July Newsletter

From the President:

I hope everyone is doing well and playing lots of golf. The fairways and newly seeded rough are coming in very well. I would like to remind those in carts to pay close attention to the roped off areas. We will continue to rope off areas as need be to promote new growth throughout the course. The grass drainage area on the right side of # 4 will be a great addition and offer a more challenging hole.

A couple of items were discussed at the June Board of Directors meeting that I would like to bring to your attention. First, we (Board of Directors) have dedicated the restrooms in the clubhouse as smoke free.

Second, the new carts and cart rentals. We would ask you to be mindful of the new carts and to help take care of them. As much as possible keep the carts on the paths to avoid additional wear and tear. Each person renting the cart will now sign a cart rental form each time you rent it. Even those who have unlimited carts will sign the agreement each time. I know this will be a slight hassle but it’s the best way for the club to monitor all the carts and ensure their condition.
Next up is the Bar. Bar sales, more precisely mixed drink sales continue to cause the club more and more problems. By the time you receive this you may have already discovered an increase in the drink prices at the club. Everything is going up 25 cents, including beer. We are also going back to the 8 oz glass (standard bar size) instead of the Styrofoam cup for mixed drinks. I will try to explain this as briefly as possible. Bartenders were pouring customers drinks in the larger cup and customers were complaining that their drink was not strong enough and requested an additional shot. The bartender then feels like they have to provide them with another shot of alcohol at no cost. When you tally up the bar sales with the amount of alcohol we sold we are not anywhere close to the same. Therefore we are not paying TABC enough money in taxes. Just to give you an idea of cost, we were involved in a self-audit with TABC in July of 06 back to Sep of 03. They went back through all of our receipts and found were did not pay the appropriate amount of tax on our alcohol sales, therefore fining us nearly $3,000. Fines could have been as much as $18,000. As you can see this is not good business on behalf of Canyon Country Club. If we don’t get a better handle on the alcohol sales at the bar we could face additional fines or even lose our alcohol permit. If your drink is not strong enough for your liking, pay for a double shot of alcohol. Please do not ask the bartenders for an additional shot because you cannot taste the alcohol, they are mixing the drinks like they have been instructed to. If you have a problem, please feel free to contact me and we can discuss it.

The last thing I need to bring up is the Club is looking at going paperless for our statements, monthly calendars, and billing. We are also looking at direct deposit for all of our employees to also cut out cost. The monthly cost for sending our statements and the newsletters is approximately $270.00, with an annual cost of more than $ 3,200. This move is for financial purposes only. The newsletter is currently available on line at our website http://www.canyontxcountryclub.com/. Courtney will e-mail your statement at the first of the month just like before, but saving us money at the same time. You can also set up your savings account, checking account or credit card to draft you payment to the club as well. As expenses continue to increase this is one way the club can save some money and yet be a more efficient. For those who do not have access to the Internet, statements can be left at the Pro Shop for you to come by and pick up.

If there was something that I brought up in this newsletter that you do not agree with, I invite you to the next Board of Directors meeting to discuss it. The board is trying save money in any way we can, if you have any ideas please let us know.

Jerry Neufeld
Board of Directors

From the Golf Shop

Wayne Johnson’s BBQ
Wayne Johnson will be having a BBQ cook-out on Saturday, July 5th. Everyone is invited to come out and eat that day. The great food will be ready by about 4:00. Cost will be $7.00 a plate. Thanks to Wayne for all of his hard work and we hope to see you there.

NTPGA Jr. Tournament
Once again, Canyon Country Club is honored to host a Northern Texas PGA Jr. Tour event. The event will be held on July 10th. We are expecting around 60 kids to play our wonderful golf course. The course will open back up around 2:00 p.m.

Roadrunner Invitational
Our biggest tournament of the year is July 25th through the 27th. All members should have received an invitation. Included in the invitation was a tee-box sponsor sheet. If you or someone you know is interested in helping sponsor this event then please mail back the sponsor sheet to the club. Thanks for your support and thanks for playing.

Club Championship
Our club championship will be held August 2nd and 3rd. The format for the men will be match play and for the ladies will be stroke play (gross & net). I encourage all members to participate in this event. If you would like to sign-up for the club championship please call the golf shop. Starting times will be determined on Friday, August 1st.

Pro-Member
Canyon Country Club’s annual Pro-Member will be held on Monday, August 4th. I have many professionals from around the panhandle already signed up to play in the event. If you would like to play in the pro-member then call the shop. Starting times are flexible, so just let us know about what time that you can play. Thanks for supporting my Pro-Member.

Condolences
We would like to send out our thoughts and prayers to Marvin Fritts’ family. Marvin was a long time member at Canyon Country Club and will be missed. Also our thoughts and prayers go to Dorothy Gouldy’s family (Doug Rittenberry’s sister) and to Fred Jones (Sally Tucker’s brother).