Please click on the below link to read the article about Escalante Golf in this month’s issue of Golf Business Magazine.

Enjoy!

http://www.golfbusiness.com/flash/digital/2011August/default.html#24

Dear Black Diamond Member:

We would like to continue to communicate things that are going on at the club as we prepare for the upcoming season.

1.       GUEST POLICIES

Member Guest Fees

In that regard we recently have changed the fee that we will be charging your guest for multiple rounds. Our current member guest rates are $115 for the Quarry and $95 for the Ranch and a third guest round was $65. We now have a package that the fee will be $150 for one round on the Quarry and an one round on the Ranch. A savings of $60 over previous years. The third round and any additional rounds will continue at $65.

Charitable Donations

Again we are working with our golf staff to welcome these guests and make sure they are appropriately dressed and adhere to our policies.  In the future we will require these guests to take a Fore-Caddy to ensure they keep a proper pace of play and to make sure there Black Diamond experience is a memorable one.

Stay and Play Packages

To support real estate sales and new members, you will start seeing some publications with print ads for the Stay and Play package. Many of you let me know that you would be willing to play with these guests during their visit. Thank you. As a clarification to my last email, our goal is the give these guests the member experience. This may include them playing before the 11am time we stated in the previous email.  

2.       GOLF COURSES

As it related to the golf courses, we would like to share a number of thoughts.

Trees on #9 Quarry and #15 Ranch

The large tree on #9 Quarry is still under discussion. We continue to work with an arborist to determine the best course of action. Many of you have suggested that we leave it there as we have other dead trees in the past.

The tree on #15 Ranch will be removed when the Ranch is closed for over-seeding.

Rough Height

As we are nearing the end of the growing season we would like to let you know of some changes that we have planned for next year to help eliminate the high rough as well as the grass clippings. The height of the rough will be lowered to under 1 3/4 inches and we plan on purchasing an additional rough unit to keep up with the growth. The secondary rough (Bahia grass) had been a maintenance challenge this summer and like the rough we have purchased an additional unit to help keep up with the Bahia rough. We are buying new mowers specifically for these areas that will allow us to mow more frequently and keep this part of the course looking nice.  

Clubhouse Grounds

We are nearing completion of significant work around the clubhouse cleaning out flowerbeds, trimming bushes and replacing mulch. The results are fantastic and we are eager to get comments from our members. It is also our plan this year to over-seed all of the areas around the club house. This is a practice that was not done in the past.   

Quarry Walls

The comments received by the majority of you on the clean up of the Quarry Walls have been very positive. Our goal is to give our members a view of what the quarry used to look like instead of looking at overgrown vegetation.  We are in the process of getting pricing on up-lighting the Quarry. The purpose is to duplicate that beautiful view you see during the day at night.

Over-seeding Schedule.

The Highlands course has been closed this past week for over-seeding. The Quarry will close on Tuesday the 11th for almost two weeks. Our plan is to open it on the weekend of the 22nd, however, if germination is delayed by Mother Nature that may be extended. The Ranch course is scheduled to be closed starting October 24th and will also be closed for two weeks. Again, if Mother Nature cooperates we may open on the weekend of November 5th. These closing schedules are vital to the success of over-seeding for the winter season. One final note, there was discussion amongst the members that we would not be over-seeding the greens. All of our greens will be over-seeded.

Ranch Fairways

We have received numerous compliments on the new cutting pattern of The Ranch fairways. Your comments are appreciated.

Tree Trimming

You may have already noticed we have spent a significant amount of time thinning and raising the canopies of trees throughout the property. This is a time consuming process but will continue throughout the season until we catch up.

3. Other Items

As you may know, we took over the landscaping responsibility for the POA on an interim basis after the contracted company went out of business. Request for proposals were sent out and bids were received from four different companies. Waterside Environmental Care, Inc. was the winning company and they started on October 3rd.

There are several important dates that you need to put on the calendar. The "Welcome Back" party is scheduled for November 4th.  We are also planning a member and resident meeting on December 8th to discuss various plans for the club and community.  This will not be a typical membership meeting, but rather an informal gathering with all Escalante partners present to share with you our vision for the club.  Drinks, dinner and live entertainment will follow the presentation.  A formal invitation will follow in the mail.

