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June 15, 2018
GREAT START
The golf season is off to a great start. The golf course is in excellent shape and memberships are up. Participation in the Tuesday Men’s League, Woman’s Thursday League and the Senior Leagues on Thursday morning are all experiencing growth with new players. If you are looking to get into an informal group such as the Pile, Herd, Slugs, and Chicks please see the Golf Shop staff and they can get you set up. Our first Cocktail Tasting of the year had 95 Members and Guests sampling Margaritas on 1, 4, and 7. Oh, yes there was some golf played.
The BMW Member/Member weekend attracted 160 plus members with a morning and afternoon shotgun. Pictured below is the overall winning team of Paula Laime and Ruth Brady. Start packing your bags for Pinehurst!
Everyone who played was a winner and many members “cashed”. Players can review all the statistics, how close you were to winning your flight if Doug had only made that putt for a net 8, and lots of other interesting what ifs, on your Golf Genius app.
Speaking of winnings and pro shop credit, did you ever wonder how much you have in your account?? Wonder no more. Check out you statement online (membersection/view online statement/statements) and your credit book balance will be displayed
SPECIAL THANKS
A special thanks to member Luis Pabon for bringing the BMW Cup Sponsored by BMW of South Albany to Ballston Spa CC. The BMW Member/Member has, in my opinion, become the premier member event of the year. If you see Luis on the course be sure to say thanks and if you are looking for a vehicle check out BMW of South Albany.
WHERE HAVE ALL THE PLEASANTRIES GONE?
There has been quite a bit of discussion lately about respect and just being pleasant to all those around us. I like to think that when we are at the golf course we leave the stresses of the everyday world in the parking lot. In today’s society, it is rare to be recognized for hard work and dedication. It seems no one has time to say please or thank you. So please let me take this opportunity to say thank you to the following:
1. Todd and the Golf Shop Staff, thank you for setting high standards for the product we strive to provide to our members and guests. Providing organized and well-run events has become the norm at BSCC.
2. Steve and the Grounds and Green Crew, thank you for the vision of what BSCC can become and the ability to turn that vision into reality on the golf course. The old Army slogan “We get more done before 9am than most people do all day” also applies to our Grounds Crew.
3. Julia and Al, thank you for being polite, professional and caring to the members and prospective members. You are the first face they encounter and a “happy face” sets the tone. First impressions are lasting impressions.
4. To all committee members, thank you for volunteering to serve your golf course and for giving your time and effort to support those who may be abusive and unsupportive. Your feedback and recommendations to the Board are invaluable. You are making a difference and you are appreciated.
5. To all members, thank you for supporting your board, your course staff (Grounds Crew, Office, Pro Shop and Restaurant), for living in harmony with your fellow golfers and for volunteering where needed and being a positive influence in your golfing community.
DISCOUNTED GUEST PASSES
As you read this we are fast approaching the end of the popular discounted guest passes. Passes are $35 and include a cart and may be purchased from June 10 thru June 17 inclusive. You must be in the group using your passes. The Board approved changing the expiration date of the passes purchased this year. Passes purchased in December 2017 will expire at the end of the 2018 golfing season. Passes purchased in June 2018 will expire at the end of the 2019 golfing season. Plan accordingly and see the pro shop to get yours.
CALENDAR
The club calendar on our website has been updated with all known activities. Things change quickly so be sure to check back often. Below are a couple of important upcoming dates. Please mark your calendars.
16-17 Jun – Presidents Cup
28-30 Jun – Men’ Member Guest
6 Jul – Cocktail Tasting Event
14 Jul – Fun Day
21 Jul – Woman’s Member Guest
12 Oct – 7:00 PM 2018 Annual Shareholders/Membership Meeting
See you on the course.
Paul
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June 15th, 2018
We have continued to sign up new members, with over 60 this year. We may attract a few more but any additional signups will be small. As a result of our significant membership increase over the past 2 years, we are expecting approximately $580,000 in dues revenue this year. That would be the most we have received in the last 10 years. Our budget projection for this year was $560,000.
