Update From Sam Murphy

Update From the Greens Superintendent – Sam Murphy

With spring half way over and the first day of summer a little more than six weeks away we just wanted to give everyone a brief update on the status of the golf course conditions and projects/task we have been doing, along with future plans.

The greens have been coming along well as of late. There is shallow rooting but some pretty good cover on top. The organic layer is beyond the 1/4'” depth that is recommended to maintain healthy turf. Aerification after the member-member will help to alleviate some of the organic layer, and promote denser, deeper roots to carry these young greens through August and September. We will be core aerifying with ½” core tines on two borrowed “648 Toro Pro-Core” Aerifyiers. One of the units is from Great Waters and a second loaner from Augusta National Golf Club. These new type units will help us complete this process in half the time it normally takes with the Ryan/Jacobson units we own. The aerification will be taking place on May 2nd and 3rd, weather depending.

As most of you have noticed the collars have made tremendous progress on filling back in. Some of collars (right side #8, left side #2, and #16) will need new sod. This is a result of the shade issues and the injury suffered from this past winter. The collars in full sun (3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, and 15) are doing much better and will not have to be sodded. A light aerification around the collars and these will be back to normal. Most of the zoysia collars that were installed several years ago have been taken over by the Bermuda. We will begin to sod the collars the week after the member-member. Also, there a couple areas we will begin to sod this upcoming week; around the pedestrian bridge on 18, the approach around the putting green, and various other bare areas.

The tees and fairways are starting to fill in and green up nicely. They are still a little off color from the cooler night time temperatures and the chemical applications for weed control. Come May and in to June they should both be looking up to par.

The weeds that we saw early in the year have been sprayed on the entire course. A repeat spot application may be necessary to control the remaining weeds throughout the course and driving range. It has been a great spring for prolonged weed germination and growth. We will be aggressively spraying weeds with post emerge controls along with our additional pre-emerge applications of herbicide.

We have been and will continue to be going through the bunkers looking to loosen up the hard pan conditions that persist in some of them. We are on a regular grooming and rock picking program. We will add sand were we determined it is needed.

Some other tasked that we have performed this spring:

We mulched existing paths and added some additional ones on # 7, 13, PG, and # 15.
We have started a regular topdressing program on the practice tees.
We’ve repaired all lighting protection on key trees throughout the property.
We ground a total of 18 stumps on our first go round with a rented stump grinder.
We also started to mow all the Meadow areas to help eradicate noxious weed growth.

We are presently finishing up on an evaluation of projects and special needs list for the golf course. When completed, we will be communicating our findings and recommendations to you in future updates. This should include plans and schedules.

Thank you for your time and interest. We hope you all can come out and enjoy the golf course soon!

Preferred Vendor Highlight - Kazanetti

Learn more about the String Quartet, Kazanetti!

Tell us about your services and what sets you apart from other string quartets. Kazanetti String Quartet prides itself on meeting the needs of its clients. In every consultation, music is selected and personalized to the client's wishes and can represent styles from the classics to standards and more. When possible, musical arrangements may be made for special requests. Kazanetti is also available to provide assistance in obtaining the services of other instrumentalists or singers.

What you love about weddings? In addition to the prelude and postlude that signal the beginning and end of a wedding, we often perform during the actual ceremony with music that has special meaning to the bride and groom and their families. We consider it a unique privilege to be included in a marriage, one of life's most memorable events.

What's your biggest piece of advice for brides? The day of the wedding is a busy one as all the planning comes together almost at the same time. Factor in time to eat a healthy--and filling--meal a couple of hours before the ceremony. In the midst of all the preparations, when it comes down to it, all that really needs to happen is for you to say, "I do."

For more information on Kazanetti, please visit www.kazanetti.com.

Comments from Cuscowilla Brides

Check out a few comments from our previous Cuscowilla brides!


