By the time you are reading this I will have handed over the reins to John Rogers as your next Director of Golf. I will continue in a consulting-only capacity through the end of this year and on a more limited basis next year as well, a sort of “on-call” situation, if you will. I wish to say a great big thank you to all our members for the support you have given Lucia and I over this past 20 years or so. We have enjoyed working with and for you and truly love Alto and the surrounding area. We will continue to reside in Alto for the foreseeable future and split time between here and South Padre Island. As our grandkids still live here, you can bet we won’t be away for any real extended periods, as we are and want to remain very active in their lives. And now, on to the news!
We have 3 more aces to report since the last Avalanche. On August 26, Marty Cope aced #7 at Alto with her 8 iron while playing with hubby Wink Graham. This was Marty’s second career ace. Then on September 8, which was during round 2 of the Lonesome Pine, Randy Acker aced #5 at Alto with his wedge. Looking on was very proud partner Mark Roberts and fellow competitors Scott Snider and Kent Payne. Then on September 10, Junior Crowson aced #17 at Alto with his 9 iron while playing with Jorge Arango and Tony Fernandez… those of you in the Hole-in-One Club will be seeing that one for sure on your bill. Well done to our sharpshooters!
For those of you not here in Alto, the courses are nothing short of spectacular! The wonderful rains received during the Monsoons continued through the better part of August and even to some extent September, with yet another really nice 1.5 inches on September 15 just as we finished up the ladies Border event and AMGA Playday. A word to the wise; don’t hit it in the rough as it is VERY healthy.
For those with a credit book balance outstanding, we will be rolling those balances over in to 2022 through November of 2022. So, basically continuing with prior policy, except redemptions must be done one month earlier.
A reminder to all that we start first tee times (at both courses) in October at 7:30. Golf shop
hours are 7:30AM-6:00PM at both courses. Next month (November) Shop hours go to 8:00 AM-5:00 PM at both courses. The ALGA begins playdays in October at 9:00, as a reminder.
A quick reminder we will be aerifying the Alto course on Monday, October 4, and the Outlaw on Tuesday and Wednesday, October 5-6.
We have also seen a few instances of members making tee times and reserving the other spots with you by using the Guest Accompanied option in Foretees. The Guest Accompanied box is to be used only if you indeed have guests and not just to hold the spots. Bear in mind that each tee time has, on our Admin side, a history button where we can tell exactly who accessed the time, and what they put in. The above paragraph on the new “No 5th Player” option will hold the 5th slot for those wishing only to play four, so this may be of help here; but times are open 4 days from the tee time per Board Policy so there’s 10 days to get your game together.
Winter hours for November-March will be our customary days of Alto open Wednesday-Sunday from 8:00-5:00, and Outlaw Friday-Tuesday at the same hours of operation. One course will always be open for play, weather permitting, of course.
A reminder that winter green fee rates take effect on October 19 (the third Tuesday as usual) this year and run until the 3rd Tuesday in April 2022, which is also the 20th. Rates are $40 for those you accompany, and $50 for unaccompanied.
As we get into the slower growing season, it becomes even more important to repair your ball marks and divots as you make them. Better yet, repair yours and couple of others to boot! Something else to also consider is using the broken tee cups we have on each tee box…an interesting factoid is that the number one cause of flats on mowing equipment is broken tees…not thorns or broken tree limbs as you might suspect, it’s broken tees!
As always, we ask your assistance in keeping your golf cart out of all native areas at The Outlaw…it’s really looking good and we certainly want to keep it that way as we approach dormancy. Also, please remember Glenn has asked us to just drive in the fairways (where allowed) which seems counter-intuitive to some, but it really helps in fairway and rough wear as well. When you think about it, if you drive down the path until you reach your tee shot, and then just stay in the fairway until you’re on the green, you prevent the shoe-lacing back and forth which is the major cause of turf wear. Try it out… We think it’s faster too! Thanks in advance for your help.
A quick reminder for those who sometimes just play 9 holes, we’d like you to remember you can and should post your nine hole scores only if playing with someone else. Just click the 9 hole button after you’ve entered your score and it will prompt you for a click for which nine and course you played. It will automatically combine any 9 hole score you have previously entered with the one you post that day regardless of which nine you play and show it as a “C” for a combined 9’s in your 18 hole scoring record.