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The outlook for 2016 continues to look good, we fully expect to meet our bank requirements and end the year with a reasonable cash position. This month’s report is currently projecting an end of year balance of $61K. This number does not reflect the $6K we spent for a used tri-plex mower. We received the invoice in August and that will be reflected in next month’s report.
We continue to analyze our green fee and cart revenue each month. This past month our numbers were a little below the previous July. As a result, we did lower slightly our projections for green fees and carts for the end of the year. We will make adjustments each month as necessary.
We have had a number of new members join at the halfway point of the golf season and as a result, we have exceeded our budget projection for membership dues. While that is certainly good news, we do have associated expenses as a result of our membership recruitment fees which impacts our net revenue from dues.
For those wondering about the new entrance sign I have mentioned in the past, we have a preliminary design and it is being reviewed by the Board and Green Committee and we will provide feedback and seek a final design. I’m still hopeful we can get this completed this year.
I hope everyone saw the payment terms that are now included at the bottom of your monthly bills. If not, go back and take a look at your bill. It is very important that everyone is aware of these policies. We do not want to see anyone have their playing privileges suspended for nonpayment. We do continue to have members on the no play list each month that we turn over to the Golf Shop. They are charged with informing members that they have an outstanding balance and are not allowed to play until the balance is paid.
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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It is that time of year, and no matter how hard we try, the earth continues to rotate on its axis and the days do get shorter. However, there is still lots of golf to be played. Some even say it is the best time of the year for golfing. I think those people are the happy retirees. Currently, we are offering prorated rates for new members. The rate is 50% off the regular price. Beginning September 1st, the rate will be prorated by 75% off. We would like to get new members to experience our club, and come back next year. Remember, current members who sign up new members may be eligible for an incentive next year. Please call the business office for complete details of membership.
GOLF
Member Match Play
You may remember a few weeks ago Todd emailed members asking if anyone was interested in a home and home match with a reciprocal course in the Utica area. Fifteen of our members responded yes within an hour. The Utica club did not have enough members interested and the event was cancelled. Not to pass up the opportunity for a little fun and 19th hole bragging rights, Todd responded with a match play team tournament for our guys at our course.
Using Golf Genius, the pro shop will assist and is encouraging you to put together an informal event with a small group and enjoy one of the benefits of club membership.
Stay Hydrated
In Early August I was playing with a member who was overcome by the heat and humidity. Gary “Mambo” Krohl to the rescue!! Within a few minutes Mambo showed up with water, ice and a cold wet towel and drove the member immediately to the air - conditioned clubhouse. Thanks Gary and Larry D for the quick response.
Alternate Tees
Hopefully you have noticed the Aqua block tee markers on 15 of the holes. Holes 6, 11 and 17 use the existing red/gold tees. The pro shop has scorecards and a sheet with tee locations. A few members have reported that they have more fun playing from the alternate tees. We need your feedback. Please take a minute and give the pro shop a written comment or send it to me at jcody4@nycap.rr.com.
INFRASTRUCTURE
Volunteers
What would Ballston do without such a dedicated group of our members who freely donate their time and talents on important projects for our course, grounds and buildings. In September, all our volunteers will be invited to a social to say thanks.
Please Watch your email for date and time.
Hand Dryers
Well Bobby D and Danny M, put your head under the new dryers and enjoy. Other than the fact that they will save money, are noisy and do dry your hands, other comments? I am sure I will regret asking that.
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Hard to imagine that it is the middle of August already. This season started real early but has seemed to fly right on by. The course seems to be handling the summer heat quite well. There are a few brown spots out there but those areas will recover when the weather changes and the cooler weather of September arrives. The high amount of play the course has received this season has also taken its toll on the course. There are a lot of ball marks on the greens and divots in the fairways. I don’t think it is overwhelming considering the amount of play. I must commend the players for keeping up with divots and ball marks. Thank you.
