Coming on the heels of the golf course closing at the nearby Rancho Mirage (Calif.) Country Club, the lawsuit objects to fees designated specifically for marketing support of the club that are imposed on resident non-members, and highlights the issue of how intertwined neighborhoods and courses that are owned and managed separately should co-exist.
Nevada, California Judges Mandate Care for Idle Golf Courses
An Administrative Hearing Officer has ruled that Oasis Ranch LLC violated a city ordinance when it erected a chain-link fence around Rancho Mirage (Calif.) Country Club, and must remove it. In Las Vegas, a judge ruled that the owners of Silverstone Golf Club must begin maintaining the property after residents began complaining in September about the golf course falling into neglect.
Shuttered Rancho Mirage (Calif.) CC Holds Internet-Only Auction
The property is liquidating all of its assets, including 80 late-model golf carts, tractors, mowers, trailers, commercial kitchen equipment, pro shop, banquet equipment and more via an online auction. The auction closing date is November 4.
Troon Challenge Culminates at Troon North GC
The amateur golf tournaments hosting two-player teams began at Troon facilities across the country in April. The team of Steve Blackford & Joseph Fox from Poston Butte Golf Club in Florence, Ariz., came in first in the gross division.
Coachella Valley Golf Properties Work to Beat the Heat
Many club and resort properties in the California desert struggle to make a profit in the hot summer months, with green fees often lowered as demand wanes mid-summer. Omni Rancho Las Palmas Resort gives free golf to hotel guests, and Bermuda Dunes CC offers inexpensive summer memberships.
Water-Use Paradox for Palm Springs-Area Courses Highlighted
The more than 120 golf courses in Southern California’s Coachella Valley have a rare luxury because of a huge underground aquifer that makes water cheap and plentiful, while other properties in the state must deal with a devastating drought. Superintendents still want to develop long-term conservation strategies, but pressure from residents, and in some case legal requirements, are forcing them to keep properties lush.
New Respect for the Elders
More properties are awakening to how senior players may hold the best promise for growing the game.
Club Facilities Of the Future
By creating more appealing purposes for existing space, bringing new features and efficiencies to current structures, or starting from scratch with a state-of-the-art property, more of “tomorrow’s” clubs and resorts are fast becoming part of the current scene.
LaRocca Scholarship Recipients Announced
The Club Foundation has announced the 2013 recipients of its LaRocca Family Executive Scholarship. Robert Josey, CCM, from The Country Club in Pepper Pike, Ohio, and Daniel Cooper, CCM, from The Springs Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif., will receive the tuition costs and travel expenses to attend their choice of one of the elective-level Business Management Institutes presented by the CMAA.
Westin Mission Hills Invests $1M in Energy Efficiency
The Rancho Mirage, Calif., resort and spa is using its local electric company’s Lodging Energy Efficiency Program as a tool to reduce its energy consumption by 14.6%, or 1.1 million kilowatt hours, in the last year. The program offers incentive payments based on the number of kilowatt hours saved, and the most recent check issued to the hotel was for $122,373.