September 2020 Newsletter
NEWSLETTER by Bart Wolfe, PGA General Manager on September 1, 2020
Social Report
Our Friday Night Burger Nights have been very popular and we will continue to hold them through the month of September. Jeremy & Prescott create a different Burger menu each week and it is posted on our FB page by Wednesday. The Burger menu consists of 2 beef burger options, 1 chicken, and 1 veggie burger each week in addition to our regular WildeWood Burger.
Bar service is from 5:00pm-8:30pm on Burger Night and Food Service is from 5:30pm-8:30pm. We do not take reservations for Burger Night but we have setup ample seating inside and outside of the clubhouse with social distancing in mind.
We are still restricted to 50% occupancy indoors due to Covid-19 but we plan to schedule our larger themed monthly events when it is safe to hold them.
Maintenance Report
Agronomically speaking we could not have asked for a better August at the Wildewood Club. Timely rains and great temperatures have allowed our Bermuda grass to continue to thrive. We had some limited bronzing in the fairways where we applied our post emergent Goose grass control but as expected all of those areas have greened back up nicely and that is a tradeoff for getting a handle on the weeds on the course. The first truckload of sod on the tees has taken well and it should be another week or so and the sod in the fairways will be playable as well. We appreciate everyone’s patience as we prepped those areas and got them re-laid around our regular schedule of mowing. We were also fortunate enough to be able to use the spoils from the prepped areas to help fill in some of our bumpier areas around the course. These areas will take a bit longer for the new grass to grow thru but is a cost-effective way to better the course in the long run. As August ended, we unfortunately said goodbye to our 2 seasonal workers Mavis Cagle and Robert Jones. Though they were young, they were a vital part of our summer success and we wish them luck as they return to school in whatever form it may be. With a reduction in staff comes a shift farther away from project work over the next 2 months as we focus more heavily on mowing and maintaining tee to green for our tournament heavy months of September and October.
However, in September we do have our second course wide fertilization scheduled for the 21st and will apply our first of 3 Fall/Winter preemergent weed control applications late in the month. Though I am personally not a fan of overseeding, the small size and increased use of the driving range tee and the tees on 3 and 16 necessitate that we overseed these areas sometime late in the month or early in October, weather dependent. I will work with RJ in the pro shop to limit disruptions to play but there may be some times we need to temporarily block usage of the range tee or shift usage from side to side to allow the seed to germinate.
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.
Tennis Update
Court Maintenance:
We have had a busy summer here at The WildeWood Club, and due to the amount of play we are going to have to add several tons of clay to courts 1-4. We will do everything we can to do this on a non-USTA match day. But be on the lookout for afternoon/evening court closures in order to replenish our beautiful Har-Tru court surface!
Member-Guest Tennis Tournament Sept. 25-27
The Member-Guest Tennis Tournament is set to be played September 25-27. One round will be played on Friday evening, and the tournament will conclude on Sunday.
This will be a combo tournament with Men’s and Women’s 5.5, 6.5, 7.5, and 8.5 events. Each player will only be allowed to participate in one event. Team members must not be more than 1 rating point different from each other. (example: A 7.5 doubles team cannot have a 3.0 and a 4.5 together. They must be 3.5 and 4.0) This is to ensure quality of match play by all participants. Dependent on draw sizes will determine weather the draw will play on clay courts, hard courts, indoors, or a combination of all three. Each Team must have one full-member and one guest. Guests can be HOA/Social Members. Participants must be 18 yrs. or older with a valid USTA rating.
Registration will open September 1st and end September 22. The registration fee is $50 per person or $100 per team. This includes dinner and drinks on Saturday evening during the exhibition match, waters on court, trophies, and a swag bag.
Each team will be guaranteed a minimum of two matches.
There will also be an exhibition match Saturday evening, served alongside dinner and beverages.
We will be creating a plaque for this Member-Guest tournament that will have winners displayed inside the Tennis Center. We are looking forward to starting this tradition once again at The WildeWood Club!
For more information or to register, please email Bill@thewildewoodclub.com or call the Tennis Center at 803.699.2446.
USTA Mixed-Doubles and Singles Leagues
Currently The WildeWood Club has four Mixed-Doubles Teams and two Singles teams that are open for registration. Listed below are the teams, please email Bill@thewildewoodclub.com if you would like to register for these teams. Many have member captains so Bill will forward your email to the appropriate captain. Also, we NEED more players for the 6.0 team!
Mixed:
- 18 and over 6.0
- 40 and over 7.0
- 55 and over 7.0
- 40 and over 8.0
Singles:
- 40 and over Men’s 4.0
- 40 and over Women’s 4.0
Adult Clinics
Please find below the Ladies clinic schedule:
- 2.5 – Tuesday 9-10:30
- 3.0 – Monday 9-10:30
- 3.0/3.5 – Saturday 9-10:30
- 3.5 – Friday 9-10:30
- 4.0 – Wednesday 9-10:30, Thursday 9-10:30
*These Clinics are open to all members, however you must be rated at the same level of the clinic that you attend or play on a WildeWood team at the same level of the clinic that you attend.
Junior Clinics
After School Kids Clinics:
- Yellow Ball Clinic (Ages 13-16): Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 4:30-6:00
- Green Dot Clinic (Ages 11-12): Tuesday and Thursday 4:30-5:30
- Orange Ball Clinic (ages 8-10): Tuesday and Thursday 3:30-4:30
- Red Ball Clinic 1 (Ages 6-8): Monday and Wednesday from 4:00-4:30
- Red Ball clinic 2 (Ages 3-6): Wednesday 3:30-4:00
*Age and ability level will also help us determine which clinic your child should be in.
