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GOLF COURSE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES
Nov. 20, 2008
MORRO BAY GOLF COURSE
PRESENT: N. Brown, C. Decker, J. Davison, D. Sanford, J. Gutierrez, G. Lane, S. Spisak, G. Broering, Craig Cornell
ABSENT:
STAFF: T. Doshier, J. Heptig, C. VanDorn, R. Comerford, P. Jenny
Meeting called to order at 6:04 p.m. by Steve Spisak
Minutes from August 2008 were approved as submitted.
PUBLIC COMMENTS:
- Nancy Brown Thanked all golf staff for the help and success of the Morro Bay women’s club Monarch Golf Tournament.
- Steve Spisak also thanked staff for the men’s club member-guest tournament.
REPORTS:
CHALK MOUNTAIN GOLF COURSE (T. Doshier and J. Heptig – slide show)
- Clubhouse renovations are coming along well. The stucco is up and primed awaiting its acrylic finish. New concrete surrounds the entire facility including foresight to include footings for a future awning on the back patio. The restaurant looks all new with its new windows, doors, tile work, textured walls, new paint, fixtures, and totally renovated restroom facilities.
- Slide show allowed all present to view the overall renovation of Chalk Mountain starting with the irrigation and bunker upgrades last fall, tee box reconstruction this spring, and finally the clubhouse renovation.
- October was a good rounds and revenue month even though the renovation was occurring among the golfing.
- Chalk Mountain has sold ~215 county cards thus far and it has helped sales by starting in October. The nice weather in October attracted new cardholders as well as providing 4 extra months by purchasing early.
MORRO BAY / DAIRY CREEK GOLF COURSES (R. Comerford)
- Current promotions include: -$10 military rate advertisement
-Looking at military package of GF, cart, and lunch for $35
-Cal Poly $10 student promo Sun-Thurs
(This has generated 500 new player contacts)
-Card promo
- Oct. guest month
- What cardholder can play the most rounds and raffle
(10% increase in play from 1st wk to the 2nd wk)
- MBGC rounds are down 7% in the month of October this year versus the same month last year.
- DCGC rounds were up 8% this October versus the same period last year.
- The most recent promotion of who plays the most golf and raffle has provided 571 new email contacts. After sending an email regarding the promotion we seen large spikes in online hits to the new website www.slogolfcard.com.
- Google analytics has shown that the Five Cities area and Paso Robles have a low response rate and these are areas that we can target.
OLD BUSINESS
- Pete discussed the next steps in approving the fee schedule. The fee schedule is on the BOS agenda for Nov. 25. Once the fee schedule is approved it must wait for 30 days until it can take effect. This date will allow fees to go into effect on the first of January 2009. In the past, the fee schedule had not made the BOS agenda until December, which has not allowed fees to begin until nearly a week after the first of the year.
- G. Lane asked what was happening with player education as part of speeding up pace of play? Josh explained the signage and information starters were providing at the first tee as well as the clocks on the golf course. Gerry stated that he had not had any information given or explained to him on the first tee. Gerry and G. Broering stated that the clocks may not even be noticed by many players and may need to be moved and better explained by starters and marshals. Josh stated that pace of play had improved since the marshals had been educated, but could not attribute that to fewer golfers or better player management. S. Spisak also stated that pace of play during the men’s club on Tuesdays has gotten much better even when behind traditionally slow players.
- Gerry stated that the last time he played MB the greens were terrible. Josh explained that the time of day and cultural practices, like fertility, could have a large impact on the greens. Staff has been verticutting and grooming greens more regularly than in the past trying to smooth the green surfaces by removing plant and leaf material. Fertility can make turf uneven and bumpy due to increased leaf turbidity or increased ball friction. Footprints can also influence ball roll later in the day. These greens are old, thatchy, and comprised of annual bluegrass (Poa annua). Josh let the committee know that we are looking at an option that is similar to aerification, but will not replace aerification. The process is called Dry-Ject. A demo was performed at Morro Bay’s practice greens on Wednesday and Josh encourages everyone to look at the results. The process essentially injects sand through the turf into the soil. This injection fractures the soil and allows unwanted gases to escape the soil profile. Another large benefit includes the ability to incorporate amendments into the sand, which will help modify the nutrient retention of the soil. Sand based soils cannot hold onto many nutrients due to the lack of “pore spaces” within sand particles and that is why we spoon feed greens with just enough fertilizer so that nothing is wasted or a potential pollutant. This process over time could essentially change our surface soil structure for the better.
- Steve asked whether Tom Massey, course supervisor, has been overseeding with bentgrass? Josh stated that Tom has been doing that for the past 5 or so years to try to increase the population of bentgrass on the greens. Interseeding can take many years for any visible improvement to be noticed, but Tom used a new bentgrass this past spring called T-1. I used this seed in Arkansas to interseed my A-4 bent, which is thought to be a very dense invasive bentgrass even able to out compete Bermuda grass! Nearly 30% of my greens were T-1 after just 9 months. This variety has also been used in Japan and other international areas with similar climates to that of our central coast and after 4-5 years the Poa annua has thinned to 20% and the T-1 has established itself to be the predominant turf at 80%. So we are trying to make the surfaces better and I will pass along comments to Tom Massey.