Our green fee and cart revenue for the first 6 weeks (mid April through May) is in line with previous years so I’m cautiously optimistic that we will achieve or be close to our budget for this year. However, all it takes if some rainy weather and we can fall behind quickly.
I will be working on our bunker assessment fee this month. In 2016, our assessment was 4% of dues for your membership category. In 2017, it was 3.5% and I suspect in 2018, it will something less than 3.5%. This will show up in your June bill, which will be mailed out in early July.
Just a reminder to everyone, that our billing cycle is within the first few days of each month, your bill for the prior month is emailed out to all members who have an email account. Within a few days after that, invoices are sent via US postal service (unless you have told us you only want to receive an electronic copy) to the address we have on record. Those bills are expected to be paid by the end of the month. If they are not paid by the 15th of the following month, playing privileges will be suspended until the bill is paid. If for any reason, you did not get an electronic or paper invoice, please contact Julia so we can determine why. Also, if you change addresses, the office needs to be notified.
With the significant increase in membership the last 2 years, some of our Friday and Saturday events are impacting more people and the Board of Directors is very aware of that fact. We have limited the number of events we have on these days but these events are very important to our overall success. Some of these tournaments have been with us during the difficult times and are large tournaments that can bring in $5,000 to $6,000 an event. It allows us to keep our dues increases very small and for a few years, we did not even have an increase. Our dues structure continues to be the lowest of any of our competitors and these events contribute to allowing us to achieve that.
As always, if you have questions on anything that I have mentioned or you have been wondering about, please email me (tucats@nycap.rr.com) or talk to me when you see me at the course. I would be happy to provide you any info you need.
Sincerely,
Rick Funaro,
Treasurer
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Well summer has finally arrived, and the golf season is in full swing. The golf course is in great shape and is getting a lot of play. We have about 25 more members so far this year than last year and potential new members inquiring all the time. This is great but it also means more people are playing. I’m sure you all read Todd’s e-mail concerning golfers getting playing time. Todd and his people do a great job trying to give all the members the tee times they want but sometimes it just doesn’t work. As he suggested, if you want to play, the best thing to do is call before you come and get a tee time.
Everybody should have the Ballston Spa CC App on one of their devices. If not you should get it. The App has several things on it including the calendar and it has all the prescheduled events on it. We want everybody to have fun and play as much golf as they can. We just can’t all play at the same time.
I hope you are having fun playing golf whether it’s in a league, tournament, event or just out playing for the fun of it.
As always if you have any concerns or questions please feel free to let Todd or me know.
Hit them long and straight but most of all have fun.
Tony Lupino
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Happy summer. Golf season is really here, and as you know the course is in full play. The word is out that Ballston Spa Country Club is the place to be. Below are the newest members to BSCC. Please welcome these members as you see them on the course.
Our membership recruitment appears to be working. The membership committee and BOD is starting to plan for next year and the years to follow. Our goal is to bring in as many new members, retain our current membership and have all of us get the most enjoyment out of the course.
Welcome Newest Members!!
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I just have a few updates for everyone. The weather this past month has been quite nice. We haven’t had any extreme weather patterns. It hasn’t been very wet or very dry. The temperatures have been moderate as well. The course is shaping up quite nicely. We are able to keep up with the mowing with the great weather. The new mowers have been working well. The greens mower, fairway mower and used rough mower all are greatly appreciated. Having reliable equipment gives us the opportunity to mow your course regularly without breakdowns.