"I had my dream wedding at Cuscowilla! Beautiful landscaping, delicious food, great service, very nice lodging, etc... The list goes on and on. Definitely recommend for an outdoor wedding on the lake!" - Casey, October 2010



"My husband and I were so pleased with Cuscowilla. The total experience went beyond our expectations and we will always have beautiful memories of our wedding day. The wedding facilities provided a "dream come true" wedding and reception. Jaime Murray was on the ball at all times. She was so helpful and pleasant during our entire expeience. We would highly recommend this wedding venue!" - Cassie, July 2010



Cuscowilla was the perfect place for our wedding. I cannot say enough good things about the location or the services provided by the Cuscowilla staff. I would highly recommend anyone to use their wedding facilities!" - Mary, May 2010

Jenna & Rob

October 2009

Jenna and Rob immediately knew there was no better place for them to wed than Cuscowilla on Lake Oconee. "Cuscowilla was recommended to us by a friend and once we visited, we barely got past the welcome gate before we both knew this was the perfect place for us to get married," stated the bride and groom.

The couple's ceremony and reception took place at The Waterside Restaurant. Jenna's six bridesmaids and one junior bridesmaid wore long, teal dresses by Watters. The bride carried a deep purple bouquet of flowers by Desire's Floral Design Studio. Following the ceremony, guests were greeted with Italian sausage & Romano cheese stuffed mushroom caps, along with a dinner buffet featuring crab topped tilapia, garlic and thyme scented broccoli and more. Alpine Bakery designed the unique white chocolate raspberry truffle wedding cake. For the wedding favor, guests were able to create their own "goody bag" of treats, selecting from Jenna & Rob's favorite candies and homemade cookies made by the bride's mom. After their first dance to "Amazed" by Lonestar, guests enjoyed dancing the night away to tunes provided by Ambience Event Services. All of these moments were captured by the images of Eric Little Photography.

"Our favorite moment was just after we were announced husband and wife and we walked back down the aisle together, holding hands, seeing all of our family and closest friends smiling, clapping and crying." - Jenna & Rob

Cuscowilla Executive Chef, Richard Schafer

Chef Richard shares his wedding advice with you!

Richard Schafer, Cuscowilla Executive Chef

What advice do you have for brides? Remember to make your wedding menu (and your entire wedding!) about you and your groom. Your menu needs to be what you both like and what you both want!

What is the most important part of a wedding menu? Variety! You can have a couple special or unusual items but you should always have a few "safe" foods for the less adventurous eater. Here at Cuscowilla, I, along with our Events Manager, work with you to create your menu, working in your favorite foods and what you want but also giving you advice to create your perfect menu.

What is your favorite item that you serve at weddings? I would have to say our Brown Sugar Apple Wood Smoked Bacon Skewers. Guests are always a little surprised at the bacon skewers but once they've eaten one, they've fallen in love. The skewers offer a salty / sweet complex that we all love!

What items work best for wedding guests? A few things! We suggest a roasted beef that will take care of your guests looking for something more filling, while we also suggest a salad and a chicken that offer different options for the lighter eaters.

What is your favorite thing about weddings? I love how each wedding is special and different in a variety of ways. All of our wedding menus are customized and completely unique - each menu has a touch of the bride and the groom, which we love to see. I really enjoy the menu meetings that we have, getting to know the bride and groom, watching them work together and seeing their excitement for their big day!

We're a WeddingWire Bride's Choice Award Winner for 2011!

WeddingWire Bride's Choice Awards 2011

Eatonton, GA – January 25, 2011 - WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, is thrilled to announce Cuscowilla on Lake Oconee has been selected to receive the prestigious annual WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011 for Reception Venues!


Recognition for the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011 is determined by recent reviews and extensive surveys from over 750,000 WeddingWire newlyweds. Our past clients are among those that shared their experiences on WeddingWire, the largest wedding review site in the nation.


Cuscowilla on Lake Oconee stands among the top five percent of wedding professionals in the WeddingWire community, representing quality and service excellence within the wedding industry. Awards were given to the top wedding professionals across 20 service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers, and were based on the overall professional achievements throughout the past year.


“WeddingWire is honored to celebrate the success of the top-rated wedding professionals within the WeddingWire community,” said Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “With the annual Bride’s Choice Awards™ program, WeddingWire has the unique opportunity to recognize the best wedding professionals across the US and Canada. We applaud Cuscowilla on Lake Oconee for their professionalism and dedication to enhancing the wedding planning experience last year.”


