July 28, 2021
Commission Members in Attendance:
Brit Lawlor – Chairman
Ron Krawczyk – Deputy Chairman
Ryan Stanley – Tournament / Membership Liaison
Jeff Nagel – Membership & Marketing
Joe Dabrowski – Greens
Don Maxwell – Handicap
Mike Cioffi – Men’s Locker Room/Food and Beverage
Tara Ford – Women’s Locker Room/Food and Beverage
Others in Attendance:
Jim Von Eschen – Director of Golf
John Mackie – Assistant Golf Professional
Chris Johnson – Superintendent
John Daley – Member
Michael White – Member
Victor Cisario – Member
Mike Dioguardo – Member
Motion to start meeting by Jeff Nagel, Joe Dabrowski 2nds it; accepted by Brit Lawlor. Meeting officially starts at 6:05PM.
Chairman’s Report, presented by Brit Lawlor
Brit begins the meeting with 1 piece of correspondence. He states that a member has had many surgeries on his right ankle and he hasn’t played at all this season. This member is asking to carry his 2021 dues to the 2022 season. The Commission unanimously grants this member a full medical leave.
Men’s Locker Room/Food and Beverage Report, presented by Mike Cioffi
Mike has nothing to report in regards to the locker room or Peter’s. In regards to the erosion project and June’s minutes; he would like to add that they are monitoring to see how brackish the water is but additionally, they will monitor the water level to see how it moves with the tides, rainfall, storm surges, etc. Mike Cioffi says that Ray Fell will be presenting to the Village Board in early August.
Women’s Locker Room/Food and Beverage Report, presented by Tara Ford
Tara says that the Women’s Member/Guest went fabulous. On behalf of the Women, Tara thanks Chris and his staff for getting the course in great shape, Jimmy and his staff for running the event and Robert and the Country Club for the food. She continues by saying that she believes we really stepped it up from past season and everybody enjoyed. Jimmy Von Eschen thanked Tara and her committee for the work they put into the event as well. Lastly Tara said that they FootJoy giveaway went well with both members and guests.
Handicap Report, presented by Don Maxwell
Nothing to report but heard that the Governor’s Cup went well.
Tournament Report, presented by Ryan Stanley
Ryan states that we are back into the swing of our full tournament schedule; something that we haven’t seen since prior to the COVID pandemic. In the last month, we had British Open Tournament, with the following results: 1st Place – Tony Caggiano – 270, 2nd Place – Michael Auerbach – 273, T3rd Place – Ivan Casanova & Joe Luppino – 276.
The Bishop Cup was held over two days, with the following results:
Men’s A Flight – Jeff Nagel & Tom Gambino – 139
Ladies A Flight – Julie Callahan & Wendy Foster – 138 *Denotes won in a playoff
Men’s B Flight – Anthony Pepitone & Jimmy Cottone – 139
Ladies B Flight -Michele White & Colleen Savas – 151
Men’s C Flight – Tom Longo & Bob Deluca – 141
Men’s D Flight – Denny Brown & Sean Kelly – 142*
Men’s E Flight – Wayne Black & Arthur Abrahamsen – 142*
Men’s F Flight – Ray Fell & Al Inserra – 140
Men’s G Flight – Neal Smith & Jerry Andritz – 144
Men’s H Flight – Rich Pansini & Joe Luppino
Ryan continues, stating that as Tara said, it seemed as though the Women enjoyed themselves at the Women’s Member/Guest. The results were as follows:
1st Place Gross – 74* – Kathy Capozzi, Christina Capozzi, Debbie Capozzi & Candee Swenson
1st Place Net – 58 – Michele White, MJ Maione, Lisa White, Danielle Degiorgio
2nd Place Net – 63* – Colleen Savas, Sue Lawlor, Bobbie Bauer, Sue Magner
3rd Place Net – 63 – Anne Baldassarri, Jean McCarroll, Carol Russell, Kathleen Mich
Looking forward, Ryan mentions that the MGA MET/Net event will take place on August 14th. The event will be played from the yardage of the next event, roughly 6,000 yards. The event will be played at 90% handicap, you can sign up in the Pro Shop. August 20th, the course will be closed for the Men’s Member/Guest tournament. Ryan states that in the event of rain, the Member/Guest will take place on the 21st, with the Mixed Pinehurst being re-scheduled. Regarding the Men’s Member/Guest, Ryan mentions that the event sold out in roughly 4 days. Lastly, Ryan says that the Mixed Pinehurst will be held on Saturday, August 21st. Teams of two (Male and Female) will play the Pinehurst format for 18 holes; you can sign up at the Pro Shop.
