7AM” on the green surface with some type of solvent. The chemical killed the grass. 
• The golf course recently added a new fairway mower to its equipment fleet. The new mower, Toro 5610, is doing a beautiful job on the fairway cut.
• During a campaign swing though San Luis Obispo, presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani, took time out of his busy schedule to play 18 holes at CM.  Reports are that he very much enjoyed his round and was very complimentary of the course and program at CM.

     MORRO BAY / DAIRY CREEK GOLF COURSES (R. Comerford)

• No new items to report on since last meeting.  Things are running smoothly and summer season is in full swing. 

OLD BUSINESS

• The 2007 Ad Hoc Committee submitted their report and recommendation to the GCAC on fee program for 2008.  Their goal was to generate additional revenue to offset increases in operations costs, especially costs for the waterline repairs at MB. They examined play patterns in the various fee categories over the past 12 months to analyze the fiscal impact of fee adjustments.
• Ad Hoc distributed worksheets for all three golf courses, which illustrated fee changes and their fiscal impact.  They also distributed ideas for future promotions that could generate addition revenue for the program.
• One area the Ad Hoc felt strongly about was offering a discounted golf rate to active members of the U.S. military.  They proposed a $10.00 greens fee for this group. 
• A motion was made to post the Ad Hoc recommended 2008 fees during the next 30 days to receive public comments.  The motion received a second and was passed unanimously.  The GCAC will meet again in August to make a formal recommendation on the 2008 fees. 

NEW BUSINESS

• The committee engaged in a lengthy discussion about the problem of pace of play and exchanged ideas on how to make improvements. Some ideas were to increase tee time intervals, time clock-stamping scorecards at the 1st tee and more assertive course marshaling. Festa stated that pace of play was the number one issue of concern in the most recent customer satisfaction survey and assured the committee that staff was going to work on some solutions in the near future.

• Creighton Decker reported that he has spoken with Tom Massey, Golf Course Supervisor at MB and DC, about writing an article on course upkeep for the DC Men’s Club newsletter.  Tom has volunteered to do this. 

The Meeting was adjourned at 7:40 p.m.

NEXT MEETING- Thursday August 23, 2007, 6:00 p.m. at Chalk Mountain Golf Course

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