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October Fox Newsletter
From Ballston Spa Country Club
Hopefully you have been able to get out and enjoy the great fall weather. The course is in excellent shape and the beauty of the changing trees is breathtaking. As I write this the weather looks like it will take a turn for the worst and we will be back to “Frost Delays” and “Fire Pit Weather”.
It has been a busy couple of weeks for all of us. Thanks to all who attended the Annual Stockholders Meeting on October 2 and to those that sent in their proxy. As you are aware the number of Board members has been reduced to seven (7). The Board lineup this year is as follows:
President: Paul Steves
Vice President: Cindy Walkanowski
Secretary: Roger Laime
Treasurer: Rick Funaro
Grounds & Greens: Mike Farina
Membership: Cindy Walkanowski
House: Don McCollum
Golf: Beth Todd
I would be remiss if I did not publically thank Bob Miskanin and Harry Talmon for their service to the club as Board Members. Bob served you for 6 years and his responsibilities were the House and Restaurant for 4 years and Greens and Grounds for 2 years. Harry served 1 term and responsibilities included Vice President, Insurance, Capitol District Golf Course Association and Executive Committee.
 
A follow on meeting was conducted on 9 October to discuss Restaurant Operations. As you are all aware the Board was researching again the pros and cons of the club operating the Restaurant instead of our current contract arrangement. This research was not from a displeasure with Kate and the current operation but a desire to increase the revenue stream to the club. Thanks to the many members who attended Friday’s meeting and to those members who took the time to send a letter or email with your thoughts and ideas. There are obviously members with strong feelings both pro and con. A special thanks to Dick Cody for keeping us on point and allowing all to be heard. The Board had their monthly meeting on Oct 13 and has decided to enter into negotiations with Kate for a contract for 2016. The Board will continue to explore the development of a comprehensive plan for BSCC to operate the bar and restaurant for the 2017 golf season.
After a tough couple of weeks I was pondering the other night just what makes BSCC “The Capitol District’s Best Golf Club Value! (no there was no drinking involved and yes my wife thinks I need to get a hobby). Immediately I thought of the challenging layout beautifully maintained at reasonable rates. Could it be that simple?? After some thought I came to the conclusion that what makes BSCC such a great place is you. You are the member who said I will take care of the new carpet in the clubhouse. You are the members who completed the NYS required Water Withdrawal Permit. You are the members who attend committee meetings. You are the members who answer the call for volunteers during aeration projects, green cover days, and project days. You are the member who takes his chain saw and helps maintain the course. You are the members who sees the Superintendent, crabs a cart, and fill divots because you have some free time. I could go on but you get the idea. I was going to try to estimate the total cost saving provided by our members this year but stopped when I passed the 25K mark. You are what makes BSCC so great. Thank you for all you do for your club!!
See you on the course and THINK SPRING!
Paul |
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On behalf of the Rider Family I would like to extend my deep appreciation to everyone who assisted and participated in the Memorial Golf Tournament dedicated to Mark's memory. Those of you who knew him know how much he loved the Ballston Spa Country Club.
With thanks and gratitude, Mandy Rider |
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Our revenue growth in the green fees and carts categories has slowed. While we continue to project an increase in revenue in those categories for the year vs. 2014, August and September were in line with the previous years revenue.
Steve is projecting to be on budget with his expenses for the year. There is a chance we will under run his labor budget since he has lost another employee due to medical reasons.
The Kubota front end loader has major problems and is not worth spending the money it will cost to fix. It has served us for a number of years and we will be looking for a replacement. That will be a big expense and one we did not plan on. Steve will be researching used tractors and we will have to make a decision on how much we can afford to spend.
We are optimistic about how well we did this year but this unexpected expense will require us to spend some of that cash we
We do expect there to be some small tax implications as a result of the very positive year we are having. I will be meeting with the Finance Committee to determine if any actions should be taken.
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.
Sincerely,
Rick Funaro,
Treasurer
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The clubhouse committee met for the second time on Monday, September 21st.
Heidi Harkins provided various spreadsheets that showed loan amounts and the dollar impact on our members if they were asked to carry the full debt load.
The minimum amount (for a single A membership) is approximately $250 to $300 per year for the length of a $750,000 loan. The low end represents a 25 year loan and the high end represents a 20 year loan.
The impact on a $1million loan is $350 to $400 per year.
