Divot party helps keep course ‘unpocked,’ green

BY Aprile McKinnon

Not all golfers know their etiquette. When a golfer creates a divot, it’s expected that he or she puts the clump of grass back in the divot they created.

Not everybody fills their divots.

So, instead of griping about it, the Tuesday Work Group instead holds a party…a Divot Party.

The group of volunteers was joined by members of the Canyon Lake Women’s Golf, Canyon Lake Men’s Golf, Canyon Lake Family Golf and the Canyon Lake 9ers Women Golf Club.

This much larger group of volunteers gathered on Monday at 7:30 a.m. at the Canyon Lake Country Club to fill the divot holes. This was the third Divot Party. The group spread out across the course and filled divots with a sand mixture. With the divots filled, they will fill in with grass again.

Susan Fitzgerald said after the last two Divot Parties the course superintendent commented that the golf course never looked better. That’s music to the Tuesday Work Group’s ears. The group prides itself in helping beautify the golf course.

“The maintenance done here saves the members so much money,” Renee Griffiths, one of the newer volunteers for the group, said. “There was a massive tree that fell over near Holes 7-8, and the members couldn’t move it. Many of the volunteers used chainsaws to cut it up so it could be removed.”

Renee hopes the group can get some young blood to help with the labor-intensive projects.

“Since the average age of the work group members is 76, it would be great to get some younger men or women to join the group,” she said. “You don’t have to have a skillset. There are learning opportunities where the members will teach you.”

Susan Fitzgerald said there are needs that include painting, welding, masonry, and even planting ice plant and maintaining the trees.

“The group has a little over 40 members and they would welcome any other members who would like to join,” Eric Schrader, the TWG chairman, said. “Just last Tuesday there were 259 volunteer man hours worked in just one day.”

The Tuesday Work Group is celebrating 50 years of being a volunteer group. The group meets every Tuesday morning at the maintenance area at the Canyon Lake Country Club Golf Course at 7:30 a.m. Contact Susan for more information at Suzfitz66@gmail.com.