|
|
President’s Letter for August Fox
Hard to believe we are past the halfway point in our golf season. The course has never been better and the weather has cooperated. Seems we get all of our rain in a short period of time and then it is back to great weather. (An example is this past Tuesday night when the sky opened at about 3:00 PM and we must have gotten at least a half inch in about 20 minutes. At 3:30 the first groups went off 1 and 10 and we finished in bright sunshine). It is getting dark earlier and the evenings have been cool. The Men’s Tuesday night league and Woman’s Thursday night league are winding down. We are talking fall membership specials and fall maintenance of the golf course. We have crowned our Men’s and Woman’s Club Champions for 2015. Congratulations to Dave Fizer and Susan Kahler for their victories and to all who participated. Special thanks also to Todd, Maite and staff for making Club Champion Weekend such a great event.
Mark your Calendar
The date of the Annual Stockholders Meeting has been established as October 2nd, 2015 commencing at 7:00 PM in the clubhouse. Please mark your calendar and plan on attending.
The purpose of the Annual Meeting is to elect one (1) member for the Board of Directors and to conduct other club business that the Board sees as necessary. At the conclusion of the election the number of Directors will have been reduced from the current 8 to 7.
No Director shall hold office for more than two (2) consecutive terms. A Director shall be elected and serve for three (3) years. Director Bob Miskanin is completing his second term and is ineligible to run. Vice President Harry Talmon is completing his first term.
To be eligible to serve as a Director you must have at least three (3) consecutive years of membership and be a Member in good standing. He/She must also own at least one share of stock in the club to be eligible to serve as a member of the Board.
If you are interested in serving on your Board of Directors, please let Laura know and send a short essay (no more than 250 words) and a photo to her at office@ballstonspacc.com. Platforms and pictures will be published in the September 15th Fox Newsletter in the order they are received.
Social Media
I must confess that I am not an expert on social media. My granddaughter helped me set up my twitter account as long as I promised not to “follow” her. What I can tell you is that Ballston Spa CC has both a Twitter and Facebook account. Both are linked to our website on the left side of the homepage. At the last look we had 187 followers on Twitter. Our Facebook page has seen more activity (must have something to do with demographics) and we currently have 594 likes. One post and pictures from the amazing back to back aces by Dan Loewenstein and Steve Ludwin on August 2nd reached over 8400 people. Additional posts, pictures and a Tucker article on the Times Union blog only increased our visibility.
So if you see anything unusual (picture of the cows got almost 2,000 views) snap a picture.
You know we are the “Capitol Districts Best Golf Club Value”. Help spread the word!
Follow us on Twitter - Like us on Facebook!!! |
|
|
|
|
We continue to generate significant revenue from green fees and carts. We currently are up $38K over last year. That is an increase of $5K from last months data.
In talking with Todd about the remainder of events for the year, we expect (if the weather cooperates) to continue to generate increased revenues over 2014.
While the membership committee has announced mid-season specials, we do expect to under run our membership revenue target by $10 to $12K for the full year.
We continue to monitor our expenses and we have not experienced any unplanned or unexpected expenses.
We continue to be very optimistic about how we are doing and how we expect to finish the year. We expect to finish the season with a significant increase to our cash position.
Based on the numbers to date and our financial projections for the remainder of the year, we fully expect to meet the bank requirements for our mortgage convenant for earnings.
Coming very soon to BSCC will be brand new 2015 golf carts. We were approached by Satch Sales regarding an opportunity for new carts. A golf club had ordered new carts and decided they could not take delivery of them. Satch Sales gave us an opportunity to get these new carts at no additional cost for the remainder of our current lease (which runs through the end of the 2017 golf season). The cost for the remainder of the lease period was less than $400 per month. We only make cart payments for 6 months.
You will know when they arrive because the carts we are getting are green. Todd and his staff are very happy to have these new carts since they have had a number of issues with our current fleet. Even though Satch is responsible for the repair, when carts are out of service, that can and has impacted the club.
If anyone has any questions and or concerns regarding our financial situation, please feel free to contact me any time. Also, if there is information that you would like to see in this report on a monthly basis, please let me know as well. I would be happy to look at adding information if that makes the report more useful to the members.
