Canyon Lake’s Tuesday Work Group remarkable

A group of golfing volunteers known as the Tuesday Work Group may be one of Canyon Lake’s most cherished and “under the radar” volunteer groups. The regular maintenance and significant projects its members perform would cost the Canyon Lake POA thousands of dollars to do themselves. Every Tuesday morning, about 30 regulars show up to take on a variety of golf course maintenance tasks.

The primary responsibility of the Tuesday Work Group is to perform volunteer labor that will beautify and improve the Canyon Lake Golf Course. The group’s members work with Canyon Lake POA management to develop and implement projects that will enhance the golf course and promote play.

Tuesday Work Group members pull out the power tools to break this boulder down so a retaining wall can be installed during a 2019 project. Projects and regular maintenance are tasks the volunteer group tackles every Tuesday morning at the Canyon Lake Golf Course.

The Tuesday Work Group has been in existence for more than 40 years and has members who have served for more than 30 years. The group is technically a POA committee and typically has between 40 and 50 members on its roster.

A typical Tuesday will start around 7:30 a.m. with donuts and coffee and a short safety meeting before assignments are given out and work begins. They provide between 300 and 400 man hours of volunteer labor on the golf course each month. To make sure the members, as they work on the course, do not interfere with those who may be golfing that morning, all work is coordinated with the golf maintenance superintendent and the head golf professional..

A few of the routine projects the group performs regularly are sanding the divots on the course, trimming bushes and low hanging branches and repairing concrete.

M embers of the Tuesday Work Group clear the 2,000-square-foot area behind the 17th green in preparation for installing a lighthouse feature and 20 cubic yards of decomposed granite during a project last year. The facelift beautifies one of the more popular holes at the Canyon Lake Golf Course.

Even though golfers are responsible to repair or fill the divots they create while golfing, many go unattended and can damage the greens. The “Sanding Crew” goes out weekly to fill divots that have been overlooked.

Overgrowth of bushes and trees are an ongoing challenge on the golf course and the “Trimming Crew” is out in force regularly to assist the Canyon Lake POA maintenance company when needed.

The golf course is over 50 years old and many of its golf cart paths are failing. The “Concrete Crew” does the demolition, grading, forming, mixing and pouring of new concrete to replace these cracked and failing paths with new ones.

The group also maintains and repairs fencing, installs ball washers, paints, cares for plants, etc. and general items which do not affect the playing surface of the golf course and which can be accomplished using materials on hand.

In addition to their normal efforts to beautify the golf course, the Tuesday Work Group’s crews are responsible, in whole or in part, for many of the major improvements seen on the course. Many of the group’s projects, which require Canyon Lake POA Board approval, can be seen throughout the 18-hole golf course.

The group’s members are responsible for the setting of the giant boulders at each tee and the mounting of the bronze plaques there. They formed and poured the concrete pads and installed all the cement benches on the course. They poured the concrete foundation and assisted with the installation of the post clock at the putting green and they rebuilt the rock hillside below the 14th tee box.

The Tuesday Work Group is managed by a seven-member board led by Chairman Sam Theodora. The group works closely with the Canyon Lake POA Operations Department which is managed by Steve Schneider and Field Superintendent Sal Medina.

The Tuesday Work Group is a tremendous asset to the golf course and the volunteers can take pride with their contribution to the community. Membership is open to anyone who would like to volunteer their time, meet new people and share their talents.

Sam makes work assignments and necessary equipment is loaded for the projects. No member works on any project that they are not comfortable with or is of a dangerous nature.

Joining the group is easy. Just show up any Tuesday morning at the golf course maintenance yard at 7:30 a.m. and be ready to go to work. For more information contact Sam at 951-244-4474.