BELLA VISTA -- The Joint Advisory Committee on Golf met via Zoom last week.
Although the weather hasn't been ideal, the number of rounds in December was still good, the committee learned.
Golf operations director Darryl Muldoon reported the numbers. In 2020, there were 166,160 rounds played, compared to 136,894 in 2019 and 143,1555 in 2018. He also had good news about tournaments.
The AJGA is returning to Bella Vista. The junior golf tournament played here in 2007 and was a success. He said the organizers had been looking for the chance to return to Bella Vista. He expects 78 junior golfers on Labor Day weekend.
The APT and the WAPT tournaments will also return in late June.
Both Golf Expo and Golf Fest will be canceled this spring because of covid, Muldoon said. Books listing golf groups will be published as usual, and "fitting days" with specific suppliers will be scheduled.
Bathrooms are being painted and heat and air are being added, he said. The courses will be closed when the work is underway.
Maintenance director Keith Ihms explained that daily information available on the internet is up by 7 a.m. each day. Each superintendent posts about conditions on the "Today's Play" section and Ihms posts the daily frost line. The weather channel forecast is used and courses are closed when temperatures are predicted to be below 35 degrees. Also, each superintendent has the option of closing his course. Temperatures are different on different courses and snow cover can also vary.
"We're going to err on the side of protecting our facility," Ihms said about the closings.
A road project will affect traffic going back and forth to the Country Club, Ihms said. Highway 340 will be widened with a bike tunnel added. Also, a temporary road will be built near the sixth tee box that will actually use part of the tee box. The project will take two years, and won't begin until late spring.
Ihms is expecting a root pruner to be delivered next week. The equipment was included in the 2021 budget. Some capital projects, including six tee boxes, were also approved, but will probably start later this year.
According to General Manager Tom Judson, golfers who have spent close to the amount of an annual fee on "pay as you go" rounds will be contacted by golf operations. He expects that as more members purchase annual memberships, rounds will go up even more.
He reminded the committee that Membership Services is still operating online and with phone calls. The department remains very busy.
There was a discussion of the dress code during the meeting. Muldoon said the dress code isn't changing, and many members don't realize it exists.
Committee member Susan Nuttall said the POA doesn't publish the dress code and it's not right to stop people from playing golf because of a dress code they don't know about.
Judson said the dress code will be posted online when it is finalized.
Lynn Atkins may be reached by email at [email protected].