Commission Members in Attendance:
Brit Lawlor – Chairman
Tara Ford – Ladies Locker Room/Food and Beverage
Carol Cassel – Special Events Ray Fell – Mayor
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 Tara Ford,, Carol Cassel 2nds it; accepted by Brit Lawlor. Meeting officially starts at 6:08PM.
Special Events Report, presented by Carol Cassel
The Ladies Club has been going consistently, but they are still unhappy with the fescue. Personally, I think it looks beautiful. Jimmy states that it will thin out year by year. It’s a process that takes a year or two in order to come in. Bobbi Bauer is unhappy with the attire on some of the men. She believes that they should all have their shirts tucked in, at all times. Jimmy and Brit state that BGC has no rule stating that shirts must be tucked in, male or female.
Ladies Locker Room/Food and Beverage Report, presented by Tara Ford
Tara asks, is there any new news on the benches out on the golf course? Chris states that every bench that he has (in reasonable shape) is out on the golf course. The benches that Mike Cioffi suggested are nice, but not made for the wear and tear. Jimmy states that buying new benches would cost about $600 per bench. The bench that would get purchased would be different than the bench that was donated and placed by the 16th tee. Ray Fell states that benches are Parkland’s responsibility and that he will bring it up in the next meeting with Parkland.
Chairman’s Report, presented by Brit Lawlor
I don’t really have anything. The golf course is in great shape; I can’t believe the turn-around from just a few years ago. With that, a few projects to think about once the fall hits: First, the tree which is on the East side of 18th tee gets removed, moving the tee closer to the mounds which separate the 11th fairway and 18th tee. Additionally, have we talked about shaping behind the 9th green to make it look like 15th green/16th tee. Jimmy states that some of the fringes at Hampton Hills were double/triple the width. We’d be able to get the same results and look that we are looking for. Last but not least, the fairways will get wider in the fall. Again this will change the view of some holes without costing much/any money.
Superintendent Report, presented by Chris Johnson
We’re in full survival mode right now; just trying to keep the golf course in one piece. We conducted a Greens Flush this past Thursday; our sodium levels in the greens were very high. We put 150lbs of gypsum on each green followed by spraying an organic earthworks product. Afterwards, it was watered to the point of puddling. It worked out extremely well and the extra rain on Friday certainly didn’t hurt. This is something that we will be putting into our regular maintenance practice. Only 8 more weeks and we’re through the tough part of the summer, but who’s counting.
Director of Golf Report, presented by Jim Von Eschen
This past week we held the LIGA Father-Son tournament. It went very well and everybody who came off the golf course loved the way that it played; they couldn’t believe how good the course was. The LIGA said it is a venue that they’d like to come back to in the future. We should want to do this in order to give back to the LIGA/MGA; it’s the right thing to do, plus it’s free advertising for the club. Coming up, we have our Men’s Member-Guest on August 4th, followed by the Ladies Invitational on Tuesday August 8th. Sign ups are going slow but as always, we’ll fill up by the time of the event. We have our 2nd 9 & Dine of the year on Thursday, July 20th; only 1 more group until we are all booked. The Bishop Cup (formerly known as the Team Championship) is filled with 76 players; the most for that event ever. Tee times for that event will run from 6:30AM until about 10AM. New lockers are in and are already being sold. We also had some members from The Hamlet playing today, they’re looking to join September 1st.
Comments From the Crowd
Ray Fell – Thank you to everybody for all your hard work that you’ve done throughout the year. The golf course has a very positive vibe which is great to see. It is a challenge for everybody and I just want to say, keep it going; we’re on a great track right now.
John Daley – Everybody is favorable with the course set-up. Personally, I’d like to see the club cleaner put back out near the 10th tee. Chris states that he can look around his shop but he believes that they were thrown out with the benches. The benches were taken out several years ago.
Meeting officially ends at 6:32PM.