By Vinnie Manginelli, PGA
Rockwall Golf & Athletic Club has almost 500 golf members and more than 1,800 total members on its roster. The Texas facility hosts more than 38,000 rounds of golf annually on its 18-hole championship layout.
PGA of America General Manager Ignacio Vela celebrates a decade of service at Rockwall this summer, and he was more than proud to highlight some of the ways that Rockwall is investing in its range, as well as in many other aspects of the club.
Rockwall has experienced an array of exciting renovations in recent years that have helped increase membership and aided in the retention of existing members. After all, with the value of a Rockwall membership boosted with every new blueprint created or shovel in the ground, investing in your facility is a clear path for a successful future.
“With the explosive popularity of pickleball in recent years, we repurposed one of our indoor tennis courts to create four dedicated pickleball courts and transformed our other indoor tennis court into a flex court that can be used for either sport,” Vela explains. “It looks amazing, and our members love the new amenity and the foresight demonstrated by our leadership team.”
They’ve also expanded their three levels of driving range tees to accommodate the relocation of their practice putting green. The back teeing area was expanded by 30 percent and will have new artificial turf installed this summer, while the middle tee is now 50 percent larger than before.
“We sodded the area with TifTuf Bermuda and relocated the putting green closer to the first tee, making the flow of golfers from the practice range to the practice green to the first tee more efficient,” Vela added.
In addition, they added observatory platforms between the upper and middle tees and have new bag stands, ball crates and range dividers that will further beautify the practice area with the Rockwall Golf & Athletic Club logo. With upwards of 18 outside outings each year, it’s important to have quality mats available for use on those Mondays, saving the grass teeing ground for member use as weather and volume dictate.
The location where the practice putting green used to be is now a family gaming area that includes cornhole, picnic tables and beautiful new patio furniture, and will be an extension of their club’s pub, enabling members to enjoy food and beverage services while socializing with friends and creating wonderful memories with family. Adjacent to this area is an extensive 30 ft. x 15 ft. covered gazebo with two firepits, furniture and heaters. All of this overlooks the six outdoor pickleball courts that are scheduled to open on April 1.
Vela and his team are adept at creating stellar social experiences for their members. For instance, Director of Tennis Joey Molina implements an extensive tennis programming schedule, putting members into teams and scheduling mixers that celebrate the game of tennis and further promote camaraderie at Rockwall.
Investing in one’s range means ensuring pristine course conditions as well. Recent course renovations include drainage projects like sloping fairways towards drainage to eliminate standing water from the fairways. Vela says a major course renovation took place in 2021 when a deep freeze in the Dallas-Fort Worth area damaged the course. Tees and fairways were resodded with TifTuf Bermuda and greens were redone with TifEagle Bermuda grass. They also added irrigation to areas of the course that needed it, rectifying these issues in just four short months.
Vela says they’ve conducted two clubhouse renovations in the past ten years on their 50-year-old building, and plans to construct an entirely new one are in discussion, with the status of those initiatives yet to be finalized.
Finally, these investments don’t stop at the club’s infrastructure. Rockwall’s new Trackman launch monitor has created more instruction and custom club fitting opportunities, which have increased member-staff engagement and boosted club sales through the facility’s golf shop.