Sincerely,
Rick Funaro,
Treasurer |
|
|
|
|
I would first like to thank and introduce those that have volunteered to serve on this committee. The goal of the committee is to look at and consider all of the options available for improving our clubhouse. Those can be reduced to 3 options, a minor renovation that will improve the interior of the clubhouse but would not improve the infrastructure, a major renovation that would improve the interior and the infrastructure and finally, tear down the existing clubhouse and build a new one. The committee was in agreement that whatever option is ultimately approved by the membership, we cannot burden the membership with the debt incurred with any of the options.
The members of the committee are: Dick Cody, Jack Cottrell, Heidi Harkins, Rick Funaro, Todd Manderson, Pete McNamara, Tom Shannon, Al Squire and Doug Young.
We held our first meeting on Thursday, August 6th. We decided to focus on two of the three options I mentioned above. First, what do we think would be the appropriate size of a new clubhouse taking cost into consideration. It needs to be something we could potentially afford. Second, we also plan to reach out to the town of Milton building inspector. For a major renovation, we expect to be required to bring the building up to code in all areas. This would include plumbing, electrical, handicap access as examples. That has the potential to be a very costly proposition.
This is all going to take time but I will publish a monthly report in the Fox each month. However, there may be months where there is not a lot to report.
If you do have questions and or concerns, please don’t hesitate to ask anyone on the committee.
Sincerely,
Rick Funaro on behalf of the Clubhouse Committee
|
|
|
|
Here it is, late summer. It has been a great golf season so far, and there is still lots of golf to play. Hopefully you have participated in one of the many events that our club has to offer. There are still a few tournaments left, so be sure to check the calendar and sign up for an upcoming event.
Bring a friend. Sign up a new member. Since it is late in the season, we are having a late summer membership drive .
- New single members can join today for $850.
- Couples can join for $1350See the website for details or call the business office.
If you have not done so already, follow us on Twitter and Facebook. I was looking at the Fox from last year, and our goal was to have 300 likes. Well it has been a year later, and now we have had posts for 600 to 1200 likes. Join the party and read the posts.
Our Twitter account has 188 followers. Sign up and follow along. Tweet your news and retweet ours.
Enjoy the rest of the season and see you on the green.
|
|
|
|
|
It is hard to believe that it is already August. As I write this article, the Club Championship is being played. The course seems to be handling the summer stress quite well. The past month has seen some heavy rains which have helped keep the course nice and green. Those heavy rains don’t usually soak the golf course for very long because so much water comes down so fast that most water runs right off the surface and into low areas and the creek. The roads and bunkers have washed out several times in the past month as well from the heavy rains. This adds to our workload making it challenging to get everything fixed quickly and mow the golf course. I think all in all we are in pretty good shape. Our maintenance crew has done an unbelievable job keeping up with mowing and fixing the course after thunderstorms. Our new mechanic Joe has the mowers cutting beautifully every time they go out. A big reason the course looks as good as it does is because of their hard work. Thanks guys for all that you do.
Fall aerification is right around the corner. The entire golf course gets aerified every fall right after Labor Day. Labor Day is late this year. It falls on Monday September 7th. The front 9 greens and fairways will be aerified on that Tuesday - the 8th. The back 9 will be open for play on that day. The back 9 greens and fairways will be aerified on Wednesday - the 9th. The front 9 will be open on that Wednesday. Of course weather dictates if we can aerify. I need sunny skies to dry plugs and sand so if the weather does not cooperate then we will have to move our dates. Always check with the pro shop for any changes to the schedule. I will also need volunteers for all this work. Last fall we attempted to do the greens and the fairways at the same time which worked perfectly. By doing them together it prevented us from having to close the course two extra days. I could not have done all this work without your help. Tuesday and Wednesday mornings around 7:00 is where I need the most help. The removal of all the plugs on the greens is a massive job that requires lots of help. The more people we have the easier it is on everyone. So please come out and help. I would greatly appreciate it. In the afternoon Todd and the pro shop help me with fairway cleanup. A big thank you goes out for their effort as well. Last year’s aerification went smoothly because of all the help and I hope this year goes just as smooth. It really is a team effort to keep the golf course looking the way it does.
|
|
|
|
|
Once again I would like to commend Steve and his crew for the superb condition of our golf course. Job well done.
