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2016 End of Season Message
and Farewell
 This message is being sent by Dave Balducci, President of the Members Advisory Board of Governors.
It is with a good deal of excitement, yet certainly mixed with sadness, that I write my final Season Ending email blast. After 6 years on the ABG/MABG, all as President, I am leaving the Board due to term limits. While I believe The Club at PGA WEST is in much better shape than it was 6 years ago, we have been through a lot together during that time.
There are certainly lots of good things to talk about. First, what a great 2015/16 Season we’ve had!
Our golf courses are in the best shape I have seen in my 14 years at PGA WEST. Think about it, 6 world-class golf courses, 5 of which have been used in PGA Events, all for your enjoyment. Best deal in the Valley! The Golf Operations Committee, chaired by John Tracey, working with the Golf Shop, tweaked the Groups program this year resulting in more tee time availability for ALL of our Members. Russ Roehrkasse, Chairperson of the Greens Committee worked with the Resort side of the Club and we now have silver tees on all of the Resort Courses in addition to the Private ones. Thanks to our Agronomy Team and Superintendent Jon Maddern, the courses have played great all Season.
And yes, we do have an active Handicap Committee. Under the capable leadership of Linda Warson, they are monitoring the posting of scores and investigating the legitimacy of selected indexes.
Regarding our dining experience, I don’t think there is a better view in the Valley than from the dining patio at Kennedy’s. Kennedy’s is humming -always buzzing with Members. We were there Friday night and there had to be over 125 Members in the venue. Yes, a few service glitches here and there this year, but the overall service level has improved greatly since the beginning of the year and the food is excellent. Chef Josh has done an outstanding job and the mid-season Kennedy’s menu was dramatically improved thanks to Gary Swanson, Chair of the House Committee. Additionally, at the urging of the House Committee and the Board, the hours at Ernie’s were restored and this has been well received by the Members.
Paddle sports have taken off thanks to our Tennis & Pickleball Committee, led by Werner Zehnder. We have 15 pickleball courts that are used frequently and it seems tennis has a new life. The tennis courts are crowded and games and matches have really picked up. And yes, we will be resurfacing/renovating ALL of the courts, tennis and pickleball, this summer.
The Fitness Center is bustling under the direction of Ryan Douglas and the MABG Health and Fitness Committee, chaired by Ray Leonard. The Club now offers over 70 fitness classes with over 500 Members participating, including men’s yoga. Didn’t see that one coming!
As I stated above, we have been through a lot over the last 6 years, most notably the Bankruptcy, which we came through relatively unscathed compared to other Clubs that have experienced a bankruptcy. Members in most of those clubs lost 100% of their initial deposits and, in some cases, were asked to rejoin and pay another membership deposit. As a result of the Bankruptcy, we have new ownership and have had several positive Management changes. Most importantly, I have been fortunate enough to have worked with great Board Members over the past 6 years.
We now have the CareerBuilder PGA Tour event on the Resort Courses, a Board initiative and priority, which dramatically improved our experience on the Private side during the tournament. As far as I observed, if you were at the Private Clubhouse or playing on a Private Course, there was not the negative impact on your Member experience previously felt when the tournament was held on the Private side.
Our owners, GIC, have been outstanding. We met with them within weeks of the consummation of the Bankruptcy proceedings, laid out a long term plan to improve our facilities, and the Member experience, and they have listened to us repeatedly. GIC, through KSL and James Struthers, head of their Asset Management Group, has put close to 10 million dollars into the courses, equipment, Club facilities and the renovation of the Private Clubhouse, which in my opinion has made the PGA WEST facilities the best in the Valley.
Our current Management, from Paul Charrett, the Managing Director of the La Quinta Resort and PGA WEST, down through our local Management, including John Cochrane, David Menke, Jennifer Jenkins and Lori English at the Club level, is dedicated to enhancing our Member experience. During these past few years, I believe Management has been the most Member focused since I joined 14 years ago.
I am leaving the Board in very capable hands as all of your Board Members are very proactive, including Ron Lighterink, Facilities Chair, and Jeff Kaiser, Chief Financial Officer and Communications Chair. Last year, Jeff was instrumental in working with Club Management to keep our dues increase at a minimum. Our ongoing Board Committees are very engaged and meet with Management regularly.
We still have a lot of things we can do to continue to improve the Club. With that thought in mind, Ownership is currently reviewing options for Phase 2 of the renovation including improvements to the Fitness Club and adding a recreation complex. Detailed planning is currently underway concurrent with this review.
In closing, I would like to thank you for your continued support over the last 6 years. And finally, I want to thank my wonderful, loving, and understanding wife, Marge. I couldn’t have done this without her. We celebrated our 48th wedding anniversary this week.
See you around the Club.
Dave Balducci
MABG President
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