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| SUNRAYS FEBRUARY 2015
ONLINE:
SCTXCA.ORG
GOLF
GolfNow - What it is and why it’s important
Submitted by the Golf Committee
Have you seen the TV commercial with
the funny old Scottishmanwith the white
beard who is trying to get a tee time? At
the end of the commercial he always says
in a strong Scottish accent, “Go Play!”
That’s an ad for an internet feature
available nationwide called GolfNow.
Many golfers in our area take advantage
of GolfNow to play golf here in Sun City.
SunCity Texas golfers play approximately
155,000 rounds each year across our three
wonderful championship golf courses.
Even with this many rounds played,
there are frequently tee times that are
not booked by Sun City resident golfers.
Instead of letting these unreserved tee
times remain unused, our golf operation
staff works to fill these tee times and, as
a result, bring additional revenue into our
golf operations. To do this, we utilize the
online booking engine GolfNow.
GolfNow is a website (GolfNow.com)
that allows golfers to book tee times
from the convenience of their home or
mobile phone. Because the unused tee
times are often less desirable times, the
golf operation offers a discount to entice
golfers to book these times. In general, the
discount is 10-20 percent off of the normal
public greens fees, giving interested
golfers an incentive to book a time that
would otherwise go unused.
The Sun City golf operation staff strives
to offer resident golfers the lowest rates
possible while still allowing for the
appropriate maintenance of our three golf
courses. GolfNow tee time bookings have
played an important role in our operations
budget, as it brings in roughly $200,000
per year in revenue. Without this revenue
source, the ability to offer the competitive
pricing for resident golfers would be much
more difficult. It should be noted that
GolfNow is a public website and Sun City
resident golfers are able to book these
times just like anyone else. Keep inmind,
however, that all GolfNow tee times are
controlled by the golf staff and are limited
to non-prime times of day so that Sun
City residents continue to get the highest
priority on preferred tee times.
As wemove into another exciting golf
season, we should take a moment
to ensure that we, as Sun City
golfers, are doing what we can to
help maintain our wonderful golf
courses to keep them in the best
condition possible. Little things like
sanding divots, fixing ball marks,
raking bunkers, picking up tees,
and being mindful of golf cart traffic
signs go a long way in helping the
maintenance staff provide the best
possible playing conditions; everyone
is in favor of that!
Taking Care of your
Golf Courses
Submitted by Erik Beyer, PGA,
Head Golf Professional, Legacy Hills
I
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MGA News
Submitted by Jeff Morgan President, MGA Board of Directors
Contact: 512-591-7050 or
Warmer weather is just ahead of us
and with it the start of the Men’s Golf
Association’s major tournaments
schedule for 2015. The initial
competitionwill be the SpringMember-
Member that will be conducted on
Wednesday and Thursday, March 25
and 26; last year, this tournament had
a full field of 300 players.
TheMGA board of directors completed
its 2015 planning session to put
plans and programs into motion for
the new year, which will include five
major tournaments, weekly Play Day
competition for both the 9-holer and
18-holer members, a joint WGA-MGA
golfing event and the continuation of
other fun and spirited tournaments. In
reality, it is a two-year planning cycle
in order to find volunteers, reserve
golf courses and get commitments for
luncheon and dinner facilities.
Doug Kienitz, one of our MGA
members, the golf writer for the
Williamson County Sun newspaper
and the past president of Texas Golf
Writers Association, commented in a
recent edition about a quote from a
golfing communication that stated,
“…playing slowly is the most common
cause of aggravation and debate.” We
all realize that slow play is an ongoing
challenge and the MGA will continue
to address slow play issues for our
events.
One other comment: we are working
to further publicize our appreciation
and thanks to our important sponsors
of the MGA and the contributions they
make to the MGA and our members.
More will be forthcoming on this
important topic.
