2023 Spring Almanac

ALMANAC

SPRING 2023

From the General Manager

What an incredible spring at Champions Retreat! We have been blessed with moderate temperatures over the last severeal weeks, making for a true spring in Georgia. That said, as you have seen, our Membership family has been active this spring and continues to grow. Many of you are bringing guests, staying in cottages, enjoying the food and service…and we are thankful for all of your continued support.

We are proud, once again, to have had a successful Augusta National Women’s Amateur, adding the #1 ranked Amateur, Rose Zhang, to the impressive list of Champions.

Cameron S. Wiebe

Throughout the following pages, each of our Leaders have taken the time to highlight the last few months, speak to our current offerings, and look fo rward 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 in July and August. Please watch for communications from the Club regarding details of that work. Chef and Rouchi will continue to add new and favorited events to the calendar throughout the summer months.

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 Pro’s.

We look forward to another great summer and seeing you around the Club often.

Cameron S. Wiebe, PGA Champions Retreat General Manager

(706) 854-6999 | cameron@championsretreat.net

Membership

What an extraordinary season it has been amongst our Membership community!

The momentum of our Membership, and all the ways to connect here on site, has never been more prominent. As the property itself began to awaken, so many of you have introduced friends, family, colleagues, and partners to the Club. Because of this, our Membership continues to thrive with upwards of 65% of our new Members deriving from Member referrals or past guest experience.

In addition, the 4th annual Augusta National Women’s Amateur proved once again to be an event for those near and far. It was a pleasure to watch our Membership community, both during ANWA and Masters week, sport their CR gear, engage with new guests, and cheer on the phenomenal athletes. Thank you for representing yourselves, and Champions Retreat, with the utmost integrity.

We predicted in early 2023 that this year would be a trend of connection and energy both on and off the golf course. We’ve worked hard to curate the framework to support it. Even so, our staff remains humbled that you have continued to share your golf game, family milestones, corporate connections, and intimate moments with us. I am honored to be your Membership Director.

Lodging & Facilities

As the Club continues to grow and evolve, our team continues to ensure that the cottages, facilities, and overall property are ready to provide an exceptional experience for both Members and guests. Over the last couple of months, we have upgraded the interior of several cottages with modernized fixtures, floors, and toiletries. As we move further into 2023, these improvements will continue with our Members & guests in mind.

Summer is the perfect time to book a cottage whether it be a weekend getaway with family or to celebrate a special occasion with friends. Highlighted by luxurious touches, each beautifully designed cottage accommodates four to eight couples, a chef’s ki tchen, and comfortable spaces for entertaining around a fireplace, outdoor porch, or fire pit. After indulging in the Southern cuisine at the Grille House, you can enjoy a relaxing evening by the fire at your cottage.

To enhance your stay, we offer a variety of amenities including in-cottage dinner experiences, spa services, transportation, and more. The Club Concierge team will work with you personally to ensure your requests are met with ease. They can also assist in planning future stays for you and your guests.

Our Cottage reservations are beginning to see an increase for the fall, so we encourage you to book your holiday parties, staycations, and other special events ahead of time. We look forward to assisting you in making your stay here at the Club, a memorable one.

Lloyd Van Horn | Director of Lodging & Facilities

Food & Beverage

It’s hard to believe that April is already behind us. It seems like yesterday we were planning the release of our new winter menu and getting ready for our annual Valentine’s day dinner. The Augusta National Women’s Amateur and Masters week were a tremendous success this year. The past few weeks have been an extremely busy time for our team, and I would like to acknowledge the outstanding efforts they have made.

From the Surf & Turf to the infamous Halibut and Lobster Roll, Chef Ross’ winter and spring menus were both well received by all. The Winemaker Dinner with Christie Kerr and the Valentine’s Day dinner sold out within hours of announcing, giving our Grille House astounding patronage from both Member’s and guests.

As we move into the summer months, we will continue bringing live music to the Grille House on Friday nights. We have also brought back Margarita Flight Nights every Saturday, which will feature three new margarita flavors a week. With the Winemaker Dinners being a huge success, we are planning to host another in June.

Our Wholesale Wine tasting even and the Steakhouse experience from last summer will also make a return in the coming months. Be on the lookout for future communications regarding these events

Private parties and events have continued to grow with frequent inquiries about corporate meetings, weddings, and other special occasions. To host your event at the Club, you can reach out to our Event Coordinator, Tamara Mimmie, who would be happy to assist you in making your experience one to remember.

As always, feel free to contact me with any requests you may have, and I hope to see you all at the Club soon!

Golf News

The Ice Breaker Par 3 tournament kicked off our first golf event of the 2023 season. This year we had 3 Flights: the Nicklaus, the Palmer, and the Player. Will Rogers captured the Nicklaus flight with a low score of 76, Allen Dempsey took the Palmer flight with a 91, and Manny Ngoh secured the Player flight with a score of 98. With challenging pins and unique tee locations, this event is a Club favorite.

