The committee, after input from the community, proposed a new rule for walking dogs on the golf courses during the normal walking hours before and after the regular golf day. This rule was approved by the board of directors on Nov. 15, 2023, and was implemented on The Preserve course on Nov. 23, 2023.
To paraphrase the rule, dogs must be on a six-foot or shorter leash, and walkers should stay on the cart path and may only leave the path to retrieve dog waste. All dog waste must be collected and removed from the course. There are fines for not abiding by the rules.
A group of volunteers came together to verify that the rules were being followed. That group is observing only. They are not performing any enforcement. They reported to the Rules Committee what they observed during the first month of the new rules. One hundred sixty-one homeowners with dogs were seen walking on The Preserve golf course. Out of these 161, four issues were noted: 1) leash too long, 2) waste on cart path—not clear if it was from a dog or a coyote, 3) walking at wrong time, 4) dog running loose on course. This new rule will continue to be monitored for the next 60 to 90 days.
At this point, it appears that the new dog-walking rules are generally being adhered to. It remains to be seen if this will be the case going forward. We on the committee are hopeful that it will continue to be adhered to so that this rule can remain in place. Many people put in time and effort to make this happen, and it would be unfortunate if it were spoiled by a few people.