Teeing up for New Years changes

The Fallon Golf Course closed recently in preparation for getting new management at the end of the year.

The course officially closed Dec. 1 with the lease agreement with Duncan Golf Management ending Dec. 31. It’s not the end of the golf course, though; with the start of the New Year, the newly formed Fallon Golf Course, Inc, will take over. FGC is a nonprofit designed to continue running the golf course as an asset of the county.

FGC will officially take over operations on Jan. 1.

According to FGC president Alan Kalt, FGC hopes to retain most of the current staff. They will write up new job descriptions and have everyone complete a new application to rehire them.

“In the interim, we’re looking at picking those up and having them continue working at the Fallon Golf Course,” Kalt said. “They’re outstanding employees.”

The new owners are also searching for a new golf director. This position will be in charge of running the day-to-day operations of the golf course. FGC has reached out to golf courses across the state and Northern California and sent packets containing information about the course with photos of its current condition.

“They can kind of get a flavor for if this is something they may or may not be interested in,” Kalt said. “We wanted to show them what the course looked like and that sort of thing.”

Their timeline hopes for interviews to begin in late January with someone being hired in mid-February and starting March 1.

While the golf course is closed, it is still accessible to members; they can still play on the course, but the buildings and vehicles are unavailable until everything reopens. All current memberships will be honored until March when new membership agreements will be signed.

Kalt said the board has prepared a letter to golf course members explaining the situation. Their hope is to keep as many members as possible and to bring in new ones.

The board’s hope is to have the facilities open shortly after New Years. A skeleton crew will run the course until the new director takes over in March and a full staff can be brought on.

FGC has requested an interim loan of $30,000 from the county commissioners to help with start-up costs for reopening the course. They would pay back the loan in monthly payments.

The FGC board has people with either golfing experience or experience running a golf course. Joining Kalt are vice president Lem Mackedon, treasurer Leslie Paul, secretary Randy Beeghly, director Jeff Lockwood, recorder Ginny Dugan and deputy district attorney Joe Sanford.

The board has met every two weeks since October in conference room 136 near the county recorder and comptroller offices. The open meetings are held on Thursdays at 5:30 p.m. and all information is available to the public.

“We are committed to make a seamless transition to the golfers and public effective Jan. 1,” the board stated in remarks to the commissioners. “We ask for your continued support and look forward to the exciting plans and operations at your community golf course.”