Commission Members in Attendance:
Brit Lawlor – Chairman
Joe Dabrowski – Greens
Jeff Nagel – Membership/Course Assessment
Tara Ford – Women’s Locker Room & Beverage
Mike Cioffi – Men’s Locker Room & Beverage/Special Projects
Ryan Stanley – Tournaments
Mike Mislin – Violations
Members in Attendance:
Dennis Maguire, Mike Auerbach, Tim Mirocco, Mark Mirocco, Kevin Dayton, Bill Ayers, Ed Santalone, John Gennusa, Jim Scordamaglia, Bob Scalia, Gabe Gallo, Pat Comiskey, Ralph Gallo, Dominick Carreras, Pat Dowd, Tony Sorrentino, Mary Butler, Arlene Trigg, Frances Stokes, Ray Fell, Mike Dioguardo, Peter Craz, Mike Carey, Kathy Laguardia, Michele Lemoal-Gray, Tony Lodato, Mike Gyseck
Others in Attendance:
Jim Von Eschen – Director of Golf Greg Fox – Parkland Golf Liaison
John Mackie – Assistant Golf Pro Maureen Veitch – Village Mayor
Lorraine Keuhn – Village Trustee Jim Fedge – Starter
Jerry O’Hara – Starter
Brit Lawlor welcomes the membership back to another golf season and asks everybody in attendance to let the commission go through their reports before asking any questions. Meeting officially begins at 6:03PM.
Violations Report, presented by Mike Mislin
Nothing to report.
Men’s Locker Room & Beverage/Special Projects Report, presented by Mike Cioffi
Mike begins by noting that Peter on the Green is back up and running for the season. As far as the erosion project, Mike says that it is still moving forward but we are now in the final stages of approval (approximately 6 – 10 months away). Continuing about the erosion, Mike says that the grant money is still pending but we are hearing good things. To end, Mike mentions that the new building project is on hold per the Village.
Women’s Locker Room & Beverage Report, presented by Tara Ford
Tara says that it is nice to be back and see everybody but has nothing to report.
Tournaments Report, presented by Ryan Stanley
Ryan welcomes everybody back for another exciting season down here at BGC. Mr. Stanley mentions that the upcoming events (and all others throughout the year) will be celebrating the 125 Year anniversary of golf in Bellport:
Masters Tournament – April 13th
Ryder Cup – April 27th (sign up will begin 2 weeks prior)
Looking ahead to May, Ryan states that we will ramp up the tournaments as the Women’s and Men’s Tournament Days will be returning. Additionally, we will hold the President’s Cup and Team 4 Ball towards the end of May.
Greens/Course Assessment Report, presented by Joe Dabrowski
Joe talks about how the crew is getting to their general maintenance, with the Winter clean-up just about finishing. Joe mentions that players may see limited rakes out on the course but we do have 50 on order; once they arrive, they will be put together and put out on the course. With the tree work nearly complete, Joe mentions that they will finish cleaning those areas and eventually seed these areas with fescue grass. Mr. Dabrowski mentions that the new tee signs and plaques will be in soon; he expects those to come out nice and thinks membership will like how they blend into the course a little better. Continuing, Joe says that the DryJect process did not go according to plan as the sand was not what we thought was ordered; Chris decided to go with the old school aeration method of pulling a half inch plug and filling with sand. Lastly, the 6-inch water main going into the pump house had a leak but has thankfully been fixed.
Membership Report, presented by Jeff Nagel
Mr. Nagel mentions how it is good to see all these engaged members who have shown up tonight. Currently, Jeff says that we have 391 members who are paid in full. We have 9 people on leave with 16 new, non-resident members (paid initiation fees). In order to get these 16 members, Jeff states that the Village needed to call roughly 50 individuals. Jeff says that although our waiting list is around 300 people, realistically he thinks that number is closer to 100 – 150 people due to the fact that many were on the waiting list before an initiation fee was introduced, let alone the current $3,000.
Brit Lawlor states that Ryan Stanley will read some Pros and Cons regarding the Men’s Tournament Day going back to a shotgun format versus staying with the current system of tee times. Brit says that he will answer all questions regarding this topic later in the night.
8:30AM Shotgun Start
Pros:
– Everyone starts at the same time
– Able to address the entire group at once
– Later start for staff, done earlier (around 1:30pm)
– More downtime for staff to handle other tasks
– Potential for all groups to dine together
– Allows mixing up groups more easily for camaraderie and deterring cheating
Cons:
– Excludes members who can’t make that tee time (approx. 15-20)
– Course pace slows down with everyone starting at once
– Walking players may have to start on holes further out
– Not everyone can start on 1 or 10 to play holes in order
– Limits course maintenance by greens staff after start
– Grill room (Peter’s) may need to close to accommodate event
Overall, the simultaneous start provides some operational benefits but also leads to course crowding and excludes certain members.