The committee is reluctant to present anything to the membership where the full amount of debt is carried by the membership.
The committee will continue to pursue options on what can and cannot be accomplished with the various loan amounts.
We need to understand if we can expand our water line coming into the club. A new clubhouse or a significant renovation will require a sprinkler system which will require a larger water line coming into the club. There needs to be a minimum water pressure and it is not clear if that can be achieved even with a larger line.
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 |
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I would like to thank the membership committee for a year of hard work and commitment. The 2016 members were, Joyce Bassett, Dick Cody, Don Cramer, Bob DeMarco, Charlie Fricano, Rick Funaro, Heidi Harkins, Ruth Horton, Kevin Keelan, Garrett Kissell, John Lockwood, Don McCollum, Kate Oppedisano, Lauren Petraske, Beth Todd, Bill Tucker, Cindy Walkanowski (Chair), and Todd Mandeson (ex-officio).
We have met once a month over the past year. We were given the tasks of making a recommendation to the BOD for the annual dues rates, creating a plan to increase membership, and analyzing our current programs in order to retain our membership.
We took our tasks to hand and created an aggressive new member incentive program. The program helped to add 47 new members to the club this year. Our current members were able earn a discount to their dues for 2016 with their recruitment efforts. This plan should help meet our retention goals. Furthermore, the new member program was designed for members to reach full shareholder status over three years. This was designed for membership to be a long term plan as opposed to a revolving door status. Again, time will tell if our plan comes to fruition. Regardless, I believe the 2015 BSCC membership has increased with many new faces and much new energy.
The committee also reviewed and made recommendations to hire a new website designer. This has been another benefit to the club overall. The marketing for the club is more professional, and the ease of use to members is much improved. Our Facebook and twitter feeds have been very popular and have earned hundreds of followers.
With that said there is still much to do. We still need to market our club to a wider audience. We are working hard to not be the “best kept secret”. One event already on the calendar is to staff a table at the 2016 Golf Expo at the Saratoga City Center in March.
If you would like to join this committee, please let me know. Send an email to me at the Membership Director tab on ballstonspacc.com .
Please see the attached following numbers. Thank you for a wonderful season,
Cindy Walkanowski
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I just have a few updates for everyone. As I write this October fox the weather is a gorgeous 70 degrees and sunny. Days like this are soon to be rare. The fall season is in full swing. The trees are turning color and the temperatures are refreshing.
The entire golf course has been aerified and fertilized. It has been a lot of work but is extremely important. The golf course has healed up beautifully and is in good shape. The warmer temperatures have helped and a few rainy days have helped water in all the fall fertilizer. We also top-dressed the greens this week to smooth the putting surface. The sand helps fill in any depressions, ball marks, foot prints, etc. The brush we use to work the sand into the turf canopy also stands grass upright so the mower can cut it. All in all, I think we are in good shape. I am glad all the aerification is done. Now we can focus on just mowing and get ready for the falling pine needles and leaves. We try to keep up with keeping the course clean. It seems to be a daily battle and on a windy day is a losing battle.
The #8th fairway expansion is coming along quite nicely. We have just started mowing the entire area with a fairway mower. Now the entire area is at half an inch like the fairways. There are some areas that need to be raised to smooth the area but the expansion area doesn’t look too bad. It is difficult to blend a sodded area with seed area and have a smooth transition.
I want to say thank you to everyone that helped with the aerification process. The golf course is in great shape because the process was completed quickly and I could not have done it without you. Thank you again. I don’t think it could have gone any smoother than it did this year. Thank you also to the volunteers who helped on project day this past weekend. We were able to winterize all the flower beds around the clubhouse. Thanks again. |
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Merchandise Credit
All the credit on the Accounts are to be used for in stock merchandise with the exception of golf shoes. We will be able to order shoes for sizing purposes. Don’t wait. Come in and use it up while the supplies and the sizes last.
Golf Tip
I see many players do a lot of practicing on the range tee. One recommendation that I would like to say is to practice the short game. Players like to practice full shots for the majority of the time. If players take the change to put time into the short shots, the score that they shoot will eventually come down. Every player that plays golf will miss shots on the golf course. The saving of a round is determined by the quality of the miss hit shots. If the misses are straighter, this allows the opportunity to score lower to increase. With this being said, go out and put some time and effort into the short shots and this will definitely help the scoring efforts come down.
