August 2020 Newsletter
NEWSLETTER by Bart Wolfe, PGA General Manager on August 2, 2020.
Dear Wildewood Members,
Social Report
Friday Night burger night will begin on Friday, August 14th with outside dining in our Courtyard and limited space available in our Grill. Burger night will feature at least 2 specialty burgers each week in addition to our WildeWood burger. Burger night hours are 5pm-8pm and we will also have weekly specials from the Bar.
Once it is safe to return to large indoor social gatherings, we will host a busy schedule of fun and exciting events at our club.
We will send out an amended Lifeguard and Pool Snack bar schedule once the kids are back in school. There will always be an attendant on duty and Grill orders may be placed for delivery to the pool during normal Grill hours.
Golf Maintenance Report
Well Summer has finally arrived, and July was everything I had always heard and expected from Columbia SC. The month started off great and then someone turned up the thermostat and cut the rain off. We went 18 days with the “feels like temperature” over 100 degrees without a drop of rain. During this time, we learned a lot about the weaknesses of our irrigation system.
The good news is our Bermuda grass took the beating and has jumped back wonderfully since our inch of rain we received the 25th.
I would not be totally shocked if we experience at least one more dry spell between now and October and just like this past month we should expect the yellowing of the turf in some areas. I know there was some concern amongst a few of you all that we were not watering enough or were going to lose turf. Rest assured we were maximizing every minute of our 14 hour water window, running water from 8pm thru 10am daily.
Our current pumps have a limited volume of water they can move at any one time but paired with raised mowing heights in the rough and an application of a well-timed wetting agent things greened right back up nicely. Other highlights this month included getting our yearly aerification completed and the first of two truckloads of sod down. Looking into August, we will be laying the second truck load of sod in a few of our bad fairways, cleaning up some weeds, and starting to get ready for tournament season.
You may have noticed the renovation of bunkers on holes 2 and 16 in late July. We are going to continue bunker renovations.
Bunker Improvement Plan – 65 Current Bunkers
Plans to eliminate 7 Bunkers
7 – fairway bunker on left side
11 – fairway bunker left side
12 – Back right green side bunker
15 – first and third left fairway bunkers
17 – left fairway bunker
18 – fairway bunker
Plans to roll/grass high side of bunker faces – 18 total, 2 completed in house in July
1 – All 3 bunkers
2 – Green side (completed in July)
4 – Right green side
5 – green side
7 – all 3 green side
8 – green side
9 – front left green side
10 – green side
11 – greenside
12 – greenside
13 – left green side
14 – green side
15 – front center green side
16 – front right (completed in July)
18 – green side stacked sod face
And general reshaping/shrinking most all other bunkers. For example, several greenside bunkers have been edged well past their original shape and now irrigation heads are on the lip of the bunker instead of in the grass. 16 left greenside bunker for instance.
As always, I would like to thank everyone for the continued 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.
Golf Report
Women’s Wednesday Golf Clinics-$10.00 per clinic
Open to all Golf, Tennis, Social, and HOA members and their guests!
August 5th 5pm
August 12th 5pm
August 19th 5pm
Please RSVP to Bart@thewildewoodclub.com by the Tuesday before each clinic that you plan to attend.
Callaway Club Fitting Event by Appointment
Thursday, August 27th
3:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Email RJ@thewildewoodclub.com or Bart@thewildewoodclub.com to reserve your spot!
New Vendor Accounts
We just opened new accounts with Mizuno and Adidas. We will have a Mizuno fitting system on-site soon with the new clubs that they are launching in September.
UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS/EVENTS:
Saturday/Sunday, August 8th & 9th and Saturday/Sunday, August 15th & 16th. Matchplay Tournament flighted by tees:
- Blue Tee Flight
- White Tee Flight
- Gold Tee Flight (Men)
- Gold Tee Flight (Ladies)
Please call the golf shop or email rj@thewildewoodclub.com to sign up. The last day to sign up is Thursday, August 6th at 6:30 pm.
Saturday, August 8th: Men’s Supervised Practice with Mike Castelluzzi @ 4:00 pm on the range. Cost: $10 *Please email rxforpar@aol.com or call the golf shop to sign up*
Saturday/Sunday, September 12th & 13th: Men’s and Women’s Club Championships.
