October 26, 2022
Commission Members in Attendance:
Brit Lawlor – Chairman
Ron Krawczyk – Deputy Chairman
Kevin Lauretti – Handicap/Course Assessment
Joe Dabrowski – Greens
Jeff Nagel – Membership/Course Assessment
Mike Mislin – Violations
Mike Cioffi – Men’s Locker Room & Beverage/Special Projects
Others in Attendance:
Jimmy Von Eschen – Director of Golf Bob Scalia – Member
John Mackie – Assistant Golf Professional Michelle Lemoal-Gray – Member
Chris Johnson – Golf Course Superintendent Arlene Trigg – Member
Ray Fell – Mayor/Member Pat Lavelle – Member
John Daley – Member Pat Comiskey – Member
Mike Dioguardo – Member Mary Butler – Member
Gabe Gallo – Member Sally Hayes – Member
Maureen Veitch – Resident Mary Lou Keating – Member
Motion to start meeting by Jeff Nagel 2nds it; accepted by Ron Krawczyk. Meeting officially starts at 6:01PM.
Men’s Locker Room & Beverage/Special Projects Report, presented by Mike Cioffi
Mr. Cioffi begins by bringing up the air conditioning issue in Peter’s on the Green from earlier this Summer; Mike states that Gus is looking for a new AC unit but will discuss more in the Spring of 2023. In regards to the erosion project, Mike says that the preliminary permits were filed and we are now waiting on DEC. Jim Von Eschen states that with the rain from Monday, the canal was just about up to the front of the 10th green. Lastly, Mike says that the new Pro Shop buildings are still in the beginning phases.
Violations Report, presented by Mike Mislin
Nothing to report.
Handicap/Course Assessment Report, presented by Kevin Lauretti
With the capital assessment project, Kevin mentions that we are trying to get our chipping areas under control. He mentions that while speaking with Joe and Chris, due to budget, we will have to do in pieces. The first area of focus will end up being the back of the 4th, the front of the 5th and possibly the back of the 6th green. Both Kevin and Joe say that everything will be done to improve airflow and drainage. Kevin passes the attention to Joe, who states that they are looking to remove all the trees, shrubs and vines that are behind the 4th green and along the cart path to the 5th green. Once it is cleared, they will assess the area and replace with plantings that will help this airflow issue, thus creating better turf in these surrounding areas.
Greens/Course Assessment Report, presented by Joe Dabrowski
Continuing from his earlier point, Joe mentions that roughly 4 years ago, Ed Santalone and our grounds crew installed a French drain in the front of 4. When they did this project, they found a significant clay layer which was prohibiting drainage. They replaced the area with better soil and as a result, better turf came from it. The reason Joe is bringing this up, is because they believe this can also be the reason for the water buildup in the front of 5.
Deputy Chairman Report, presented by Ron Krawczyk
Ron keeps it short, stating that gratuity cards have been sent out already, thanking those who have already sent in their money. He also thanks the Pro Shop for helping remind the membership about the gratuities.
Membership Report, presented by Jeff Nagel
Mr. Nagel begins by stating that billing has gone out a couple weeks ago with 62 payments already coming back in. As far as the waiting list, Jeff says we have about 260 currently on that list. Jeff reminds everybody that in order for that list to start to diminish, we have to have current members leave the club; last year we had 5 leave. Mayor Fell jumps in to state that at the end of last year, the Village called everybody on the waitlist and only 3 individuals asked to be removed. Ray continues, stating that as far as the golf course is concerned, the Village couldn’t be in a better position.
Chairman Report, presented by Brit Lawlor
Mr. Lawlor mentions that he only has 1 leave request and then 2 amendments that he is looking to add to our bylaws, with the help of Tara Ford. The first leave request is from Bobbie Bauer, who states that she has not been able to play since July 7th due to an arm injury that she has and she is looking to transfer the rest of her dues (from the July 7th date) into the 2023 season. Brit states that they will prorate her 2023 dues from that July date.
Secondly, Brit brings up the 2 amendments to the BGC bylaws. He states that Tara has helped with the wording and thanks her for her efforts. He notes that both will be voted on tonight.
Amendment 1
Except to the extent otherwise required by law, these Bylaws may be altered, amended, or repealed, or new Bylaws may be adopted at any regular or special meeting of the Golf Commission at which a quorum is present, by the affirmative vote of the of a majority of the commissioners in attendance, provided that proper notice of the proposed alteration, amendment, repeal, or adoption is contained in the regular notice of the meetings provided to the membership.
Amendment 1 passes unanimously.
Amendment 2
A leave of absence may be granted, upon request to the Golf Commission, prior to the start of the new golf season (April 15), for the following reasons:
- Medical
- Business
- Financial
All members requesting a leave of absence prior to April 1st must pay a $500.00 non-refundable deposit. Should the member return to the club during that year, a credit will be given for the deposit and the balance of the membership cost shall be prorated based upon the date of return. If the member does not return during that year, the deposit will be credited to the next calendar year dues or forfeited.
A leave of absence may be granted, upon request to the Golf Commission, between April 15th and June 30th. If such leave is granted, 70% of the paid membership will be credited to the following season. No leaves of any kind will be granted after July 15th. All leave requests must be accompanied by supporting documentation, the sufficiency of which will be determined in the sole discretion of the Golf Commission. Once a leave is granted, a member will have no playing privileges for that year, as a guest or otherwise. Any member on leave found to be playing during that year will forfeit the 70% credit for the following year and will be required to pay all dues in full upon returning to membership.