We are happy to announce that Cuscowilla on Lake Oconee is among the very best Reception Venues within the WeddingWire Network, which includes leading wedding planning sites WeddingWire, Martha Stewart Weddings, Project Wedding and Weddingbee. We would like to thank our past clients for nominating us to receive the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011.


For more information on the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011, please visit www.WeddingWire.com.

What A Cuscowilla Wedding Offers

Here at Cuscowilla, we treasure our brides. We enjoy meeting the brides, working with each one and customizing these special days. But what exactly do we offer to our brides? Check out what we do below!

• Our brides work directly with our Events Manager to plan the big day. The Events Manager meets with you for the first time on a site visit, handles the contracts for the day, is responsible for all communication concerning anything with the reception and/or rehearsal dinner, as well as scheduling meetings with our Executive Chef. We handle the ceremony rehearsal and the reception from when the first vendor arrives until after the last guest leaves. Your Events Manager is the main liaison with you from start to finish.

• Brides are able to customize their menus. If you love stuffed mushrooms, how about offering those to your guests? If your groom has an obsession with slides, we can handle that! We schedule a menu meeting with our Executive Chef, where we sit and discuss all the foods you love, you hate, what you want to offer, what you don't want to have and more. During this meeting, we also give you our opinion on what we've seen that works, what doesn't work and many other suggestions. We enjoy meeting with you to learn about you and to create menu that reflects you and your groom's personalities.

• For your guests, we offer a discounted rate for our accommodations. The rates are available until 30 days prior to the wedding. The discounted rates are big savings for you, your family and your friends!

• For those who book a wedding and reception here at Cuscowilla, we offer a variety of incentives! (All incentives are based on availability)

1. You receive a complimentary night's stay on your wedding night in one of our overnight accommodations.
2. A complimentary night's stay for your one year anniversary.
3. A round of golf for four is also an incentive to be used before or during the wedding weekend.
4. Dinner for two at one of our restaurants is also a special incentive that we offer.

We truly enjoy all of the brides, grooms, families and friends that we have the pleasure of meeting and working with. Our experienced team will work with you to create your perfect wedding day. For more information on hosting your wedding at Cuscowilla on Lake Oconee, please call 706-484-0050 or visit our website at www.cuscowilla.com.

Preferred Vendor Highlight - European Floral Design

Learn more about European Floral Design and how they can help you create the wedding day flowers of your dreams!

What's different about European Floral Design? Whether a matrimony of monumental proportions or a low-key gathering of close friends and family, we here at European Floral Design make it our priority to provide everything each unique brideenvisions her perfect wedding day to be.

How do you make each wedding unique? The individual taste of each lovely bride is reflected beautifully and shines through in our works of art created specially for her wedding day. No matter what the location, theme, or budget, we can gurantee the delight of even themost discerning of brides-to-be by delivering the highest quality craftsmanship and a romantic attentionto detail.

What makes European Floral Design stand apart from others? Creative Designer and owner Magdalena Williams is passionate about creating beautiful weddings. Her talent for creating unique arrangements through unusual choices of blooms, textures, and the use of a variety of different containers conveys both her love and energy for design.

Where are you located? We are located at 2045 West Broad Street in Athens, Georgia in the lower level of the building. Appointments can be made by phone or e-mail anytime. We look forward to helping you plan your perfect day complete with the perfect flowers!

For more information on European Floral Design, please call (706) 227-9937 or visit www.europeanfloraldesign.com.

Cuscowilla Weddings

Looking for a gorgeous and relaxing venue for your big day? Cuscowilla on Lake Oconee has so much to offer!

We have a beautiful ceremony site that's surrounded by Lake Oconee, rehearsal dinner and reception venues that offer indoor and outdoor seating, overnight accommodations for you and your guests, award winning golf, wave runner, boat and bike rentals to experience Cuscowilla and Lake Oconee, and so much more.

Our brides and grooms receive incentives for hosting weddings with us! Included are:

• Complimentary wedding night stay
• Complimentary stay on your one year anniversary
• Complimentary dinner for two before the wedding
• Round of golf for four guests
• Discounted rates for accommodations for your guests

For those with a tight wedding budget, we offer special pricing for Fridays and Sundays. You can get all of our pricing and more information by contacting Jaime Murray at 706-485-3168 or jmurray@cuscowilla.com.


