Borrego Sun - Since 1949

Dear Members,

As the 2023 year comes to a close, on behalf of my wife Linda and I, the de Anza Board of Directors and Club Management, we wish you a great start to 2024 with much health and happiness for the upcoming year.

The Board of Directors and Club Management would like to sincerely thank you for your patience during this difficult and uncertain time. We understand that it seems like nothing is being done but behind the scenes much is being done. Management is working through several issues that need to be resolved with the county, mostly concerning the power and potable water along with a number of other critical permitting issues.

Please allow me to outline the status as we know as of the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024.

First and foremost is our commitment to the safety and well-being of our members. The recent fire has put the de Anza Country Club in the spotlight with the county and their attention to mitigating their liability. Even though de Anza Country Club is a private club, from the county’s perspective de Anza Country Club is still considered the ‘general public’ in terms of code safety and compliance.

It has been a slow process. First the insurance had to confirm that the fire was accidental. This has been confirmed and the insurance has provided the first phase of funding for demolition. The next step was to confirm no asbestos or lead in the remains. This has also been confirmed and so with these answers, management has drafted the demolition scope of work and has gone out to tender the demolition of the existing club house. Given the close proximity to Christmas this work will not start until 2024.

The existing board and management are so grateful for the 66-year history of the club, its members and directors because the de Anza community has built a fabulous reputation and relationship with the county. Thank you.

However, even with de Anza’s great reputation and relationship and the support of the County Supervisor Jim Desmond and our district Senator Kelly Seyarto, the county is moving slowly in signing off on a number of compliance issues. Hopefully this is due to the holiday season and once we enter the new year in 2024 things will speed up. I can confirm that our General Manager Ramien Shalizi communicates with these officials frequently to nudge this process along.

As we look forward to the new year, I can confirm that the original architectural designs have been located and there have been meetings with builders and a design team to determine what “could be” with a new club house. The future looks bright on this project, and we will endeavor to move this forward quickly. If you have any thoughts and or ideas, please forward them to my wife: linda.heathcott@sprucemeadows.com. With the understanding that there is only so much insurance money to rebuild with.

Our management team has secured a commissary kitchen agreement with the Palm Canyon Resort which was finalized just this week as required by the county health department in order to provide food service for the food truck, social events and tournaments. This is fantastic news, because this has truly been an uphill battle, but we are getting there albeit slower than we would like, but we will get there!

Our management team is working diligently to revise the 2024 season calendar and you will be receiving the new calendar following the new year. The new calendar will provide you with tournament dates and dining & social event dates in our new outdoor space, aptly named “The Phoenix”. We will kick off the opening of “The Pheonix” with Trivia Night on Wednesday January 10th. Of note a big change to the 2024 calendar is the upcoming Member-Member tournament, which will now commence on January 17th with a joint cocktail reception for the Ladies and Men.

I personally want to thank the de Anza management team, the F&B team and the Golf Grounds team and the county for being so helpful in finding ways that de Anza could continue to operate through the months of November and December all the while working through the challenges that the fire has presented.

May I further congratulate the “Men’s Club” and “DAWGA” for working with the team to continue the golf experience that is so vital to the success of the de Anza Country Club. If the men’s and ladies committee have concerns, questions or ideas on how to make the 2024 season even better for the golfers, please let any of the teams know. Our General Manager, Head Pro, Pro shop team, Chef and F&B team are all available to expand any support you may need. Please just ask them.

Finally the de Anza golf course has undergone a huge transformation. It is for sure not complete, but the grounds team and design team will continue to work on the course so that it gets completed. In some ways I am sure we all miss the lush old course with so much grass and trees and it is unfortunate that the transformation is taking so long but de Anza Country Club had no choice but to comply with the State of California’s commitment to water reduction and evolve into a desert scape golf course. We are committed to making the golf course “desert beautiful”.

In closing, Linda and I wish you a Happy New Year that is filled with prosperity and success and may 2024 bring a fresh start filled with opportunities and exciting adventures to you and yours and the de Anza community at large.

Sincerely

Tom Heathcott

President de Anza Country Club