Commission Members in Attendance:
Brit Lawlor – 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
Ray Fell – Mayor
John Mackie – Assistant Golf Pro
Motion to start meeting by Joe Dabrowski, Jeff Nagel 2nds it; accepted by Brit Lawlor. Meeting officially starts at 6:10PM.
Chairman & Director of Golf Report, presented by Brit Lawlor & Jim Von Eschen
Brit Lawlor starts the meeting by asking Jim Von Eschen to explain the changes that are going to be made to the 2nd, 3rd and 17th holes; asking when the project will be taking place. Jim Von Eschen starts with talk regarding the left hand side of hole 2; explaining that trees (Norway Maples, a very invasive species) were taken out due to the danger th
at the roots were causing. Replacing the trees will be an additional sand trap (on green side of the left, fairway bunker) as well as more mounding (similar to mounding currently on the 17th hole). This left hand side of hole 2 is the only project that will be done this Spring, with the rest of the project getting finished in the Fall. The sand bunker that the architect drew in, isn’t exactly where we want it, but after speaking with him, he will relook at the bunker when he comes back up in the Spring. Again, the only work being done from this project in the Spring, will be the left side of hole 2; the right side of 2, the 3rd and the 17th will be finished in the Fall.
Superintendent Report, presented by Chris Johnson
We took down roughly 60 more trees this winter; the golf course should breathe well in that regard this year. Right now, we need the weather to cooperate. The weather looks terrible, with a possible Nor’Easter coming again next week. Chris states that he needs about 3 solid days to aerate the fairways and tee boxes prior to opening day. The greens will be aerated in the beginning of May.
Membership & Marketing Report, presented by Jeff Nagel
After going over the numbers with Jimmy and John, Jeff states that we currently have 313 members as of today. Of those 313 members, 195 are Full Members, 41 are “B” Members, 47 Weekday Members, 3 Associates (“Associate Full” included in “Full” number) and 27 Twilight Passes. Jeff asks the commission what our membership cap is. Ray Fell states that it is something that we definitely have to talk about. He states that we obviously still want people to have the luxury of playing whenever they want, while still supporting the costs of the golf course. Jimmy states it is really a combination of the pace of play which you want, as Ray said, and the other factor is how much money we want to ultimately bring in. Jimmy continues with talk about tee time availability (specifically weekend mornings)). He states that it might be tough in the Spring and the Fall due to daylight, but this won’t be an issue come Summer. If needed, we will just tee it up earlier.
Tournaments/Rules Report, presented by Joe Dabrowski
So the 2018 Tournament Schedule is officially up on the website (bellportgolfclub.com). In April, we have The Masters Tournament (your score Saturday, plus 3 PGA Tour players Sunday score) on April 7th and later in the month, on the 28th, we have our Opening Ryder Cup. Looking forward a little bit, the Men’s Member-Guest will be held on Friday, August 3rd. The golf course will be shut down to those who aren’t playing in the event. The Ladies Invitational is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, August 7th; the golf course will be shut down to roughly 3:30PM to those not playing in the event.
Jimmy mentions that he and Joe have tossed around the idea of having a Sixes Tournament. It is done on the European tour (Super 6s) and it is a big success. Jimmy is thinking about replacing the 3 day Member-Member with an event like this going forward. It is generally tough to get people to participate in a 3 day event and this way it will free up the golf course on a holiday. The idea is to test this during Columbus Day weekend possibly. Jeff Nagel brings up the question of just adding the Sixes Tournament in addition to what we already have. Jimmy states that we already have a packed tournament schedule, especially compared to other courses such as Hampton Hills. Generally, each month you have 1 major tournament, 1 tournament where you sign up with the Starter in addition to the Men’s and Ladies clubs that we have each and every week. Anything more and the schedule would just get overcrowded.
Men’s Locker Room/Food and Beverage Report, presented by Mike Cioffi
Mike starts by welcoming everybody back for another year. He reports that Gus is getting a new AC unit and under his new contract, all of that falls under him. Ray Fell backs this statement. Ray continues to say that when the building inspector goes through the grill room, Mike will be along.
Ladies Locker Room/Food and Beverage Report, presented by Tara Ford
Tara states that she doesn’t really have much. It is nice to see everybody again; I hate the winter. Tara continues to ask about the new benches and if/when they will be out. Chris states that the benches are made and ready to go, probably wait until the weather gets a little nicer to actually put them out. Chris says that he just needs a list on where they are going; Tara replies that she can get him over a list.
Mayor’s Report presented by Ray Fell
Ray states that he too doesn’t have much to add but happy to see the season getting closer, saying that he is excited for the year to come. Ray brings up the fact that Village Hall is getting ne Village ID Cards. These cards will have an expiration date if the person is only renting in the Village of Bellport. Additionally, these new cards will specifically say if the person is a Senior, I know this was a problem a few times at the golf course.
Meeting officially concludes at 7:04PM