- Gary asked about water line updates? Pete spoke about going back to an earlier plan that would utilize an existing City of Morro Bay water line that will help us save money and require much less permitting and bureaucracy. The water line would progress up the back of Black Hill and allow the water line to be fed into the Morro Bay water system for their use in the case of an emergency. The water line would continue around to the golf course on hole #6 along the road and up to our holding tank on the hill. It is difficult to estimate costs at this time, but as previously stated would move the time line forward without the need for permits.
NEW BUSINESS
- Josh spoke about the annual card promotion. MB has sold 61 cards, DC has sold 165 cards, and CM has sold 215 cards. Since the promotion has started MB and DC have seen a 10% increase in rounds versus the first week of November before the promotion started. Steve asked why sales have been slow at MB and DC? Josh mentioned that it might be due to the lack of email awareness regarding MB and DC versus CM. Chalk has been sending out emails for a number of years and cardholders look for those emails and know that they will be useful to them. It was not until earlier this year that that DC and MB have acquired the ability to send out a mass email to all of our cardholders at once. I do not think people are used to receiving emails from MB or DC and maybe have not opened emails letting them know of the card sales. With the current promotion we are trying to get people used to receiving emails and wanting to open those emails.
The Meeting was adjourned at 7:12 p.m.
NEXT MEETING: Thursday, February 19, 2009, 6:00 p.m. at Dairy Creek Golf Course
GOLF COURSE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES
Aug 21, 2008
CHALK MOUNTAIN GOLF COURSE
PRESENT: N. Brown, C. Decker, J. Davison, D. Sanford, J. Gutierrez
ABSENT: Craig Cornell, G. Lane, S. Spisak, G. Broering
STAFF: J. Clay, J. Heptig, C. VanDorn, R. Comerford
Meeting called to order at 6:00 p.m. by Creighton Decker
Minutes from May and July 2008 were approved as submitted.
PUBLIC COMMENTS:
- No public comments for items not on the agenda.
Members of the GCAC commented about how well the golf courses look and play.
REPORTS:
CHALK MOUNTAIN GOLF COURSE (J. Clay)
- An injection pump was installed to the irrigation system, which will allow for wetting agents and other liquid products like fertilizer to be dispersed along with regular irrigation cycles. Joel said he thinks it is working, as Sean was able to go a couple of days without watering at night.
- Javier asked about a machine that he had seen and was told was for seeding bare areas. Joel said that they have used a slit-seeder from Dairy Creek this past spring and will use it again soon to over-seed the new tee boxes for the winter.
- The clubhouse remodel will begin by installing new windows and doors, followed by removing exterior surfaces and prepping for stucco.
MORRO BAY / DAIRY CREEK GOLF COURSES (C. VanDorn)
- Golf rounds at Dairy Creek were up 1% or 53 rounds compared to July last year.
- Golf rounds at Morro Bay were down ~5% or 400 rounds compared to the same month last year.
- The majority of rounds have been down during the week with weekends being slightly up from a year ago.
- A marshal meeting took place at Morro Bay on Aug. 6th. The meeting was to explain the responsibilities of marshals and starters regarding the new clocks and player education program that were being implemented the following day. Cody and the golf pros explained how important their role is in player satisfaction and Tommy and Josh reiterated how much they mean to the course conditions and players actions. There has not been any real feedback thus far as the program is just entering its 3rd week.
- A starter happily applauded Creighton at the turn, since he was ahead of schedule and the starter encouraged the group to keep up the good work.
- Cody stated that the first weekend saw improved times of 15-20 minutes based upon paperwork turned in by the marshals and starters. The marshals and starters are working better together with improved communication.
- Creighton asked if the clocks would show up at Dairy? Cody said we are testing the system out at Morro Bay first. Josh mentioned that the clocks are not cheap and we would evaluate the improvement before utilizing them elsewhere, but quite possibly.
- Jan had let the group know that a marshal had said something to a group of golfers and it helped with the speed of play. This showed that training and being more active could possibly improve speed of play.
- Creighton asked about putting divot sand containers on par 3 tee boxes at Dairy Creek. Josh discussed pros and cons and said he and Tom Massey would talk about the idea.
OLD BUSINESS
- Josh explained the process of the schedule and what the next step are to get the fees approved and active. Nancy asked if the fees go into effect immediately or at the beginning of the year. Josh said our goal is Jan. 1, but some years that has been sometime during the first week of January. Joel informed everyone that we can start selling annual cards before that date.
- Josh suggested raising that student rates on weekends to help recoup the losses by combining student and junior fees to the rate of a junior fee. This would set the rate somewhere between the current junior and student fees. The group had a general discussion about Josh’s suggestion and decided to move the fee to $18 and $15, at Dairy Creek and Chalk Mountain respectively, 7 days per week. Creighton made a motion to approve the fees to the parks commission and Nancy seconded the motion and Creighton called for a vote, which passed unanimously 5 to 0.