After a successful Ice Breaker tournament, we began prepping for the busiest time of the year. Springtime in Augusta means the eyes of the world are locked in on our region while Champions Retreat gets to play a leading role as host to the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. With added live coverage, the Club displayed championship playing conditions during both rounds of the tournament. Our firm greens presented a challenging two days as the competitors were tested leading up to their final round at the National. After a rain delay and an intense playoff, Rose Zhang secured a coveted victory.

The Club hosted several Members and visitors from around the world during Masters Week All of which experienced the golf, fine dining,

and entertainment we had to offer. Champions Retreat has become a definite place to be a part of with the southern hospitality, incredible venue, and a golf course that is second to none, visitors have already started planning their next Masters Week at the Club.

Our instructional programs continue to gain popularity allowing for new friendships, playing partners, and an overall excitement for the game of golf. Both Fore the Ladies and Future Champions Golf Academy have showcased new and innovative ways to elevate one’s golf game. Be on the lookout for future Club communications regarding sign-up dates for these programs.

As we move into the summer, we are looking forward to hosting the Men’s and Women’s Club Championship, a 36-hole, two-day medal play event. We are also gearing up for our annual Member-Guest tournament, which is right around the corner. This threeday event will feature five 9-hole matches and a championship shoot-out to determine the winner of each flight.

Mike Rymer | Director of Golf

2023 Club Events

MEMBER-MEMBER

May 20th-21st

A flighted two-day event featuring multiple 9-hole formats. The winner of each flight will compete in the Tournament Shoot-out to determine overall champion.

MEN'S & WOMEN'S CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP

June 10th-11th

The Club Championship is a 36-hole, twoday Medal play event.

MEMBER-GUEST

June 22nd-24th

Member-Guest is a three-day event featuring five 9-hole matches and championship shoot-out. Teams are flighted by combined team index. The winning team in each flight will then compete in the championship shootout to determine the overall champion.

MEMBER MATCH PLAY

May 27th-September 3rd

Member Match Play is a 64-player match event with a tournament bracket divided into 4 flights. Matches are scehduled by the competitors and must be completed by a specific timeframe.

RED-WHITE-BLUE TOURNAMENT

July 4th | Registration opens June 15th

Each competitor starts with a flag and their handicap plus par. The flag is placed in the ground wherever your strokes run out. Whoever's flag is placed last during the round, wins.

JUNIOR CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP

August 5th | Registration opens July 15th

The Junior Club Championship is a one-day Medal play event.

PARENT-CHILD TOURNAMENT

August 18th | Registration opens August 1st

The Parent-Child tournament is a 9-hole, modified alternate shot event.

SENIOR CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP

August 26th-27th | Registration opens August 1st

The Senior Club Championship is a 36-hole, two-day Medal play event.

MEMBER-GUEST

September 28th-30th

Member-Guest is a three-day event featuring five 9-hole matches and championship shootout. Teams are flighted by combined team index. The winning team in each flight will then compete in the championship shoot-out to determine the overall champion.

Course Conditions

In the first quarter of the year, we experienced a record-breaking rainfall amount totaling 22 inches year to date. Annual rainfall for our area is typically around 44 inches, which puts us at the halfway mark only a few months into the new year. Leading up to the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, we experienced over 5 inches of rain. However, our team was able to get the course back into championship conditions prior to regulation rounds.

With 40 volunteers working alongside our staff during ANWA, I want to acknowledge the hard work and efforts they put into preparing Champions Retr eat for this prestigious event. Drizzle, our unofficial Club dog, was recognized during the event by having the opportunity to guess the winner. A video capturing this special moment was featured all across ANWA's social media accounts. As our team reflects on the past few weeks, we are excited to host ANWA in 2024 with new ideas and improvements for our Members, guests, and the viewers.

Jumping back into the topic of weather, our area has experienced more cold temperatures over the course of the last couple of months, which is delaying the green up of our playing surfaces. Typically, the average temperatures this time of year are 60/84. During the first week of May, we had consistent temperatures of 45/77, which delays the vigorous growth of the bermudagrass that we have this time of year. However, warmer temperatures are right around the corner, and we hope for a season of beautiful weather.

In the coming months, our team will continue preparing the course for higher volume Club events, which include Member-Member and Member-Guest. As temperatures change, you

will notice the increase of our agronomic practices, which include greens venting, topdressing, and vertical mowing. These practices are all essential in maintaining premium playing conditions in order to give our Members and their guests the best experience possible. The first large core aeration of greens is scheduled to take place J uly 5th-7th.

Our winter playing surfaces with ryegrass will start to succumb to heat and transition back into a bermudagrass playing surface in the next few weeks. We are currently applying additional fertilizer to encourage growth, lowering our grooming heights to allow for more sunlight, and applying products to these areas in order to aid the transition from ryegrass to bermudagrass. We plan to aerate and top dress these areas, however many of these practices are weather dependant. With that, please be on the lookout for future Club communications regarding course closures and updates.

As always, a big thank you to our team for their support and efforts as we prepare Champions Retreat with premium playing conditions, on a daily basis.

Barry Rewis | Director of Agronomy