Golf CommitteeMinutes of Meeting 2010-12-15
In attendance. Brian Dyer (Chair), Bobbie McAlpine, Andy Zamiara, Ronda Manspeaker, Karen Davis, Jim Abelsen, Ben Dobbs, Tom Shephard.
Regrets. Annika Wilkes, Tim Skogen, Jennifer Dammeyer,

(Business arising from the last meeting has been incorporated into the reports below)
Report from Golf Course Superintendent – Tom Shephard
 Greens – Tom advised that his crew have reduced the mowing height, as previously outlined, to provide ‘rolling’ at 9 on the greens (and grass height of 1 ¼” on fairways) and he was generally pleased with the condition of the greens. There were a few comments from the committee that there was some variation in the quality of the greens. Tom said he would look into better rotation of the mowers in terms of sharpening the blades.(Poa is not a problem at the moment, but this issue will re-emerge again in later in January);
 General conditions. In addition to the material in Tom’s blog, he outlined that he has distributed the ~10 tons of fertilizer that was on hand, and in addition, plans to dispense a further 8,000 lbs on the course. He said that the rye grass has ‘rebounded’ nicely from the cold snap, and that the Bermuda is relatively dormant with the cooler temperatures. With the cooler weather, ants are not a problem at the moment. Tom then discussed the timing of the overseeding program. He advised that to get the best results, the re-seeding should really occur a few weeks later than at present. However, if this were to occur, it would delay the opening of the course- with a variety of consequent issues of an economic and political nature;
 Birds. The committee advised that there was an increase in bird activity around the course. Tom said he would look into the activities of the Birdman and deal with this issue;
 Gates. Overall, Tom is satisfied with the results of the Gates, with the exception of the condition of the turf around the 1st green and 18th tee. Tom and the committee recognized that many golfers are ignoring the gates - but many of these people are not likely to respond to such ‘rules’ and so making changes is not likely to materially change the behaviour of such offenders. Tom agreed to place a ‘demo gates’ at the first tee box, so that the Marshalls can describe their function to golfers;
 Divot sand. We recognized that there was better availability of divot sand. A few comments were made about the lack of grass seed in the sand;
 Handicap flags – deferred until next meeting;
 Maximum number of carts per group. This topic was discussed in recognition that some groups have sometimes use 3 carts. The committee acknowledged the existence of a variety of reasons proffered by golfers, some with more merit than others. Perhaps the most workable solution is for the Starter to consistently encourage the use of 2 carts, maximum. Having a hard and fast rule would be difficult to administer and was not recommended as a strict policy;
 Tom raised a few issues relating to the 14th hole. Sprinklers sometimes result in wetting golf carts when parked on the cart path. Tom said he had talked to the HOA and they have agreed to
assist in dealing with this issue. The bigger issue at this hole is slow play. Tom advised that he had obtained a couple of quotes for putting cart access paths on the right or left side of the hole and that this matter was under consideration. (The committee was pleased to see that Management are now seriously looking into this issue);
 Bunker sand. Recently, there have been a lot of discussions among the members about the topic of adding sand to the bunkers (how, when etc). We acknowledge that most of us have little technical knowledge on this topic and that we would be more comfortable in outside expert help was sought. An ‘expert’ could identify what changes could be made to the bunker configuration and remediation, prior to embarking on any work. For example, if the number of traps can be reduced, then clearly, less sand will be needed. In addition, advice can be sought on the sprinkler system, as this affects the playability of the bunkers.
 Our committee discussed and developed the following course of action for management’s consideration:
o Bring in an architect with expertise in desert courses, and in particular, bunker remediation;
o Evaluate the current bunker situation at DFCC;
o Eliminating those bunkers that are not critical to the ‘integrity’ of the course;
o Recommend a remediation plan for the remainder;
o Management adopt the recommended changes - relating to both traps and related irrigation;
o Submit appropriate funding requisition to H.O.
 We recognize that matters such as ‘funding and budgets’ are not within the bailiwick of our committee or for that matter, DFCC members in general. (Our role is advisory in nature). However, we believe that, from time to time, we need to voice our concerns that, for our management to be successful in convincing HO to provide financial support for capital expenditures, it is necessary to have a solid plan supporting CapEx requests;

Report from Ben Dobbs (in the absence of Jennifer Dammeyer)
 Ben outlined that there had been a successful ‘party’ at the pro-shop last week resulting in good retail activity ;
 He also advised that he was very pleased with the quality of the pro-shop staff and also the cart barn people. Tom Shephard also mentioned that the staff is doing a better job of keeping him informed about important events and key dates;
 Ben advised that ClubCorp had used a ‘secret shopper’ to anonymously review the performance of the pro-shop staff. Results were excellent;
 Ben mentioned that the Couples tournament for this week was cancelled due to lack of response. Ronda Manspeaker advised that this event clashed with Team Play which extracted a number of people from the Couples tournament.
Next meeting – Wednesday, January 26th, 2011 at 2pm in the private dining room.
Minutes - submitted by Brian Dyer (Chair)