I want to remind everyone that September is our aerification month. Due to the tournaments scheduled after Labor Day this year, we will have to push our aerification to the week after. So the front 9 greens and fairways will be done Monday the 12th and the back 9 will be done on Tuesday the 13th. We cannot possible aerify every fairway in those 2 days so we will grab some before and after those days. Also the tees and approaches will be done at a later date. This is a huge undertaking for us to accomplish every year but is one of the most important things we do to give you the best conditioned golf course. The golf course will NEVER be completely closed due to aerification. When we are working on the front 9, then the back 9 will be open. When we aerify the back 9, then the front 9 will be open. Aerification can only be done with good weather. If it is cloudy or rainy then we will have to postpone till the next day. PLEASE always check with the pro shop before you come to the course. Emails will go out on any changes to the schedule. Hopefully the weather will be sunny and dry so that we can get the majority of the golf course aerified that week of the 12th. Thank you for your patience.
I need volunteers for helping with the aerification of the greens. The past few years, volunteers have helped clean up the plugs off the greens. This speeds up the process and ends up giving us the time we need to get every hole filled with sand. My guys and I are not spending most of the day cleaning up plugs. I hope that people can help. The more hands we have the easier it is on everyone. We start at about 7:00 in the morning and we are usually done around 11:00 both days. It is a team effort to keep the course looking the way it does. I hope you can attend if only for one day. Thank you.
I still want to get started on the sod nursery behind #14 greens. Hopefully I can begin in the next week or so. Irrigation needs to be installed. A root zone mix will then be spread at a depth of 4-5 inches. The area will then be leveled and will be ready for fresh plugs from aerifying our greens. The plugs will be taken from the greens and immediately spread thin and rolled and then watered. As long as the plugs don’t dry out they will survive and give us the same makeup of our current greens. Half of the sod nursery will be maintained at greens height and the other half will be at tee and collar height. This sod can be used to expand greens, tees, and collars and or used to fix damaged area throughout the course.
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Bunker Renovation Project
Summer is almost over and the course is in great shape. If you see Steve or one of the crew thank them for a great job on keeping our course in beautiful shape. You may notice that the 1st cut is back. We purchased a new used 1st cut mower and it works great.
Ball Marks
Please repair ball mark on the green. The course is getting a lot of play. If we fix our own ball mark and one other the green this will ensure that we have the best possible playing condition on our greens. The attached link provides the proper way to repair a ball mark.
http://www.gcsaa.org/course/communication/informationforgolfers/repairing-ball-marks
Divots
Now that the season is well under way please make sure to replace your divots or use the divot sand that is provided on all carts. Those that walk divot mix is available on the wall of the pro shop. If anybody would like to fill divots on the course please contact Steve or myself and we will arrange time and divot mix for you.
The high school golf season will be starting soon and the varsity high school team will be playing their home matches at BSCC. Good luck to Coach W and the team, Hope you have a great season.
The fall project day will be planned at the next greens committee. Will notify the membership of the day and time. Hope to see you at there.
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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.
Golf Tip
With the Club Championship now over, players can really see how important the short game is. Practicing putting out all of your putts on a regular basis is a very good thing to get in the habit of doing. This will make you a better tournament player and allow you to become a tougher competitor in a pressure situation. One other area to focus on is the ability to know how play the golf course backwards in order to hit the club into the green that is your strength. Having the short shot into the greens may not always be to your advantage if it gives you an anxious feeling over it. So I recommend calculating your distance to allow for your comfortable shot into the green.
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.
Club Championship
This was one of the most attended club championship fields that we have had here in a long time. I would like to thank the membership for all of their support of the club events and feel that we have a very active and involved membership and that is a very good thing to allow us to continue to grow. Nice Job Members
BMW Bike Raffle
We will be selling raffle tickets for a BMW Bicycle that many of you have seen on display in the Golf Shop. We would like to thank Luis Pabon and BMW of South Albany for their continued support on our events and the facility to help us enhance it. The funds from the Raffle are yet to be determined as to what they will be used for but it will definitely for something to help us enhance Ballston Spa Country Club for the future.
