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
Carol Cassel – Special Events
Jim Dowd – Violations
Others in Attendance:
Jim Von Eschen – Director of Golf
John Mackie – Assistant Golf Professional
Chris Johnson – Golf Course Superintendant
John Daley – Member
Motion to start meeting by Ed Santalone, Jeff Nagel 2nds it; accepted by Brit Lawlor. Meeting officially starts at 6:04PM.
Chairman’s Report, presented by Brit Lawlor
First off, we’d like to start off by welcoming everybody back and welcome to the 2017 golf season. We’d like to welcome Tara Ford (Ladies Locker Room/Food and Beverage) and Mike Cioffi (Men’s Locker Room/Food and Beverage) to the board. Brit played golf this weekend and he states that the golf course is in great shape for the time of the year and everything considered. Looking forward to another great season.
Membership & Marketing Report, presented by Jeff Nagel
At the end of last year, we had 322 total members; of that 322, 181 are Full Members (this includes both full members and family memberships where each family membership counts as 2 paying members). As of now, we have 40 new members; that number will continue to grow for the next month. Jimmy believes that we could receive up to another 10 new members. Jimmy says to not look at the number of members, but to look at the total money that was brought in through membership. To date, we have brought in $1,029,474.00 in membership dues. Overall we will most likely be down 10 – 15 members from last year, but we will bring in more money overall due to 2nd year incentive members. Additionally, we had 24 total “B” Members that upgraded to Full Members; a $400 difference in price.
Tournaments/Rules Report, presented by Joe Dabrowski
The April tournament schedule is as follows: this Saturday, April 8th, is our Masters Tournament. As a reminder, you take your Net score on Saturday, plus 3 PGA Tour players Sunday score at Augusta. The MGA Team Championship, which was scheduled for April 22nd, will be moved back to June 10th. The MGA moved the finals back into September so we decided to move our back as well. The course will be in much better condition, and hopefully we can get a bigger tournament field. Finally, the Opening Ryder Cup will take place on the last Saturday in April (April 29th). The day will include breakfast, a shotgun start, followed by lunch, awards and laughs in the Grill Room. The entry fee is $60, Brian and John will captain teams.
Special Projects, presented by Ed Santalone
The practice nets behind the first tee are officially up; thank you to John and Jimmy for their help. Along with Carol Cassel, we will meet and get some colorful plants to plant behind the 16th green, near Chris’ office. I’m done.
Deputy Chairman Report, presented by Ron Krawczyk
Great job with the course so far Chris, keep up the good work. Every year it’s the same thing as far as ball marks; they’re everywhere. You see the group in front of you not fixing any ball marks and it becomes very frustrating. Jimmy states that we can’t fine members for this but there is policy in the bylaws as far as fixing marks and playing privileges. We can send letters, being policed by members themselves, but then we know that this could possibly create more problems. John Daley suggests that we ask everybody to fix at least 3 on each green before they go out. Jimmy states that we ask this periodically and Ron K bought ball repair tools for the entire membership this year. This is an ongoing problem throughout golf courses nationwide. Carol Cassel suggests that we create a video that we can show prior to the Ryder Cup but Jimmy believes that it is overkill. There is reminders at the 1st & 9th tees, in the bathrooms around the facility, etc. Chris Johnson states that he just wants them fixed; whether it is yours or not.
Special Events Report, presented by Carol Cassel
Myself and Eddie will meet to talk about the flowers behind the 16th green. The 9 & Dines are scheduled for June 8th, July 20th and August 24th. Jimmy states that Hampton Hills invited the Ladies to come and play Hampton Hills. We will send out an email to the Ladies and also mention it at the first Ladies Club. Jimmy also states that there are currently 28 total Ladies Members. Brit mentions that the commission has talked about adding a family membership which would include children under 12 years old. He believes that if it is market to the Sayville/Bayport area we could probably get more families in the club; this would potentially help bring in female members. Carol goes on to suggest a family outing, similar to the 9 & Dines, for this year. The only thing is that our tournament schedule is packed throughout the year. We did not drop any tournaments this year, but we tried to spread the tournaments out throughout the year so they’re not all on top of each other.
