Commission Members in Attendance:
Brit Lawlor – Chairman
Ron Krawczyk – Deputy 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
John Mackie – Assistant Golf Pro
Members in Attendance:
Tom Ford, Tom Hayden, Mike Aronsen, Mike Mislin, Neil Laskowitz
Motion to start meeting by Jeff Nagel, Ron Krawczyk 2nds it; accepted by Brit Lawlor. Meeting officially starts at 6:02PM. October Minutes are approved by Ron Krawczyk and Joe Dabrowski.
Membership & Marketing Report, presented by Jeff Nagel
As of September 1st, we have no gained 30 new members due to the Fall push. As we have addressed in previous meetings, 30 is our cap. In total, we have 415 members, which is much better than where were a couple of years ago. Currently, we do have a waiting list. Once the Spring comes and we determine how many members we lose, we will determine a hard cap.
Tournaments/Rules Report, presented by Joe Dabrowski
After discussing with Jimmy, I have a proposed tournament schedule for the 2019 season. New for 2019 would be a Mixed Pinehurst tournament in August as well as a Breast Cancer Awareness tournament which would run throughout the month of October. Most noticeably, you will see that each “major” tournament can be found on the last weekend of the month. We wanted to do this so that members can have a better idea of when the “major” events are. Brit Lawlor motions to approve new tournament schedule; commission unanimously accepts. Below is a month by month overview:
April
Masters Tournament – April 13th
Opening Ryder Cup – April 27th (9am Shotgun)
Greens Aeration – April 29th, 30th & May 1st
May
President’s Cup – May 18th & 19th
June
*Start of Men’s Match Play Championship – June, July & August
Team 4-Ball – June 1st
Thursday 9 and Dine – June 6th (5pm Shotgun)
US Open Tournament – June 15th
Governor’s Cup – June 29th & 30th
July
Men’s Member-Guest – July 12th (Course Closed)
British Open Tournament – July 20th
Thursday 9 and Dine – July 25th (5pm Shotgun)
Bishop Cup – July 27th & 28th
August
Ladies Member-Guest – August 6th (Course Closed)
Men’s and Ladies MGA/MetLife Net Team Qualifying – August 10th
Mixed Pinehurst – August 17th
Men’s Match Play Finals – August 25th
September
Member-Member – August 31st, September 1st, 2nd
Greens Aeration – September 3rd, 4th & 5th
**Club Championship Gentleman and Ladies – September 28th & 29th
October
Ryder Cup-End of Season Tournament – October 19th (9:00am Shotgun)
November
Thanksgiving Scramble – November 22nd (8:30am Shotgun)
Lastly, we are still waiting to hear back from the MGA/LIGA in regards to the tournament tee situation.
Men’s Locker Room/Food and Beverage Report, presented by Mike Cioffi
I have recently received an odd complaint in regards to the toilet paper in the Men’s Locker Room. A certain member requests that we get rid of the 1-ply toilet paper and upgrade to 2-ply. Tara ford responds by saying to have them bring their own. Other than that, Mike continues that in regards to the air conditioning in Peter’s, that Ray is going to speak to Gus about it. Mike does suggest a ductless unit for the grill room, but ultimately, Ray Fell will handle it.
Ladies Locker Room/Food and Beverage Report, presented by Tara Ford
All the women that Tara has spoken to have loved the golf course and locker room throughout the season.
Deputy Chairman Report, presented by Ron Krawczyk
First off, would like to thank Chris in regards to a fantastic season. The gratuity fund is going good as of now. Ron is expecting to reach the same amount as last year, if not more. Those checks should get out by early or mid December.
Chairman Report, presented by Brit Lawlor
Thank you to Jimmy and his staff as well as Chris and his staff for an amazing season. I recently spoke with Ray and I believe we should change the day of the commission meetings for next season. Ray is required to be at SCOVA meetings which also fall on the first of every month. Jimmy suggests that we do it on the last Wednesday of every month. Joe Dabrowski makes motions to vote, Ron K seconds his motion, and the rest of the commission follows. For next year, the first meeting is the last Wednesday in March with the last meeting being the October meeting.
Superintendent Report, presented by Chris Johnson
Looking towards next year, we plan on aerating the greens after Labor Day to coincide with the tournament schedule and have overall better turf management. The only thing that will stop this will be extreme heat, which would move the greens aeration back into October. Doing it during this time of the year, the greens should be back in roughly 10 days. This will give us 25 days until the Club Championship and the greens should be perfect.
As far as this year, when the weather is nice out, the course is packed but when it isn’t nice out, it pours; so we’ve had to deal with that throughout the entire Fall. When it has been nice out, we’ve been putting new sprinkler heads in the fairways as well as expanding them where we can. As always, with the Fall comes leaf clean-up and we’re continuing to add sand in traps. Since adding about a foot of sand to the back traps on 12, they have drained great. In speaking with the MGA officials when they were out here, they actually raved about out bunkers; said they were among the best that they have seen all season. Overall, we’ve had a great season and we’re getting better and better each year; keep the positive momentum.
Director of Golf Report, presented by Jim Von Eschen
In our upcoming Turkey Scramble, we only have six remaining spots left. Thank you to the Commission, Ray Fell and Chris Johnson for a fantastic year; all have been doing a great job throughout the season. As far as next season goes, we need to have hard numbers as far as membership caps go. The 2019 membership info went out earlier in the week. Twilight Pass will not be offered to Non-Residents and we are booked with the returning outings, minus one (St. Marks).
Comments From the Crowd
John Daley – In regards to the fairway bunker on the 15th hole. In the past, we have talked about the fescue around the bunker; the East side was to be cut and the South side was to be left with fescue. This past year, both sides were rescued for the entire season. Chris Johnson states that next year he will cut the east side of the bunker. He also states that it is time consuming and doing so will take away from time that can be dedicated to the greens, fairways, etc.
Tom Hayden – In regards to the bunkers, he states that the fescue on top of the traps gets out of hand sometimes. He says that they can’t find balls, it slows play down and there’s a chance that somebody can get hurt. Tom and his group aren’t having a decent time out there on the course because of it, specifically the bunker on the 11th hole. Chris Johnson says that it takes time and most importantly patient to grow beautiful fescue, and we’re close. Joe Dabrowski states that the left side of 13 in years past was very thick, and over time, following the program, it thinned out. Jeff Nagel along with Mike Aronson both agree that the fescue is needed in order to attract a younger member (due to a difficulty factor).
Mike Aronsen – The bridge from the 10th/11th tee to 10th green/11th fairway gets extremely slippery with all the recent rain that we have gotten. Will be a safety concern going forward if nothing is done. Jimmy says that Jason Crane and the Village Highway Department is suppose to powerwash the bridge three times a season.
Meeting concludes at 6:54