Besides keeping up with the daily mowing we have been busy with the next green surrounds. If you remember we started the 3rd green surround at the end of last year. We worked first on the large approach bunker. After giving the bunker some nice lines and a good shape we sodded and put the liner and sand in. Next was the left side of the green. Mounds were created from the excess fill from the front bunker; we needed to lose the fill somewhere. This was a short haul for us and created separation between the 3rd and 10th holes. Once these mounds were created and raked, we sodded this area as well. We are currently working on the bunker on the right now. Once the sod was removed we began with shaping the bunker with our excavator. This upcoming week we will install the drainage, sod around the bunker, add liner, and finally add the new sand. I want to thank everyone who has volunteered on this project. I can’t do everything myself. My crew is always busy keeping up with mowing the course. Doing projects of this size in house is huge. Not many courses have the talent and or the help from their membership. Just by playing a temporary for a day so that I can work undisturbed is a huge help. Thank you membership for your patience during these large projects. We will complete this project as quickly as we can.
Just a friendly reminder that it is summer and you will see me out on the course watering and spraying. When it’s dry I water everything during the night and finish up early in the morning. Our system is older and has trouble keeping everything green on the entire course during hot dry spells. Overall it works ok for an old system. During the afternoons I may have to cool greens and hot spots in fairways off with some water. I apologize for this but it is necessary. As far as the spraying of the golf course. I try to spray well ahead of play to give a chance for the product to dry on the turf grass. The grass can frequently need plant protectants applied to them to prevent them from getting diseases. Fertilizer and wetting agents are also sprayed frequently. The idea is to spray at low rates in a proactive approach to stay ahead of problems.
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BMW of South Albany Member Member
We would like to thank all of the Participants and the Sponsor of Luis Pabon of BMW of South Albany for all of the support of the Men’s and Women’s Member Member Event. It was a great event and very fun for all. We had a very exciting playoff . The playoff between Ruth Brady, Paula Laime and Bob Steve, Terry Miltner was a great piece of entertainment for all who played in the Afternoon on Sunday. Ruth Brady and Paula Laime will be participating at Pinehurst in August for the National BMW Golf Cup Championship. Congratulations to them. The winning Net team for Ladies were Megan Squires and Mary Lynn McKee who played a great round of golf on Day 1. Kathy Harkins and Donna Nevulis fired a 3 under par for the 2 Days for the Ringer Event in the Gross Division. Matt Bradt and Grant Bode played well for a 10 Under Par 2 day total for the Men’s Low Gross Champion. We had many Fight winners in both Gross and Net and all of the Results can be found on Golf Genius. We payed out over $12,000 in Prizes to the Event. Thanks for all of the support and a great time was had buy all.
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The Fox
All Tournament Results Reported Here Include Only Current Members for the Sake of Space
August 1999
We expect to reach our Member Cap of 400 next year.
A request for card games to be allowed after the Tuesday Night League was denied. We need to be a private club to allow the combination of gambling and liquor on the premises.
A dowser was brought to the course to determine possible sources for additional water. The dowser's findings will be verified by a second dowser. The 11th pond was pumped down and allowed to refill to measure the flow. The flow rate did not warrant using the pond as an additional water source.
The USGA Green Section Advisory Service Report was received.
Highlights:
• course is in very good condition, many improvements have been made
• #16 has poor root development, suggests tree and brush removal and regrading to allow more cupping options
• #'s 12 and 17 greens have few cupping options, suggests enlarging #17 to the back right
• practice green needs to be larger
• many tees are not level - tee renovation needed on #'s 1,2,6,9,10, 13, 15 and 16
• #8 fairway has crabgrass
• ash tree on left of #6 should be removed (2nd time for this recommendation)
• drainage needed on #3
• #10 could be enhanced with fairway bunkers
• bunker in front of #9 is badly designed - replace with several smaller bunkers
• maintenance budget is small compared to other local courses
Tournaments
Sue Kahler's team won the Women's Scramble, Jeri Carr's team was 2nd.
July 4th Mixed winners were Max and Bill Tucker, Paul Steves was 3rd with his partner Mimi Jakob
Women's Member Guest, First Flight: 1st gross: Max Tucker, Roxanne Andrews and guests. 2nd:Kate Oppedisano and guests. 3rd Net: Pat Stack and guests. Second Flight Low Gross, 1st: Sue Pollard and guests.
Women's Club Championship, First Flight:1st: Sue Kahler, 2nd Sue Mansfield 3rd: Pat Stack.
