10/19/2026
FACEBOOK VERSION of the October Newsletter
A Note from Steve:
It has been such an interesting season at Rolling Hills. The amazing amounts of rain and heat during the summer were a challenge for Dustin, Terry, Valerie and the rest of the grounds crew. I believe they met those challenges and kept the course in good condition. On the business side, almost every month saw growth over 2025 with the exception of August, where we had too much rain and too much heat. But, overall, it was another year of growth. Our biggest issue is inflation. We are slaves to gas prices, labor costs and chemicals. Carts and mowers need gas, grass and the greens need chemicals, and of course we need people to make it all run. All of those areas went up dramatically and were beyond our control. So, our bottom line stays pretty tight. But we appreciate the growth and we recognize that by putting forth a good product at a fair price we will continue to gain customers as the game becomes even more expensive. We will do our best to continue to be an affordable option in an expensive world. Dues prices for 2027 will be discussed later in this newsletter, the board and I feel the increase is minimal.
On the course and around the club we have made many changes and improvements. We have removed several trees that impeded on play and harmed the health of nearby greens. We continued to make improvements to the “new” hole 8. This process will continue on hole 8. The board and I both feel it will be a beautiful hole and a big improvement over the old dogleg that everyone hated. We have struggled with ball washers on the course forever, they are expensive and take a beating. So, we just installed ball/club washers on all of our carts. We will eliminate the on-course ball washers as they wear out. Our other big project for the off season will be re-building three bunkers. We will do them as we raise funds, we already took all the old sand out of 9, 10 and 16. Next will be drains, then gravel, liners, and finally, sand. We will be having several fundraising opportunities to raise those funds, I hope we earn your support. The other benefit of this bunker project will be using all of the material removed from the bunkers to improve tees, build tees and fill holes. We have already filled a couple areas that held water near 11 tee and the depressed area near the 150 on hole 11. So, it should be a busy off-season with a lot of improvements.
Best Wishes,
Steve
Fundraiser Raffle
As mentioned above, we are raising funds for the bunker project and other grounds improvements in relation to the bunkers. We are holding a raffle. The tickets will be $10 each or 3 for $20. We have several wonderful prizes that we will draw winners at the Christmas Open house on Dec. 6th. Tickets can be purchased in the proshop anytime starting Tuesday the 20th of October. Prizes: The Callaway Driver of your choice, 4 rounds of golf at Margaritaville, 4 rounds of golf at Lake Valley, and $100 off dues for 2027. We will draw the prizes in this order at the open house. Buy your tickets! We appreciate the support.
Dues, Fees and Prices in 2027
In the October Board meeting the board discussed the 2027 membership and dues. We came up with two conclusions. One, we need to stay the course and do our best to be affordable. And, two, we feel that we still expect some growth but we can see a situation where we need to limit the number of members due to tee times and cart availability. The board wants to put more time into coming up with what that membership level will be, but it is a decision that will be coming. The big decision on 2027 dues was to follow the same thinking as 2026 and make similar increases in 2027. That being said our Family Platinum Membership will increase by $48 per year, our Single Platinum by $36 per year and our Associate or Discounted Platinum Memberships by $48 per year. As far as the Annual Passes, we did not have an increase last year. In 2027 they will be increased from $329 to $349. While that type of membership has been shrinking, it is still a great tool to attract new members. Many of our Platinum Members were annual pass holders first. We do not want to eliminate that access or path to membership.
Overall, we do not look for any big price changes. But there will always be a few. Those are yet to be decided. We do not expect an increase in most snack bar type items, b**r or cart fees.
Indoor Practice Facility / First Full Off-Season
As the days get shorter and the temps get cooler our practice facility starts to see some action. A few reminders. It is available to all Platinum Members. To hit balls inside it is $5 per day. To use the simulator, it is $21 per hour plus tax. This is a very inexpensive price compared to the other similar facilities. It is well worth it to be able to keep playing and swinging when it’s cold or nasty. Since we only have two, it is important to schedule time. Simply call the proshop and reserve a block of time. The Sims are able to simply be a driving range and give you more information than you need, ball speed, carry distance, total distance, spin rate, attack angle etc, etc. Or, you can play one of more than 43,000 courses. It is really quite amazing.
Proshop Hours (weather permitting)
8:00 am to 5:00 pm – October 8:30 am to 4:00 pm – November
9:00am to 3:00am – December
Practice Facility hours by appointment 7 am to 10pm
Upcoming Events at Rolling Hills:
November 7th – Thanksgiving 1-Person Scramble and Dinner
December 6th - Christmas Open House (noon to 3:00)
