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The “fall season of golf” is off to a great start. The weather has cooperated and the majority of the fall aeration has been completed. As I am finishing this letter we are waiting for the beneficial rain the Superintendent requested. The completion of the aeration was a team effort with Steve and his staff augmented by Todd and his staff and a hearty group of member volunteers. A few comments:
Gary Brenenstuhl won the best dressed contest.
You need to show up early for a “driving” assignment. If not you are relegated to pushing and shoveling plugs.
We may never get Mitch Johnson out of the John Deere tractor. The one with the AC and radio.
The strange lights on the course at midnight were the super punching fairways.
Our mechanic Joe is a man of few words!!
BSCC Annual Stockholders’ Meeting
Friday, October 14th, 7:00 PM
Please attend this important meeting, or send us your proxies
The date of the Annual Stockholders Meeting has been established as October 14th 2016 commencing at 7:00 PM in the clubhouse
The purpose of the Annual Meeting is to elect four (4) members for the Board of Directors who will be responsible to carry out the important work of operating your golf course. One vacancy is for a one year term and three vacancies are for three year terms.
Within the next few days all stockholders should have received the official notice with a proxy enclosed. If you do not receive your notice please contact the office. .
See you on the course.
Paul
Meet the 2016 Board Candidates
Mike Farina
Dear fellow members,
I am Michael Farina and I have been a member of BSCC for nine years. I am seeking your support for a second term on the Board of Directors. During my first term, I served in multiple capacities: as secretary, house chair and most recently as chair of the greens committee. I am proud of the accomplishments I was directly involved with- the Clubhouse renovation, course improvements and implementation of the bunker renovation project.
I am committed to making Ballston Spa Country Club a place that retains current members and attracts new ones. My goal for my next term is to continue to collaborate with our course superintendent to make course improvements and to work with the board and members to improve upon the social climate of our club. I believe continued collaboration between the board and members will result in continued growth of the club.
I am personally committed to the club and have completed many winter projects including constructing the tee catcher boxes, making and refinishing the tee markers and most recently the new maintenance-free vinyl hazard stakes.
Historically members seeking election to the board have always been present at the annual fall meeting. Please excuse my absence as my wife and I are celebrating our wedding anniversary. Thank you in advance for your support in my re-election to the board of directors.
Paul Steves
After much soul searching I have decided to seek your support for a second term on your Board of Directors. As a “snowbird” I questioned my availability to properly serve the membership. I have not missed a BOD meeting in my current term and believe I can continue to contribute. During my current term I have served as the Secretary for one year and as President for the last two years.
As a BSCC member for over 26 years I have witnessed the transformation of the golf course over the years from a “good” course to a “great” course and want to continue to be a part of our continued growth and success.
I am committed to continuous improvement in the most economically feasible manner. I believe as an organization we must strike the proper balance between membership benefits and the need for revenue from outside events.
I welcome the opportunity to serve you for the next three years.
Thank you for your consideration.
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The outlook for 2016 continues to look good and we fully expect to meet all of our bank requirements and end the year with an increase in our cash position. This months report is currently projecting an end of year balance of $68K, which is just over $11K more than the start of the year.
This is significant because we have made a number of improvements (bunker on 8, clubhouse) and had some emergent expenses (new A/C units, tri-plex mower replacement, root zone mix for sod farm) that we did not plan on. The fact that we expect to end the year with a positive cash flow is very good news.
Things will certainly slow down in September but we do have some significant tournaments so we are expecting September 2016 to be better than 2015.
This past August was a busy month and we exceeded the previous years green fee and cart revenue which is why our end of year position was increased from last months report.
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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The trees are turning colors, the weather is perfect and fall golf is here. Bring your friends, bring your family. The September prorated rates are in effect. Now is the time to introduce Ballston Spa Country Club to new members. As of 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.
2016 Membership Numbers By Month
Tuesday Night Men’s League – End of Season Tournament results
The Ballston Spa Golf Team received $300 from the day’s raffle. On behalf of the team and surely at the direction of his wife, Coach Cindy Walkinowski, Stan thanked league members for their generosity. Stanley by the way shot a tournament net score of 59 and attributed the results to his new found ball striking ability after recent lessons from Todd Manderson.
NENY PGA Professional Championship
Played at our course on September 6th and 7th
Todd did a two-day hole-by-hole scoring analysis for the 61 local pros.
Can you guess the 5 holes that played easiest and 5 most difficult?
Easiest – 8, 10, 13, 3 and 11.
Most difficult – 4, 1, 14, 15, and 2.
The pros praised the condition of the golf course.
Tournament Committee:
We had many comments this year by members regarding the number and scheduling of member and outside tournaments. The Board is interested in input from a committee that would review this as well as other golf related topics. We only need four to five folks who could devote a few hours a month to advise the Board and our pro.
Please consider joining the committee. Please contact me at jcody4@nycap.rr.com or (518) 944-4729.
Infrastructure
Committee – MEMBERS NEEDED
Let’s reestablish the House/Infrastructure Committee.
We all have thoughts and suggestions about our buildings. Needed are four or five folks who can advise the Board on the condition and ongoing needs of our buildings. The job is simple and requires minimal amount of your time.
As we come to the end of the season and preparation of next year’s budget, the committee would do a walk around of our facilities, prioritize the needs and make recommendations to the Board.
All season long we have enjoyed our renovated clubhouse. The cart barn and pro shop have been repaired and painted, as have the facilities on the course. Lets give the Board recommendations to continue the work begun this year.
If interested please contact me with in the next few weeks.
