An Open Mind

This week we welcomed Bill Yates of Grey Town Golf, LLC to the golf course. He studies pace management on golf courses and has worked with over 100 golf courses around the country. I had the opportunity to spend most of Friday afternoon with him and we discussed many topics under the wide world of golf. My favorite discussion was the "lost game" of match play. Of course the game of golf was intended to be played against one another, not the golf course.
Pace of play is a wide spread problem in golf and the staff here is keeping an open mind on how to improve the experience for the golfer.
Initially I thought I would be given a long list of areas to cut, mow and trim. Making the course easier, it should play faster, right? Not so much, the goal is not to dummy down the course, there still needs to be some skill to play the game. I really had to open my mind in speaking with him about various management techniques, but it was worth it. He talked about not tricking the golfer, but creating challenges. There have been many ideas that were expressed for Alice and I to better manage the golf course. A few have them are being implemented now and we have already seen some positive results.
Sure there is work to be done, but that is always the case. Vail Golf Club is in a great spot right now. In the coming seasons working with a master plan, we can address many design and playability issues to make this golf course a fun challenge for guests to return to year after year.