Golf Commission Meeting
November 1, 2017
Commission Members in Attendance:
Brit Lawlor – Chairman
Ron Krawczyk – Deputy Chairman
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 Joe Dabrowski, Ron Krawczyk 2nds it; accepted by Brit Lawlor. Meeting officially starts at 6:06PM.
Membership & Marketing Report, presented by Jeff Nagel
After 2 months of our “Fall Membership Push”, we are proud to say that we have 27 new members join during this period. Out of those 27 members, 3 are Associate Members while the rest (24 members) are Full Members. Currently, we are at approximately 405 total members. Since we will lose about 30-50 members in the Spring, we will talk serious membership caps in May.
Tournaments/Rules Report, presented by Joe Dabrowski
We held our end of the year Ryder Cup on October 21st. Those who signed up were split into two teams; John Mackie captained the Blue Team, while Brian Donlan captained the Black Team. The final score of the event was 49.5 – 38.5 in favor of John’s Blue Team. Yes, I [Joe Dabrowski] was the only team that got completely shut out.
Other than that, the only event we have left at the Golf Club is the Thanksgiving Day Scramble. This event is open to all members and guests. Entry fee for the event will be $5, guests fees will be $20 and a cart fee (mandatory) will be an additional $15. Sign up fast as the event is only open to the first 20 groups who sign up. Deadline will be Monday, November 20th.
Deputy Chairman Report, presented by Ron Krawczyk
I really don’t have anything besides the fact that the golf course is still in amazing shape. I brought the Pro over from Bridgehampton Club today and he like the course very much. Additionally, I saw that we are exposing the old Ice House behind the second green. I think it’s cool to show something from the 1800s; some real history.
Ladies Locker Room/Food and Beverage Report, presented by Tara Ford
Tara asks when the deadline for the Thanksgiving Scramble is; John repeats that the deadline is Monday, November 20th (the Monday prior to the event). Additionally, Tara asks about having seed bottles for the walkers of the golf course. Jimmy states that we made about 20 of them in the last few years. Some people (who constantly walk) have them in their trunk, or attached to their push carts in the bag room. With the help of Brit, we will make more throughout the winter and they will be available come the Spring. John states that we do have some in the back and if you ask one of the cart kids, they will get one for you prior to your round. Joe Dabrowski asks if we should sell the bottles in the Pro Shop. To that Jimmy quickly says no for the sole reason that we want to encourage people to use them.
Men’s Locker Room/Food and Beverage Report, presented by Mike Cioffi
We have to sit down and meet with Ray Fell. Mike asks when is a good time for them to meet; Jimmy states that anytime is good for him. Mike then asks if the grill room is staying open still? Both Jimmy and John state that they currently are. Jimmy also states that next week, we close at 4:30PM due to Daylights Saving Time so this will be a mute point.
Chairman’s Report, presented by Brit Lawlor
We recieved 2 letters recently, both which are asking for a medical leave. The first, from Joe Zaffuto, is looking for a medical leave from Mid-July through the rest of the year. He is asking for a leave due to his Sciatica. The golf commission grants his medical leave; his 2018 bill will be prorated from mid July, through the end of the year.
The 2nd letter is from Michael Barrie; he too is asking for a medical leave from Mid-July through the end of the year. Michael has had his Lymph Nodes removed and hasn’t been able to play since. He too is granted his medical leave. His 2018 bill will be prorated from Mid-July through the end of the year.
Superintendent Report, presented by Chris Johnson
We’ve basically reached the end of the season. The other day we had water everywhere due to the storm and excessive rainfall. Water levels were as high as we’ve ever seen, higher than they were during Hurricane Sandy. We had 7-8ft of water on the 12th green, water was over the bridge, the 11th Ladies tee was under water, etc. Since then, the water has receded and the 12th green has recovered. From aeration, the greens are recovered to about 95%. There are a few spots in certain areas (back of 18, 15th green, some of 14) where there are still some aeration holes showing but nothing major. Other than that, we’re looking forward to picking up leaves for the rest of the year.
Director of Golf Report, presented by Jim Von Eschen
Earlier last week Chris Johnson, Ray Fell and Myself met with the USGA as we did a few years ago. We wanted to do this to see how the greens have been coming since they last were here. The USGA thinks the course is shaping up for the better and they think the greens can get much better than they already are. The USGA stated that we can go to a smaller core during Spring Aeration; this will allow the greens to come back even quicker in the Spring. They were all on board with all the maple trees coming down to create better turf conditions; this coincides with what our tree guy said as well as what Bill Love said. Both trees next to the 18th green (closest to the Pro Shop) should be removed so that the green can receive more sunlight (per the USGA). They thought that the fairways were in good shape and we can’t do anything for the worms without spending a ton of money. The USGA stated that the bunkers could be redone for just north of 2 Million dollars. The USGA stated that it is a hazard; would you rather have a perfect lie in a hazard or would you rather great greens? You decide.
Going forward, we sent a signed contract to Bill Love on Monday to really get the ball rolling on everything we talked about during Bill’s visit. I spoke with him recently and he is itching to get back up here and working with us to make BGC the best we can be. Once Bill gets back up here, we can get our tree removal stated (Chris realistically thinks trees will start to come down during the off-season).
The commission brings up the Billy Bunker on the 14th hole (greenside bunker); as a board, they decide to have the entire Billy Bunker ripped out. Let the bunker play natural; we have a local rule that allows you to remove the rocks (just like National Golf Links of America does). While we’re on the talk of bunkers, the USGA said that the ferrules in the bunkers are typical with narrow bunkers, like we have here at BGC.
Comments From the Crowd
John Daley – I have an issue regarding the sand traps, specifically the rules regarding what is and isn’t a sand trap. The USGA states the sand traps end when the grass around begins to be manicured; the problem with our sand traps is the machine rakes the sand out of the trap when entering and exiting. Jimmy states that we will be redoing these areas as we did earlier in the year on the 4th hole. As far as the sand that accumulates due to the machine entering and exiting, the USGA states that nothing can be done to prevent this from happening if you can only enter/exit from one spot (as is the case at BGC). The USGA went on to say that this is something that will have to be re-done every 8-10 years as the problem gets worse over time. To this, John Daley states that the USGA is wrong.
Additionally Mr. Daley brings up the point that he would like to implement a pilot program on the 4th hole (right greenside) as well as the 6th hole (right greenside). He would like to have Chris Johnson aerate, fertilize and seed the areas so that more grass blades per square inch are there. Chris, Jimmy and the rest of the Commission state that with the tree removal that we plan on doing, will help these areas (similar to what happened when we took the trees down around the 3rd green). Chris states that he is trying to get the tractor back to aerate certain areas, these areas included.
Last but not least, John states that in the 25 years that he has been here, this is the most forward progress he has seen. Thank you to Chris, Jimmy and their respective staffs.
Meeting officially concludes at 7:06PM