ALMANAC SPRING-SUMMER 2022
From the General Manager What an incredible Spring at Champions Retreat! It has been such a pleasure to see our Membership energized in 2022, with so many positive areas of momentum. To start, the weather has been truly a blessing throughout the fall of 2021 and into the Spring and Summer of 2022. Avoiding weather events allows for our team to present the best conditions possible while allowing for you, our Members, to use the Club on a regular basis. We are proud, once again, to have had a successful Augusta National Women’s Amateur, adding 16-year-old, Anna Davis, to the impressive list of Champions. That said, as you have seen, our Membership family has been active this Spring. Many of you are bringing guests, staying in cottages, enjoying the food, service and new greens…and we are thankful for all of your continued support.
Cameron S. Wiebe
Throughout the following pages, each of our Leaders has taken time to highlight the last few months, speak to our current offerings and look forward to the Summer with each of you in mind. We will balance the great conditions with some necessary work on the golf course to ensure that we continue to have the best agronomic practices, namely, aerification taking place in July and August. Please watch for communication from the Club on the details of that work. Chef and Rouchi will continue to add great events to the calendar throughout the summer months, with the most recent being the Wholesale Wine event held in the Barn. Additionally, the Club Championships take place over the summer months to identify the most skilled among us. Please continue to communicate with Mike and his Professional Team to ensure that you are entering the events, taking lessons, or playing with the Pros. We look forward to another great summer, and now that the TifEagle greens are receptive to the heat, we are excited to play great golf in great conditions.
Cameron S. Wiebe, PGA Champions Retreat General Manager (706) 854-6999 | cameron@championsretreat.net
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Membership Dear Members, It is hard to believe that we are already in May with summer almost here! It has been a true pleasure over the past few months to get to know our many extraordinary Members, and to welcome new Members from both near and far. I am humbled to be a part of it. The 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur and 2022 Masters Week have proven that post pandemic energy has resurrected. The Club was a flurry of guests and Members, with the property providing a pristine framework for female athletes and avid golfers from around the world. A special thank you to our Members, volunteers and staff for being such ambassadors of our Club. At Champions Retreat, we are proud of our pure golf experience and healthy Membership. Over half of our new Members were previously introduced to Champions Retreat as a guest or a referral from an existing Member. Thank you for your continued support in growing our Club and sharing it with your friends, family, and co-workers. We look forward to connecting our Members through golf and the game of life.
Kelly Pickard | Director of Membership & Sales (570) 269–8382 | kelly@championsretreat.net
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Lodging & Facilities This year has been an amazing year so far with increased usage of our cottages, not only over last year but also over pre-covid years. We are grateful for all of you who have come to enjoy the cottages for a weekend of golf, a staycation, special occasion, or have trusted us with your friends and family during their visit. If you have not stayed in one of the cottages, I encourage each of you to extend your getaway by exploring all that we have to offer including a meal prepared by our culinary team in select cottages. Our Concierge Team is ready to respond to any special requests that can enhance your experience such as champagne and strawberries or an in-cottage massage. We have also been upgrading and improving the cottages in conjunction with the owners to ensure that we are providing a product consistent with our club values. All cottages can be requested by name to ensure that the amenities align with your stay.Feel free to contact me directly to further discuss your options, large groups or an idea that we can assist with further. Have a great summer and I look forward to seeing you around the Club.
Lloyd Van Horn | Director of Lodging & Facilities (706) 854-6984 | lloyd@championsretreat.net
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Food & Beverage While I have been employed by Champions Retreat since 2019, I have just recently been able to say that I have experienced the full calendar year. COVID-19 was an interruption to ANWA and a true Masters Week, so perhaps now, I can call myself “Local”. Amazing, challenging, exciting, rewarding, are only a few words that could explain the experience. I loved it. Our team truly appreciates the Member’s support, and at times, patience for the busiest Masters Champions Retreat has ever experienced. With the return of normalcy, so too is the return of Sunday Brunch, and member response has been amazing. Friday night live music has become extremely popular and coupled with Fire & Ice during the cool seasons, it has become the busiest night of the week. Both Easter and Mother’s Day were positively received and well-attended. The Wholesale Wine tasting was a great hit, with Members tasting over 50 wines and seizing the opportunity to purchase wines at wholesale prices. Last year was also a banner year for private events such as weddings and office parties, group outings and more at the Club. It seems that our Members are ready to engage and have a great time. Looking forward, we are excited for the summer and fall, with events like Oktoberfest, an Oyster Roast, more Wine Dinners, Margarita Flight nights, and more. Chef Ross will continue rotating menus regularly to bring in local and seasonal produce to showcase his delcious and beautiful dishes. I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next. It is hard to fathom, but Holiday parties should be booked early to ensure availability and venue preference. Dates in December are already filling in. As always, feel free to contact me with any requests to make your next visit to the Club your best one. Fariborz Rouchi | Director of Food & Beverage (706) 854-6977 | rouchi@championsretreat.net
