Happy Holidays from Grayhawk

Good tidings! Okay…I don’t really know what that means. I’ve heard it in carols and such. I guess it is a fancy way of saying good news or best wishes or some such thing. At least that’s how I’m going to use it.

Anyway, in case you haven’t noticed the Holidays…Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, Festivus (The aluminum pole has a very high strength to weight ratio for you Seinfeld fans)…are right on top of us. For those of you yearning for a little Holiday Cheer, I wanted to share a few quick pics that I have taken around Grayhawk this Holiday Season…

The Grayhawk Hang

The Grayhawk Tree

Just Your Average Grayhawk December Morning

The Feisty Grayhawk Reindeer

'Tis for days like these that man invented beer

Have a Safe and Happy Holiday Season and Good Tidings!

Until next time,

Colin

Get Off the Path!

I wanted to drop you all a quick blog to let you know that we are officially OFF THE CART PATH again at Grayhawk Golf Club! What does that mean exactly and why am I so excited about it? Let me explain…

Well, following the overseed process, it is always necessary to give our new winter Rye Grass time to grow and prosper and we do this by having folks keep their golf  carts ON THE PATH the entire round so-as not to “smush” or “kill” the aforementioned Rye Grass. The tricky part each year is that our timeframe varies on how good or bad mother nature had treated us during and immediately following the overseed process. This year, we were very fortunate and are a few weeks early on our OFF THE PATHS announcement. Hip! Hip! Hooooooray!

Now I personally don’t mind cart path only for two reasons…

1. I have developed an EFFICIENT C.P.O. ROUTINE: I pull up on the cart path near a sprinkler head and parallel to wherever my golf ball ended up, take a sip or three of the nearest cold beverage (not necessarily my own), get my yardage from the sprinkler head, and take 3 clubs out to my golf ball which usually isn’t too far away (See #2).

2. I tend to consistently hit my tee shots poorly into the desert areas near the cart path so my walks were never very far anyway:)

Some of you long-toothed folks like myself might remember that Grayhawk was actually designed and built as a CART PATH ONLY FACILITY. We have sprinkler heads spaced every 55 feet along our cart paths with yardages to help with club selection and we were CART PATH ONLY for our first 13 years of existence!  Here at Grayhawk, we get a lot of  “I love your place but wish you would do this…”  And in typical Grayhawk fashion, we often listen, often tweak your suggestions, and often take credit for your great ideas.  You have been talking and we have been listening! It’s another Festivus Miracle!

Happy Holidays and may you hit all your drives down the middle so you can enjoy your time spent OFF THE PATH!

Until next time-

Colin

What the Heck is Overseeding?

It’s that time of year again…OVERSEEDING!  What the heck is an overseed and why do we do it here at Grayhawk Golf Club?  To put it in layman’s terms, the hot weather summertime Bermuda Grass goes “dormant” or turns yellow in cooler weather.  We like to have nice green grass year round here at Grayhawk, so we go through the process of OVERSEEDING to make sure this is the case.

Here is a quick overview of the OVERSEED PROCESS…Grayhawk Style.

1. THE SCALP - The scalping process is basically a really short mow of the existing summer Bermuda Grass.  A buzz-cut if you will.  Our super Super Ernie Pock and his staff simply lower the mowers to a height of about 1/2 an inch and mow away.
2. THE VACUUM - Literally!
3. THE PRE-PLANT FERTILIZER - This is an insider tip from Ernie for all you homeowners out there.  Once you have scalped and vacuumed, throw down a little fertilizer as a base which will aid in the germination of the Rye Grass.  Smart guy that Ernie!  In the inner sanctum of the Maintenance Building, this process is respectfully referred to as “CHICKEN %*#&” referring to the organic nature of the fertilizer used:)
4. THE SEEDING - Pretty straight forward on this one as well.  The guys use big machines to spread the seed evenly across the intended areas.  In those tough to reach corners and bumps, they seed by hand and always mark with paint, where they have been!  In overseeding (as in life) it’s always important to know where you are going and to remember where you have been.
5. THE WATER - Lots of water.  From the time the first seed is dropped THROUGH the first week, you need to water every 1.5 hours for 3 to 4 minutes from daylight until dark.  Once the seed has germinated and established, you should reduce the frequency of watering while increasing the watering time which will allow for deeper watering.  Ernie says this makes for deeper, stronger roots that will carry you through the season.
6. THE MOW - The first mow typically takes place 9 days after the seed has been thrown…amazing I know!  I definitely helps us that Ernie is the best around!

We have 2 great golf courses here at Grayhawk…Talon and Raptor. Our Talon Course will be closed from Sept. 19 through Oct. 2 and our Raptor Course will be  closed from Oct. 3 through Oct. 16. We look forward to another great winter season here with GREAT COURSE CONDITIONS. Hope to see you at the ‘Hawk!

Until next time-

Colin

It’s summertime in Scottsdale, Arizona!

