The time has come and the golf course has opened for the season. Only to have Mother Nature switch up the weather forecast. Temperatures predicted to be in the low 50’s ended up quite shy of that goal. There were a few golfers this weekend and people were able to start paying fees. So, I will still call it a positive start to the golf season.
Part time staff is beginning to enter the work schedule and I am continuing to receive a lot of new applicants. I think the clubhouse will be in very good shape as far as quality employees go. I plan on handling the managerial duties in the clubhouse and setting the work schedule each week.
The golf course has changed the procedure for making deposits each night. I have been working with staff to make the transition successful. The golf course will also be switching to a POS (point of sale) system in the next two weeks. This will allow inventory and sales to be documented at a higher level.
I am almost finished creating a spreadsheet of pricing for every detail in the clubhouse. This has been time consuming and is the most tedious part to the POS transition. I will email this information today or tomorrow and the company will start things on their end.
The golf course pays a monthly fee for the system. In return we have 24 hour seven day a week customer support and higher success rate of revenue tracking. It should be up and running in a couple of weeks.
SMGC has successfully received two tree grants for the spring of 2017. The first is through Trees Forever and the second the Iowa DNR Trees for Kids grant. I have been working with Delray on both of these grants and I appreciate his help in making these a success. I will need volunteers for both dates.
Trees Forever is funded through Black Hills Energy and SMU. There will be a short presentation during this event and we will plant approximately 50 trees. I am working on this flier right now with the help of Delray’s past success. It will most likely be at the end of April to support Earth Day.
Trees for Kids will add 44 trees to the golf course property. This will also include a presentation by the Iowa DNR and needs to include youth volunteers to honor the grant. This coming week I will reach out to the athletic director to see if there are approximately 50 high school athletes that could help, in early May, with the tree planting. The youth volunteers are critical in meeting the criteria of this grant.
The weather looks like it is on the upswing starting tomorrow. This will bring more traffic to the golf course and really get things moving for us. I am excited to see people out golfing again and working toward another successful year at the golf course.
Last week the condition of the SE shelter was brought to my attention. I have inquired if there is any interest from the Boy Scouts to complete an Eagle Scout project to replace the current shelter. There is repair work that needs to be completed early this spring.
The current shelter does lean to the east slightly and needs a few boards replaced. The integrity of the shelter is still strong. The wet soil has caused the concrete foundation to shift over the years. I will address any work to be completed very soon.
Spencer Municipal Golf Course 