XMAS Gifts
We may be a bit early on this but wanted to make everyone aware that we will be open for Christmas longer this season. We invite all to check their lists and stop in for the golfer in your life to stuff their stocking with lots of golf paraphernalia. Gift Cards are also a great idea and have become quite popular lately. Stay tuned for times and days that we will be open.
Guest Passes
All guest passes that have been purchased or that were received for paying the dues early will expire at the end of the golfing season. Just a quick reminder to use them up, as they will not carry over to the following season. THEY EXPIRE AT THE END OF THIS GOLFING SEASON.
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Update from the Ballston spa Scotties Varsity Golf Team
Thank to all members and staff for your support of the Ballston Spa Varsity golf team. We finished regular season play with a record of 8-6. Six players qualified to play in the Section 2 Tournament at Eagle Crest. Graem Delong made the cut with a 79, and will continue his season at Orchard creek on Tuesday, 10/13 in the next round of play in an attempt to make the State team.
The team also competed in the 11th Ballston Cup tournament against Burnt Hills –Ballston Lake, led by Coach Dave Wellington, on 10/8. Ballston won the rubber match and now the trophy is held by Ballston Spa with 6-5 wins. Both teams enjoyed a fun celebration in Dozers with pizza and wings.
 
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It's been a great golf season, especially due to the wonderful weather. The next and final tournament of the season, is the Cross Country Event, scheduled for Oct. 31. We are planning to have more mixed events next year, and if you would like to be a part of the committee to develop these new events, please contact me by email at betht1275@yahoo.com. Enjoy the Winter and see you next Spring!!!
Beth Todd
Tournaments |
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Once again the hyenas of my neuroses have encircled a concept and will now proceed to badger it, nipping at it from all angles, until it collapses, spent from the unrelenting hectoring, weak from the loss of blood, and it passes, peacefully, into Truth, unhindered by logic, reason, or any form of intelligence. You still with me?
Today’s stalking has hunted down the oft repeated idea that Life is an abstract of Golf. However, many have also extolled the interconnection of Life and Love over the centuries, making them the inextricable Yin and Yang of our being, what separates us from the Simian Hordes hanging one-handed from Banyan trees, munching bananas, scratching their…... well, you get my point.
If Golf is Life and Life is Love, it follows then, that Golf is also the mirror gazed upon by Cupid.
To prove my point, I’ll relate a history of my Love Life. Or is it a history of my Golf Life? I’ll let you decide. I’ll tell you a story and you will be asked to fill in the blanks with which ever of the two words you think is appropriate.
It was my buddy Norbert’s fault. All of a sudden, in his early pubescent years, he started daydreaming in class and wasn’t available to spend as much time with me. After harrowing him relentlessly about what had happened to him, he confessed he had become obsessed with _____.
I was so compelled by his passion, I started thinking about it. Norbert said ____was the best thing ever, I should give it a try. He set me up and we went out as a foursome. I had never been so nervous.
The first few times were bumbling humiliations, but I felt the stirrings of What Could Be, and my devotion to _____ increased exponentially as I got more involved. As everyone knows, you can’t hit a home run on the first tee, nor can you get an ace the first time you’re at bat, but as my ardor grew, I knew it wouldn’t be long before I started scoring.
Inevitably, at the height of my early _______ Life, the inevitable fall came. As someone famous once said, “_____ is an exploding cigar that we willingly smoke.” Out of nowhere, my world collapsed. For no apparent reason, ______ decided to abandon me. I became depressed. I was so down, no one wanted to be with me.
Of course, with time my ____ Life was resurrected. As fast as it disappeared, it returned, although with some alterations in technique. This roller coaster lasted all through my salad days, with me making many changes, until one day I decided to devote myself to _____ completely.
This decision made me a more mature, stable person. The more my _____ life progressed, the less interested I became in the tinsel and shallowness of what I experienced in youth and started valuing my comfort, self-assuredness and happiness with a steady, semi-predictable and rewarding relationship with _____ that I cherish to this day.
Oh sure, there are times when the relationship gets a little rocky. _____ would be boring without some ups and downs to keep us on our toes and remind you never to take _____ for granted. But we all hang in there, never forgetting the great Truth brought to us by John, Paul, George and Ringo - All You Need is ______! |
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