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Things seem to be going along pretty smoothly with the restaurant.
A meeting of the restaurant committee was held on the 18th, with all 3 principals of Henry's present. Some suggestions were made, with several either in place or scheduled.
Breakfast sandwiches on the turn have been well received, along with a more consistent cart schedule. They are also considering a "Pig Roast" in September.
The logistics of the "Martini Tasting" are still being worked out between Todd and Henry's.
I've heard good feedback on outings and tournaments as far as the variety and quality of the food. Henry's did an outstanding job with the ladies Member/Guest.
I just wanted to mention that the gratuity is not automatically applied to your bill, so please be generous with the wait staff. They work hard to assure we all have a good experience in the clubhouse.
As always please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns/
Beth
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One of the joys of golf is playing different courses. Although my home course is Ballston Spa Country Club (The Capital District's best Golf Value), my friends and I take regular road trips, mostly to one of the other clubs we have reciprocals agreements with , or another course we are interested in playing. Golf courses are void of strict construction standards and other than the size of the hole I can't think of any other aspect that has to adhere to strict, measurable standards.
Having said that, there are accepted principles that make the golf experience better and these conventions have evolved over centuries. Let's look at the fundamentals most golf course architects deem necessary for the perfect course.
To begin with, the most important factor is that the golf course reflect the region it's in. A links-like course bordered by rich greenery and towering trees is an ambivalence that just doesn't work, much like tinted water grottos and cascading waterfalls on a Las Vegas track.
The next item (and remember, we're talking about courses constructed to maximize the pleasure of all levels of skill), is that there are no forced carries over hazards that can't be handled by high handicappers without pro- viding a bailout option for short hitters. Ideally, there should also be a run-up option for most if not all green approaches. Only a small percentage of weekend amateurs can play helicopter golf.
The hole par variation standard is 2 par 3's and 2 par 5's on each nine, and the opening and closing hole should not be a par 3. There should not be consecutive par 3's or par 5's. The 10 par 4's should vary in length with no two consecutive holes being close to the same length. Obviously, holes 1,9,10 and 18 should be close to the clubhouse. Par 3's and par 5's should be laid out in as many directions as is feasible so the golfer isn't facing the same wind direction on these holes. Routing should acknowledge the statistic that 80% of golfers slice and most are right-handed. Don't put the majority of your hazards and
OB stakes on the right side of a hole.
Other considerations include making sure the first hole(s) aren't facing due east into a rising sun nor should the final couple of holes be facing the setting sun. In addition, the fewer holes you have running east/west the bet- ter, especially if they are bordered by tall trees, depriving them of the southern sky sunshine they need to flour- ish. Doglegs should show as equitable a distribution as possible, meaning there shouldn't be a lot of them and they should vary, both left and right.
Tees and greens should not have trees within 60 and 90 feet respectively especially on the east, south and west. All greens should have several potential pin placements in areas with no more than a 3-4% grade in a six foot diameter around the hole, meaning a player should be able to stop the ball by the hole. Watching a 25 foot putt almost stop by the hole, then run another 25 feet past (or back to you) is a guarantee for golfer frustration.
Fairway bunkers should be visible from the tee and bunkers that are a long way from the green should have an appropriately shallow configuration with a low lip. Fairway landing areas should be 45-70 yards wide.
Greens should be located reasonably close to the next tee to encourage walking and walking should always be an option for anyone who wants to play the course. The rough bordering the green fringe should be of reason- able length, requiring a degree of skill but shouldn't be so long that golfers of every skill level are penalized for the heinous crime of missing a green by a couple of feet. Greens should vary in size and degree of undulation.
The practice range and putting green should be close to the golf shop/first hole. Cold beer should be readily available.
There are many other factors involving drainage and other technical considerations but these are the basics if you're thinking of building your own golf course. In the meantime, think about the course you play. How does it hold up to these standards?
Tucker is a golf blogger for the Times Union and has published two books, both of which are available in the BSCC Golf Shop
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