
On Thursday, October 26, 2023 we celebrated the opening of the course (after being closed during the summer) with a sold-out shotgun tournament with 52 golfers and 30 additional participants on the patio with a Jimmy Buffet themed party. Tropical attire, Hawaiian lei’s, music, margarita’s and awards created an atmosphere of fun, friendship and community. All the awards for golf and the door prizes were donated – thank you for your incredible generosity!
Four rounds of golf at El Conquistador Golf – Darryl Janisse and the El Con Golf Team
Two beautiful baskets full of goodies and wine: Laura and Greg Baldwin
Gift Card for the Landing Restaurant – Tyler Moody (One of our All Day Happy Hour Sponsors)
Gift Card for Firetruck Brewing – Cayle Tidaback (One of our All Day Happy Hour Sponsors)
$100 Gift Card at Trader Joes – Bill and Kathleen Gardner
Beautiful handmade Christmas Table Runner and a bottle of wine – Bill and Kathleen Gardner
Dinner for two at Epazote Restaurant – Shelby Francom and the Hilton El Conquistador Team
Luxurious facial and massage at Spawell – Kristin Palant and the Spawell Team
Congratulations to our lowest scoring team with an impressive 28: Pete and DeeAnn Leuzinger and Ron and Laura Osborne. They conquered Pusch Ridge with skill and determination!
Prizes were also awarded for longest drives and closest to the pin for men and women! In all the excitement we lost the list of winners!!!! Enjoy your prizes and thank you for joining us.
The success of our event was truly a team effort. Friends of Pusch Ridge partnered with El Conquistador Golf on all the details. Our volunteers, along with the El Con Team worked together on the format, catering, set-up, clean-up, pre-work, day of work – hand in hand we dotted all the I’s and crossed the T’s!
Zach Olfers, manager of the Overlook Restaurant, set up and served as our bartender. Jill Johnson O’Leary, owner of Fig + Feta, prepared the beautiful and delicious grazing table.
Special thanks to the hard-working El Con Golf gentlemen behind the scenes. Rick Messina, Jim Pearce, Jason Wolf, Ron Bruns, Mark Thesing and their leader, Daryll Janisse. The course has never looked better!
But wait there’s more! Jack Holmes, El Con Patio Homes resident and Friends of PR has a volunteer team that meets every Wednesday to help with course beautification! The day before our tourney they were weeding, placing broken tee containers and painting the signs at the start of each hole.
Chris Cornelison, our Deputy Town Manager, joined us at the celebration party and shared his thoughts on behalf of the Town of Oro Valley. The Town recently constructed a handicap ramp, filled the area with decorative rock and partnered with Friends on the planting of many agaves and barrel cacti. Additional work has been done to the facility – with more planned for the future. Chris, we always enjoy your presentations, sense of humor and appreciate your support.
This article could be five pages long – so we will end with why Jimmy Buffett? We lost Jimmy on September 1st – but not his music. It will be with us forever. His songs promoted enjoying life and following your passions. Friends of Pusch Ridge Golf has grown into much more than a group trying to save a golf course. We are passionate about bringing our community together through the game of golf and creating a positive impact for the residents and businesses in Oro Valley. Still looking for that lost shaker of salt….. Try looking for it at Pusch Ridge. Book your tee time today…
With much appreciation, Anna Bifano & Carolyn Weinig – Celebration Tourney Co-Chairs
Hospitality Open House Recap
On the morning of October 26th, (before the afternoon tournament) the Friends and Indigo Golf hosted an “Open House” event for Hospitality Professionals.
The event was a way to ‘advertise’ the Pusch Ridge course to local hotel professionals who, in turn, will promote the course to their guests and visitors.
Tourists, corporate travelers, and out-of-town visitors are an essential target audience for Pusch Ridge Golf. One of the ways we target this critical market is through hotel employee guest referrals.
Over 40 local hotels, resorts, management, and front-line employees attended the event. Many of them had never seen the course before, so this was a fantastic opportunity to showcase it as an additional amenity for their customers. Boy, were they impressed!
Everyone took a course tour in golf carts with FORPG “tour guides” pointing out the attributes of the course. There were fun Halloween golf games, such as a putting and chipping contest, Guess How Many Golf Balls in the Bowl game, and a driving contest for “Closest to the Skeleton”, who in fact was hanging by a hook on the first fairway! Plus, they enjoyed breakfast burritos, pastries and drinks on the pro shop patio.
Guests were given marketing material and course information, including the Hotel Guest Special and tournament package information that they took with them. (The Hotel Guest Special is a unique pricing opportunity for hotel guests. It includes 9-hole play, golf cart, rental clubs, and a sleeve of Callaway golf balls for $45.)
Thank you to our wonderful volunteers who made our hotel guests feel so welcome that morning. Volunteers included Greg and Laura Baldwin, Kelly Windsor, Donna Bennett, Sandy Walhof, Helen Dowling, Stan and Dorothy New, Angelo Bifano, Dan Talsma, Rosi Buccerelli, Scott Stream, Tim and Mary Forsythe, OV Councilman Mo Greene, Anji Verlaque, Lisa and Tony D’Angelo, and Nick Bond.
Jennifer Fuchs, Stacy and the Pusch Ridge Tennis team made the lawn area accessible and helped with the setup of tables and chairs.
Thank you to Darryl Janisse, El Con Director of Golf, Mark Thesing, our PGA pro, Zach from the Overlook
Connecting the Community Through the Game of Golf!
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