It is the time of year that we begin the aeration of the golf course. As always the schedule is weather dependant.
It is presently scheduled for the week of Labor Day, Sept 8 thru 11. We will again be asking for volunteers to help with the work to speed up the process. Email reminders will be sent to the membership. Thank you in advance for your help.
Some of you have noticed that the Blue and White tees on 17th tee have been moved together (like the 9th tee). This is to lesson the damage from normal play and allow the grass to return as quickly as possible. This has been working well on 9.
There were 2 Spruce trees on the right side of the 17th green (just after you cross the foot bridge). By the time you read this they will be gone. These trees do not come into play and were in very bad condition and could become a danger to anyone in the area.
Just to reassure everyone that it has not been forgotten, we are working on plans to complete the right side of the 8th fairway. The exact details have not been completed as yet, but, the general idea is to remove most of the pine trees, move the cart path to the right and possibly build a fairway bunker. Again the details remain in the works. We will keep you posted.
Thank you
Bob Miskanin
|
|
|
|
September Events
We will have many small groups that will be having their year end events at Ballston Spa Country Club this month so we ask that you please call ahead to make a tee time or online to book the time. This will make things much easier for all and allow all to enjoy the course at a time that they will be least inconvenienced. We are lucky to have all of these players play our facility as the condition of our course has gotten out and our outside play has increased significantly this season.
Calendar of Events
As the season continues to move on, we will still have some events on the calendar. All scheduled events are on the Calendar on our website so please continue to check these out as Member Events and Outside Events will continue for the month of September.
NENY PGA PRO LADIES
We have had over 40 events so far this season from the NENY PGA golf professionals to the juniors around the area. Many local players have had the opportunity to play golf here at Ballston Spa Country Club and the feedback that we have had is just overwhelming. The golf professionals have not played here in a few years and they were just totally amazed at the changes and the conditions of where we stand today.
Twitter and Facebook
We have had much notoriety and exposure this season on facebook and twitter for those of you who do not have a twitter account, I suggest that you get one. It is free to do and fun. Keeps everyone in tune and up to date with what is going on here at the club on a quick instant.
Golf Tip
With the Club Championship over now, I would like to mention that many players overlook the short game. Spend more time on the practice green and working on the chipping and putting. Always give it your best to try to and always putt out. All the little putts add up and are easier to make when you are used to doing it.
For future, use the putting greens to work on seeing that ball go in the hole.
|
|
|
|
|
This year at Ballston Spa Country Club
It's hard to believe that we are already talking about the September tournaments, as it seems like the season just got started. Unfortunately though, or fortunately for those of you that like to ski, our season in upstate NY is a very short one.
Upcoming events include the Women's Member/Guest on August 15th and the Mixed Member/Member on August 22. Please be sure to consider both these events, as they're always a great time.
Past results are as follows:
Men's Senior Club Champion
Championship Flight-1st Place, Brad Clark and 2nd Place, Don McCullom
1st Flight- 1st Place, Eric Zeh and 2nd Place, Bob DeMarco
President's Cup
Women's Champion - Sue Kahler
Men's Champion - Stan Walkanowski
Club Championship
Women's Division
Championship Flight- 1st Place and overall Champion, Sue Kahler and tied for 2nd were Kathy Harkins and Donna Nevulis.
1st Flight- 1st Place Gross, Kate Oppedisano and 1st Place Net Cindy Walkanowski
2nd Flight- 1st Place Gross, Pat Joseph and 1st Place Net Mary Assey
Men's Division
Championship Flight- 1st Place and overall Champion, Dave Fizer and 2nd Place, Mark Thornhill
1st Flight- 1st Place, Mark Belanger, and 2nd Place, Keith McNab
2nd Flight- 1st Place, Kevin Krogh, and 2nd Place, Steve Ludwin
3rd Flight- 1st Place, Pete Kanches, and 2nd Place, Randy McQuiston
4th Flight- 1st Place, Mike Radzevitch, and 2nd Place, Mitch Johnson
Congratulations to all the winners!! For a complete list of results please refer to the web site.
Enjoy the rest of this great Summer Season!!
Beth Todd
Tournaments and Pro-Shop
ub, text goes here........... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