We are working on a new dress code policy. In the mean time if you see any violation of any of the club policy's, please contact a staff member.  We will be happy to make sure our policies are enforced.

We are looking forward to our first full season at Black Diamond; we are excited about what the future holds. We appreciate each and every comment you have. It is the only way we can get to where we all want to be..  

Sincerely,

Doug Egly                                         
General Manager

Dear Black Diamond Resident: 

We are eager to share with you a number of endeavors and future plans for the Black Diamond community.  It has been a busy 90 days since we took over Black Diamond putting the team together and building plans for the future.  We are in the process of developing the master plan of the community and its amenities and wanted to discuss our initial first steps.  

As we have stated in previous communications, our goal is to elevate the status of both the community and the golf club.  We strongly believe that Black Diamond Ranch should be one of the most exclusive and prestigious clubs in the country with world-class facilities and commensurate service levels.  The plans we are creating will generate renewed enthusiasm to be a part of Black Diamond. 

One of the key components to the future success of Black Diamond is the real estate within the community.  In this regard, we recently retained one of the top real estate and development professionals in the country.  Rob King will join our team on June 1 as Director of Development.  Rob has an extensive background in high-end golf communities and held senior positions with WCI Communities and The Satter Companies of New England.  

Mr. King will take on the day-to-day coordination of our real estate activities including our overall development plans, marketing efforts and building a world-class sales team.  We believe that under Rob's leadership we will unlock the potential of Black Diamond.  Please extend a warm welcome to Rob when you have a chance to meet him.  

You will soon notice some changes going on at the Black Diamond Sales Center.  We believe that a community like Black Diamond should have a state-of-the-art sales center that more accurately reflects the quality, prestige and exclusivity of Florida's top golf community.  Accordingly, we will soon begin construction to completely redesign the interior of the existing building including an upgraded landscape design.    

We are currently in the planning stages but hope to have the new sales center completed by the end of this year or early in 2012.  We believe this is a crucial first step in creating momentum for the Black Diamond brand. 

I would be remiss if I did not address the club slipping out of Golf Digest's Top 100 list.  While this is very disappointing, it drives us harder to elevate the condition of the courses, make improvements to the club and focus our marketing efforts in order to regain this status.  I believe you will find that we share your passion for the club and have a number of strategies in place to create new energy about Black Diamond. 

We recently launched our media strategy to promote residential sales and membership opportunities.  We will be working intensely with key media and golf course raters to properly position Black Diamond as one of the most sought-after golf communities in the country.  Our goal is to host as many raters as we can and let them experience first-hand the hospitality and unique experience of Black Diamond.  We have already hosted a number of raters and will continue to make this a priority. 

Likewise, our media strategy is paying dividends as we have placed positive articles in key outlets.  The focus of these and future articles is to position the club as an exclusive, members-only facility with a lifestyle that is second to none.  As we stated in our first member communication, we strongly believe that the future of Black Diamond is largely dependent on greatly reducing any outside play and returning the club to its previous level of exclusivity.   

Lastly, we would like to say a few words about the golf courses.  The primary driver of Black Diamond is its top-rated golf courses.  We have heard much positive feedback about the improved condition of the courses and our agronomy practices.  While some of these changes are subtle, our plan is to continue to pay attention to the details and make gradual improvements going forward.  We strongly believe that details matter and will make the difference in the club's long-term success. 

Black Diamond is unique.  It is breathtaking. It is the best of the best.  However, the membership and its ability to create lasting relationships is what make it so special.  We are committed to being good stewards of Black Diamond and providing an environment where relationships are nurtured and valued. 

On behalf of all of us at Escalante, we look forward to partnering with you to ensure our collective success. 

Sincerely, 

David McDonald
President
Escalante Golf, Inc.

Black Diamond Ranch-Where to Live if You Live for Golf!

Lecanto Florida-Premiere Gated Community in Citrus County