Commission Members in Attendance:
Brit Lawlor – Chairman
Ryan Stanley – Tournament / Membership Liaison
Jeff Nagel – Membership & Marketing
Joe Dabrowski – Greens
Tara Ford – Ladies Locker Room/Food and Beverage
Michael Cioffi – Men’s Locker Room/Food and Beverage
Mike Mislin – Violations
Others in Attendance:
Jim Von Eschen – Director of Golf
Chris Johnson – Superintendent
Ray Fell – Mayor/Member
Mike Diaguardo – Member
Lou Stravinsky – Member
Motion to start meeting by Joe Dabrowski, Ryan Stanley 2nds it; accepted by Brit Lawlor. Meeting officially starts at 6:01PM.
Opening Remarks, presented by Brit Lawlor
Brit opens the meeting by welcoming everybody back to the 2021 season; hoping that as things change, we will get back to where we were pre pandemic. I walked the course the other day and the place looked amazing. Feedback from members stating that the greens are some of the best they’ve ever seen at Bellport, especially for this early in the season.
Violation’s Report, presented by Mike Mislin
There are no current violations to report. Mike mentions that he has created a Facebook group for members of the Bellport Golf Club. He hopes that people use this page to get together with one another, buy/sell clubs, etc. Anybody who is a member of the club is welcome to join the group.
Greens Report, presented by Joe Dabrowski
Chris and his crew have been working hard to get the golf course back in its current shape. Throughout the Winter, Chris and crew placed drainage and new sand in about 10-15 bunkers. These have held up great through some recent rains as a result. Joe states that playability over the course of the season will also improve because of this work. Our Spring greens aeration is schedules for April 19th & 20th, with our top-dressing schedule to follow right after. We will like to start top-dressing the approach area to our greens. With the added top-dressing, these areas will begin to play firmer, with balls releasing rather than stopping short. Again, Joe preaches playability, stating that it is something both he and Chris have been conscious of in years past. Additionally, we would like to top-dress our tee boxes. This will help with turf quality, as well as level out any imperfections that may be there. Brit asks Chris if we currently top-dress the tee boxes at all when we pull a plug; Chris answers “No”. Chris says that he would like top-dress the tees once a month in addition to when a plug is pulled during aeration (which he considers a top priority). Brit and Joe are both on board with Chris and says they will talk with Ray about finding out necessary steps. Joe also states that they are looking into repaving some areas near the maintenance for safety concerns. Down the road, having a maintenance lift in Chris’ garage would save time on preparing the equipment and overall safety. Using the reels on the mowers as an example, currently the mower has to be jacked up and taken apart, just to place. With a lift, the machine doesn’t have to be hoisted up on jacks or taken apart. Joe believes that this practice would become an everyday practice, resulting in a better cut throughout the golf course, again improving playability. Brit says that it is currently a financial issue and when some money gets freed up, Ray is on board with taking care of that.
Lastly, and maybe most important, is the erosion issue along the canal and the 13th fairway. Brit says that he doesn’t know what the answer is in this scenario. He states that adding fill is not the answer because Mother Nature will eventually win and take that away too. Brit also mentions that bulkheading is not the answer since it is very, very expensive. Jim states that we must talk to the Army Core of Engineers and get them back to dredge. All the water is coming in off the street and in from the Bay, settling into the canal and staying. This is raising the water line and eating away at the land that is currently there. Mike Mislin states that with the current breach being open, wouldn’t opening the canal just cause more erosion from the changing tides. Brit and Jimmy state that the water would at least be able to get out, currently it just sits in the canal. Brit asks why the Army Core of Engineers stopped dredging; Jim states that since it kept filling in, they eventually stopped as it was a lot of money to continually do so. Jim does remember of the Army Core of Engineers talking about putting a rock jetty in but not sure of where those talks went. Ray Fell states that it is roughly a 3 year wait for the Army Core of Engineers to even come look, then once they are decided on a project its roughly another 3 year wait to start the project. Mike Cioffi states that he can set up a meeting with an environmental engineer and see what they have to say regarding. The board asks him to go ahead with it. Mike believes it could be done for minimal to no expense.
