West Pines doing better than many golf courses
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While GreyStone Golf Course and the Fairways of Canton are closing this month, the city-owned West Pines is still open, despite having some of the same problems those courses experienced.
The two courses cited poor weather and the economy as factors that contributed to their closing.
In an interview last week, GreyStone Golf Course owner Larry Jackson also said the city’s renovation of West Pines, a public course, hurt his in its attracting the public, non-club golfing business.
West Pines has been plagued by poor weather, which has caused a drop in its attendance, according to Osborne.
There was a drought in 2007 and 2008, followed by floods in 2009.
“Golf courses everywhere, especially in the South, have been hurt by the weather,” he said.
A lot of damage was done to the course during the floods. HMS Golf, the Woodstock company the city chose to manage and operate the club, took care of the damage and is being reimbursed by the city.
“We were hopeful we would have a normal summer,” Osborne said.
But a combination of wet weather and a string of 90 degrees or higher days damaged or destroyed the greens.
It also resulted in most golfers preferring to play in the mornings. By the time temperatures peaked in the afternoons, there was almost no one playing because of the hot sun.
“The fairways looked great, but it was too hot for people to get out there to play nine to 18 rounds of golf,” Osborne said.
To repair the heat-damaged greens, West Pines countered by operating as a 9-hole course and started reseeding the greens last week, leaving nine holes in play while the other nine are being seeded, Osborne said.
“They did offer reduced green fees because they need about two weeks of people staying off the greens,” he said. “Hopefully, they will get good greens for the rest of the summer and fall.
The management company fell behind on payments to the city earlier this year because of the weather and was offered a repayment plan which would allow it to catch up.
The bad weather caused a drop in the course’s attendance, Osborne said at the time.
In 2006, when the redesigned club opened, there were 287 good weather days, he said. In 2008, there were 244.
Last year, there were only 206, Osborne said, and revenues dropped.
“For the last two or three years, with the economy, rainy weather and more cold weather than usual, they have got behind,” Osborne said in his report to the city council six months ago
Osborne is in the process of analyzing the city’s arrangement with HMS and is compiling information to present to the council in the next week.
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« ace85 wrote on Friday, Sep 03 at 05:39 AM »
jim1968, i was not a resident of ff before the disbanding of our own police force so i have many questions concerning this. The security was one of the main reasons i decided ff was the community i wanted to call home, only to find its actually a LACK of security i have and pay for!! i appreciate your concern, interest and time. i've yet to make my final decision but marc and michelle def have my vote!!!
Author speaks locally
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(Thomas O'Connor/Times-Georgian)
Trojans staying even-keel
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Ralph David Abernathy IV and Westminster knocked one Class AAA power out of the rankings last week.
Sherrod Mitchell wants to make sure that doesn’t happen again in Week 2.
The Carrollton High School lineman noted that containing the Wildcats’ star tailback will be critical when the Trojans head to Atlanta for the 7:30 kickoff tonight against the No. 5-ranked ball club in Class AA, which dispatched of St. Pius X, 20-12, last Friday.
“It’s going to take great technique and great fundamentals that we’ve been practicing all the time. We should be able to stop [Abernathy]. As long as we play our techniques and our positions and do our job, we should be able to stop him,” Mitchell said.
Carrollton coach Rayvan Teague called Abernathy a “game-changer” and has witnessed the Wildcat standout run three straight 4.3 40s at a combine.
“He’s just got speed and vision. He’s just hard to stop. So we’re going to have our hands full trying to stop him,” Teague said.
And while Abernathy is indeed a handful, he isn’t the only offensive threat the Trojans will have to worry about tonight, as Wildcat quarterback William Linginfelter has several other play-makers he can look to.
“They’ve got great skill guys. They can run and they can throw the ball. But I think we should be able to lock ‘em down,” Mitchell said.
Carrollton (1-0), which moved into the top 10 of the Class AAA rankings at No. 7 this week, had little trouble stopping the run against Oxford (Ala.) last Friday in its 43-21 thrashing of the Yellow Jackets at Grisham Stadium — holding them to a net of negative four yards — though Oxford didn’t have a back the caliber of Abernathy.
“I mean, we respect him. He’s a good player. But we’ve got good players, too,” said Trojan fullback Devin Watts, who rushed for 94 yards on seven carries last week.
Leading the Westminster defense will be middle linebacker Dallis Joiner and strong safety John Egan, as the Wildcats (1-0) have a tough non-region schedule this fall, as well.
Teague said Wildcat coach Gerry Romberg told him last spring that he thought this was going to be the best skill group he’s had in a long time at Westminster.
“So [Romberg] thinks he’s got an opportunity to win a bunch of football games and be very competitive. So I think they’ve got high expectations of this bunch, as well,” Teague said.
Along with facing traditional Class AAA powers St. Pius X and Carrollton to open the year, the Wildcats will head to Buford for a date with the No. 1 team — for now, at least, depending on the outcome of tonight’s game at Carver-Columbus — in Class AA in the Wolves next week.
Westminster went 8-4 last year, falling in the second round of the Class AA playoffs to Callaway in a 35-31 tussle.