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Golf News The Ice Breaker tournament kicked off our first golf event of 2022 with Tyler Duke taking the Bluff Flight with a terrific score of 80, Greg Honeymichael capturing the Creek Flight with a score of 91, and guest Kyle Hadden finishing with a score of 87 on the Island Flight. There was some fantastic scoring in tough conditions for this event. As we moved into the Spring months, we hosted the Augusta National Women’s Amateur at full capacity with the world ready to come back in town for the Masters tournament. The ANWA competitors found our new TifEagle greens firm and challenging as they were tested throughout the course of two-and-a-half days of tournament play. Due to severe weather conditions, the event carried into Friday morning allowing the ladies to complete round 2, which then led to a spectacular final round at Augusta National on Saturday, April 2nd. Anna Davis grinded through two tough rounds of play at Champions Retreat (70-76) and finished her final round at Augusta National with a score of 69. After an exciting finish, she grabbed the title. Once again, Augusta, Georgia became the capital of the world for one week of the year as Masters Week was back in full force for 2022. Our Club hosted several Members and visitors from all corners of the globe for seven consecutive days with golf, fine dining, and entertainment. Champions Retreat definitely is a sought-after destination from those who visited for the tournament. Once they experienced the southern hospitality, incredible venue and golf course second to none, visitors booked their 2023 trip before they left the property. We hosted our annual Member-Member tournament this spring with 57 teams competing for the Championship Barrels. The weekend was complete with great sportsmanship, competitive play, and camaraderie. The Tournament Shootout came down to the last hole between teams Rich Poythress/Pierce Markowitz and Phillip Tully/Matt Eschelbach. Both teams competed twice on Creek #9 to determine an overall champion and in the end, Poythress/Markowitz captured the title.
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Flight Winners for the 2022 Member-Member Tournament: Flight 1 - Shae Stancil/Adam McKenney Flight 2 - Mike Ross/Russell Fiveash Flight 3 - Kyle Christiansen/Bill Gibbs Flight 4 - John DeFoor/Preston Duffie Flight 5 - Rich Poythress/Pierce Markowitz Flight 6 - Russell Kowalczyk/Chris Perry Flight 7 - Chip Huffman/Brett Arrowood Our instructional programs have continued their growth the first half of this year and remain a staple for many new golfers to explore the game of golf. Both Fore the Ladies and the Junior Golf Academy have remained successful in forming new friendships, playing partners, and an overall excitement to expand and improve one’s golf game. With ANWA as a backdrop here at the Club, we have noticed an increased interest in girls joining our Junior Academy golf program. We’re proud to see the benefit of the Women’s Amateur encouraging young golfers to explore the game. We, as a Professional Staff, are thrilled and proud of the development of our programs and are always looking for new and innovative ways to continue elevating them. Mike Rymer | Director of Golf (706) 854-6964 | mike@championsretreat.net
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Course Conditions I hope that this letter finds you happy and healthy. We have been fortunate to have such a positive run of great weather for our turf this spring. With that, May is the beginning of the transitional months from Rye overseed to Bermuda grass, when Bermuda awakens from dormancy. Transition will show itself first as bare or struggling grass, but the Bermuda will creep in to fill those voids during the months of June and into August. Below is a short summary of each area highlighting our focus this summer. Tees (overseed areas): These areas will be fertilized every 7-10 days with a quick release granular fertilizer to get the bermudagrass the nitrogen it needs to recover. A light topdressing will be applied once most of the ryegrass has died out. There are always some areas that do not make it through transition and will need to be resodded; for example, forward tee on #6 Island. Due to shade, strength of turf and micro-climate locations around the property, some areas will recover differently than others. Fairways: We are pleased with the fairway surfaces and their conditions, and the fertilizer that we applied in April will continue to release throughout the next month. Aprons: This is an area of immediate attention. While some elements of the construction project were known in terms of its timing and recovery, some areas have not responded to our standards. The warm weather is our friend on this topic. That said, the nutrients and best agronomic practices are being applied in these areas. A combination of patching, fertility applications and protection will make improvement in areas of need.
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Greens: Our goal to have firm and fast putting surfaces has been achieved by changing the surfaces to the TifEagle bermudagrass. Our first winter was one of protection of these new surfaces and we were pleased on how we managed through those colder months. In an effort to maintain these conditions, routine maintenance must be followed. Every Monday since late March and through August 15th, the surfaces will receive either a vertical mow or verti-cutting and topdress. With minimal impact on playability, what can be noticed are green speeds increasing throughout the week (Tuesday-Sunday) as the surfaces are rolled. Rough: With certain exceptions, we are pleased with the condition of our rough. Three areas in particular (#4 and #8 Bluff and #7 Creek) have areas of a condition named Spring Dead Spot. Adjustments to the chemical applications in the fall will have a greater influence in these areas for the spring. These areas will improve as the summer heat returns. Aerification July 11th through July 13th: Aerification is the dreaded word that is a necessary evil and ultimately produces the best putting surfaces. During this week, all greens will be aerified, as well as tees and aprons. Fairways will be verti-cut and solid tine. Tees and Aprons will also be top-dressed. Steps for Greens Aerification: 1. Verti-Cut 4-directions 2. Aerify 3. Topdress
Craig Walsh | Golf Course Superintendent (706) 524-5402 | craig@championsretreat.net
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