Presuming that a renovation of the course will take place in April of next year, I would like to take a moment to address a concern I have been hearing. Indeed, the loss of revenues has been factored into this year’s operating budget.
During the summer, I created two separate budgets. One was reflective of a normal year with no golf course closure, and one reflected the golf course closing for 7 months. Interestingly, the latter budget’s loss of golf and food revenues was nearly equally offset by a massive savings in payroll as well as in fertilizer and other applications treating the course, about $530,000. The difference between the two budgets ended up being about $17,000, or $20 per unit. The Board accepted the higher budget in the event the project was approved.
Let me know if I can answer any more questions.
Mike
Springing Forward 
Mike, thanks for the budget projections and the com parisons. One question I have and heard voiced by a couple of owners is, “What steps will you be taking to retain staff and/or be able to have them once this project is completed”? Thanks, Don
Mr. Kalmey,
Salaried staff will remain on and will handle hourly staff’s duties, such as the F&B Managers cooking and serving food, and the Golf Pros coordinating your tee times at other clubs and handling your bags. Normal operations continue in administration, and club maintenance is continuous. Some Golf Maintenance staff will be hired by the contractor, and the remainder will be laid off for 2-3 months. They will be brought back to work in July to grow the course in.
Many F&B and Golf Operations staff are used to being laid off in the summer due to the slow down, so they will not be too adversely affected. However, there are those full time year-round hourly employees who are not laid off. Our plan is to leave those employees on our insurance plan and continue to pay their premiums. We are planning to hold their employee portion and pay it back to them in the form of a bonus for returning to work.
Mike