Last week I wrote about a lot of good things that the team at the Property Owners Association Public Works Department accomplished this year. This week, I wanted to pass along good news of the fantastic year by our golf professionals and turfgrass teams.
We should first address the extremely unusual weather presented to us in 2016. We experienced weather challenges all year that made for periods of limited play and times when our turfgrass team stepped up to keep our greens healthy. The result was no turf lost during this difficult period, while a lot of our local competitors were not so fortunate.
However, the extreme conditions took its toll on rounds played.
Our staff did a great job of battling the elements and controlling costs during this period, resulting in excellent playing conditions this fall and our golf department budget being in good shape as we close in on end of the year.
Director of Golf Jim West and his staff have continued to market golf to newcomers and Villagers who may not play as much as they once did. Our New Villagers outings on Thursday afternoons are breaking records for participation every time they tee it up. The average number of New Villagers players in 2016 exceeded the all-time previous single-day record. Men’s and ladies’ leagues continued through summer heat with increases in participation.
Our turfgrass team tried something new in 2016, and it was a grand slam. They eschewed the tried and true aerification methods of punching and sanding the greens and went with the new state-of-the-art DryJect method for the fall aerification.
This new idea delivered on two important points: First, all three courses were complete in three days instead of over three weeks, and second, all the greens returned to excellent playing condition in an amazingly short amount of time. If you have played golf in the last month, you know how fantastic our surfaces are due in no small part to this new method.
Finally, I want to mention a few personnel notes. In January, we hired a new assistant golf professional. Casey Flenniken is a real gem. Not only is he an excellent pro, as a golfer he’s the best PGA assistant professional in Tennessee. He is a fantastic addition to our staff of Adam Jacob and Jeff Herrington under Jim West’s leadership.
Our new superintendent at The Links of Kahite is Jordan Clark. Jordan proved his mettle working under the wing of Chris Sykes at Toqua Golf Club. Chris continues to do a tremendous job and is recognized in the industry as one of the very best superintendents in our region. A special congratulations goes out to Tanasi Superintendent Wells McClure, for becoming a dad for the first time this year.
Our golfing culture and practices at Tellico Village are second to none. I would stack us up against the very best golf courses and complexes in the southeastern U.S. Golf is just one of the reasons it’s better at Tellico Village.
