[BrianL99]

I spent a couple of hours with Mitch Leininger, the Director of Executive Golf for the District, this past Wednesday.

I initiated contact with the PWAC, regarding the recent problems with the Exec Courses. They referred my letter to Mr. Brown the Assistant Director, who responded immediately, substantively and patiently. He also suggested I contact Mitch and arrange to visit some of the District’s current Exec Golf course projects, which I did. I spent a couple of hours with Mitch, yesterday.

First off, I have to commend the District for not only their quick response and consideration, but of all the governmental and quasi-governmental units I’ve dealt with through the years, not one has been any more forthcoming with information or access to staff and documents. While we might not always agree with what the District does, their commitment to transparency and access, is to be commended.

As to the golf.

I think the District has gotten the message, that residents and golfers are not happy with the condition of the courses this year and have resolved to do a better job going forward.

I didn’t ask why the situation was allowed to deteriorate to what we saw this year, but I can speculate that the District got caught behind the curve. I think a less than aggressive maintenance program over the past years, combined with adverse weather conditions this Spring, brought things to a head. It’s fairly easy to grow grass when conditions are optimal, it’s more of a challenge when the weather turns against us.

I have a attended a couple of PWAC meetings, where golf was a subject and the District has said they need to do a better job with their contracts, management of the contracts, as well as course maintenance. Keep in mind, “contracting” and “managing” golf courses, are two different tasks. While they sometimes overlap, we can’t always expect a Golf Course Superintendent to be an expert in contracting, nor a contracting expert to be a golf maintenance whiz. I think the District is going to re-visit how their contracts are structured and managed.

I visited a couple of courses, in the process of being renovated. I think the inclusion of the USGA in this process, is a huge positive step. From what Mitch told me, they’ll be consulted as necessary, as renovations move forward and they’ll be providing analysis of some of the construction materials. The District also moved forward with a “direct purchase process”, for golf related materials (fertilizers, fungicides, etc.). Buying directly should save money, but more importantly, standardize the products that are being use on the golf courses.

Going forward, I think we’ll see an improvement in conditions and hopefully, a long-range plan that insures they don’t get caught behind the curve again.

Also, the District is planning a "course condition" guide, that's going to be published (or posted), so anyone looking to play, will be able to have some insight into current conditions at a specific course (this was discussed at the PWAC meeting).

& yes, I made a number of suggestions that I think might improve conditions and their contracting process, as well as increase Customer (resident) Satisfaction.

We’ll see what next year brings.