Just ahead of its premier event of the season, Ratliff Ranch Golf Links has been challenged by a combination of staff departures and issues with the condition of the course.
A little over a month ago, head professional Michael Monk suddenly departed after taking the helm at the course in 2020.
Phillip Urrieta, the assistant city manager who oversees the golf course, wouldn’t comment on the reasoning behind Monk’s sudden departure, but did say that the former pro had put in his two-weeks notice and that the two had a good relationship.
In addition to Monk’s departure, both David Gonzales, who was the superintendent at the course, and the general manager of the course also resigned their positions just months before.
Neither Monk nor Gonzales responded requests for comment.
Currently, the city has hired a consultant to help the staff maintain the course in the absence of a superintendent.
“We do have the position posted and we’ve conducted some interviews, however, we haven’t hired anyone at this point,” Urrieta said. “We’re continuing to operate with the consultant to ensure that whatever steps we’re taking at the course are proper for our area and that the course is being taken care of to the best of our ability.”
These departures, in addition to concerns about course conditions, have cast a shadow over the 2022 Men’s City Championship, which begins Friday.
Many portions of the greens were sanded in an effort to regrow dead patches, and particularly bad sections were roped off with stakes as recently as the Parent-Child Tournament earlier this month.
Several of the greens at Ratliff Ranch have been closed just since July 11, but will be reopened for this weekend’s tournament.
“There have been concerns that have been addressed about the course,” Urrieta said. “Around May there were several concerns with the greens.
“We’ve come up with a course of action to get the greens back to the level of play they were in the past. In order to do that, we had to close a couple of the greens to allow for growth and repair to take place.”
Fortunately for both the city and the golf course, Jesse Ely, who has been at Ratliff Ranch for 11 years as an assistant pro has been able to take over and act as both an interim GM and head golf professional.
“Normally you wouldn’t want to be taking on that position during the busiest part of our season, but I think myself and my staff have adjusted really well,” Ely said. “Even in just over a month, I’ve really started to settle into that role.”
Despite the recent challenges, Ely hopes to still put on a tournament that will pose a fair test and determine the next city champion.
“Tee to green, I would say we’re in as good of condition as we could be in considering how the climate has been this year,” he said. “We’re always working through drought cycles, and so the ceiling is determined by mother nature.
“But considering the amount of work we’ve put in, the tees and fairways are in really good shape. The greens themselves, yes, we’ve done a pretty aggressive reseeding of most of the surfaces; a lot of that has come in really well. There are gonna be spots that we’ll have to mitigate, but I still think that the tournament will showcase the best players in each flight and that it’ll be a fair competition for everybody.”
Unlike most years, the decision has been made to play preferred lies for the tournament, which Ely believes that it will ensure fair and consistent competition for all the competitors.
With that in mind, the winning score will likely be similar to last year’s winning score of 15 under par.
“I think there will be some good scores out there,” Ely added. “Players will be playing from preferred lies and greens that aren’t that slick. They won’t have to be as defensive on putts.”
Parker Beaty returns to defend as he looks for a third-consecutive title, with Joe Digby, Eli Melendez and Davis Seybert also expected to battle for the crown.
Follow Nicholas Pursley on Twitter at @nicholaspursley.