Tournaments/Rules Report, presented by Ryan Stanley
Ryan starts by welcoming everybody back to another golf season. Not a lot to report as we went over the Tournament Schedule last time we met, last October. Looking at this month, the Masters Tournament will be April 10th, with the President’s Cup in mid-May. We plan on following through with a full tournament schedule. Since we are still trying to limit any gatherings, you will not see and shotgun starts on the current schedule, including the Member-Guest tournaments. Ryan is ready to go for the year, stating that we have such a gift in this golf course and let’s treat it with respect throughout the year.
Ladies Locker Room/Food and Beverage Report, presented by Tara Ford
I have nothing to report. Glad to be back and ready for another great golf year.
Men’s Locker Room/Food and Beverage Report, presented by Mike Cioffi
Nothing to report. Gus added a few new items and the falafel is delicious.
Membership & Marketing Report, presented by Jeff Nagel
Due to Jeff running late, Jim Von Eschen will give his report. We went in to the year with a membership cap of 400, with the thought of leaving 5 spots for residents who may not have joined yet. We currently sit at 398 members, with the know that 2 more Residents will be joining. Jim states that our waiting list is still up around 100, with more phone calls coming in daily. The full membership breakdown is as follows:
2 Corporate Membership
10 Discontinued Corporate “B” Members
7 Non-Resident Associates
25 Non-Resident Full Associates
46 Non-Resident Family Full Members
152 Non-Resident Full Members
76 Weekday Members
4 Resident Associate Members
12 Resident Full Members
48 Resident Senior Full Members
16 Twilight Members
Chairman’s Report, presented by Brit Lawlor
Brit believes that the online reservation system should be handing out points on a daily basis rather than just on the weekend mornings. Brit continues by stating that we are penalizing people who have jobs. Jimmy states that to do so, we would have to completely switch the way tee times are done. He continues by stating that the lottery would have to be run for each day of the week, with requests going in 3 days prior, just like the weekend. Brit states that yes, the weekend times should be weighted differently than the weekday but Brit believes that it is something that has to be looked at going forward. Joe says that out of all last year there was only a handful of times that his group got severely bounced (2+ hours) on the weekend, which over the course of the year isn’t bad. He also says that if it is not an issue during the week, then it isn’t something that needs to be addressed. Jimmy states that we have to remember that over the last year, we lost 2 tee times an hour by moving to ten-minute tee intervals (Jimmy likes the ten-minute intervals), we gained 30 members and we increased our play 41% last year (down in guest play). Brit again says that he would like to talk about it as it probably creates other issues that he is not thinking of. Brit believes that from a business perspective, the “better member” is not the person playing six times a week, but rather the person who is playing twice a week and bringing some guests from time to time. He continues by saying this is not necessarily the club we are trying to build, but he believes we are favoring the members who play five, six times a week. Joe asks about potentially going to a split tee system to which Jimmy responds that it would actually lose times in the long run. Jimmy mentions that a split tee system was considered during the 2020 season. Jimmy does say that if needed, we will open earlier on the weekend; he notes pace of play was tremendous last season due to the ten-minute tee intervals. Joe asks what the point structure is for the lottery times. According to Jim Von Eschen, the points are as follows:
Within 1 hour of requested time – 1 Point
From 1 hour to 2 hours out of requested time – .5 Points
Out of 2 hours of requested time – 0 Points
Times made after lottery was run – 0 Points
Individuals added to lottery times – 1 Point
Jim states that if needed, the value of the points can be changed as the board seems fit.
Lastly, Brit would like to mention that come late August, we’re going to have just under $100,000 in member assessment for playability. He states that Joe has a list and will be narrowed down by the next meeting. Brit also asks the commission board to come up with ideas of their own, none being too big or too small. Brit states that between the next two meeting, we will have a list that we can bring to Ray Fell.
