Each Tellico Village golf course has its own beautification team. All three beautification teams are made up of volunteers from all over the Village, and each team works closely with the course superintendents to identify areas where improvements would add to the beauty of the courses and increase the overall golfing experience.

All three beautification teams are working on their plans for 2015. The course superintendents are encouraging each team to focus on lower maintenance gardens, and one way to achieve this is by planting native plants.

Many of the gardens don’t have water available, and even though it seems like we get a lot of rain, rain is not a reliable moisture source that will allow some plants to flourish. By team members planting native plants, the plants will have a better chance of surviving. This look will also follow the naturalization theme that was started a few years ago with the planting of tall grass throughout the courses.

How can you be on a beautification team? It’s easy. Just leave your name and phone number at the course where you would like to volunteer. The team leader will contact you with your garden assignment.

All three groups would love to have more volunteers to assist in maintaining the gardens. More volunteers make for less work for everyone, so please consider joining one of the groups. You don’t have to live on the golf course to be on a team nor do you need to own a shovel or a rake.

The main work is done in the early spring when the gardens are cleaned up and mulched after the long winter and in the late fall when everything gets a good trimming and winterization. During the golfing season, each garden crew will spend a couple of hours each month touching up, pulling weeds and trimming to keep the garden attractive.

This year the course superintendents took over the maintenance of the clubhouse grounds. In the past, the Tellico Village Property Owners Association maintenance crews did all the mowing and landscaping around the clubhouse. All three teams will be assisting the course superintendents with this new project.

The Toqua Golf Course beautification team has four major gardens to maintain. The team adds a touch of color to the clubhouse entrances by adding annual flowers. The team recently acquired the garden behind the No. 2 green, which was formerly the Tellico Village Ladies Golf Association-18 garden. The team’s signature garden is hole No. 9. This garden is visible from Tellico Parkway, so not only do the golfers get to see the azaleas and knockout roses in bloom, so does anyone traveling the parkway. The team also has a garden at the halfway house on No. 14 where you will find oak leaf hydrangeas.

All these gardens need attention throughout the year but especially in the spring when weeds are growing and new mulch is ready to be spread.

The Toqua team has their work cut out for them this year. The Toqua clubhouse area will receive a spruce up with new plantings, and the new pavilion that was completed last summer will also be landscaped. The team will be assisting in the design and funding of both projects. Chris Sykes, Toqua Golf Course superintendent, is an active member of the group and works closely with the team.

The Tanasi Golf Course beautification team has five major gardens along with four water fountains to maintain. Members are very proud of the hillside area just before the tunnel on the way to holes one and 10. This area was completed a couple of years ago, and they continue to add plantings. They also have a garden behind the tee boxes on No. 5, where you can find many perennials that add constant color as the summer goes into fall. It can be seen from Tommotley Drive and adds to the beauty of the par 3.

The final garden on the front nine is No. 9 down by the bell and lake. It can be seen from the Tanasi clubhouse especially in the spring when you can see the lenten roses and daffodils in full bloom. To get you started on Tanasi’s back nine, the No. 10 tee greets you with hostas and day lilies. The par 3 No. 14 has a garden at the tee, and the team also maintains the area around the halfway house where they added decorative grasses.

The team has helped in many projects throughout the course with various plantings to help prevent erosion. One example is No. 6. As you make the turn toward the green you will find decorative grasses. This is a hard-to-grow area that gets little water and a lot of cart traffic but needs grasses to hold the mulch and dirt in place. Another area that made a big difference in erosion control and appearance is on No. 16 just before the green. The team planted creeping junipers and mulched the area after the course maintenance crews added drainage rock to stop soil from washing down onto the cart path and into the fairway.

The team also takes care of all the water fountain areas on the course. The water fountain on the No. 7 green was just recently updated with stone block and new plantings. Wells McClure is the course superintendent and also works closely with the team.

The Kahite Golf Course beautification team is always busy. Last year members painted and spruced up both halfway houses on the course. All the restrooms get a lot of traffic over the season and require constant maintenance. While you are refilling your divot repair containers you might notice the sandbox received a new coat of stain. The sandbox is located by the practice green so it is visible to the clubhouse and surrounding area.

The drinking fountains on Nos. 8 and 12 both have new looks. Team members added a brick walkway to make it easier to reach the fountains. They also added a brick edging to set off the paths. On No. 11 by the tee box, they added a brick edging to define a mulched area surrounding a tree. While you are teeing up your ball on all the tee boxes you might notice new tee markers. This project was a group effort. The wood was purchased by the beautification team, a local woodworker made the markers and the Kahite maintenance crew painted them.

You will find their garden areas around both of the halfway houses and along the tee boxes on No. 17. Besides maintaining these areas they will also be landscaping by the new bridge area and around the driving range where the new concrete steps were just completed. Another spot team members have targeted for edging is on No. 9 by the tee boxes. This will be added this year.

Their big project for the year is donating $3,000 to purchase a two-sided clock that will be located in the center of the cart staging area in front of the Kahite clubhouse. The clock will be visible from the parking lot and the driving range to help keep golfers aware of the time. Like the other teams, they also work closely with course superintendent Mike White.

Following are a few other golf course updates:

  • The second phase of Toqua’s bunker renovation is underway. Golf course architect Bill Bergin has redesigned bunkers on Nos. 2, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 14. This phase includes 15 bunkers that will undergo major renovation. Next year will see the final phase of this project.
  • Both the men’s and women’s restrooms at the Tanasi clubhouse will see complete renovation from floor to ceiling this spring. The Tanasi clubhouse sets the standard for Tellico Village amenities and buildings. The Discovery Tours and Realtor tours all start at the Tanasi clubhouse, and the restrooms are the two most visited rooms in the Village. It is important that we make a great first and lasting impression.
  • The new resurfaced cart paths at Kahite are finished and waiting for you to try them out. Originally, this was set to be a two-year project, but because of the lower price in oil, the project was bid out with a substantial savings to complete the job in one year. Another renovation at Kahite is the new concrete steps as golfers approach the driving range. The new steps will be a lot safer than the wooden ties. This project also added additional parking spaces for more carts to park by the driving range.

As you can see, officials and team members at all three courses are working hard to make our golfing experience more enjoyable. Please be patient during all the construction process. The end result will be worth the wait.

Congratulations to the following Men’s Golf Association member-member tournament winners: first flight, Jim Brown and Ricky Moore; second flight, Mike Cummings and Dick Parkhill; third flight, Mike Bainlardi and Bill Westgate; fourth flight, Bo Bowman and Jim Uphoff; fifth flight, Don Bowers and Gerald McCullen; sixth flight, David Slobodzian and Woody White; seventh flight, Jerry Montgomery and Steve Popovich; and eighth flight, Dan Panter and Bill Ristow.

Vicki Schwerdt is vice chairwoman of the Tellico Village Property Owners Association Golf Advisory Committee.