SADDLEBROOKE RANCH GOLF ASSOCIATION – THE FORE CADDIE FOR APRIL ’26

April began with near perfect weather after an early heat up in late March. The tee sheets have opened a bit as early Easter has some snowbirds heading home. The course is in amazing condition after a warm winter, and we are hoping for a good monsoon this summer to really complement the great growing conditions. Stay in tune with the Forecaddie to keep up to date with everything Pro Shop and golf course related.

In the following sections, you will find all the information relating to this month in golf, as well as contact information for our golf associations and our Greens Committee.

Pro Shop Hours – Open thirty minutes before the first tee time and one hour before shotguns. The pro shop closes at 5:30pm. Pro shop staff will carry the pro shop cell phone (520-561-1196) until 5:30.

Staff is available until one hour before sunset.

First tee time: April 1-30: 7:00am

Last tee time: April 1-30: 5:30pm

Shotguns: 8:00/1:00 Rate Periods: April 1-30: P

Prime 7:00 – 11:52

Midday 12:00 – 1:52

Twilight 1:52 – 4:00

Super Twilight 4:00 – Sunset

Golf Maintenance News

This month I’d like to touch on cart traffic and cart traffic control on the course. Over the past years I’ve written about this multiple times, but I consistently hear comments regarding why, and what’s the purpose of the traffic control policies we have in place. Cart traffic and compaction have the biggest impact on our course conditions, all of you can either help to reduce cart traffic and improve conditions or you can be the cause of the problem. It’s hard to believe that May I’ll have been here for 5 years! It’s amazing how fast time goes by. As a reminder for those of you that were here when I started, or if you’re new in the past 5 years, that the first summer I was here we installed ACRES of sod along the cart paths, between the cart paths/fairways and our desert edges. Every year since then we have sodded less year over year. This summer I don’t know if we’ll install more than a couple of thousand square feet, all because of the traffic control measures we have in place and the help of those who follow our policies. As an example of the effects of cart traffic, I want you to think about the height of the grass along the cart path versus the out of play areas in the fronts of the holes or along the desert sides where there is very little traffic. The grass is much thicker/taller/healthier there, where there is limited cart traffic. Everything we do out here is to disperse and distribute cart traffic as evenly as possible because when cart traffic becomes focused over one area, we lose the battle and lose grass.

Questions/Comments

Why do we mow the grass along the washes on 10, 11 and 13 so short? My ball always rolls through and into the wash. Can’t you let those areas grow up? · These areas are mowed at the same heights as all the other rough, why is it so short?

• Cart Traffic – everyone drives to the end of the fairway on those holes and then drives along the wash edge compacting the soil and reducing the health of the turf. · Try to limit your traffic there, if you don’t need to go to the end of the fairway, get back on the cart path sooner.

The fairways are in great condition, why do we need Cart Path Only holes?

• To protect the cart path edges and allow grass recovery across the entire hole. 3. Why does the course look the fullest and have the most grass in the past 5 years? · Cart path only holes and allowing the golf hole to recover for the week or two.