I am proposing we phase out 9 Holes of Golf, and move from a 27 Hole Golf Course Model to an 18 Hole Golf Course Model.
That extra land that 9 Holes sits on gives us a LOT of additional land for extra amenities in the long run. I wouldn’t mind even taking one section of fairway and making it into a Solar Farm… to power our infrastructure. Or an inexpensive, but easy access Dog Park! We don’t have to make a decision for how to use it now — Just let it lay fallow, allow people to use it for evening walks or bike paths, and not have to water and maintain it!
Which brings us to another issue that I have never seen discussed in regards to Golf…. is WATER! Does anyone have any idea how much water is going into irrigating all of that land? Where is the Water coming from? What is it costing us? Are we paying UIG for it? What column of our accounting is that covered under? How much strain is this putting on our water system? Answers Please!
And how much would we save if we shut down 9 Holes? There has never been an honest study, because it has never been considered. They spend 10’s of thousands, and 100’s of thousands of Dollars at the drop of a hat when they want to cram stupid ideas down our throats, and need justification (Chambers, Bergin, Spa, Internet Task Force are a few recent examples), but they can’t seem to figure out how to do Studies that actually matter… like running simple polls on things to see what Property owners want (Hint: a good poll using “Survey Monkey”, that has verifiable and trackable results can be done for under $100 dollars), or doing cost analysis on 18 Holes vs 27 Holes!
And now they want to pay more money to pull in a Golf Company, Bobby Jones, to figure out why we are hemorraghing losses at the Clubhouse? I thought that our General Manager, Jill Philmon, was supposed to be such an expert in this area. I thought that is why we hired her — paying her an almost $300K Salary/Benefits Package — to handle these sorts of issues!!!
DAMNIT! We can’t afford all these high-priced experts anymore! What we need is a common sense “County Manager” type of GM, with basic experience running a “city-sized” community, and we need a Board of Directors that has some common sense, and a bit of backbone to stand up to our Dictator Developer and their local henchman, Developer Representative Phil Baldwin.
Listen, Golf isn’t going to die overnite, nor should it….. but if the Golfers aren’t playing and paying enough to support this expensive hobby, then it seems reasonable to begin a managed phase out. Maybe in 10 years Golf will be a dead sport. Or maybe we all find that 9 holes is enough. Who Knows? But it is time to start the discussion…. an honest, open, and sincere community wide discussion about shutting down 9 Holes of Golf, and focusing on making the remaining 18 Holes the best we can. I actually see it as an improvement for Golfers, and I have heard from some Golfers that don’t think it is such a horrible idea either. But we have this teeny, tiny little echo chamber consisting of the Board, GM, Golf Committee, and a few dozen arrogant loud-mouthed Golfers that act like entitled snowflakes and keep spinning nonsensical “property value” arguments, etc. Newsflash: If only 8% of our community are Golf Members, it doesn’t take much common sense to figure out that Golf is NOT the reason most of us moved here.
And we are NOT NOT NOT talking about “Killing off Golf”. The over-dramatized, hand-wringing wails of suffering coming from this little band of elites would make you think we’d called for sacrificing their children on a bloody alter or something. Get A Grip People – it is a Scaling Down from 27 Holes to 18 Holes – not a Killing Off, not a whole-scale massacre of Golfers! LOL, tomorrow’s Smoke Screens headlines will probably read “Local Terrorist threatens to Massacre All Golfers – Is it Time To Arm Security?” And the Board, GM, and Golfers will use this to claim that “Crazed Resident David Hopkins” has issued more “threats” against the community, and that Local, State, and Federal Law Enforcement Agencies are being engaged to look into the matter! <unbelievable, the mass psychosis and hysteria that has gripped this community, intentionally orchestrated by a few, to distract from this Newspaper’s reporting, and the development of open community dialogues!>
Regardless…. the reality is that Golf is not paying its own way, and we are on the cusp of a recession which will drive participation WAY down again (just like it did in the last recession). Now is the time to make some tough choices. It is definitely NOT the time to sink additional money into this. Nobody ever said fiscal responsibility was easy.
Other than the 8% of Residents that are Golf Members – WHO actually profits from Golf? I’ll give you a hint in the form of a quote from the Big Canoe Declarations and Covenants…
“…the Company shall be guaranteed the right, for itself and its guests and invitees, to use up to one-third (1/3) of all golf tee times….”
PS… another little hint to property owners….. all this “Spending” to upgrade the Golf and Clubhouse… well, it all goes towards upgrading the value of the developer’s holdings – which is basically the “Eternal Rights” that they have under the Declarations and Covenants. This is the final phase of the Developer Bailout – as they leach your funds for one final push to put lipstick on their pig as it goes to market.
YES, “THE DEVELOPER” IS UP FOR SALE! The “Next Developer” will be the one to start leveraging all of these “Hotel/Inn; F&B Agreement; Golf and Amenity Rights that they will be using to attract and milk profit from Outside Visitors – at our expense as property owners! So YES, It Is Going To Get Worse!
Vote NO to Golf Remodels, Expensive Chambers Report “Master Developer Plans”, Fancy Kitchens for Non-Property Owner Visitors (Outside Banquets, Weddings, Corporate Events), etc. Only Vote for Spending Projects that focus on things that directly benefit Property Owners and Community Residents!
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Peace,
– david / publisher
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