In this issue - Friends purchase and install practice nets, men's golf league's new traditions, FOPRG marketing efforts help to increase play!
Your Contributions at Work!
The Friends of Pusch Ridge Golf have donated and installed two (2) golf practice nets complete with hitting mats to the Town of Oro Valley and the Pusch Ridge Golf course.
There is currently no driving range at Pusch Ridge, so the practice nets will serve as a solution for golfers to warm up with a few practice swings before heading out to the 1st tee. The net’s carpet mats will allow hitting directly off the plush 1 ¼” turf or using tees to allow practice with a driver.
The nets are located south of the putting green next to the desert area by the 1st tee. They are 10’ x 10’ and 10’ deep. Golfers will be hitting in a southerly direction into the nets. The Friend’s group worked with the Town to bring this needed asset to our 9-hole course.
Special thanks to Stan and Dorothy New, Steve Nelson, Steve Weinig, Dan Talsma, Jeannee Yermakoff, and Tony and Lisa D’Angelo who installed the nets themselves!
A huge thank you to all of our Friends and their donations to make this course improvement possible!
New Leagues = New Traditions!
In November 2021 the Friends of Pusch Ridge started three new leagues (Men’s, Women’s and Mixed.)
The Monday morning Men’s Pusch Ridge League has started a fun tradition that has become very popular! Every Monday an average of 28 men play the 9-hole course. About once a month the players are treated to a lunch of cheeseburgers and brats after they play.
‘Executive Chef’ Tony D’Angelo coordinates the event and cooks for everyone. Tony hauls in his portable BBQ grill, paper goods, food, serving table, and prepares a meal extraordinaire for the players. Each player donates what they can for the food and one player donates and brings the beverages for everyone. The men congregate and eat on the patio located by Pusch Ridge’s tennis office.
Stay tuned for our next newsletter where we will share the new traditions that the Women’s and Mix Leagues are developing.
Interested in joining our leagues? Visit https://www.friendsofpuschridgegolf.org/golf for details.
Photo’s courtesy of Guy Cook
Help Spread the Word
The FOPRG marketing team has been busy targeting a very lucrative segment of golfers- our hotel and resort guests. Arizona being a popular golf destination (including Oro Valley!) brings visitors year-round looking for a desert golf experience. We are promoting the “Fast, Fun, and Affordable” appeal of the Pusch Ridge course.
Indigo Golf has developed a Hotel Guest Package campaign which includes 9 holes, golf cart, rental golf clubs, and a brand-new sleeve of Callaway golf balls for $45 per person.
The Friends marketing team have met with 9 local hotels and resorts and have placed rack brochures and signage in hotel lobbies and informed front line staff. We are getting extremely positive feedback about having a scenic 9-hole option available to tourists.
Additionally, several large apartment complexes in Oro Valley are displaying our brochures for their residents and they will soon include Pusch Ridge information sheets into their new resident packets.
With high season kicking in, we expect this hotel guest package to really support our goals. In fact, the pro shop staff has already noted that many people are taking advantage of this great offer!
This marketing campaign in addition to our leagues and general open play, has resulted in an average of about 73 rounds per day since the course re-opened on Nov 1, 2021. For the two months of Nov. and Dec. 2021 there was a total of 3,958 rounds played.
To put things in perspective, during the last season Pusch Ridge was opened (Nov 1, 2019 through Apr 1, 2020) it only generated 3,875 rounds in total for the entire season.
It is important for us to keep this positive momentum going!
Please help us promote the course to your friends, neighbors, guests and visitors – and of course – PLAY the course yourself whenever you can!
Have ideas of ways to increase our marketing efforts? Contact us by replying to this email or contact us at contact@friendsofpuschridgegolf.org
Comments