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
Chris Johnson – Superintendent
John Mackie – Assistant Golf Pro
John Daley – Member
Motion to start meeting by Ron Krawczyk, Ed Santalone 2nds it; accepted by Jeff Nagel. Meeting officially starts at 6:02PM.
Violations Report, presented by Jim Dowd
There was an incident last Friday afternoon regarding two groups, a foursome and a twosome. The twosome was playing behind the foursome, and since twosomes play faster than foursomes, the twosome caught the foursome on the 10th hole. The foursome invited the twosome to skip the 10th hole, tee off on 11 and come back to 10 later to conclude their round. The twosome thought that was uncalled for and thought they should’ve just played through. As everybody was walking over the bridge, the twosome slipped the “Pace of Play” section of the rule book under the foursome’s steering wheel. The foursome didn’t like this gesture and some yelling occurred after the round. Long story short, they both realize they were wrong to an extent and no letter is truly needed.
Membership & Marketing Report, presented by Jeff Nagel
As of now, we have a total of 360 members. We’re at a very healthy place as far as membership but we have to seriously talk about caps. We don’t want membership to get to the 500-600 number that it was at during the boom. After talking with Jimmy, we’ve talked somewhere in the 400 members with hopefully 250 Full Members. Jimmy states that we’re hearing rumors from multiple sources that we should be getting a good amount of members coming over from The Hamlet in September (roughly 30). Along the same lines, we need to get 2018 Membership prices down for the next meeting. Myself, Jimmy and Ray will sit down and discuss this before the next meeting.
Tournaments/Rules Report, presented by Joe Dabrowski
The 2017 Governor’s Cup has concluded and results were as follows: The Nicklaus Flight was won by Mike Aronsen & Jim Dowd (74 Points), The Palmer Flight was won by Jim Cottone & Jim Cullen Sr. (69 Points). Tom Curley and Bill Hilty took home the Trevino Flight with 70 Points while Bob Crothers and Mike Rau scored 60 Points to take the Player Flight. Last but not least, Dave McGrath Sr. and Joe Vitarelli won the Hogan Flight by scoring 61 Points. Unfortunately we haven’t had a Ladies Club yet this year due to lack of sign up as well as the weather. On the other hand, the Men’s Club has been running fantastically, getting anybody from 65-80 players week after week. Going forward, tomorrow is our first 9 & Dine; the sign up is small but we’re looking forward to a good time as always. June 17th will be our US Open tournament; this event consist of your net score on Saturday, plus 3 PGA players score on Sunday from Erin Hills. Sign up that day at the Starter’s Booth. June 24th and 25th is our President’s Cup; this event is a 2 day, Individual Stableford tournament. Entry fee is $20, sign up in the Pro Shop. If we have enough participation, we will create Men’s and Ladies Flights.
I spoke with Gus the other day regarding the Men’s Member-Guest, which is going to be held on Friday, August 4th. Our price from him will be $300 per twosome for just food and alcohol, this brings our price in total to $550 per twosome for everything; it is a $10 increase from last year. Giveaways will include Loafers (like last year), FootJoy Pro SLs or a Rain Jacket (golfers will be able to choose one of the three).
Special Projects, presented by Ed Santalone
I did a survey on Chris’ building the other day, and it’s not a job for us. There are animals running throughout the building and quite frankly, the job is way too big to do in house. The highway department should be able to get the job done. We’ll have to talk to Jason Crane and get them down here to look at it.
Deputy Chairman Report, presented by Ron Krawczyk
The golf course looks great. With the first cut being an inch and a half, naturally the second cut will have to be longer; that’s the only way you’ll be able to see it. The greens are firming up nicely and they’re running really good. Great job chris.
Special Events Report, presented by Carol Cassel
The flowers were bought for behind the 16th green (using Eddies account). We’ll plant them probably next week. The course looks great.
