A "Shaggy" Golf Course

A few of our golfers have commented on the "shagginess" of our golf course the past few days. Truthfully, they're right!

However, it's something that's almost completely out of the control of our greenskeeping crew. The kind of cool, wet weather we've had since the first of May is ideal for growing grass. In fact, greens, fairways and roughs will grow fast enough to change from ideal to overly-long in just a few hours under the kind of growing conditions we've been experiencing.

So...why don't we just mow more often to keep up? 

That's the other side of the wet-cool coin. The soil is soft because it is holding a high amount of moisture right now. Running mowers over the greens multiple times a day will only lead to ruts and depressions on the green.

This next week looks to be much warmer (by 10-20 degrees), and much drier...with sunshine finally taking over for several days. That will help to sturdy up the soil for mowing...and the higher temps will slow the growth of the grass. The combination should speed up the greens.

It will probably take a couple of weeks to fully catch up on mowing the roughs and fairways back to ideal heights. In the meantime, try to enjoy the new challenge of slightly softer conditions.

We'll be working hard to catch up with the turf!

Aerating

Just letting everyone know that we will be aerating our greens April 24-25. The back 9 will be closed until 3pm on Wednesday, April 24th and the front nine will be closed Thursday, April 25th until 3 pm. The plan is to get the greens healed up and healthy for the beginning of our leagues that start in early May. Ideally I would have liked to aerate a week ago, but as you all know, the weather hasn't been very cooperative this spring. The course will be fully open for the weekend beginning Friday the 26th. Thank you.

Ben Meyer- course superintendent

We Are Open

Just letting everyone know that we are going to be open at 11 today, April, 13th. The course is soft and there is some standing water, so please be careful and use cart paths where possible. Obviously, we will be letting carts go out at 11 as well. Thank you.

     Ben Meyer, Course Superintendent

A new year, new pricing.

As you may know, when it comes to the business of the Elks Club, April 1st is when we say "Happy New Year!" Fiscal Year 2012-13 ended on March 31st, and yesterday we moved right into Fiscal Year 2013-14.

In conjunction with the new fiscal year, the Board of Trustees did a review of drink and food pricing. It has been four years since the last time there were any price increases, and our annual audit always criticizes our margins in the food and beverage operation. So, we assumed that some kind of an increase would be likely.

A "wild card" in the process was installing our new Point of Sales (POS) system, which makes it much easier to track and manage prices, and provides a LOT more flexibility. So, here's the long and short of the "new prices for the new year":

1. There is now a two-tiered pricing system. Elks Lodge Members and their spouses will pay less for food and beverages than golfing-only members and the public. Elks Lodge Members receive a 50-cent discount on drinks and at least a 50-cent discount on food (in some instances, it's substantially more than 50-cents.)

2. Prices on drinks for Elks Lodge members were increased by 25-cents. Food increases were not as even across-the-board. Our costs on food items have gone up in four years, of course, but some items increased in cost substantially more than others. On average, the increase for a food menu item is less than 50-cents. In many cases, the price held even.

When we began discussing the two-tiered pricing system, one of the first questions was: How do we apply the Elks Member discount if they are with Non-Members?

In order to make it easier on the bartenders and staff, we made the pretty straightforward decision to base the pricing on WHO IS PAYING. If the Elks Member or spouse is paying, the discount applies. If the Non-Member is paying, the Elks Member discount will NOT apply.

Like every change, this will take some getting used to by our Lodge Members, our Non-Elk golfers and the public, and our staff. There will be some stumbles. We'll stub our toe a couple of times.

However, this could be one of the most important changes we've ever made to our business. It provides an incentive for Non-Elks golfers and guests to join the Lodge. It will help "beef up" our margin (and make our auditor happier.)

Most importantly, it allows us, as a Clubhouse operation, to acknowledge and give a very nice benefit to those who are Elks!

Finally...SPRING!

A couple of nice days ahead, so we anticipate golfers will be out on Thursday and Friday. Unfortunately, it's catching us before we are fully staffed -- although there's NOTHING unfortunate about nice weather, LOL.

On Thursday, we cannot staff the Clubhouse, so the Course will be available only for walkers. It's open golf. Just start off the 1st or 10th tee box, and have fun! Show good etiquette, please...and don't play into the folks ahead of you!

Friday, the Clubhouse will open at noon for full-service golf and cart rentals. That will also be true of Saturday (although rain is in the Saturday forecast.)

Easter Sunday, the Clubhouse will be closed, but again the Course will be open for walkers.

Monday is April 1st -- the official beginning of our Golf Season! Finally! Monday mornings all summer, the Course is closed for turf projects, and that will be the case on the the First of April.

Tuesday morning...the summer golf season is ON! 9am opening...full service golf until the Fall. Enjoy!