Ladies Locker Room/Food and Beverage Report, presented by Tara Ford
I have nothing. I’m happy to be here as part of the golf commission. I must say that the golf course looks great for the start of the year.
Men’s Locker Room/Food and Beverage Report, presented by Mike Cioffi
I have to agree with Tara; I’m happy to be apart of the commission. With that being said, I’m not really sure of my role here. Obviously, I’m here to deal with Gus and the Grill Room as well as the Men’s Locker Room but what do we want to see from them? What are his hours? Jimmy states that the Grill Room will be open until at least 3PM everyday, staying open until 8PM on Friday and Saturday nights. If you know that you’re going to stop in for a drink after your round, please stop in and let Mary or one of the Waitresses know that you will be in. They will gladly stay open until you come in, as long as you notify them. Mike proposes that all Board members think about what he should bring up with Gus, regarding the Grill Room, and bring it to the meeting next month. Mike also adds that the Men’s Locker Room looks pretty awesome. “It’s something that we’ve been wanting for years now, and we finally have it.”
Violations Report, presented by Jim Dowd
As others have said, the course looks great for the time of the year. Also, the hole-by-hole flyover videos came out great.
Director of Golf Report, presented by Jim Von Eschen
The metal lockers in the back portion of the Locker Room are being taken out soon. Larry Sparks’ company (a member) is installing new wood lockers to replace the current metal lockers. The wooden lockers will match the current ones which are in there. The ladies Locker Room are also getting 8 wooden lockers as well. These lockers in both locker rooms will cost $450 +Tax; coming to a grand total of $488.81. The new lockers will have locks on the outside while those who currently have wooden lockers will be able to get an outside lock installed for an additional price. As we were saying earlier, we have 40 new members this year but over 130 new members in the last two seasons. It’s a ton of new faces which we will have to get used to and recognize.
Jim goes on to mention that our carts are on year four of a six year lease; traditionally, golf carts are leased out for 3 years at a clip. We do keep ours in great shape as far as wear and tear go; with that being said, everything is starting to fade because of the sunlight, debris, etc. We would love to go to electric golf carts and might be forced to (there is rumors throughout the golf industry that gas carts will stop being leased/sold and the only option will be electric). Since ¾ of our carts are stored outside, we would need new buildings in order to hold the electric carts.
Superintendent Report, presented by Chris Johnson
It’s good to be back, seeing members on the course is always a good thing. We took down about another sixty (60) trees during the winter. The new 5th tee is about 10,000sq ft. and we tend to open this around Memorial Day, as we did with the 4th tee last year. With the help of Eddie [Santalone] we put new irrigation between the first and the eighth holes. A total of 13 new sprinkler heads went in; people must realise that this area will not be plush right away, but we’ll get there.
The new mounding going down the right hand side of Hole 2, will get done; this is something that we must be very patient with. There is still lots of work that must be done to these. The rain & weather in general, does not help us and actually delays us even more because of how wet it can get back there. There will be Out of Bounds markers on top of the mounds once they are finished, with the inside of the mounds being in play. Until then, the mound will be Ground Under Repair. There will be 6 or 7 storage bins behind the mounds where we’ll be able to store different items such as sand, mulch, soil, etc.
Brit asks Chris if he has any plans for the evergreen trees on the right hand side of 7. Chris notes that we can definitely thin those out, taking every other tree out, but that is a project for later in the season. Brit also mentions that the “Fool’s Gold” looks great on the left side of the third green.
Comments From the Crowd
John Daley – John has been walking his dog on the golf course throughout the winter and has to say that it is in great shape. He believes that the tree near the 14th green (where you drive your golf cart around) is a safety issue. A tree branch almost hit John Rant last year; this could’ve created a huge lawsuit, states John. Chris and Jimmy say that they will keep an eye on this going forward. Additionally, the grass between where you park your cart on the 7th hole and the green is horrid. John states that there are huge holes and dips in the lack of grass in that area and it is unacceptable. Ron Krawczyk states that it is early April and grass doesn’t grow until later in the year. Chris and Jimmy agree that Chris will aerate the area and plant new seed in that area.
Meeting officially concludes at 7:06PM
As a reminder, the Golf Commission meets the first Wednesday of every month at 6:00PM. The meetings take place at the Community Center, located next to Village Hall.