Amendment 2 passes unanimously.
Brit states that the medical leave, especially late in the season, has gotten out of control in recent years. He continues to reiterate the point that many of these late season leaves are people who tend to go South for the Winters. Both amendments will go into effect for the 2023 season.
Superintendent’s Report, presented by Chris Johnson
Chris begins by stating that he doesn’t have much as we are now in the Fall. He continues, mentioning that we’ve had 7.5 inches of rain recently and asks for a little patience as him and his crew put the course back together. Lastly, Chris states that they are just doing their normal Fall cleanup – cutting down fescue, cleaning up leaves and cutting the course.
Director of Golf Report, presented by Jim Von Eschen
Mr. Von Eschen begins with an outing update – he says that we have been extremely busy with outing the last two months, with rain coming during almost every one; the most recent outing even took vouchers. Jim would like to thank the membership for dealing with all the rescheduled outings throughout the Fall. Looking back on the year’s tournaments, Jim says that we were up 10% in member tournament participation, with the Ryder Cup concluding our tournaments for the season. Jimmy states that the Black Team, captained by John Mackie, dominated the day. Lastly, he says that Ryan Stanley could not be here tonight to present the 2023 Tournament schedule, and will do so at the next meeting.
Comments from the Crowd
Michele Lemoal-Gray – Michele begins by saying that the women are here, to bring up some issues that the women have, specifically with how the Club Championship was held. She states that many of the women did not chose to play due to the way the flights were broken down. The flights were broken down by handicap, with indexes lower than 18.4 playing in the Championship Flight and those with indexes above 18.5, playing in the Women’s A Flight. Michele states that the WMGA has regulations in which competitive golf is held; the WMGA consider an “A” player to be anybody who has an index 14.1 and below. A “B” player is considered to have a handicap index from 14.1 – 23.5. Michele states that anything above that 23.5 index is considered a “C” player. She continues to say that the manner in which BGC conducted the Club Championship, placed some of those “B” players into the Championship Flight.
Michele states that the Ladies of BGC would like the board to consider, for Club Championship and all club tournaments, to breakdown the flights following the WMGA format.
Championship Flight: 14.1 and below
Women’s A Flight: 14.2 – 23.5
Women’s B Flight: 23.6 and above
Michele continues, saying that the Championship Flight would play the WMGA tees while all other flights would play the Red tees. Many of the ladies in the room, according to Michele, would’ve had to play in the Championship Flight, from a tee in which they normally do not play and she believes there would have been much more participation if the flights were broken down by her suggestion. Brit Lawlor asks Kevin Lauretti how many of women of BGC carry a handicap of less than 14; looking over the handicap report, Kevin states that this year, only 6 women carried a handicap less than 14.1. Jim Von Eschen asks how many women are on the WMGA team from Bellport; Michele answers that 10 women participate. Jimmy then asks if all those players carry a handicap of less than 14.1; Michele says they are not. Lastly, Jimmy asks what tees are played in the WMGA matches (they play the WMGA tees) and what the difference between the WMGA matches and the Club Championship are. Kevin steps in and says that the difference between the highest handicap index and the lowest index in the Men’s Championship Flight was 8.9 and on the Women’s side it was 9.1.
Brit says that he will meet with Ryan Stanley and Kevin to discuss and when Ryan presents the tournament schedule at the next meeting, we will have an answer. Jeff Nagel jokingly asks to put Kevin and Mike Auerbach in their own flight too. Kevin ends with saying that the goal is to have more participation throughout the events.
Pat Comiskey – Pat says that for the last two years, there are more women who play golf on Thursday, rather than Tuesday. She states that they would like Ladies Tournament Day to be switched from Tuesday to Thursday. Pat states that due to the women playing in other leagues on Tuesdays, WMGA competitions, Cross County events as well as women who are working, all contribute to this increase in play on Thursdays. Mike Mislin brings up the fact that the Pro Shop blocks off more times than actually needed on Tuesdays whereas the women are getting their own times on Thursdays. Mike continues that Thursdays seem to be a much busier day at the golf course, compared to Tuesday, and blocking out those extra times would take away from potential members playing. Jimmy mentions that years ago the Ladies Tournament Day would take 5 hours to play, causing other members to complain to the Pro Shop, this caused him to block off those times. Jimmy then says that he doesn’t see an issue at the time, to switch them to Thursdays but with the caveat that the rest of the membership go out 20 minutes after, rather than 40 minutes. Brit asks Michele if this has been discussed with all the women of Bellport Golf Club, not just the ones that are present; Michele says that it was discussed but not with everybody. Brit says that they will discuss as a commission.
Lastly, Pat asks for an additional forward tee box throughout the golf course, which has been discussed in the past. Kevin says that part of getting rid of the 4 sets of tees, would be to re-rate the course from 5 teeing areas with only 3 sets of tees (front, front-middle, middle, middle-back and back). Pat says that she would like an additional tee, in front of the Red tees or the future “forward” tee. Brit states that realistically, we can not build/maintain an additional set of tees but if they we’re to add another teeing area off to the side of the fairway (but still in the fairway), that can be done.
Meeting concludes at 6:46PM.