Tweaking our Holiday Scrambles

In a variation on the theme of growing our revenues and bringing in new golfers, we will be experimenting with a change to our Holiday Scrambles in 2013. Let's start with the reason for the change.

In 2012, we saw the turnout for our Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day Scrambles level off or drop. On average, each of those tournaments had just under 40 golfers playing. At those levels of participation, the anticipated revenue from our tournaments falls short of our budgeted income.

When the Board and Golf Committee looked at the disappointing financial results from the Holiday Scrambles, one of the obvious things that holds down player numbers is the policy of only allowing Members and Guests to play. Clearly, if we expand the potential pool of players we can draw from, we are likely to get more players!

That's the basic premise for the changes we will implement this summer:

• We will allow non-Members/Member Guests to play in the tournament.
• The Scrambles will be advertised, and we'll permit the public to register for the tournaments online.
• We will reserve 40 player slots for our Members, and open 52 slots to the public.
• Since we will not have the A, B, C, D profiles for public golfers who sign up, we will scrap that format for forming teams.
• Replacing the ABCD team construction will be "open signup" - both Members/Guests and the public will be allowed to sign up as: 1) Single golfers, 2) a Pair of golfers, or 3) a Team of four.
• Singles and Pairs will be randomly combined to form teams of four.
• The Team scores will be flighted, giving every team a chance to win money.

This type of "open signup" has some advantages for many of you. First, married couples (for the first time) can sign up as a Pair and know they will play together. That is a positive change for many of our Members, who would enjoy playing the Scramble with their spouse!

Secondly, it allows you form a team with your friends. Four golfers who sign up as a team, play as a team. If you are a single golfer, you can choose the other three people you'll spend the holiday with, rather than being thrown in with strangers.

So, while it's true this approach will bring some strangers into the Holiday Scramble, we don't think they'll stay strangers for long! And, to be perfectly honest, it's likely that many of the public golfers who participate will come in as teams. 

Those who sign up as Singles or Pairs may find themselves playing with unfamiliar people; but that's often the case with the ABCD teams, too.

I have also heard that our Members believe we will be instituting steep price increases for the tournaments. The numbers I've heard are an exaggeration. The public fee is $50. However, our Members will get a 20% discount on the Tournament fee. So, as a Member, you'll pay $40. 

That is an increase, but keep in mind that part of it is going into the prize pool (where it can be won back.) The rest is to help offset the added cost of staging a tournament. Additional man-hours go into preparing the course, preparing the Clubhouse, taking registrations, flighting the results, etc. Even with volunteers helping out, we have an obligation to try and make events profitable for the Club.

I know I'm often "beating the same drum," but the only way to avoid steep Membership and Greens Fee price hikes is to maximize our revenue in golfing operations. This is an experiment to see if we can gain added revenue on the holidays.

Finally, it's worth noting that the Golf Committee is planning to hold Member/Guest ONLY tournaments between the holidays.

Hang in with us...don't be afraid to let us know what is (and isn't) working for you! We're trying to make the Elks Golf Course a GREAT place to golf for Members and the public alike. We always, always, always want to know what you think!

Open For Golf

     Just to give everyone an update, we will be open for golf with carts on Friday, March 15th starting at 12 pm. We will be open to walkers at 10 am. The entire course will be available for use, including the driving range. Please just be aware of low spots and drainage ditches, and as always please keep carts at least 30 feet from the greens and use cart paths where available. The course will be very soft, especially the greens so please repair your ball marks as well. Golf season is finally here!
     On another note, we will be having a cart shed cleaning day Saturday, March 30th at 12 pm. If you can make it out to pull your cart out of the shed, and want to help clean it, that would be greatly appreciated. All we are going to do is get the trash out and sweep the shed. Also, the clubhouse employees will be washing carts for a free will donation. It would be a great time to get your cart out and get it washed up for the year and help the clubhouse out! Thank you.

Using the Tee Time Schedule to Reduce Golfing Delays

No one enjoys "traffic jams." We don't like them on the road, and they are just as frustrating on the golf course.

At Hastings Elks Golf Course, congestion on the course is something we've always tried to avoid. For example, many golf courses schedule tee times at 5-7 minute intervals. We use 10 minute intervals to create better separation between groups. However, even with longer tee time intervals, there were many times last summer that we saw significant congestion on busy days.

There are many reasons for this. 

One is the nature of our golfers. While many of our recreational golfers are excellent players, some of us (yeah, me) are still carding 10s on a regular basis. A group of par golfers behind a group of Duane-level golfers is likely to catch us -- even with a 10-minute head-start. That's an unavoidable consequence of being a recreational course. It's expected. And, frankly, it's unavoidable.

There are other causes of congestion, too, and some of them can be fixed. Here's one of the major causes of "traffic jams" at the Hastings Elks -- mixing group sizes. 

