Hoyt Harris Director of Marketing hharris@theledges.com
Sarah Melendez Member Relations Coordinator smelendez@theledges.com
Phillip Sireci Executive Chef psireci@theledges.com
SUMMER IS HERE!
A message from our General Manager and Director of Golf, Rob Clark
Hello Members,
I hope all of you have had an excellent Spring and ready for the summer season. This Spring brought about some great weather and great golfing conditions. It’s hard to find a golf course that is in better shape than ours right now. I have been here 22 years, and the greens are the healthiest I have ever seen. Kudos to Wyatt, our Director of Agronomy and the Agronomy team. I know everyone sees them out on the course each day. Make sure to wave to them and thank them for their hard work. I have been fortunate to play hundreds of golf courses in my fifty years of playing golf. It’s hard to find many better than ours. We are fortunate.
Renovation Update:
We are in the home stretch of our renovation. I think many of you have seen the progress we are making. Once we can nail down an opening date, we will start sending out plenty of information regarding our vision of the area and the rest of the club. Great things are happening at The Ledges, and with this renovation we hope you will have more of a chance to take advantage of what the club has to offer.
New Faces:
At The Ledges we are always striving to improve the member and guest experience. Some of these changes come from members’ suggestions and comments, others come from sharing great ideas from other clubs. That is one thing I love about our industry. I have several close friends who are very successful in the golf business, and we can share success without fear of competition. We also look to improve our staff when the opportunity arises. We have added Hoyt Harris to our staff as our Marketing & Communications Director. I think you have already seen an immediate impact Hoyt has brought to The Ledges. Posts on Clubster and social media, as well as the very thing you are reading now, come from Hoyt’s expertise. An Auburn Graduate and local from Huntsville, he has many years of experience in Marketing & Communications. If you see someone around the club with a camera in hand, make sure to introduce yourself.
Member Profile:
From time to time, I like to share stories of members and certain things they are doing or have done related to the club. This month’s story is about Chester Yeager and his love of the game of golf and the traditions that come with it. I have known Chester for twenty-two years. He was one of our junior golfers many years ago before he went off to college and married Kathryn and moved back to Huntsville with their three children, Violet, Grady, and Calvin. It is so cool to see generational members here at the club. It’s a sign of stability and growth of a club. Chester plays to a plus (+) handicap and has always been a very good golfer playing on the high school golf team back in the day. I recently saw him at the club and he told me something very interesting. He was playing with traditional blade irons and persimmon woods. I was shocked to hear this but also intrigued. I asked him how long he had been doing this and he said for some time now. For all you younger golfers those are the types of golf clubs us old people grew up playing. Technology has improved 1000% since those days. There was always something so satisfying when hitting a persimmon wood right in the sweet spot. A good drive in those days was 270 yards. We have some members today that do that with fairway woods and hybrids. I asked Chester what made him decide he wanted to do this? His response, “I think it’s just a more exacting form of golf but it also allows for more artistry and thought. I find that hitting all 9 windows is so much easier with these clubs. The questions that this golf course asks you with this equipment makes it so much more enjoyable and fun”.
This is a beautiful description of golf and what it can mean to people. For some, golf is an opportunity to get outside and move around. For most of us it is to see how far we can hit the golf ball and get it into the hole. For Chester, he likes the act of shot-making much more appealing to a 300-yard drive. It’s a great way to look at the game. His set has 5 irons ranging from 22 to 45 degrees. Along with three Persimmon woods. Throw in a couple of wedges and a putter and he is at 11 clubs. Well below the 14-club max rule. Makes for an easier walk. If you are young, you won’t be able to appreciate how fun it is to work a golf ball with the clubs from many years back. My first set of clubs were Spaulding Elite Centurions in the 70’s. This included three Persimmon woods. I used to think they were so easy to hit, and they were at the time. But golf equipment has changed so much over the years. I asked Chester if he was using True Balata Golf Balls and he replied, “even a traditional golfer knows his limits when it comes to golf balls”!!!!! I have included a picture of Chester’s Club.