Deputy Chairman’s Report, presented by Ron Krawczyk
Talking with Jimmy and John Baldassarri, Ron mentions that John Baldassarri suggested purchasing a bench to honor one of our members and all the work they have done at Bellport. Ron states that he will be taking donations to purchase the bench (roughly $3,000 needed). Mike Cioffi mentions that at St. George’s, they have a beautiful flagpole, he states that it would be a nice donation as well. Mike also mentions that the flag would also help identify wind direction throughout the course. Ron asks Mike to get some dimensions on the flag pole, but the entire commission is on board to do something in honor of Ed.
Greens Report, presented by Joe Dabrowski
We’re into our Summer routine maintenance, hand watering the greens and keeping the grass alive this time of year. Joe states that the meeting with Parkland went well but we’re just waiting for a quote from them; hopefully we’ll have those back by next month’s meeting. Joe mentions that the 4th, 5th and 6th fringes are not doing great; after speaking with Chris, Joe says they’re going to deep tine the greens and get sand directly into the profile. It seems that there is a drainage issue, so getting sand into the profile should help. Going into the Fall, Joe says that he and Chris are going to look at some greens and the ability we would have in widening them. Additionally, Joe says that we have to do something for the Red & White teeing ground. Chris says that it is an irrigation issue, that with some new heads and possibly new sod, the issue would be fixed. Joe believes this is a good idea to factor into our Course Assessment spending, come the Fall.
Membership Report, presented by Jeff Nagel
Jeff says that he loved the Bishop Cup and the format over the 36 holes. As far as membership, Jeff says we have 1 new member (Full Resident) since our last meeting. Ron Krawczyk brings up the idea of bringing back an initiation fee; Jimmy states that we will talk about this is the upcoming meetings when 2022 Membership is discussed.
Superintendent’s Report, presented by Chris Johnson
Elaborating on the collars of the 4th, 5th and 6th greens; Chris states that he believes that the 4th and 5th collars are a drainage issue much like the front of 4 previously was (prior to adding drainage). All the water is running into these collars, causing the grass to be “muck” for lack of a better term. Chris says that adding drainage would be a Winter project, so for now, as Joe mentioned, they will try to get as much sand into the profile to help with drainage. If any areas have to be re-sodded, we can use the nursery in front of the 3rd teeing ground.
On a completely different note, Chris brings up the Goosinator; the Goosinator is made from a guy who has a background in remote control cars. He studied the habits of geese and they are the smartest water animal there is. Currently, this gentleman (who Chris has been in contact with) had shipped out 5,000 Goosinators and none have been returned (full refund if returned in 14 days). After a short period of time, the geese see the Goosinator as a predator and they will leave on sight of it. Chris states that the current fake animals do not work and the dogs can only get run so often. Chris believes it will be a good investment for the club.
Director of Golf Report, presented by Jim Von Eschen
Jimmy starts by saying that the Bishop Cup was a huge success; like Jeff mentioned, Jimmy states that a lot of people liked the format. On August 23rd & 24th, Jimmy says that we will be aerating the greens, with Wednesday, the 25th being used as a rain date. On the talk of outings, Jimmy makes a suggestion to raise outing prices for the 2022 season. He also suggests that we continue to do outings throughout the season; Jimmy believes that raising the outing price will eliminate some of the current outings and also let the Village get top dollar for the day. Jimmy finishes stating that the current outing price is less than a weekday guest fee.
Comments from the Crowd
John Daley – In regards to the wall behind the 18th green, we spent the money years ago to build this beautiful wall but not it is filled with garbage. It is John’s understanding that somebody (Bellport Village Program Fund via Brit) was paying for a service to weed/keep clean. It has since been passed onto Chris and his already limited crew; John suggests that we get rid of all the plantings so that we can see the wall and the players on the 18th green. Additionally, John says that by eliminating the plantings, it will save Chris and his crew a couple hours a month to be used elsewhere. Chris does agree that this would save him 2-3 hours a month. Brit says that if it isn’t anything expensive, etc. remove all plants and see what response we get, obviously, this is not a huge issue near the top of the list, but when Chris has time, it will be done.
Mike Dioguardo – Mike suggests that we clean up the area by the bag drop. The entire commission is in agreement that something has to be done. Jimmy reminds everybody that we did have a plan (costing $10-15,000) but we were originally waiting to see if the buildings were coming down.
Meeting concludes at 6:39PM.