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| SUNRAYS
OCTOBER 2013
ONLINE:
SCTXCA.ORG
In Sun City Texas, golf is basically the
only activity that is not in some way sup-
ported by the Community Association.
Even though the community as a whole
benefits from the increased value of hav-
ing the beautiful landscaping, with the
exception of property taxes and insur-
ance, golf is expected to pay its own way
without help from the community.
The developer, Pulte Homes, has built
quality golf courses and turned them over
to the Community Association to operate.
Since Pulte considers a golf course to be
an attractive incentive for prospects to
buy homes, they have pursued a plan of
building a golf course first and then sell-
ing property around it to complete the
project. To this end, they have generously
made up the shortfalls in operating costs
until the community grows to the point
that the course is self-sufficient.
While the golf operations were profitable
with just Legacy Hills and White Wing,
when Cowan Creek opened there was not
sufficient play to make all three courses
profitable, as was the case when the other
two courses were built. Therefore, a bud-
get was prepared each year and submit-
ted to the Board projecting deficits, which
Pultemanagement agreed to cover. Those
deficits, although decreasing annually,
did not provide for a great deal more than
covering the basics of running three golf
courses including personnel, maintenance
equipment, water, seed and fertilizer.
The budget for the 2013 fiscal year pro-
jected a loss of approximately $100,000,
which Pulte agreed was reasonable and
that they would cover any losses up to
that amount. They even agreed to return
up to that amount for expenditures for
improvements, not just operating costs.
Now, for some good news. At this point
we are running well below that budget
figure, which provides the opportunity
for us to finally instigate some signifi-
cant projects that will prove to be long-
term benefits. Yes, some of the funds will
be spent on repairs, such as cart paths
and playability issues, but now we can
afford to create a nursery green for our
golf courses.
Those of us who were here a couple of
years ago remember a problem with our
Legacy Hills and Cowan Creek greens
Notes from the Golf Committee
Submitted by the Sun City Texas Golf Committee
GOLF
Continued on page 64
PHOTO BY JOHN JOHNSON
Our last major MGA tournament in 2013
is the Fall Member/Member, October
23-24. The Chairman is Fred Sondereg-
ger. Registration information with more
details will be available soon.
One of our biggest challenges is to con-
tinue to improve our Pace of Play for both
our tournaments and our weekly Play-
days. A major factor affecting Pace of
Play is always playing Ready Golf. Each
golfer needs to be prepared to play their
shot when it is their turn. You should
always have pre-planned your shot, de-
termined the distance, and selected your
club and any other activity you need to
complete before you play your shot. If
everyone plays Ready Golf, play will be
much quicker and more enjoyable.
Remember, the golf staff will be moni-
toring our games and everyone needs to
maintain the Pace of Play indicated by
the time printed for each hole on your
score card.
See the sponsor listing on the MGA
website when you click on Tournaments.
Support and thank our great sponsors—
we will need them next year!
October brings to us our premier
tournament of the season, the Club
Championship. It consists of three
days of play at each of our three
courses. The dates are October 7,
8 and 10. A social to celebrate the
event and congratulate the winners
will follow the last day of play at
3 p.m. at The Oaks.
Another event in October that is
near and dear to the WGA is the
Rally for the Cure on October 25
with a social to follow in the Ball-
room. It’s a wonderful and fun event
for a great cause.
The WGA 18-Hole Group is open to
all Sun City Texas lady golfers. We
have play days on Tuesday morn-
ings and a number of tournaments
during the season. Anyone inter-
ested in joining our group can call
Kathy Russell at 512-864-9936 to
sign up or for questions. Come join
us and be part of our 150-plus mem-
bership!
WGA 18-Hole Group
Submitted by Elaine Mason
MGA News
Submitted by Walter Connolly, President, MGA Board of Directors.
Contact: 512-868-0780 or
