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Kasten: Sun City West reader offers golf card idea to RCSCW

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Do you have a money-saving Recreation Centers of Sun City West golf card?

Have you found yourself unable to play golf for medical reasons and are seeing your chances to save money using your card dwindling for that reason? Are you an avid golfer in need of surgery and have found yourself putting it off until your golf card expires?

If any of this applies to you, read on!

I am working on a suggestion to the RCSCW Governing Board, a suggestion that it would be a very good thing for them to consider creating a procedure to facilitate suspending a golf card (Unlimited, Kachina, Coyote) during periods where the holder cannot play. While I am still thinking it would be a great idea and trying to move it forward, the response so far has not been encouraging.

I proposed a procedure that would allow such a suspension for a minimum of 30 days, maximum of 120 continuous days and no more than 180 days during a card validity period. I suggested limiting things to “for medical reasons,” but left it to them to consider other reasons.

So far, they have raised three points to consider — increase in clerical accounting, potential for miss-use and the lack of a policy for such a concept. Currently, the only policy regarding recouping the cost of a golf card when you can’t play is to have the card canceled, which requires paying an administration fee. The policy is not well written but in essence results in the cancellation only being a good option when it is done very early in the 12-month validity period.

In my case, with a card that runs through mid-May, and based on the rounds I played before the “unable” situation hit me, I would not get anything back if I canceled now.

I accept their three points. I believe the first could be addressed with adequate automation. I see an opportunity to address the third through working with the Golf Committee to propose a policy (next meeting Feb. 13). But a large amount of research has yielded nothing to address “miss-use,” other than cooperation from a community of respectful adults.

If the idea makes sense to you, send an email of support to  your favorite governing board director. If you see fallacies in the suggestion in addition to the three mentioned, share that with the board as well.

Thank you for reading.

John H. Kasten

Sun City West