Superintendent Report, presented by Chris Johnson
Chris says that he is glad to be back and to be starting his 7th year at BGC as the Head Superintendent. Looking forward to aeration (notes we are using the smaller holes) and with the IKE Qualifier, we will be aerating a little earlier (April 19th & 20th). Chris says that we should be excited to hold a big qualifier. We will have our new flag sticks out by then, will be put out at Chris’ discretion. Chris asks the commission what it is they want to do with the ball washers; they were previously all taken out due to COVID. The commission unanimously agrees to remove all ball washers, leaving the ball washer by the 1st Tee Box and the island by the Pro Shop. We will be going with a different fertilization program around the greens to promote more growth in the fringe area and create a uniform playing surface.
Director of Golf Report, presented by Jim Von Eschen
Jim states that we had a great opening day yesterday, people were enjoying the golf course and came off with rave reviews. As many people have noticed, we have lost both our hitting nets behind the first tee; both were destroyed by storms throughout the late Summer/Fall of last season. Thanks to Jason Crane and his crew, we have been able to come up with a design that will work. We will start with three hitting mats and eventually go to four mats. The nets should be fully functional right around May 1st. Mike Mislin brings up the fact that with no barrier between individuals, how will they retrieve the ball? Jim responds by stating that the slope is pitched so that the ball will roll back to you. Moving on Jimmy says that we will be about half full for our 2021 outing schedule. Any outing that had a deposit on file was asked to comeback, some are not coming back and we are giving them their $700 deposit back. We will not be accepting any new outings to fill spots due to COVID precautions. Brit asks about the Fuoco Outing. Jimmy states that yes, they will be coming back in their normal Thursday date in September. Jimmy continues that all outings will be 100 players max, including the Fuoco event. Jimmy brings up the Ike Qualifier; he too states that the club should be very proud to be able to hold an event like this. Chris Gaffney and Kevin Kline of the MGA were out two years ago and instantly wanted to get an event out here; they did mention that without a driving range/practice area, a qualifier is as big of an event as we can hold. Jimmy continues by saying that Mike Foster is working on getting a Club Championship and Hole in One board for the club, replacing the current plaques that we have. The Club Championship board is dating back to 1990, both Male and Female. Mike is talking to Gus about putting the boards in the grill room. Brit asks everybody to thank Mike if you see him. Jimmy states that on the golf course there will be no rakes in the bunkers; the New York State Golf Association put out a statement that rakes can go back out but only if they are sanitized by staff throughout the day (not a feasible task at BGC). We will be following exactly what the MGA has been doing in their tournaments; Lift, Smooth & Drop from knee. The flag can stay in if wanted, but you would be forcing people to rake the bunker without the Local Rule. Brit mentions that as things change throughout the year, we will be re-assessing this rake policy. Lastly, Jimmy mentions that last night he received a text saying that a member was requesting that we take down the scoreboard as it obstructs the view of the golf course. Brit states that it is a golf course, and we need a scoreboard to do scoring during tournaments. The board mentions that it probably has to be re-done, but it is integral to the club.
Jeff Nagel joins us and reads an email he received from a member:
“We had a great opening day! The course was clean and the greens were perfect. Clear hazard markings, ball washers etc. I appreciate the text notices of the Commission Meeting as well. I appreciate what was done with the tournament schedule, bringing back everybody’s Club Championship. The Pro Shop, staff, grill and Locker Rooms were all staffed, full and ready to go. The new practice area is great, although it is not a range it is a good alternative.”
Comments From the Crowd
Lou Stravinsky: I was wondering if there is a fertilizer schedule, so that we know when to wear our fancy shoes or some regular ones. Lou states that during last season, the bottom of his shoes turned yellow as a result of the fertilizer. Chris states that he doesn’t use granular fertilizer, which would possibly cause the yellowing. Chris states that there really isn’t a set schedule; there are target dates but ultimately it is done around the weather.
Mike Diaguardo: Mike asks Brit to explain where the $100,000 assessment money comes from. Brit states that the course assessment fee that is charged along with membership is to go to projects, decided on by the board, that will enhance the overall playability of BGC. The money is not to go towards any infrastructure related items. Joe states that in the past, that money has gone towards new tee boxes on 4 & 5, tree removal around greens and throughout the course, sand traps on 2 & 3 in recent years, etc.
The next meeting will be April 28th, held at the Village Community Center.
Brit concludes the meeting at 7:07PM.