Straight Tee Times Starting 7:30ish
Pros:
– Accommodates members who want to play before 11:30am
– Everyone starts on Hole 1
– Consistent pace of play throughout the course
– Allows more course maintenance by greens staff
– Generates extra revenue with more participants
– More efficient for handling last-minute changes
Cons:
– Have to communicate rules to each group individually
– Unable to purposely mix up groups
– No downtime for staff to handle other tasks
– Tournament concludes later around 3:30pm
– Can’t pair up singles/doubles if their group is a no-show
Overall, straight tee times provide more flexibility for members’ schedules and an orderly start, but requires more individual coordination versus the simultaneous shotgun start. It impacts staff downtime and course maintenance, but allows a steadier pace of play. The choice comes down to prioritizing operational ease and control versus maximizing accommodation of members’ varying availability. Both formats have trade-offs to consider.
Director of Golf Report, presented by Jim Von Eschen
Jimmy says hello to the membership in attendance and starts by saying that we need to get the season underway. He states that it has been a very long winter and we are ready to see the membership and residents back out on the course. Continuing, Jimmy says that when powering up the irrigation system the other day, Chris found the system’s electronic screen is starting to get fuzzy; according to industry experts, that is the sign that the system will begin to fail soon. Although there is no exact time table, Jimmy says that this is something we would like to be proactive on as the warmer months are coming and we will need water. This current electronic system was installed in 2008 and lasts roughly 20-25 years. Jimmy states that this system works in tandem with our current irrigation system and there truly are no band-aids for this typer of project; a new system is estimated to cost $70,000.
Moving on, Jimmy hopes that everybody has been receiving the club’s emails regarding the new scorecards and the new tee system. Jimmy mentions that the arrows on the card will indicate which tee you will be playing (when playing the combo tees). Turning focus to the handicaps, Jim mentions that we went with the MGA/USGA recommendation of the Triad System. This Triad System will spread strokes out over the course of the round, rather than all the “stroke holes” occurring at the beginning or end of a nine. We as a Pro Shop are really unsure of how the Triad will play out as it is new to us as well but we are going to stick with it throughout the year and see how it goes. To finish, Jimmy mentions that the Pro Shop will be collecting data from club tournaments in which we post a score.
Brit asks Jimmy and Greg if Bellport would own the server for the $70,000 project. Greg Fox reiterates that this system is electronics that turn the pump system on/off. Greg believes that we may want to shop around the price. Jimmy asks Ed Santalone what he suggests that the club does, given his expertise in the irrigation world. Eddy believes that you have to evaluate everything as far as replacements go but if there are none, we have to buy new. Mr. Santalone reiterates that you do not want to wait for this system to fail before doing anything; being proactive is the right move.
Superintendents Report, presented by Greg Fox
Greg Fox states that Jimmy and Joe really covered it all. He states that Chris is not here tonight due to Opening Day of his son’s Little League. Greg reiterates that the sod for the bunker entrances will be delivered next week and that will go down ASAP. Greg asks Jimmy to talk about what still has to be done with the tree work. Jimmy says that once cleaned up, we will be slit seeding with a fine fescue grass. Jimmy asks the membership to be patient with this grow as it generally takes 3-4 years to grown and thin out where we want. He finishes by saying that all the trees which were taken down will be marked ground under repair.
Before opening up to the crowd, Brit asks Village Mayor, Maureen Veitch, if she has anything to say or report.
Mayors Report, presented by Maureen Veitch
Maureen says that she does not have much to add. In regards to the erosion project, she says that her and Mike Cioffi are very hopeful that we will get the funding needed for the project; specifically dredging the end of the canal, which is the first step.