Please check out our Facebook at www.facebook.com/cuscowillagolfresortonlakeoconee or visit our website at www.cuscowilla.com to view pictures of weddings at Cuscowilla.

We look forward to seeing you at Cuscowilla soon!

Preferred Vendor Highlight - Melissa Prosser Photography

Learn more about Melissa Prosser, of Melissa Prosser Photography, one of our recommended vendors, as she tells us how she got her start and how she sets herself apart.

When did you fall in love with photography? I first fell in love with photography while attending North Georgia College & State University. While dabbling around in the art building, I decided to take a photography class. I finally felt like I had found my calling! North Georgia College was a great starting point for me. It got my feet and hands (literally!) wet with fixer and decided that this was what I wanted to do with my life. I just wasn't sure how I was going to going about making a career of it yet.

When did you start your photography career? During the spring of 2005, I started researching wedding photographers in the Atlanta area. I sent out a few emails to several well-known photographers and luckily, my favorite one responded! I went in to have a brief interview with him and got myself an internship. I continued interning while finishing up my degree and graduated in December of 2005.

What happened next? As an intern, I learned so much about the business of wedding photography that it was a bit overwhelming. My internship quickly changed into a weekly job, then becoming a second photographer at weddings and then a primary photographer. After several years of working under another photographer, it was time for me to spread my wings and Melissa Prosser Photography hit the ground running full force three years ago!

How many years have you been photographing weddings? In total, I am going into my sixth year in the wedding photography business.

What sets you apart from other photojournalists? I think the biggest thing that sets me apart from the rest if how much I love what I do! I look on the bright side of life and I think that reflects in my work. I have had countless guests come up to me at weddings and comment on how much fun I am to work with because it's just evident that I love what I do. They tell me that I have a great attitude and thank me for being a pleasure to work with. That just makes my heart smile. Another aspect that sets me apart is that every package comes with a full resolution jump drive of your wedding day negatives. I want you to have all of your wedding photographs!

How are your pictures different? I take the time to do what I call an "artistic edit" of your photos. On your final jump drive, you will be amazed at how beautiful you look, how amazing the venue is and how the overall day is presented. Your edit will combine color, sepia, black and white and just breathtaking photos that you won't find anywhere else. I believe that this edit is super valuable.

What's your best advice for a bride? There is no need to stress out. At the end of the day, you will be married to the person of your dreams...so what if one hair is out of place? I quietly observe the day as it unfolds, document what is happening with the camera and try to help out if there is any way I can be of assistance. This day is all about you. I'm there to help celebrate your day and take photos to make these memories last a lifetime.


For more information on Melissa Prosser Photography, please visit http://www.melissaprosser.com/.

Bridal Show

Thank you to all of the brides and friends and family of those brides who stopped by our booth at the Georgia Bridal Show this past Sunday at the Cobb Galleria!

We had a great time at the show and enjoyed meeting everyone! The show was a huge success and we look forward to talking to a lot of brides in the upcoming weeks. Our winner of the complimentary bridal lunch will be announced later this week - thank you to everyone who entered.

Many thanks to Elite Events for putting on such a wonderful show. We look forward to the next show we'll be attending in August.

If you weren't able to come to the show and would like information on hosting a wedding at Cuscowilla, please contact us. You can reach us at www.cuscowilla.com or 706-484-0050. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Happy New Year!

Happy 2011 everyone and congratulations to those who were engaged over the holiday season!

We are excited for 2011 and all of the wonderful brides, families and friends that we'll meet! During the holiday season, there were a lot of engagements and we look forward to hearing from the newly engaged brides who are starting the planning journey.

Starting off the New Year with a bang, we'll be participating in the Georgia Bridal Show at the Cobb Galleria on Sunday, January 9. The show is hosted from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. with the fashion show at 3:45 p.m. at the Cobb Galleria. We'll have a booth at the show so stop by and see us!

Please feel free to contact us at 706-484-0050 or www.cuscowilla.com to learn more about hosting a wedding at Cuscowilla.