If you ever are in need to kill five minutes of your time remind me to tell you the story of Callaway and being the first golf club in the world to Demo the Big Bertha Driver. It changed golf forever. As always let me know if I can ever be of assistance to you. We are here to make your experience a great one.
- Rob Clark
Chester and his wife Kathryn with their 3 Children, Violet, Grady, and Calvin
COURSE UPDATE FROM
Wyatt Kotary, Director of Agronomy
The 2026 season has launched on an exceptional foundation, with unusually warm and dry conditions prevailing through the early months. The winter proved notably mild, with only two minimal snowfall events that didn’t impact course operations. These favorable weather patterns have allowed us to implement significant improvements to our maintenance program, including strategic turf painting and substantial increases in mowing heights—changes that have already yielded remarkable improvements in turf green-up and overall health. This spring and summer, our dedicated team has focused intensely on elevating course conditions to the exacting standards you’v come to expect. Our primary objectives include: Maintaining consistently excellent putting surfaces across all greens, implementing targeted weed management strategies throughout the course, and addressing challenges with our 25+ year old irrigation system.
The aging irrigation infrastructure continues to present daily challenges, with our team routinely addressing leaks, wiring issues, and malfunctioning heads. While we’ve successfully installed working valves to better isolate problems, we still manage approximately a dozen issues weekly, particularly during dry periods. You may notice increased hand watering practices in fairways and tee areas, which are adjustments we’ve implemented to ensure optimal turf health despite system limitations.
We appreciate your understanding as we navigate these challenges while maintaining the highest possible course conditions.
We’re thrilled to welcome several new team members who bring valuable expertise to our operations:
Ronan Iravani – Assistant Superintendent (joined March 2026)
Will Parker – Assistant Superintendent/Mechanic (rejoined the team)
Pate Argo – Irrigation Technician
Dan Curcio – Spray Technician
These talented professionals join our experienced, dedicated staff in our commitment to maintaining one of Alabama’s premier golf facilities.
As we progress through the season, we remain focused on continuous improvement and delivering an exceptional golf experience for all members. Your feedback and observations are always welcome as we work to refine our maintenance practices.
With appreciation for your continued support,
Wyatt Kotary
$50 PER PERSON
save the date for two more scotch tastings on August 6th & Sept 3rd
JUNIOR GOLF CAMPS
June 17th - 19th - July 15th - 17th
Junior Golf Summer Camps, offered in June and July, will include 2 hours of golf, followed by two hours of pool time with lunch under the care of certified lifegaurds.
Juniors will receive valuable instruction each day by our PGA golf professionals. A fun learning environment will include lessons on full on swing, putting, chipping, bunker play, and pitching, all accompanied by games and skills challenges.
$250 per golfer Ages 5-14
CALENDAR
July 4th
Cookout
July 5th (every Sunday after)
Sunday Brunch
July 7th
Wine Tasting
July 9th
Mixology Class “Barrel & Glass” Series 2
J uly 9th
Scotch Tasting
July 10-12th
Ledges Club Championship
July 15th - 17th
Juniors Golf Camp
J uly 15th
Chef’s Table Series 3
J uly 17th
9 Wine & Dine
July 23rd
Bourbon Tasting
July 24th
Parent Child Club Championship
July 25th
Juniors Club Championship
August 4th
Wine Tasting
August 6th
Scotch Tasting
August 8th - 9th
“The Battle” Member-Member
August 13th
Mixology Class “Barrel & Glass” Series 3
August 14th
9 Wine & Dine
August 19th
Chef’s Table Series 4
August 20th
Bourbon Tasting
September 1st
Wine Tasting
September 3rd
Scotch Tasting
September 4th
9 Wine & Dine
September 7th
Labor Day (The 22 closes for the season)
September 8th
Course and Clubhouse Closed Following Labor Day
September 10th
Mixology Class “Barrel & Glass” Series 4
September 12th
Ladies Member-Guest
September 16th
Chef’s Table Series 5
September 17th
Bourbon Tasting
September 18th
9 Wine & Dine
All events have a 72-Hour Cancellation Policy.
Any cancellations or changes to the party sizes must be made before 72-hours prior to an event.
After that time, the full price of the event will be charged.
