April 2020 Newsletter

April 4, 2020 by The WildeWood Club in Course Newsletter

NEWSLETTER by Bart Wolfe, PGA General Manager on April 4, 2020.

Dear Wildewood Members,

WALKING & JOGGING

Please remember that walking on the golf course is only allowed before 8:00 am and after 8:00 pm. This is for your safety!

CAPITAL PROJECTS UPDATES

Cart path repairs started on Thursday, April 2nd. This project will take 3-4 weeks depending on the weather.

The new playground will be installed by the end of the month. Clearing for the new playground site will start next week.

New furniture has been ordered for the pool and the pool area is being prepped for what we hope will be a season opening weekend in Mid-May.

TENNIS CENTER
Covid-19 Policies and Procedures (For your Safety)

• Due to Governor McMaster’s orders, there shall be no more than 10 people inside the tennis center at a given time. To help us with that, please give a 30-minute buffer between indoor match times on www.reservemycourt.com. We will be monitoring www.reservemycourt.com to fill in the spaces and may have to change times that have been made if they do not fit within the guidelines.
• Please remain at least 6 feet apart while changing ends
• Please do not congregate around benches or pergolas
• Please dispose of tennis balls after use, we are not putting them in teaching baskets for the time being.
• Please make sure to wash your hands before and after you play and try your best to not touch your face while playing.
• And as always, please be respectful of each other’s personal space as we all have our own ways of dealing with this crisis.

Guest Policies and Procedures

• Please sign in all guests at the front desk before going on court.
• All guest fees must be paid before play begins.
• If you fail to sign in your guest before play, you will be asked to stop play to come in and sign in your guest.
• The fee is $7.50 per guest or HOA Member.
• Each membership can bring no more than three guests per day.
• Each guest can only play twice per month.
• There must be at least one member on each court that is reserved.

Lesson and Clinic Policies and Procedures

• Any same day cancellation by the tennis professional will result in a free lesson or clinic of equal value.
• Any same day cancellation of a clinic, group lesson, semi-private lesson or private lesson by a member will result in a charge of half the rate (that they would have paid) for that event. If a replacement if found for a clinic or group lesson by the individual who canceled, no charge will be made. The current rates for attended clinics, group lessons, semi-private lessons or private lessons are listed below:
• Clinics: 4 or more people
• • 30-minute clinics – $10 per person
  • 1hr clinics – $15 per person
  • 1.5hr clinics – $20 per person
  • 2hr clinics – $25 per person

• Group Lessons: 3 people
  • 30-minute group lessons – $10 per person
  • 1hr group lessons – $20 per person
  • 1.5hr group lessons – $30 per person
  • 2hr group lessons – $40 per person

• Semi-Private Lessons: 2 people
  • 30-minute semi-private lessons – $15 per person
  • 1hr semi-private lessons – $30 per person
  • 1.5hr semi-private lessons – $45 per person
  • 2hr semi-private lessons – $60 per person

• Private lessons: 1 on 1 instruction
  • 30-minute private lessons – $30
  • 1hr lessons – $60
  • 1.5hr lessons – $90
  • 2hr lessons – $120

GOLF DEPARTMENT

Please be safe and take the proper precautions to stay healthy during this National State of Emergency! We will keep the members updated about all cancellations or changes in procedures. Here are the steps we have taken to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus:

• Flagsticks on the putting/chipping greens have been removed.
• All carts will be cleaned and sanitized daily and staged 6 feet apart.
• Cups have been reversed so that the ball only goes 1 inch into the hole.
• All green towels are washed daily.
• Rakes and water coolers have been removed from the golf course.
• All food purchased from the WildeWood Grill must be taken To-Go.
• Complimentary coffee will not be available in the Pro Shop.
• All member tournaments/events and outside outings until the end of April have been postponed.

We ask the members to follow these guidelines while on the premises:

• Please do not move the trays while hitting balls on the driving range.
• Please do not touch the flagsticks while playing.
• If possible, please take your own cart (this may not be possible on busy days).
• Please do not gather in groups larger than 10 in any area while on the premises.
• Please do not move tables or chairs from the Grill to any outside area.