We often see this on our Tee Time Schedule: A foursome, followed 10 minutes later by a two-some, with another two-some right behind. 

What often happens in this situation is that Golfers 5-6 will catch 1-4 on the third, fourth or fifth hole. Even if the 5:00 and 5:10 groups are at a similar skill level, the two-some is playing twice as fast as the foursome. 

When the twosome catches up to the group ahead, the twosome is slowed as they wait to tee off on the hole. That allows the 5:20 twosome to close the gap on the 5:10 group. Now, there are three groups playing right on each other's heels.

Usually, the foursome will stop to allow the 5:10 group to play through. During that delay, the 5:20 twosome plays up on the foursome within a hole or two. Before long, there are several groups clumped up on the mid-round long holes (4, 6, 7 and 8 are the usual locations for these traffic jams). This can affect play for rest of the day, because the tee time gaps close up  as soon as new groups start.

This winter, the Golf Committee and Trustees have discussed some of these "pace of play" problems, looking for a solution. The easiest way to fix it is to keep group sizes the same. 

So, when we talk about putting twosomes together, that's what we mean. In a situation like the one described above, we would ask the 5:10 twosome to join the 5:20 twosome (as shown at left.)

Grouping the 5:10 and 5:20 twosomes accomplishes two things -- and both of them benefit the Club and the players. First of all, it maintains separation between golfing groups, allowing everyone to play without the stress of waiting on the group ahead or worrying about the group behind. Secondly, it opens a tee time for walk-ons or last minute reservations.

It's NOT a "ban" on twosomes. Far from it. Many of us play in twosomes all the time, and this isn't the end of that practice. However, on peak days, with a full schedule, we think it's important to maintain a reasonable flow of play on the course -- and we'll be instructing our Starter to do exactly what you see illustrated above.

If conditions and the numbers of golfers don't require grouping twosomes, we won't do it. And, if there is a 20 minute gap between a foursome and twosome (illustrated at left), we won't hesitate to send the twosome out either.

It's about accommodating the most golfers we can on a busy day. It's about giving everyone the best experience possible. 

Obviously, the idea situation is for each group of golfers to leave the green, drive to the next tee box and begin teeing off immediately. That's the experience everyone is after, and our goal in asking the twosomes to play together under certain circumstances.

The Golf Committee and Trustees will continue to look for ways to keep play flowing on the course, and to avoid frustrating "traffic jams." We appreciate you...we appreciate your business...and we want you to know that you are ALWAYS welcome at the Elks!

Golf Season Is Near

     Now that the calender is changing to March, everyone- including me- is getting excited about another season of golf! This time last year we were already out on the course enjoying "bonus golf". (That's what I like to call it when we are fortunate enough to be able to golf from November through March). But, as you can see when you look outside, there is a lot of snow on the ground after the last snow we had. At this point, factoring in the long range forecast, the frost line in the soil, and the fact that our rental carts aren't quite ready to go for the season, it looks like we won't be opening the course until the last week of March at the absolute earliest. Even though the snow will be gone long before then, and we will most likely have temps in the 50's or 60's, the ground is going to be very saturated for some time. Plain and simple, we need the ground temp to warm up so that it can soak in this moisture, and ground temps typically don't start changing until late March.
     So please, be patient and we will get you out there just as soon as we can! Thanks.

Ben Meyer

Looking Ahead to the Summer of 2013

Last summer, we experimented with advertising, trying some golf specials and a few other things. One thing we found out was this: When we tell the community we're here, they'll come out to golf!

So, in 2013, we'll be building on what we learned last year. The Elks Golf Course will be advertising a lot more. We'll have some new, and we hope attractive specials for the public. And, we'll be looking to improve the golfing experience for Members and the public alike.

It adds up to "change," of course. There's no doubt, trying new things can spark a natural reaction of concern. However, it's important for you to realize that there are some things we ALL want to keep and protect. Here are three things that will not change:

• Our holiday tournaments will continue to be fun and relaxing
• We'll continue to have plenty of Tee Times available, and getting on the Course will remain a breeze
• We will never force you to golf with people you don't enjoy spending time around

The only goal in any of the "changes" you've heard about is to improve our financial results.

We want to keep the lowest greens fee and membership rates in our area...which means we have to generate all we can in non-Member revenue. If we tried to support our operation with dues alone, the dues would have be somewhere in the neighborhood of $2,000! The revenues we generate from food and beverage sales, greens fees, golf cart rental and other sources of income is what keeps our Membership fees affordable.

Over the next couple of weeks, we'll be talking in-depth about some of the "changes" you've heard about. I really believe that when you know exactly what we're doing, you'll agree that none of the "changes" will alter the friendliness, fun and enjoyment we all take from belonging to the Hastings Elks Golf Course!