Commission Members in Attendance:
Brit Lawlor – Chairman
Ron Krawczyk – Deputy Chairman
Ed Santalone – Special Projects
Jeff Nagel – Membership & Marketing
Joe Dabrowski – Tournament/Rules
Tara Ford – Ladies Locker Room/Food and Beverage
Michael Cioffi – Men’s Locker Room/Food and Beverage
Others in Attendance:
Jim Von Eschen – Director of Golf
Chris Johnson – Superintendent
John Mackie – Assistant Golf Pro
John Daley – Member
Motion to start meeting by Ron Krawczyk, Ed Santalone 2nds it; accepted by Brit Lawlor. Meeting officially starts at 6:03PM.
Membership & Marketing Report, presented by Jeff Nagel
Currently, Bellport Golf Club has a total of 345 members (248 Non-Resident* Members and 56 Total Resident Members). That number is broken down as follows; 200 Full Members, 47 “B” Members, 48 Weekday Members and 41 Twilights (22 Resident Twilights, 19 Non-Resident Twilights); we currently have a waiting list for the Twilight Pass of about 15 people. Talking to Jim Von Eschen, we’ve learned that on average, we get 2.5 residents who come and pay a daily greens fee per day. Speaking with Jimmy, I also learned that there is a rumor that we have a good chance in us getting at least 30 members (out of the 80 who went there from Island Hills) from The Hamlet in September.
In total, BGC has brought in $1,118,624.01 in membership revenue. Jimmy explains that the way our calendar year works, you can add another $2,000 onto that number. He goes on to explain that this number will be an increase of just more than $1,000 compared to last year. Jeff Nagel suggests that maybe going forward, we get rid of the New Member Incentive. Jimmy and Brit state that the incentives aren’t costing BGC anything; if anything, the incentive brings in members who might otherwise not have joined. From that first year, we believe that BGC will speak for itself and members will hopefully fall in love with what we have to offer.
*A Resident is considered to be anybody who lives within the Incorporated Village of Bellport*
Tournaments/Rules Report, presented by Joe Dabrowski
Our Opening Ryder cup was a hit; we had a total of 74 Members who participated. The Blue Team, captained by John Mackie, defeated the Black Team, captained by Brian Donlan, won 45 – 13. The Ladies and Men’s Clubs will be starting May 9th & 10th, respectively. Looking deeper into May, we have the Governor’s Cup on May 21st & 22nd. This tournament is made up of 2 person teams. The format will be a Combined Stableford over both days. The cost for this event will be $40 per team. The Men’s Senior Club Championship starts on May 31st; you can sign up at the Starter’s Booth. Entry fee for this event is $10 per person. Flights will be made up of 8 person flights, based off of the May 15th handicap index. Lastly, on June 8th we have our first 9 & Dine of the year. These 9 & Dines were very popular in previous years so they will fill up fast.
Special Projects, presented by Ed Santalone
The ice machines throughout the grounds, including the tennis courts, are up and running. We have about 2 weeks until the flowers are in near Chris’ office. Chris states that the deer are eating the pansies that are planted there. Eddie says that he will take care of it. Brit then mentions that the vinyl on Chris’ office is falling off and is an eyesore. Again, Eddie says that he will take care of it, asking perhaps some help from the Golf Commission members. Jeff Nagel steps up and says he will help get the vinyl back up.
Deputy Chairman Report, presented by Ron Krawczyk
I really don’t have much. The course is looking good and ready for a great season. The divots and ball marks are still an issue; we must let people know about this. Jimmy states that it is spoken to all the outings, who in reality, don’t generally make many ball marks. Jimmy also mentions that in the May Newsletter, we will send out information regarding how to correctly fix a ball mark as well as the “Bellport Traditions.”
Men’s Locker Room/Food and Beverage Report, presented by Mike Cioffi
So I spoke with Ray after our last meeting, we decided that we will sit down with Jimmy, Brit and Gus to discuss hours. Additionally, Gus came to myself and wants to act as a soundboard to the golf commission. Hopefully the five of us can sit down and discuss.