The Trojans lead the all-time series against the Wildcats, 5-3, including a 9-7 win last season at Grisham Stadium.
The game Mitchell recalls, though, is a 24-7 setback in Atlanta two years ago as a sophomore.
It’s a loss he is ready to avenge tonight when two top-10 teams clash for an early-season showdown.
“I feel good going to Westminster. I just have that heart in me about what happened two years ago — we got beat. So I don’t want that to happen again,” Mitchell said. “So we’ve got to come out with our best.”
Mitchell said it will be imperative for the Trojans to bring that same fire and intensity they showed last week in their season opener against Oxford.
“Oh, it’s very important. We can’t go out there, and just because we had a big game last week, we can’t go out there half-stepping. Because they’re going to bring it to us,” Mitchell said. “It should be a good game.”
Teague said it’s hard to carry such high emotion from week to week over the course of a season, but he noted you combat that with execution and being mentally prepared.
“Obviously, this week in practice we weren’t quite as focused — or intense, I should say — but in the course of the season you’re going to have to be able to play with emotion, and other times you’ve just got to execute and do what you’re supposed to do,” Teague said.
Sherrod Mitchell wants to make sure that doesn’t happen again in Week 2.
The Carrollton High School lineman noted that containing the Wildcats’ star tailback will be critical when the Trojans head to Atlanta for the 7:30 kickoff tonight against the No. 5-ranked ball club in Class AA, which dispatched of St. Pius X, 20-12, last Friday.
“It’s going to take great technique and great fundamentals that we’ve been practicing all the time. We should be able to stop [Abernathy]. As long as we play our techniques and our positions and do our job, we should be able to stop him,” Mitchell said.
Carrollton coach Rayvan Teague called Abernathy a “game-changer” and has witnessed the Wildcat standout run three straight 4.3 40s at a combine.
“He’s just got speed and vision. He’s just hard to stop. So we’re going to have our hands full trying to stop him,” Teague said.
And while Abernathy is indeed a handful, he isn’t the only offensive threat the Trojans will have to worry about tonight, as Wildcat quarterback William Linginfelter has several other play-makers he can look to.
“They’ve got great skill guys. They can run and they can throw the ball. But I think we should be able to lock ‘em down,” Mitchell said.
Carrollton (1-0), which moved into the top 10 of the Class AAA rankings at No. 7 this week, had little trouble stopping the run against Oxford (Ala.) last Friday in its 43-21 thrashing of the Yellow Jackets at Grisham Stadium — holding them to a net of negative four yards — though Oxford didn’t have a back the caliber of Abernathy.
“I mean, we respect him. He’s a good player. But we’ve got good players, too,” said Trojan fullback Devin Watts, who rushed for 94 yards on seven carries last week.
Leading the Westminster defense will be middle linebacker Dallis Joiner and strong safety John Egan, as the Wildcats (1-0) have a tough non-region schedule this fall, as well.
Teague said Wildcat coach Gerry Romberg told him last spring that he thought this was going to be the best skill group he’s had in a long time at Westminster.
“So [Romberg] thinks he’s got an opportunity to win a bunch of football games and be very competitive. So I think they’ve got high expectations of this bunch, as well,” Teague said.
Along with facing traditional Class AAA powers St. Pius X and Carrollton to open the year, the Wildcats will head to Buford for a date with the No. 1 team — for now, at least, depending on the outcome of tonight’s game at Carver-Columbus — in Class AA in the Wolves next week.
Westminster went 8-4 last year, falling in the second round of the Class AA playoffs to Callaway in a 35-31 tussle.
The Trojans lead the all-time series against the Wildcats, 5-3, including a 9-7 win last season at Grisham Stadium.
The game Mitchell recalls, though, is a 24-7 setback in Atlanta two years ago as a sophomore.
It’s a loss he is ready to avenge tonight when two top-10 teams clash for an early-season showdown.
“I feel good going to Westminster. I just have that heart in me about what happened two years ago — we got beat. So I don’t want that to happen again,” Mitchell said. “So we’ve got to come out with our best.”
Mitchell said it will be imperative for the Trojans to bring that same fire and intensity they showed last week in their season opener against Oxford.
“Oh, it’s very important. We can’t go out there, and just because we had a big game last week, we can’t go out there half-stepping. Because they’re going to bring it to us,” Mitchell said. “It should be a good game.”
Teague said it’s hard to carry such high emotion from week to week over the course of a season, but he noted you combat that with execution and being mentally prepared.
“Obviously, this week in practice we weren’t quite as focused — or intense, I should say — but in the course of the season you’re going to have to be able to play with emotion, and other times you’ve just got to execute and do what you’re supposed to do,” Teague said.
David Pruitt
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Survivors include: his daughter, Maria Pruitt of Temple; brothers, Ronald Pruitt of Temple and Danny Pruitt of Douglasville; sisters, Dianne Ward of Temple and Geraldine Smith of Sky Valley, Ga.; and several nieces and nephews.
Graveside services will be Saturday, Sept. 4, 2010, at 1 p.m. at Crest Lawn Memorial Park. Burial will follow the service.
Visitation will be Friday, Sept. 3, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the funeral home.
Couch-Garner & Cole Funeral Home, Douglasville.