Bill Simpson
The WildeWood Club
90 Mallet Hill Road, Columbia, SC 29223
bill@thewildewoodclub.com (c) 803.622.8813 (o) 803.699.2446
Golf Report
Congratulations to the August Par 3 Challenge winners:
- 1st Place: Keaney, Keaney, Holmes
- 2nd Place: Koop, Murphy, Livoti
- Closest to the Pin #13: Garrett Patton
- Closest to the Pin #16: Jim Nyland
Thanks to all the players that came out and participated in this event!
Upcoming September Tournaments:
- Friday, September 4: Classic Clubs Tournament
- Shotgun Start at 4:00 pm
- Captain’s Choice 2-player teams
- Classic clubs will be provided for each team! Please let us know by Wednesday if you need us to provide clubs.
Please call the golf shop or email rj@thewildewoodclub.com to sign up your team!
Saturday/Sunday, September 12 & 13: Men’s and Women’s Club Championships
Tee times from 9:00 am to 11:00 am each day. Gross and Net Winners.
Please call the golf shop or email rj@thewildewoodclub.com to sign up!
THE WILDEWOOD CLUB GOLF HOURS OF OPERATION AND GROUP PLAY TIMES WILL BE CHANGING BEGINNING TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1:
Golf Hours of Operation on Mondays for September 2020:
- Pro Shop: 9:30 am to 5:00 pm
*PLEASE NOTE THAT THE PRO SHOP/RANGE DOES NOT OPEN UNTIL 9:30 AM ON MONDAYS*
- Tee Times: 10:00 am to 5:00 pm (Carts must be in by 7:30 pm)
- Range: 9:30 am to 7:30 pm (allows the golf staff to pick the range, chipping greens, and putting greens)
Golf Hours of Operation on Tuesday to Sunday for September 2020:
- Pro Shop: 7:30 am to 5:30 pm
- Tee Times: 8:00 am to 5:30 pm (Carts must be in by 7:30 pm)
- Range: 7:30 am to 7:30 pm (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 will also be CHANGING for the month of SEPTEMBER. 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 – 9:00 am/ Ladies Play Day – 9:00 am
- Wednesdays: Wednesday Morning Group – 9:00 am
- Thursdays: Seniors Play Day – 9:00 am/ Ladies Play Day – 9:00 am
- Fridays: Friday Morning Group – 9:00 am
- Saturdays: Dogfight – 8:50 am
- Sundays: Blitz – 8:50 am
Please call the golf shop or go online if you like to sign up for any GROUP PLAY times. Please remember to sign up for GROUP PLAY on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays AT LEAST 1 HOUR PRIOR to the start time so that scorecards can be made by the pro shop staff.
TO ALL WALKERS/DOG WALKERS
Please keep dogs from digging or destroying any areas of the golf course. We have laid new sod in several of the fairways and have already had 3 instances of dogs doing damage to this new sod. The golf course is only available to walkers and dog walkers before 8:30 am and after 6:30 pm. Dogs are required by law to be on a leash when on our property. We politely ask for all residents’ cooperation as we have been working very hard to improve the golf course.
TO ALL GOLFERS
We have a 70-player outing on Monday, September 14. The golf course will be closed until 2:30 pm. It will be re-open for member play at that time. The driving range will open to members at 11:00 am.
Please be sure to use your club to tap the sand off the bottom your golf shoes before walking on the green if you play your shot from a greenside sand trap. This helps to prevent “sand footprints” from being tracked across the greens.
We politely ask that golfers (and their guests) do not take the green towels that are provided in each cart. Please leave them in your cart following the completion of play.
Please help us to protect the golf course by RETURNING YOUR CART TO THE CART PATH as you approach the green. Carts must also remain on the path on PAR 3 HOLES and near TEE BOXES.
The WildeWood pro shop is offering re-gripping services. We have 12 different grips in stock and can order any that we do not currently have. Let us know if you would like some new “handles” for your clubs.
The greens/maintenance staff has put down new sod on several fairways. These areas are circled with white paint and are GROUND UNDER REPAIR. Please do not hit your golf ball from inside of these marked areas. Please take your nearest relief outside of these marked areas, no closer to the hole. It will be 3 to 4 weeks before these areas will be playable.
TO ALL SOCIAL/HOA MEMBERS
Your Social or HOA Membership allows you to play 6 rounds per at The WildeWood Club at the Member Guest Rate. Once those 6 rounds have been played, you may continue to play at our Public rate of $42/Weekday and $52/Weekend. You are only allowed to use the practice facilities on those 6 days when you are paying to play. Daily use of the practice facilities is reserved for Full Golf Members only.
- Guest Rate Monday to Thursday: $37 (includes cart)
- Guest Rate Friday to Sunday: $47 (includes cart)
GM Report
The WildeWood Club is excited to announce that our membership has grown to 425 members including 304 golf members, 95 tennis members, and 26 social members. This does not include our 800+ HOA members. We are currently waiting on new membership paperwork to be returned by 4 additional golf members and 1 tennis member. Our new goal is to grow to 450 members by the end of 2020!
Regards,
Bart Wolfe
PGA General Manager
(803) 788-8000 Option 3
bart@thewildewoodclub.com
