Greetings Golfers,
It’s really here. Unbelievable. A month ago, it looked like we’d open in May. Three weeks ago, it looked like it’d be mid April. A week ago, we tentatively decided to open this weekend.
So tomorrow, we’re hosting a Twin Cities Golf tournament. It’s already sold-out (sorry). And the range and putting green will only be open for the TCG players.
However, we will be open for public play on Sunday. That means everything will be open – course, range, carts, Pro Shop, and the Pub.
Our season basically reflects the Major League Baseball season. Though … our preseason is the month of April. They have the luxury of warming up in Florida. We don’t. Because we’re not yet at our peak performance (the snow just melted and we still have frost in the ground) we will charge our Twilight rate until May 1.
We came through pretty well. The practice putting green came through the worst of anything. It just gets so much use that it’s vulnerable to a nasty Winter. But, everything else is pretty good … and should be really good by May.
The Twins are off to a good start. The preseason is the time to work on fundamentals, and it seems to have worked for this team. They’re young, but they don’t look like rookies. Hope they can keep it going.
Speaking of fundamentals. A successful golf operation also runs on fundamentals. It needs to be in good condition, the amenities (carts, shop, F&B, range) need to be good quality, the atmosphere needs to be friendly, and the pace of play needs to be around 4 hours. We need your help on that last one – pace of play.
Our Rangers can only do so much. We need your help. Obviously, the usual keys to a good pace play remain: writing the scores at the next tee box, playing ready golf, dropping off your cart partner with 3 clubs before going to your ball, etc. My big fear this year revolves about the new rule of leaving the pin in when putting. If players get goofy and take in and out for every putt, we’ll have slow rounds. I hope common-sense prevails. Leave it in for the long putts and if it gets taken out for shorter putts that the pin STAYS out.
Hopefully this gets resolved during the “preseason” and people figure out that the pin in can be a good thing … but shouldn’t be abused. And hopefully, the Twins are the real deal and we can enjoy great baseball and golf this year in Minnesota.
Cheers,
Tom Abts
GM/Head PGA Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com
Deer Run Golf Club
8661 Deer Run Drive
Victoria, MN 55386
(952) 443-2351
www.deerrungolf.com
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