Friday/Saturday/Sunday, October 2nd, 3rd, & 4th: Men’s and Women’s Member – Guest Tournament
- Practice Round on Friday with Optional Skins Game
- Cocktail Party Friday Evening
- Dinner on Saturday Evening
Saturday/Sunday, October 24th & 25th: Men’s and Women’s Member – Member Tournament. *Please call the golf shop to sign up for any of these events*
UPDATES/REMINDERS FOR ALL GOLFERS:
Please remember that all carts MUST BE RETURNED TO THE CART PATH WHEN APPROACHING THE GREEN on each hole. We politely ask that golfers DO NOT drive carts within 30 yards of the green.
Please remember to wear a mask when entering any of the buildings on the WildeWood property (Clubhouse, Pro Shop, Tennis Center, Grill).
Thunderstorms are a common occurrence in the afternoons during the summer. Please remember to seek shelter or head back to the clubhouse if you encounter any lighting or thunder as you may not be able to hear the air horn at all areas on the golf course. For your safety and the safety of others, we ask that you please pay attention and be cautious when storms are in the area.
Golf Hours of Operation on Mondays for August 2020:
Pro Shop: 9:30 am to 6:00 pm
Tee Times: 10:00 am to 6:00 pm
Range: 9:30 am to 30 MINS BEFORE SUNSET (allows the golf staff to pick the range, chipping greens, and putting greens)
Golf Hours of Operation on Tuesday to Sunday for June/August 2020:
Pro Shop: 7:00 am to 6:30 pm
Tee Times: 7:30 am to 6:30 pm
Range: 7:00 am to 30 MINS BEFORE SUNSET (allows golf staff to pick the range, chipping greens, and putting greens)
*These times may be affected by the weather*
Here are the DAILY GROUP PLAY times for the months of JULY/AUGUST. You can sign up online or by calling the golf shop. DAILY GROUP PLAY is a SHOTGUN START at the times listed below:
- Tuesdays: Seniors Play Day – 8:30 am/ Ladies Play Day – 9:10 am
- Wednesdays: Wednesday Morning Group – 8:30 am
- Thursdays: Seniors Play Day – 8:30 am/ Ladies Play Day – 9:10 am
- Fridays: Friday Morning Group – 8:30 am
- Saturdays: Catfight – 8:10 am/ Dogfight – 8:20 am
- Sundays: Blitz – 8:20 am
Tennis Report
Member – Guest Tennis Tournament
The Member-Guest Tennis Tournament is still set to be played September 25-28. This will be a combo tournament with Men’s and Women’s 5.5, 6.5, and 7.5 events. Registration will open September 1st and end September 22.
Each team will be guaranteed a minimum of two matches. There will also be an exhibition match, as well as food and drinks. We are looking forward to starting this tradition once again at The WildeWood Club and are looking forward to having you all out to play and watch some great tennis!
New Hours of Operation at Tennis:
- Monday: 8am – 8pm
- Tuesday: 8am – 8pm
- Wednesday: 8am – 8pm
- Thursday: 8am – 8pm
- Friday: 8am – 8pm
- Saturday: 8am – 6pm
- Sunday: 8am – 6pm
Junior Clinic Schedule (Starting Wed. August 19):
- Red Ball (3-6yrs) – Monday and Wednesday 3:30-4:00
- Red Ball (6-8yrs) – Monday and Wednesday 4:00-4:30
- Orange Ball (8-10yrs) – Tuesday and Thursday 3:30-4:30
- Green Ball (10-12yrs) – Tuesday and Thursday 4:30-6:00
- Yellow Ball (13-18yrs) – Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 4:30-6:00
Club Manager’s Message
I would like to personally thank all of you for your tremendous support of our club and for the atmosphere that you have created around our club. Our club is increasing membership at a rapid pace while many other area clubs are losing members. Many of our new members have either been referred by a current member or they have mentioned that they had heard about The New WildeWood Club. “Family-Oriented” and “Neighborhood-Friendly” is how The WildeWood Club is being described around town and that is a big reason that our membership is growing!
Regards,
Bart Wolfe
PGA General Manager
(803) 788-8000 Option 3
bart@thewildewoodclub.com