- Josh discussed the up coming golfer survey that would be going out by late next week. The survey is intended to help all involved make decisions about the golf program as a whole and operations at each course independently. The surveys will be going out via email and paper copies at the courses.
NEW BUSINESS
- There were no new items discussed.
The Meeting was adjourned at 6:50 p.m.
NEXT MEETING: Thursday, November 20, 2008, 6:00 p.m. at Morro Bay Golf Course
GOLF COURSE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES
JULY 17, 2008
DAIRY CREEK GOLF COURSE
PRESENT: N. Brown, S. Spisak, C. Decker, G. Broering, C. Cornell, J. Gutierrez
ABSENT: D. Sanford, G. Lane, J. Davison
STAFF: P. Jenny, J. Heptig, C. VanDorn, R. Comerford, J. Clay
Meeting called to order at 6:02 p.m. by Chairman S. Spizak
Minutes from May 15 were not available and will be approved at August meeting.
PUBLIC COMMENTS:
- No public comments for items not on the agenda.
REPORTS:
CHALK MOUNTAIN GOLF COURSE (J. Clay)
- The course looks good with the completion of renovation project. Customers are consistently passing along comments relating to the improved course conditions on a daily basis. Play is down and revenue is the same or up a bit from a year ago. Joel said, “We are holding our own at this point.”
- Steve asked how the special fee program last year turned out. Joel stated that it was good at the time, but not a sustainable program. The main goal was to keep people coming to the course during the construction and renovation. He also added that the free lesson programs this year have been doing well. Nearly 100 kids per week are coming for lessons and the adult 9-hole clinic attracted 24 participants and 30-40 for the lessons.
- Pete asked if revenues are enough? Joel had a long thoughtful pause followed by… close, really close. However, one bad decision could make a big difference. It is safe to say we are worse off and definitely not better.
MORRO BAY / DAIRY CREEK GOLF COURSES (C. VanDorn)
- Our women’s golf clinic had 66 ladies participate. The goal was 50, so we surpassed our goal and all of the response was very positive and the ladies seemed very excited. Mary Pollock sent out a very nice email stating her appreciation and delight expressed by all of the participants that she had spoken with after the event.
- Morro Bay is down about 1000 rounds and Dairy Creek is down nearly 1700 from this time last year. Can be attributed to weather patterns in January/February as well as golfers cutting back on the number of rounds that they are playing per week. April, May, and June are better than the first quarter.
- Tourists continue to go to Morro Bay as rack rates are up. Lost rounds at MB and DC equate to $5 and $22 respectively. This disparity can be attributed to the amount of rack rates at each facility. More rack rate purchasers at MB than DC.
- Steve asks if we have contacted or exhausted all avenues for finding new golfers? Pete stated no we have not. In addition the group that used to play golf nearly every day is unfortunately dying each day without a younger generation or demographic to fill that void. Cody would like to focus more on the core golfers who might only buy one card this year as opposed to searching for new players. By promoting the card program simply and strongly we can ensure these core golfers buy our card.
- Nancy asked if we could promote more to hotels and chamber of commerce? Pete mentioned that the hotels used golf as an amenity to fill rooms by discounting the golf, but not the room prices. Ryan also felt as though the hoteliers were taking advantage of us. Even by giving away free bag of range balls to each guest to get them to the course from the Inn at Morro Bay did not seem to help. The Days Inn seems to be the only hotel that understands the partner concept. Ryan stated that they promote our courses and send people to the counter without having to give them very much instruction.
AD HOC
- Creighton explained the information packets the ad hoc committee assembled about proposed rates. Creighton said the committee thinks these fees are reasonable, attainable, and on the higher end. This is in part to the fact that, as Josh explained, the fees could be lowered at any given time, but cannot be raised any higher this year. Pete stated the need to begin tackling capitol improvements and not just setting fees just to get by. This approach will lead to a product that continues to deteriorate. Creighton noted the attempt to increase rates where the most value was available and reiterated that to explain reasons for all rates is difficult.
- Pete pointed out that the student and junior rates have been combined in this fee schedule setting the rate at the junior level.
- Pete expressed that the group needs to come to a consensus about the fees. The fees would then be posted for 30 days at the three golf courses. We can all answer questions from the public concerning fees and then we can come back together and discuss our thoughts and the public concerns. Also, fees do not include debt service for items such as the MBGC water line. If this project is not tackled we have three scenarios:
- Ask county to subsidize golf courses as the city does (Good Luck!)
- Let conditions deteriorate and risk losing turf, most importantly greens.
- Act like a business and increase fees to pass along added costs to the consumer.
- Steve asked for a motion to approve the proposed fees.
- Nancy made a motion to approve; Creighton seconded the motion. Motion passed 6-0
- Meeting was adjourned at 7:12pm.
Next meeting set for Thursday, August 21, 6:00 p.m. at Chalk Mountain GC.
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