Dick Cody Jcody4@nycap.rr.com or (518) 944-4729
Ballston Spa High School Varsity Golf
It’s that time of year again. The Ballston Spa Varsity Golf team is back on the links. Thank you to all the members and staff for your support. Currently we are 3-3. We have a few more home matches, so come cheer us on.
Coach Walkanowski
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I am writing this fox article on the eve of aerification. Tomorrow we will begin with the front 9 greens and fairways. The process on the greens starts with first mowing the greens. This smooths the surface. Next we use our deep tine aerifier to aerify at a depth of 8 inches. This machine uses solid long tines to break up clay deep down into the green. Next we use a conventional aerifier to pull a plug ½ inch in diameter at about 4 inches in depth. The green is then cleaned up by shoveling up the material and hauling it away. After the surface is dry, the green is blown off and then rolled to smooth the surface. Sand is then applied to fill the holes. This sand that we use is USGA specific for putting greens and has worked well the past 4 years. Brushes and drag mats are used to pull and brush the sand into the holes. After fertilizer and seed is applied to the greens and the pin is reinstalled. With help of lots of volunteers, this extensive process goes very well. All the holes are filled with sand and the greens will recover pretty quickly. This process is extremely important for the health of the greens. The aerification process helps to alleviate compaction, removes organic matter, promotes root growth, and creates an opportunity for seed to germinate in damaged areas with good seed to soil contact. I’m sure everyone will agree that the greens have been really nice since the USGA visit 4 years ago. Their recommendations have been followed and have given us some beautiful playing surfaces.
The fairways are aerified with a larger aerifier run on the back of a tractor. ¾ inch tines are used for the fairways and go down into the ground about 4 inches. The plugs must dry and then an old fairway mower and a drag mat are used to pulverize the plugs. The thatch is then blown off the fairway and picked up with a collection machine. Because of the acres of the fairways we could not possibly do the same process to the fairways as we do to the greens. To try to pick up all the plugs on every fairway would take too long and is an enormous amount of material. Also the aerifier machine can only aerify an acre an hour and there are 20 areas of fairways. Topdressing the fairways would be beneficial but would require a huge amount of sand. So just the conventional method works well because the fairways have been looking very well over the past few years.
So there is a small glimpse into the process that we do. It is a huge undertaking to do this in house. Most clubs hire out the fairway aerification. This only works with perfect weather, lots of equipment, and your help. To complete the greens and fairways in two days is an unbelievable achievement. I want to thank all the volunteers for helping. It truly is a group effort to make the course look and play the way it does.
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Throughout history, the empires that have survived the longest, the regimes
that have demonstrated the greatest strength and endurance, the companies
whose product offering endured, even the recording artists who stretched their
careers to the limit, were those that always practiced self-analysis and the ability to react to the evident weaknesses of their ethos in order to implement diversification and thereby survive societal change.
Like golf. Over the years, golf has contemplated its navel on a regular basis and rid itself of those aspects that have alienated the general public, or at least made it the object of ridicule. The fact that golf is slowly overcoming its reputation as a rich white guy's game is not due solely to the Tiger Woods era, although he was certainly instrumental in picking up the momentum and broadening the scope of The Game's appeal across a broader socio-economic spectrum
Other pejorative aspects of golf have disappeared as well during the last few decades, such as the jokes about golf attire. No longer are golfers dismissed as geriatric peacocks wearing double-knit, Sans-a-Belt Day- Glo pants. Indeed, players like Ian Poulter and Ricky Fowler have brought Bright, Gaudy and Retro back into popularity after a quarter century of mockery.
It is because of this constant voluntary adjustment to societal metamorphosis that The Game's longevity and popularity persist. But if it is to survive or thrive, there are two issues that must be addressed. One is the rep for slow play. This matter is under constant scrutiny by almost all agencies in the sport, although less scru- tiny and more action on the problem would be nice. The other nagging problem is not so glaring but is on the horizon and begs our attention.
The problem is sensitivity. Golfers are becoming the butt of jokes that relate to their need for Bubble Boy conditions in order to perform. Perfectly manicured greens, rough that is "reasonable", total silence during their swing, the need for an uninterrupted pre-shot ritual, the inability to putt well with a glove on, the ever- increasing attitude that we have a right to a perfect lie if we hit it in the fairway, and the resultant prevalence of "Winter Rules" play.
Is this really necessary? I have often watched players, both professionals and weekend hackers, get flustered about some sort of movement in their peripheral vision, or an unexpected sound on their backswing. But these distractions matter only when they are seen to be caused by other human beings, be they fellow golfers or gallery members. These same golfers seem not a whit disturbed when a crow starts cawing loudly during their swing. Nor does the shadow of a suddenly swaying tree seem to matter. Yet they cannot walk up to a missed putt and strike it again without going through the superfluous protocol of marking, cleaning and re- placing their ball. Why is it that casual banter on the driving range, even the sudden movements of fellow hit- ters just a few feet away, doesn't seem to bother us? Only in the last few years do I and others I play with, wait for players on adjacent tees to tee off or start their carts before making our shots.
Think about this: brain surgeons perform much more important and intricate work than golfers, in an atmos- phere of noise and movement that would be unacceptable to most players.
We have taken the essence of the game and infused it with window dressing and unnecessary baggage that are slowly transforming it into a Japanese Tea Ceremony, where form is what matters and the perfection of procedural behavior in an established and predictable environment supersedes everything else.
Let's try and go out there and just whack it around a little more and worry less about which side of the flag Ralph's standing on while he tends the pin for us forty-seven feet away. It's a game, folks.
If we are to stay alive as a sport, we have to recognize the sport's shortcomings and change. |
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