Men's Club Championship: First Flight: 3rd: Jim Oppedisano Second Flight: 1st: Rick Funaro, 2nd: Dick Cody, 3rd: Pete Kanches Third Flight: 3rd: George Mahoney
Fourth Flight: 1st: Win Wachtel, 2nd: Rich Flavin Fifth Flight: 3rd Don Gallagher
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It was the second round of the 2018 BSCC Member/Member. He'd just birdied the last hole, so there was no question as to who had the honor. I looked down the fairway of the dogleg left and saw not a soul, yet there was no indication that either the Birdie Man or his partner was about to tee it up. A mystery. I didn't want to sound pushy by saying "You're up!" so I just said, "Nice birdie!" hoping one of them would get the hint. My only reward was, "Thanks."
Then Birdie Man turned to his partner, who was in a better position and said, "Can you tell if they're off the green?" I groaned inwardly. It was the 358 yard dogleg left 4th hole and Dan Nesti wanted to make sure he didn't hit into the foursome ahead of us. On the 4th green.
"You guys can go ahead if you want," he suggested. I considered responding with, "No, that's alright. If I don't choke down on the driver, they may still be in my range on the 5th tee if I fly the green. I'm struggling with my distance control these days." But they'd seen my game, such as it is, and I wasn't sure they would appreciate the dungeon sarcasm.
Three holes earlier, I'd had my best drive of the year on #1, leaving me with 124 yards to the pin. I hadn't seen either Dan or his partner, Tom Madden, hit their tee shots (I was mooching some Tylenol from the Golf Shop for a wonky back), and as we walked down the fairway I saw my partner walk up to one of the two balls I saw in the fairway. I turned to Dan, pointed down the fairway to the other ball and asked, "Is that you?" His response was, "No, that's your ball. I'm in the rough adjacent to your ball."
Then, as I proudly stopped beside my ball, he walked another forty-odd yards to his, barely in the rough and giving new meaning to the term "adjacent." I gave him points for his diplomacy; not all men, especially young men like Dan and Tom, have a honed sense of tact when they unintentionally humiliate a geezer. I had to restrain myself from asking if he'd hit driver, knowing that if a fairway wood or hybrid was involved I would forever regret my curiosity. Oddly enough, he never asked me what club I used for my drive but I was ready to claim I'd hit my Jumbo 7 wood. "124 yards is a good number for me," I'd say, "I'm pretty confident with my 64 degree wedge."
It was at this point that I spied Tom's drive. No wonder I hadn't seen his ball. I'm not in the habit of looking at a spot about four yards from the end of the fairway when trying to locate tee shots on #1. I estimated it to be about 315 yards. Jeez.
We all witness the rot, but it happens slowly as we progress(?) through our golf life. What makes it worse however, is playing the same course up to 80 times a season for 27 years, as I have. This means you have a constant yardstick to measure the advancing stages of your game's putrefaction (mine is just wrapping up the maggot stage and entering the dry decay process). I know exactly which clubs I used for any given shot on our course at any given time in my membership at BSCC.
It's very discouraging.
As the holes got longer and the hills got steeper each year, I would attribute the phenomenon to Continental Drift but now I 'fess up to reality. I now concede that, in truth, climate change has somehow caused a high wind to be in the golfer's face on every hole except #9 when the pin is up front. That's when you get that rare, strong tailwind.
I've been accused of being cynical (as I watched my tee shot on #13 roll into the cup many years ago, I complained about being deprived of much needed putting practice), but I'm now trying to seek out the silver lining in any way I can. And so, on one hole in the Member/Member match, when Dan, Tom and I were on roughly the same line on the green, I was first to putt and rolled it five feet past the cup. Both of their putts came up inches short.
Waiting for them to putt out, I leaned casually on my putter emulating Arnold Palmer, trying unsuccessfully to hide a smug grin. "Outdrove the lads once again", I thought. "That'll show you. Young whippersnappers."
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