Men’s Locker Room/Food and Beverage Report, presented by Mike Cioffi
I was looking in the locker room the other day and it looks like there is mold by where the new lockers are going to go in. You can bleach it on the outside and it will appear fine, but that’s like putting a bandaid on something that need stitches. To do it right, we have to go into the wall and clear the mold. I think this is a necessity prior to the new lockers going in. If not, it will just cause more problems down the line.
Chairman’s Report, presented by Brit Lawlor
So I’ve talked to Ray about implementing a $100 assessment in the grill room. Ray wants to push it as a commitment to Gus (Owner/Operator of Peter’s on the Green). *Ron Krawczyk instantly insists that it should be $200* Jim Dowd states that it is time to support the club. John Daley calmly states that if the membership pays the assessment, the grill room needs to be open when the golf course is open. “If we’re going to guarantee them money, they have to be open for us.” Brit says that the problem is going to be the member who is going to bark at the $100 assessment, not the person who already goes in to support it. Jimmy chimes in, saying that we have to be aware of the public who is in there, supporting Gus on a daily basis, rain or shine. No, $200 isn’t a lot of money but it is something that is going to be re-introduced. Start small and then gradually increase. Ron Krawczyk motions to bring the $200 assessment to the Mayor. Jim Dowd 2nds it and Brit Lawlor accepts it.
Brit recently received a letter from Bill Anderson. I won’t read it verbatim but the general gist of it is that he is extremely unhappy with the fescue and the rough. He notes that he is a golf course rater for the MGA and has rated many golf courses throughout the Metropolitan section throughout his years. Brit states that he has spoken with Jimmy regarding this issue and just as the commission has mentioned at past meetings, they will discuss what has to get cut back once it burns out a little and we get less rain. The rough is currently cut at 2.75 inches. We will be getting a new rough mower at the end of the year which will be much more precise than the current one that we have. Bill is also concerned with ticks and lymes disease with the fescue. It should be noted that in past years that we’ve had fescue, this was not an issue. In general, the feedback has been mostly positive.
In some other news, Francis Derosa (Resident, Sr. Full Member) is requesting a leave. He has not played at all this year due to multiple injuries, but he hopes to come back at some point later in the year. Additionally, Chuck Shimkus is asking for a leave due to back problems. He has had to pull out from multiple tournaments due to this pain. The board unanimously grants both leaves.
A wedding party was out on the putting green last Saturday night. Jimmy states that the Matradee is suppossed to be out with them as they are taking pictures near the tree, next to the putting green. In the past, when we notice that they are overstepping their boundaries,we will call the catering hall, but by the time they get out to the wedding party, it is too late. Jimmy states that he will bring it up with Ray.
Lastly, Brit was playing in an outing at Commack a few weeks ago and he has to say that the bathrooms out on the golf course look great. It looks high-end, but it didn’t cost much. Brit believes that we can redo our bathrooms behind the 2nd tee for roughly $1500 each. It is something little that can be done, but he believes it will go a long way. Chris asks that if we do this, we get motion sensor lights because when he comes to work in the morning, the lights are on and there are bugs all over.
Director of Golf Report, presented by Jim Von Eschen
We have to talk about membership prices for next year; I suggest that we get this done prior to the next meeting. As far as the golf course goes, besides the weather, we’re rocking and rolling. The Ladies Club has been a real struggle so far in regard to sign ups. Out of the 28 female members that we have, there are a few Ladies who work during the week, some took leaves from last year and others still are yet to come back from Florida. Currently, the most Ladies that we’ve had sign up is 8. We’re hoping that once the middle of June gets here, we can get some stability with the Ladies Club.
Superintendent Report, presented by Chris Johnson
We’re finally getting ready for the Summer. Myself and the crew are getting into regular maintenance routine (cutting fairways, greens, rough, spraying, etc.). As far as a sample machine for the bunkers, I have not heard anything about it recently. I will talk with Parkland and try to get a sample machine to use and test before we get the new one.
Comments From the Crowd
John Daley – John praises us for finally being able to see the water from multiple places on the golf course. He believes that the golf course looks fantastic and it is going in a great direction.
Meeting officially concludes at 6:45PM