Additionally, do we have a plan for the rocks in the bunkers? Brit quickly steps in and states that there isn’t much that Chris can do. The lease on the machines is coming up and he will be able to demo new machines to deal with the rocks in the bunkers. Chris states that the new machines will give us a much smoother playing surface. He then says that over time, the rocks will always come to the surface because the bunkers are built on top of whatever was there in the early 1900s. The Billy Bunker, which works best when the bunkers are hand raked, cost roughly $15,000 per bunker. In total we have 96 bunkers throughout the golf course. Jimmy then states that we have a local rule that allows you to remove rocks from the sand traps.
Ladies Locker Room/Food and Beverage Report, presented by Tara Ford
So I play a lot of golf with men a lot of the time and the benches are nowhere in sight for the Ladies; do we have benches that we can put out? Chris states that it is up to the commission as to where the benches go. He also mentions that we can put them wherever but you must remember that the farther away from the tee they are put, the more likely they are to get hit. Tara then states that she will make note of where they’re needed the next few times she is out there and speak with Chris. Additionally, coming from the other Women in the club, the Ladies would like a path from the 12th green to the 13th tee once the fescue grows up. Everybody agrees that it will get done and quite frankly, it is something that should have been done a long time ago.
Jimmy steps in and asks Tara the question of if the Ladies would want new lockers (just as the men got). Jim mentions that they purchased 20 new lockers and sold them all, with another 10 people already on a waitlist for more lockers. Tara states that personally, she would love one, but she would talk to the rest of the Women and get a consensus. Currently, nobody is renting the metal lockers at $40 a year. The new wooden lockers are sold at $488.81, which includes an outside key lock.
Jim states that they will get a price for the outside locks for those that don’t have one. You will have to deal with Larry Sparks directly and it will only be a one time only deal. The rest of the lockers will be coming in June.
Chairman’s Report, presented by Brit Lawlor
The 5th tee looks great. From my understanding we will be opening it up for the Governor’s Cup and then keep it open for good come Memorial Day Weekend. Jason Crane and the Village Highway Department will be paving the 5th tee cart path when they pave the new storage area. They will have all the materials there at once and it just makes sense to do it all at once. Going forward, we have a gentlemen who was a Full Member 2 years ago, last year he was a Twilight and neglected to renew his membership due to family issues. He plays about 20 rounds a year and would like us to consider going over the 40 Twilights Cap that we have in place. If we allow him to renew his membership, he will pay for his membership both this year and next year, a 25 Cart Trip plan as well as a $200 gift card to Peter’s on the Green. Jeff Nagel chimes in and states that we shouldn’t beat the guy up; he had a tough year and we should help him out. The commission takes a vote, with a unanimous decision to let him re-join.
Superintendent Report, presented by Chris Johnson
We’ve had some more miserable weather conditions for this aeration; roughly 2 – 3 inches of rain is coming this Friday. Not ideal. The area on the right side of the 2nd hole will look great when we’re all finished with it. Additionally, the 5th tee will be open for good on Memorial Day Weekend. Quite frankly, I’m looking forward to just cutting grass and hand-watering greens; we’re done with projects for the Spring and will pick them back up come Fall.
I know the Poa on the greens has been a big complaint around the club this year. You can spray to stunt the growth of the seed heads. If we don’t spray for the Poa, it usually goes until around Memorial Day. Last year we didn’t have this problem because we were able to spray. Also, next Spring during aeration, we will be going with smaller aeration holes. During the Fall, we will still be using the larger holes that we have used for years. Chris suggests that the USGA comes back this Fall to which Jimmy replies that they are already scheduled to come back in the Fall.
Director of Golf Report, presented by Jim Von Eschen
Everything that I wanted to talk about has been covered. We are considering opening at 6:38AM in the beginning of June. As of now, we’re opening at 7:00AM during the Summer and 7:30AM throughout the month of May. We will go to 7:00AM starting May 19th and possibly 6:38AM if we see that it is needed.
Comments From the Crowd
John Daley – For once, I have positive things to say. My group that I play with loves everything that has been done to the course over the last year. We love the current fairway length and the overall condition of the course. I would like to see an outlet in the new lockers, that way you could charge your GPS watch or your phone while you are out on the course. Jimmy states that he spoke with an electrician and you can’t run that many outlets per circuit. Daley suggests using a low voltage usb instead.
Ron Krawczyk motions to end the meeting; Jeff Nagel seconds it. Meeting officially concludes at 6:56PM.