60
| SUNRAYS MARCH 2014
ONLINE:
SCTXCA.ORG
GOLF
ADOPT-A-HOLE PROGRAM
USGA Golf Etiquette requires that
“Players should carefully repair any
divot holes they make and any damage
to the putting green made by the impact
of their ball.” So, what happens when
golfers don’t take the time to perform
these simple courtesies?
In Sun City Texas, the Adopt-A-Hole
Program volunteers do damage control.
Since 2011, 54 Hole Captains have been
willing to take responsibility for orga-
nizing teams for every hole on all three
golf courses and the practice areas. Hole
Captains recruit their own teams, many
from neighbors, golf buddies, or other
friends. As of today, more than 300 vol-
unteers have answered the call; this is
more than all other volunteer programs
in Sun City Texas combined!
Usually, you will see our volunteers in
the evenings, when golf activity is wind-
ing down. Once a week, for 30 minutes,
teams will gather to cover each hole,
end-to-end and side-to-side. They sand
tee boxes and fairway divots, dispose
of broken tees, pick up and dispose of
trash, repair ball marks on the greens,
stack loose rocks for removal by Grounds
personnel, and note any maintenance
issues that need to be addressed.
Without the Adopt-a-Hole volunteers,
golf course personnel would need to take
time from the work they must do, and
they could never devote as much time
as the volunteers do to keep our courses
looking good. We should note that the
golf courses are not just golfer assets, but
are the most valuable assets in Sun City
Texas, and one of the major attractions
that brings in new homeowners.
What do the volunteers get out of clean-
ing up others’ messes? Quite simply, they
get to play on better-maintained courses,
develop a feeling of ownership and pride
in “their” hole, and, for many teams, it
has become a weekly social event. For
non-golfers, it’s a chance to get out for
a little exercise in a beautiful setting.
Unfortunately, we will always have golf-
ers who do not repair their own damage,
so this program is vital to our commu-
nity. As with any volunteer program,
it is very clear that the need for new
volunteers is ongoing. Some volunteers
travel or relocate for part of the year,
others become ill or no longer feel up to
the task. The biggest challenge is mak-
ing sure that there are enough willing
hands so that the task doesn’t become
a burden for anyone. That’s the part
of the program that requires constant
vigilance.
If you would like to be part of keeping
the Sun City Texas golf courses look-
ing their best, Mike Pender would love
to talk with you. He can be reached by
email anytime at mike@penderfamily.
com or by phone at 512-864-2997.
Notes from the Golf Committee
Submitted by Mike Pender, member, Sun City Texas Golf Committee
As I write this article, all courses
are closed and the ground is white
with sleet and ice; however, by the
time you read this entry, we should
be welcoming spring with no more
frosty mornings!
Because there have been several
true wintery mornings over the
past several months, a Play Can-
cellation guideline was developed to
help players anticipate and plan—
it is available for viewing on the
website.
Our motto for 2014 is Have Fun,
Maintain Pace of Play, Have Fun,
Know the Rules, Have Fun! To help
ensure this philosophy, a Golf Am-
bassador Program has been imple-
mented and we are really excited
about it! Under the leadership of
Donna Betts, WGA9 members will
be selected to serve in this capacity.
As all of us know, pace of play has
been a continuing challenge. It is
crucial that we achieve the goal of
no more than 2 hours and 15 min-
utes per round; therefore, this golf
ambassador program has two pur-
poses: 1) to monitor pace of play in
their foursome each week, and 2) to
serve as a hostess for all newmem-
bers to our group. On play days,
an ambassador, wearing a bright
yellow button, will be teamed with
someone who has not yet played on
a Tuesday. Before teeing off and
during the round, the ambassadors
will introduce newmembers to oth-
ers, share expectations and rules,
as well as familiarize themwith the
courses and our procedures.
Planning for the Sun Bowl is in full
force! A kick-off meeting was held
at the home of chairman, Kempa
Rider. Chairs of sub-committees
were determined and tasks were
assigned. Our nose is to the grind-
stone! It takesmonths to plan for an
Invitational Tournament such as
the Sun Bowl, and we will be ready!
WGA 9-Hole Group
Submitted by Kempa Rider
.