Golf Hours of Operation will be changing on Mondays for April 2020 (beginning April 5):

• Pro Shop: 10:30 am to 6:00 pm
• Tee Times: 11:00 am to 6:00 pm
• Range: 10:30 am to 7:30 pm (allows the golf staff to pick the range as clean as possible)

Golf Hours of Operation will be changing on Tuesday to Sunday for April 2020 (beginning April 5):

• Pro Shop: 7:00 am to 6:00 pm
• Tee Times: 8:00 am to 6:00 pm
• Range: 7:30 am to 8:00 pm

*These times may be affected by the weather*

The DAILY GROUP PLAY times will be changing for the month of April (beginning April 5) and will no longer be a shotgun start. You can still sign up online or by calling the golf shop. Tee times will begin daily for the groups at the times listed below and will be in 12-minute intervals.

• Tuesdays: Seniors Play Day – 9:00 am/ Ladies Play Day – 10:00 am
• Wednesdays: Wednesday Morning Group – 9:00 am
• Thursdays: Seniors Play Day – 9:00 am/ Ladies Play Day – 10:00 am
• Fridays: Friday Morning Group – 9:00 am
• Saturdays: Catfight – 8:40 am/ Dogfight – 9:00 am
• Sundays: Blitz – 9:00 am

The golf shop politely asks all players to help us protect the golf course. Please remember to do the following when playing:

• Fix ball marks on the greens.
• Rake bunkers after use.
• Fill in divots on tees/fairways/rough with sand (there are 2 sand bottles on every cart).
• Golfers using handicap flags must return to the cart path when approaching the green.

Thank you for your cooperation in helping us to maintain the golf course!

The WildeWood golf/maintenance staff politely asks that all members inform our Superintendent Grayson Clark BEFORE allowing outside contractors to drive on the golf course in order to do work in their yards. This will help us to protect the golf course by ensuring these workers are only going to areas that will not damage the course/valves/sprinklers/gas lines. His email address is grayson@thewildewoodclub.com.

TO ALL WALKERS, DOG WALKERS, AND BIKE RIDERS (FOR YOUR SAFETY AND THE SAFETY OF THE GOLFERS) – THE GOLF STAFF POLITELY ASKS THAT YOU PLEASE DO NOT WALK, WALK YOUR DOG, OR RIDE YOUR BIKE ON THE GOLF COURSE OR IN THE AREAS BEHIND THE CLUBHOUSE NEAR THE PRO SHOP, PUTTING GREEN, OR DRIVING RANGE DURING GOLF HOURS (8:00 AM TO 8:00 PM). PLEASE ALSO PICK UP AFTER YOUR PET. THANK YOU!

The golf shop has new Callaway woods, irons, and wedges in stock. We also have demos of these clubs available for use. See the golf shop staff if you would like to try out any equipment. We also have re-gripping services available with several different grip options to choose from and a 24-hour turnaround in most cases.

New Greg Norman Men’s and Lady’s Apparel has arrived. Come to the golf shop to get your spring Greg Norman gear!

GOLF COURSE MAINTENANCE

March was a very bizarre time for us down in the Agronomy Department.  The weather has finally improved, grass is greening up, and projects are getting checked off the list.  However, much like each of you we find ourselves swimming in new waters. 

As Superintendents we pride ourselves on being problem solvers and making situations work but from time to time, we need the understanding and cooperation of you, the membership.  The outpouring of support and motivation has been great for my team and myself.  As you’ve seen in several emails, we have taken precautions such as flipping the cups upside down and removing bunker rakes.  These things have led to a few more gimmie putts and some tougher lies in unraked bunkers but few major issues. 

As I write this, we just finished spreading our Spring time fertilizer, have prepped several tees for new sod and will begin laying these this coming week, have gotten our big rough unit up and running again and are mulching pine cones throughout the course and our cart path repair guys have begun their work. 

Looking ahead into April we will continue to increase mowing frequencies and lower heights in all turf and begin our topdressing program on greens to help smooth them out and increase green speeds.  Now that we are actively growing again, we have cut our irrigation pumps on full time and are trying to manage weeping irrigation heads and major leaks as they arise.  Much of the system is original to 1973 meaning we are on borrowed time as the average life span of a golf course irrigation system is typically 25 – 30 years. 

So, I would like to apologize in advance for any wet areas around heads or puddles from heads getting stuck on thru the nightly irrigation cycle. 

Once again, I would like to thank everyone for the support and look forward to seeing you all on the course. If there is ever any questions or concerns please feel free to reach out to me at Grayson@thewildewoodclub.com.

Regards,

Bart Wolfe
PGA General Manager
(803) 788-8000 Option 3
bart@thewildewoodclub.com