It’s that time of year again…SUMMERTIME in Scottsdale, Arizona!  A time of heat, sunshine, heat, and more heat. Did I mention the heat? Here are a few thoughts on summertime at Grayhawk Golf Club from a guy that moved here from the U.P. of Michigan 12 years ago…

1. I love them MANGO TOWELS at Grayhawk! Not quite sure how to explain my obsession, but during a round of golf in the Arizona heat, there is really nothing better than slapping an ice cold, mango scented towel over your face and neck. Kinda sends a tingle of goodness up your spine. Paired with an ice cold beer, it is heaven on Earth…

2. Summer Transition in Arizona is inevitable…like taxes! For those of you not familiar with Arizona summer golf, here is a brief rundown of our best way to explain the summer transition (we put this on all of our golf carts)…

“Please pardon the browning color on our golf courses!  This condition is known in the Southwest as Summer Transition.  Basically, the winter “Cool Season” Rye Grass dies and summer “Warm Season” Bermuda Grass takes over.  We do suggest playing “Winter Rules” during Summer Transition. 

Our goal this summer is to continue re-establishing Bermuda Grass through watering, aerifying, and fertilizing, thereby providing you with the best possible playing surface. STAY COOL & ENJOY YOUR SUMMER!” 

Check out the pics below for comparison. I took the top pic on May 3, 2011 during our “Cool Season” and the bottom pic on June 13, 2011. Same great courses…different grass. I prefer the “Warm Season” Bermuda grass myself as the rough tends to be a little more forgiving and I rarely hit a fairway these days…

3. The Penguin Summer Promo rules! For $55+tax/player we will treat you to a round of golf and a lunch or dinner at Grayhawk! Click here for info on the Penguin.

4. The Dirty Dozen Summer Promo is dirty! For $370+tax you will receive 12 summer rounds of golf, a dozen Callaway golf balls, 12 2-for-1 entree coupons and 12 weeks to play. Click here for info on the Dirty Dozen.

5. Summer Draft Beer Special! You really can’t beat a cold $3.50 Draft Beer Special in Phil’s Grill. And the coldness runs all summer long through September 14, 2011. Yessssssssssss!  

For info on the best year round deals at Grayhawk, check out our White Tee & Black Tee programs. We do love the summers here at Grayhawk too and love offering our summer promotions to help you out!   Just make sure to grab an ice cold mango towel and a cold drink from the beverage cart gals when you see them. You won’t regret it!

Until next time-

Colin 

 

Grayhawk Congratulates Rachel Sacco

The Grayhawk Family would like to congratulate Rachel Sacco on her 25 years with the Scottsdale Convention & Visitors Bureau!  Rachel began with the Scottsdale Chamber back on March 31, 1986 and helped guide the CVB through a separation from the Chamber in 2001 and has served as the Scottsdale CVB’s only president and CEO. Rachel’s vision and leadership helps brings 7.5 million visitors to Scottsdale annually and these visitors contribute $2.6 billion in economic impact, including $1.1 billion in direct spending in Scottsdale. Grayhawk salutes you Rachel!

Thanks for all of your hard work and congrats again!

 

A Twitter Stroll Down Magnolia Lane

It’s that time of year again! Time for the blooming azaleas and dogwoods. Time for the Butler Cabin, Jim Nantz, Peter Kostis and the boys. Time for pimento and cheese sandwiches and $2 beers. It’s time for the annual stroll down Magnolia Lane! My favorite tournament of the year…
@The_Masters (insert crackling music now)

I’m not sure if many (any) of you are into Twitter, but I wanted to make my own list of cool tweets, twitvids, and twitpics that I have come across thusfar in the 2011 Masters Tournament (pronounced “tewnament”).

Here they are in no particular order…

1. Here is a great behind the scenes video of the clubhouse posted by Ian Poulter (better known as @IanJamesPoulter to those of you in the know!)
“Augusta National looking as beautiful as ever, I love this place. Special”

Augusta National

 2  Here was a tweet and pic from @McIlroyRory from Friday night (Just after finishing his 2nd round at -10)
“Getting a lot of abuse for my throwing form! Don’t worry folks, I’ll stick to golf!”

3.  A cool tweet from the man, the myth the legend @PeterJKostis early Saturday morning
“So many stories at ANGC. Rory? Tiger? Freddie? Phil? Westwood? An Aussie? A Korean? Don’t know how it unfolds but it’ll be fantastic!”

  

4.  A Saturday morning tweet from @AaronBadds
“Masters Saturday, moving day!! Time to make some putts day!! Excited for today challenge of a low one!!”

5.  A cool tweet from cool-cat @RickieFowlerPGA
“Had some fun on the course today w/ @RoryMcIlroy & J. Day…pumped for the weekend @The_Masters!!”

