After a slow economy reduced the number of corporate outings and events at local golf courses, the golf industry has been waiting for something positive to happen.
Then came the winter of 2002-03. In March those in the golf industry commented it can’t get any worse. Optimism for a good spring waned when twice the amount of rain fell in March and April, causing flooding damage. Add to the full assortment of woes an ice storm that caused long hours of clean-up.

Officials at one course reported revenue was down 50 per cent over last year and they are working to create new promotions to draw customers in when the weather does break. Gillespie Golf Course has planned to reduce its rates to $14 to play and ride all day to attract customers. Grandview offers half price for kids with a paying adult. These are just a couple of the examples.

Teaching professionals are feeling the pressure as well. One professional noted they were down $12,000 on the year due to the weather and was considering a covered teaching area.

With the city of Winston-Salem looking to annex rural areas around the city, at least three courses (Grandview, Long Creek and Wilshire) and one range (R.A.’s Golf) are having to consider where they will come up with the additional money to pay city taxes and assessments for water and sewer lines.

Stated Harold Kincaid at Grandview Golf Course in Pfafftown, “The drop in business the first part of this year is 90 per cent attributed to weather. We just had our best weekend of the year even on a rainy weekend in May. It makes us feel good about the demand for golf and our golf course. However we are not happy about being annexed by the city. We have been approached by developers wanting to buy the course but we don’t plan on selling and we are going to continue to stay here and run the golf course, serving our community.”

Also, if water and sewer are run along the properties they will have to pay for the lines running in front of their properties with very little use of those services. Norris Hauser at R.A.’s Golf estimates it they run water and sewer along the road frontage of his range it will cost $70,000. He would have to sell 10,000 additional buckets of balls to pay for the assessment.

Golf courses provide recreation for the community and green space buffers. Nationally, municipalities are divesting of their own golf courses due to losses. Bryan Park in Greensboro has been leased out to a private management company after the city was having to subsidize the facility.
It seems that cities could try to work with the privately owned courses to encourage them to stay in business verses being turned into business parks and housing developments like Hillcrest, Deep River and Green Valley.

Pros on the move
Hemlock Golf Course has hired Tim Chesney as head golf professional, replacing Tommy Ziglar. Chesney comes to Hemlock after working at the Country Club of Salisbury and Dataw Island.
Stonebridge Golf Club has selected Ross Desmond as its new director of golf. Desmond comes to Stonebridge after three and a half years as head pro at Crescent Golf Club in Salisbury. Prior to that, Desmond spent nearly five years at Keith Hills Country Club in Buies Creek.
The hiring of Desmond reunites him with Signet Golf Associates. Signet manages Stonebridge and was the management firm at Crescent when Desmond was hired there in December of 1999. Desmond grew up in Durham and was an all-conference player at Campbell University.
Eden native Bryant Reeser is the new head professional at Meadow Greens Country Club in Eden. Reeser served as an assistant for more than seven years at Colonial Country Club in Thomasville before taking over at Meadow Greens for his first head position April 1.
Reeser, 31, replaces Ricky Dykes, who served as pro from 1998 until his unexpected death earlier this year.
Reeser graduated from Eden Morehead High School in 1990 and attended Guilford College where he was a member of coach Jack Jensen’s teams there for four years.
Bob Groff of Reidsville has taken the position as Director of Instruction at Goodyear Golf Club in Danville.
Groff, 47, is a long-time member of the Carolinas PGA and has played in several PGA Tour events.
By taking a job in Danville, Groff becomes ineligible for Carolinas PGA Section events. But he said he was ready to cut back on his playing career to concentrate on teaching.
He will be conducting clinics for juniors and ladies at Goodyear and is available for lessons to the public at Goodyear. He can be reached at 336-317-1566 or at Goodyear Golf Club 434-797-1909.

Plantation work
On-going improvements continue at Plantation Golf Club in Reidsville.
Two new ladies tees have been added (holes No. 2 and 3) and a third is under construction.
A new pond is being built behind the 16th green and 17th tee box and a new tee will be added for No. 17, extending the length on the short par-4 to about 340 yards.