For the first time in four-plus years of operation, golfers were allowed to walk Circling Raven Golf Club (Worley, Idaho; www.circlingraven.com) on Saturday (September 8). It occurred via necessity – a power outage – and the club’s savvy management took a potentially bad situation and turned it into a positive experience.
Circling Raven’s carts are powered by electricity. A Friday evening storm and power outage meant that battery chargers were not working. They didn’t work at all in the critical overnight hours that power up the carts for the next day.
Head Golf Professional Steve Caruso arrived early Saturday morning to learn he had 39 carts for a very busy weekend day in peak season. With a packed tee sheet, Caruso made about 100 phone calls, contacting every group except one, which was coming in from Montana.
With a little scrounging, planning and juggling, however, the Circling Raven staff actually came up with 50 carts – less than half of what’s needed.
“Surprisingly, a lot of players wanted to walk the course,” Caruso said. “Some were pretty excited about the opportunity. We gave all walkers a reduced rate and off they went, happy as could be. We only lost a few (for the lack of carts). Meanwhile, the crew here did an amazing job handling phone calls and taking care of everyone. I think it was the most difficult day of work that any of us have ever had here. In fact, it was the most difficult day I’ve had in this profession.”
Walking Circling Raven is a tall order. The course spans 620 acres, including seven miles of cart paths.
As for the single missed call, the group from Montana, all was resolved in person.
“The gentleman was upset, but I called him aside, walked out to the deck and, as luck would have it, an available cart showed up,” Caruso said. “Everybody was happy.”
Luck, in this case, was the residue of strategic design.