6.  I noticed oodles of Happy Birthday well wishes to Seve from the PGA Tour twitter folk, but none better than @bubbawatson on Saturday morning
“Happy Birthday SEVE!!!!!! I have learned a lot from watching you play golf!! Thanks for all you have given to the game of golf! #shotmaker

For those of you that don’t use Twitter, I highly recommend it!  Twitter is a great way to keep up with your favorite athletes, celebrities, friends, and enemies! Fair warning though…it can be very addicting! You can get on board and sign up today at www.twitter.com  and if interested you can follow my tweets at @GrayhawkGolf

Until next time,

Colin @GrayhawkGolf

 

It’s Waste Management Phoenix Open time!

Wanted to drop you all a quick reminder that the 2011 Waste Management Phoenix Open is right around the corner…like you needed to be reminded!

We Grayhawk-ers love the annual Greatest Show on Grass and will be playing host to the WMPO’s GRAYHAWK PRO-AM on Wednesday, February 2, 2011 AND we are also proud sponsors once again of the WMPO “Members Club” Hospitality Tents that are scattered around the course.  For those of you interested, you can purchase the “Members Club” tickets online at WMPO Members Club.  Perfect views of the action, drinks, great food and a laid back Grayhawk-style atmosphere.  We will also be giving away 2 for 1 Green Fees at Grayhawk in all of our Members Club tents throughout the week so make sure to check out the tables for the 2 for 1 cards or track me down for a handful.  I am the tallish, very goofy looking, odd-haired guy wearing the backpack and Grayhawk apparel!  Also, don’t let the name Member’s Club fool you…WE DO NOT HAVE ANY MEMBERS HERE AT GRAYHAWK SO ANYONE IS WELCOME TO BUY THE PACKAGE…Members Club is simply the name of the hospitality package you will need to purchase to get access!

For those of you Facebookers, you can follow our daily Members Club pics (Here is a link to my Wednesday pics from last year’s event) leading up to the action on our Grayhawk Facebook Page and make sure to click the “LIKE” button on the top as we will be giving away lots of cool stuff in the upcoming weeks. ALSO, make sure to check out the really cool WMPO Facebook promo for your chance to win a shot on Hole 16 for a shot at a million dollars!

Hope to see you out at the Waste Management Phoenix Open!

Until next time,

Colin

Grayhawk’s BIG Holiday Sale

Attention all bargain hunting folks! It’s that time of year again at Grayhawk…time for The BIG Holiday Sale. You know, the one in the big white tent that has everything discounted 50%-75% off. It’s our very own Black Friday-esque sale and here are the details. Trust me, you don’t want to miss it!

Dates:  Friday, Dec. 3 & Saturday, Dec. 4
Times:  7am to 5pm each day
Discounts:  50% to 75% off everything in the tent
Fine Print:  All sales are final and elbowing will not be tolerated.
AND:  You will receive a COMPLIMENTARY TWOSOME OF GOLF for every $350 spent in the tent!

Also, if any of you out there have purchased a White Tee or Black Tee Card here at Grayhawk, you will get access into the BIG Holiday Pre-Sale on Thursday, December 2 from 5:30pm to 7pm. ID’s will be checked and wristbands will be issued and you may bring a friend. Make sure they are a good friend though as this is one of the best perks of being a White Tee or Black Tee Cardholder here at Grayhawk and they will definitely owe you big time!

Until next time-

Colin

 

It’s a Grayhawk Happy Hour!

 

Attention all Grayhawkers looking for great deals on warm food and cold drinks.  This blog will be short, quick, easy, painless and to the point.

We now have a Happy Hour here at Grayhawk!  We know…we know…it’s about time.  Here at Grayhawk, we get a lot of “I love your place but wish you would do this”…We often listen, often tweak your suggestions, and often take credit for your great ideas. You asked for a Happy Hour…you got it my friends!

We call it our “EMERGENCY ROUND” (as in “Yo bartender…you the man! Can we have another round of them happy hour Grande Margaritas?”) and it runs daily from 3:30pm-6:30pm. Stop over and try a prime rib slider or 7 and wash away that double bogey on 18 with a cold $3 draft (draught if you are fancy) beer! I like to think it CURES WHAT AILS YOU.

Here is a link to our EMERGENCY ROUND menu…enjoy!

Until next time,

Colin

The man, the myth, the legend…Grayhawk Boot!

I caught up with my old pal Grayhawk Boot a few weeks back and told him I wanted to do a quick blog on him. Being that he is a fairly big deal around here at Grayhawk, we tend to keep his whereabouts private and keep him sheltered from the general public.  Grayhawk Boot is a very private boot and initially hesitated on my blog as he has never liked the spotlight. I managed to convince him that I was simply going to follow him around for a few days to see what I could come up with. Here is a behind the scenes look at the man, the myth, the legend…Grayhawk Boot!  I like to tell folks that Chuck Norris wears Grayhawk Boot pajamas…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Special thanks to our pal Grayhawk Boot…YOU THE BOOT! I also need to thank Grayhawk Boot’s boss Paul Bodine for letting him have a few paid days off so we could get our blog done.  (Paul doesn’t know this yet but we put all the beers on his tab…so THANKS AGAIN PAUL!)

 

Until next time,

 

Colin