Commission Members in Attendance:
Brit Lawlor – Chairman
Ron Krawczyk – Deputy Chairman
Jeff Nagel – Membership & Marketing
Joe Dabrowski – Tournament/Rules
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, Jeff Nagel 2nds it; accepted by Brit Lawlor. Meeting officially starts at 6:03PM.
Membership & Marketing Report, presented by Jeff Nagel
As of today, we have 382 total members. This number includes 64 new members dating back to September. Additionally, our Full Membership is currently at 243 members. Jeff mentions that it’s great that we have a growing membership but we have to think about a cap so it doesn’t get too crowded. Other than that, the golf course is in great shape.
Tournaments/Rules Report, presented by Joe Dabrowski
Last month we had the Governor’s Cup. The weather shortened the event from 36 holes to 18 holes. None the less, we had a terrific turnout and it turned out to be a halfway decent day. Mike Furey and Larry McDonnell scored 30 points to take the Nicklaus Flight. The Palmer Flight was won with 38 points by Tom Dugan and Ryan Stanley. The Trevino Flight was won by Kathy Dennis and Michele Lemoal-Gray with 32 points, while Tony Castellano and Bob Quarte won the Player Flight with 33 points. Mike Mizrahi and Jeff Davies scored 26 points to win the Hogan Flight while Bill Herrick and Bob Lawless won the Snead Flight with 27 points. Our first 9 and Dine is scheduled for June 14th and we have a full field. Remember that the front 9 will be shut down at 3PM due to the event. The President’s Cup will be held on June 23rd & 24th. The tournament is an Individual Stableford event where the entry fee is $20; the event will be flighted by handicap index. Deadline to sign up is Sunday June 17th.
Looking forward to August, since we will not have a July meeting, we have the Bishop Cup, 9 & Dine (Superintendent’s Revenge) and the MGA Team Championship, which we will get notified when we find out when the Championship occurs. As far as outings go in July, there will be no outing on July 2nd and July 9th.
Deputy Chairman Report, presented by Ron Krawczyk
I think we have to consider limiting the amount of people in which we let join the club in September for the 2019 season. Jimmy Von Eschen states that its a good thing that we let new members join because we never know how many members are going to leave the following year. The idea gets thrown out that we allow these people to join but limit the time they can play. During the week, they are permitted to play with no restrictions but on Saturday and Sunday, they can’t tee off until 10AM. Brit Lawlor states that we lose roughly 30 members each season, so why not put our limit at 30. That way we know we’ll always stay somewhat even come the following Spring. Brit continues, the people who join in the Fall are realistically getting 3 months for nothing. Joe Dabrowski mentions the idea of limiting the events in which they can play in once they join. For example, we restrict them from playing in the Major Fall Events (Club Championship, MGA Team Qual, etc.) limiting the event to just 2018 members.
Jimmy states that some of these ideas have to get talked out and should be voted on at the next meeting so we can start promoting the next season. Brit agrees, will be voted on at the next meeting. Jimmy continues by stating that when billing goes out in September, there will be a note stating that if not paid in full by March 1st, you run the risk of being cut off.
Men’s Locker Room/Food and Beverage Report, presented by Mike Cioffi
I have nothing in regards to the Men’s Locker Room but I did hear that the toilets out by the 2nd hole had broke. Jimmy states that nobody let the Pro Shop know. If somebody were to let us know, we will make sure it gets fixed. We will look at it tomorrow morning and speak with Nicholas (locker room attendant). Additionally, there are only 3 lockers left in the locker room. We will create a wait list once these actually get sold.
Chairman Report, presented by Brit Lawlor
As of now, the current guest policy is that you are allowed 1 Guest (per Member) prior to 10AM on the Weekends (Saturday and Sunday). This current policy is causing an issue with regards to Members getting closed out so that others can add a 3rd or a 4th to the group. Per Jimmy Von Eschen, members shouldn’t be using the “Request” feature on the reservation system for Guests. As rule A-1, found under Section IV (Members):
During the week, members may book a tee time with up to three (3) guests, five (5) days in advance using the booking method; this includes Saturday and Sunday, after 11:30AM. Prior to 11:30AM on the weekend, members who wish to bring a guest, must wait to book their times until Thursday Morning, after the lottery has been run. Any member who wishes to bring a guest that also requested a tee time in the member lottery, must forfeit their time and move to the next available tee time.
