Golf

Neighborhood Pride Chair Tempe Johnson 520-825-6994 Third Tue., 2 PM, WC3

The Rains Came in a Big Way

Our monsoon rains arrived in a big way, as did many weeds. Keep an eye out for desert broom and spurge, and remove them early. Please make every effort to stay ahead of the weed situation in your yard. With all the rain received, new growth on trees occurred. Note that trees must be kept trimmed more than seven feet above sidewalks to not interfere with pedestrians and for visibility of stop signs at corners. Most bean pods are down now and should be removed from the ground in your yard.

Our committee issues a special thanks to all residents who work diligently to keep their yards in good shape throughout the year, especially in our hot summer months, and more so with the monsoon season. Keep up the good work.

Posse Chair Linda Simōn 520-789-7169 posse@5LP.com First Tue., 3 PM, Desert Oasis (no meetings until further notice) www.scovaz.com/committees/posse/ (must be logged in first)

Covid is still creating problems. The new Delta variant has made the Posse board and SCOV management re-evaluate starting patrols in October. Not knowing what will happen next, we agree that the safety of Posse volunteers is paramount. As a result, patrols will continue to be on hold until January 2022, when we will re-evaluate the situation and, hopefully, be able to resume patrolling.

Once we begin again, we will be looking for additional Posse volunteers so remember, we need you. We request you be available six hours a year (two three-hour shifts). Call Linda for more information. In the meantime, continue to watch out for your neighbors. Be healthy and stay safe.

Properties Chair Rich Oaks richoaks114@gmail.com Third Thu., 9 AM, via Zoom

Semiannual inspections of SCOV facilities are one of the Property Committee’s primary functions. The purpose of the inspections is to identify the condition and maintenance needs of SCOV facilities and grounds. Committee members, together with HOA maintenance staff, will conduct an inspection during September. The Properties Committee works on a variety of similar tasks during the year. Our recent meetings have been in person and via Zoom. Please see the calendar on the SCOV website for meeting dates, times and format.

Tipster Editorial Co-chair Karen Koopmans 520-818-6337 skkoops@gmail.com Co-chair John Njaa

If your committee or club has a new president or secretary who will be submitting articles to the Tipster, please have them stop by the Welcome Center to pick up a copy of the “Tipster Submitter’s Guide” booklet. The guide contains information on how to submit an article along with the Tipster Article Standards. The booklet can also be found online at www.suncityorovalley.com/news-info/the-tipster. Golfing experience that provides professional and friendly service, mountain views and excellent conditions.

Director of Golf - Rick Price rprice@theviewsgolfclub.com 520-917-8086

As many of you are aware the decision was made to skip the majority of overseeding this fall which will allow us to remain open those three weeks we would normally close in September and October. We will not have golf cart restrictions of cart path only for two weeks in October.

Here are some key factors for not overseeding this season: 1. Health of the Bermuda grass base. Skipping overseeding will allow the Bermuda grass an entire growing season to re-establish a deep root system. 2. The golf course maintenance staff will be able to concentrate on other areas of the golf course that have been neglected over the years. The bunkers will be cleaned up and sand added, desert areas trimmed, trees trimmed near tee complexes to create better views, roots pruned around edges and repair of drainage areas that are chronically wet. 3. The weeds that have contaminated the fairways will be removed. The Poa Annua that appears in the late winter/ early spring will be removed with chemicals and a pre-emergent applied to prevent new Poa plants. The goose grass that appears during the summer will be prevented with a pre-emergent in the late spring. These processes cannot be performed when overseeded with ryegrass. 4. Fairways and greens will be painted to appear overseeded. Painted dormant fairways can provide an excellent playing surface with firm conditions and extra ball roll; however, dormant fairways will also experience some wear and tear from traffic during the winter because the grass is growing slowly, if at all. The key is to be able to control golf cart traffic for less wear on the course.

Superintendent - Michael Kropf scvgolf@suncityorovalley.com 520-917-8063

This year the weather conditions have been different all around the country. Tucson finally received a wet monsoon for the first time in several years. The Pacific Northwest endured its hottest temperatures on record with highs exceeding 110 degrees. The reason the temperatures in the northwest part of the country are important to Arizona is because that is where most of the grass seed is produced. Anybody who has seen our golf course in June, when the temperatures are 110 degrees, knows that kind of heat severely damages ryegrass. As a result, the supply of ryegrass this year was reduced by 40 to 50% which doubled the price of seed. This price increase, combined with many different factors led to the decision to not overseed this winter. The last couple of years, the idea to skip overseeding the golf course was discussed for several beneficial reasons. The major reason was to give the Bermuda grass a break after 20-plus years of constant overseeding. Each year a couple holes were not overseeded, but not the whole course, resulting in damage to the underlying Bermuda grass. Goosegrass and Poa Annua weeds which have infested the fairways can easily be removed when the fairways are not overseeded. Turf conditions in the fall and spring will be im-