Comments from the Crowd
Pat Comiskey – Pat states that the Village has said the bridge on hole 10/11 needs to be replaced. Mike Cioffi says that he hears that it is not in disrepair. Brit says that Jason Crane and the DPW crew replaced damaged boards as they do yearly. Jimmy says that the end posts are beginning to show, especially on the 10th green/11th tee side of the bridge. Darcia (Village Treasurer) has put aside some capital improvement money to begin to save for some projects down the road, with this bridge being thought about. Mike Cioffi believes that we continue to look at and monitor the situation. Maureen Veitch says that she spoke with an engineer and DEC in regards to this bridge. The engineer actually floated underneath the bridge and says that currently, it is deemed safe. Maureen says that DEC stated that since it is not an emergency, there is nothing they can do regarding the bridge. Finally, Mike Mislin asks if there is a paint or something like that, which will create more traction (thinking like a textured ceiling paint). Moving on to the tees and the handicaps, Pat asks another question. She asks how they determined the new hole ratings. John Mackie says that there is a system that the USGA uses to determine the difficulty value for each hole; this is done by their team of course raters as they are rating the course. From there, they follow the Triad System stroke index (found in Rules of Handicapping: Appendix E) to get the actual Stroke Index holes. In talking to the MGA, both John and Jimmy had them make sure that the 8th hole was rated as the hardest (they originally had it as 7). John finishes stating that these are just a recommendation from the MGA/USGA and if it does not work this year, we can always go back and change in the future. As far as the old WMGA tee goes, Jimmy says that we can set the course up however our WMGA team wants to set it up. From a yardage standpoint, Jimmy says that the new Forward/Middle tee is the same yardage as the old WMGA tee but believes our team would benefit from playing the Forward tee. Brit states that he has been to courses down in Florida who are also moving to the Triads and in conversations, their membership likes the changes. Mike Mislin also adds that you are still receiving your shots over the course of the round. To close, Jimmy says that you could poll the membership about which are the hardest holes and you would get all different answers.
Bob Scalia – Mr. Scalia has a question regarding the waitlist; he asks if anybody knows when the last time it was scrubbed and everybody was called to see their interests. Jeff Nagel says that Christine Novelli (membership coordinator) doesn’t scrub but called 100-150 people on the list last year to gauge interest. John Mackie states that he and Christine have spoke about the possibility of sending out an email to those on the list to gauge their interest, especially with the new initiation fee. John says that Christine is on board with this as well.
Tony Lodato – Tony believes that the Men’s Tournament Day should be a shotgun from the standpoint of everybody playing in the same weather conditions. He claims that those people who go off later in the day may have an advantage as the weather changes. Tony asks how many other Men’s Clubs around the Island use tee times and how come we haven’t gone back to shotgun starts? Jimmy Von Eschen states that when we first started the Men’s Tournament Day, we thought everybody wanted to play early. With John as his witness, Jimmy says that he panicked when moving to tee times because he thought there would be no way we could get everybody out in time. Jimmy continues, saying that it turned out to be the exact opposite. Everybody got out over the course of the day, with an extra 15 – 25 players on a weekly basis. Jimmy says that those who tend to go out later in the day are choosing to do so to accommodate their work/life schedule. Mike Mislin states that they go from 60-70 players in a shotgun start to 80-100 when going with straight tee times. Jimmy finishes, by saying that there hasn’t been anybody who doesn’t play in the Men’s Tournament due to it being played as a shotgun.
Tony Sorrentino – Tony asks the commission who has the power to open up the upstairs bar in the catering hall? He says that guests don’t want to go into town and Gus wants to close at 2PM. Tony suggests opening the upstairs bar at noon, strictly for only members. He says they could use that bar as the Members Only bar. Brit Lawlor says there is a lot that is going on behind the scenes with lease negotiation, etc. Brit says that we can’t force anybody to open as all parties are operating according to the current lease. Bob Scalia asks Brit when the lease expires between the Village and the Catering Hall; Brit believes that the lease is up in 2027.
Gabe Gallo – Mr. Gallo asks how come the red tees are located in the back this season? Jimmy says that we are getting rid of the stigma of Men’s and Women’s tees. Continuing, he says that we are doing everything based off of yardages, opposed to tee color. John Mackie mentions that many individuals will go to a course and always play the “Blue Tees” or the “Gold Tees” regardless of what the course yardage was. Using the 5-iron method (which he mentions is NOT foolproof) we can help get an idea of what tees an individual can handle. Jimmy mentions that in past years, the Red and White tees were on the same box and most of the time only a couple of yards apart. Instead of the two tees, now we can just use one set of tees and have the ability to move it around. Mr. Von Eschen says that according to the MGA/USGA, we can move our tees up to 30 yards while maintaining the same course rating.
Bob Scalia – Mr. Scalia asks how he should know how far he carries a 5 iron; he says that he knows how far it rolls out but doesn’t know how far it flies in the air. Brit suggests going to a driving range and hitting balls to various targets. Jimmy also suggests he thinks about the par 3s around BGC, which club he uses regularly and give his best estimate. He also suggests to go to the back tee early in the morning and hit 5 balls, go to the grouping and using a rangefinder, shoot the back range to get a distance. Add those distances up and divide by 5 to get your average.
Meeting concludes at 6:47PM