Jimmy states that we may have to think about going back to how it was in years prior, which was no guests prior to 10AM. With this rule, there was no grey area; nobody could try to “play games” with the system. Brit states that although he agrees, they can’t change the rules in the middle of the season. Going forward, Brit would like to see no guests prior to 9AM on the Weekends.
While on the topic of rules, Mike Cioffi states that he has had 2 complaints about members not receiving tables in Peter’s on the Green. Mike claimed that the rule was that members got pushed ahead of the public, if there was a line. Jim Von Eschen states that they don’t exactly get pushed to the front of the line. He continues to say that in emails which was sent out the membership, if golfers wish to have a table for them, all they have to do is stop in and tell one of the workers when they will be finished (the Pro Shop suggests doing it either prior to your round or at the turn). John Daley states that they have been doing a much better job at staying open later in the day, during the week.
Superintendent Report, presented by Chris Johnson
We’re officially in maintenance mode. We’re cutting and spraying as we have to throughout the week and taking care of the small problems that pop up from time to time. One of those problems that has come up recently, is the collars around the green. There is multiple types of grass in the fringes, therefore, these grasses will grow at different times. With that being said, there is nothing that we can do this time of year. We essentially have to let it run its course this year (it should get better as it gets warmer since all grasses will begin to grow). In the fall, there are a few different things that can get done. We could either sod the fringes with a low cut bluegrass or we can try to slit seed it heavily in the Fall. If it is up to Chris, he would like to sod the areas but he also plans on slit seeding an area to see how that works. Either way, there have been chemicals put down to help regulate the height of the fringe. Other than that, the tee boxes are getting better year after year. Chris plans on treating the tee boxes with the same products which were used on the greens in previous years. We have had success with this product on the greens and it should work well with our tee boxes.
Director of Golf Report, presented by Jim Von Eschen
We have a few people asking for leaves; the first is Paul Joyce. Paul has had Parkinson’s and it has gotten worse over the last few years; currently, he has trouble with the feeling in his legs. He’s has the proper documentation and is asking for a leave until he gets this figured out. The commission passes this unanimously. Next is Thomas Gambino who hasn’t played at all this year due to a torn bicep. Tom is asking for a proration until he comes back, which he is hoping to be July 1st. Jeff Nagel asks what would be different from the situation Tom is in compared to somebody who is coming back from Florida. Brit states that the difference is those asking for a medical leave must have proper documentation. The commission passes this unanimously.
Jimmy proceeds to bring up an email which was recently sent out to membership in regards to posting scores in a reasonable timeframe. He states that the Tournament Committee, John or himself has the right to post a penalty score if it is found that scores aren’t getting posted in a timely fashion. We currently have found some people who were posting scores after the revision date or simply not posting scores at all. Additionally we had a member post twenty-eight scores in a recent period so they could get their handicap up to where he believes it should be. This member was spoken with and he withdrew from the Senior Club Championship. Joe Dabrowski asks if the tournament rounds (ie. Bishop Cup, President’s Cup, Club Championship, etc) are posted or if it up to the member to do so. John Mackie states that all tournament rounds, including Men’s and Ladies Club, are posted directly to the GHIN system through the tournament program.
We have our Men’s Member/Guest Tournament on Friday, August 3rd. Jimmy will speak with Joe Smerge (Footjoy Representative) and get a gift package together. Jimmy asks Joe Dabrowski and Mike Cioffi to sit down with Gus to create a menu for the day. Once this is done, the Pro Shop can get the information and pricing out to the membership. Jimmy continues and says that this is something that has to get done as soon as possible as we are already less than 2 months to the event.
Comments From the Crowd
John Daley – Speaking on behalf of the group that he plays with, John brings up the point that we used to have every sprinkler head marked with the distance to the center of the green. Over the years, more and more of these yardage markers have disappeared off of the top of the heads. Chris Johnson states that over time, sprinkler heads break and have to be replaced. The old markers don’t necessarily fit the new sprinkler heads and the ones where they do fit, the performance is not up to our standard. Jimmy also notes that with the modern technology (rangefinders, gps watches, etc.) the sprinkler heads aren’t needed as much. Additionally, Jimmy mentions that when originally done, the Town of Huntington did it as a return favor to Ed Santalone; it wasn’t actually BGC who did this. Chris Johnson states that he would like to see classier 100/150/200 yard markers out on the golf course. Joe Dabrowski suggests a small brick that is painted in the corresponding color (Red=100 yards, White=150 yards, Blue=200 yards). The commission as a whole likes the idea of a classier look for these markers.
Meeting concludes at 7:05PM