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 Hope you have found time to get out and enjoy your golf course. The course has “healed” from the beneficial aeration and is in excellent shape. Looks like today will be hitting 80 and the “The After League, League” will enjoy another bonus day.
Annual Stockholders Meeting
Thanks to all who attended the Annual Stockholders Meeting on October 14 and to those that sent in their proxy.
The purpose of the Annual Meeting was 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. There was 3 vacancies for 3 years and 1 vacancy for 1 year. Unfortunately, only 2 candidates were nominated, Mike Farina and myself, and they were elected by acclimation to a 3 year term.
That left 2 vacancies on the Board. Our bylaws state, “If a vacancy occurs among the Officers or Directors during any given year, the Board may appoint a Member in good standing to fill the position until the next annual election, at which time there will be a new election to fill the balance of the term of office”. The Board appointed Dick Cody and Sue Kahler to fill the 2 vacancies and they will serve until the next annual election.
This was followed by a few quick briefs (Rick, Cindy, Steve and Todd) and a Question and Answer period. We appreciate your concerns, ideas, and feedback and as the Board deliberates issues you can rest assured that your thoughts are championed.
The follow on annual meeting of the Board of Directors and the election of Club Officers required by the bylaws was held. The Board lineup for this year is as follows:
President: Paul Steves
Vice President: Cindy Walkanowski
Secretary: Dick Cody
Treasurer: Rick Funaro
Grounds & Greens: Mike Farina
Membership: Cindy Walkanowski
House: Roger Laime
Golf: Sue Kahler
This was also the last meeting as a Board Member for Beth Todd. Beth held many positions during her term on the Board and spearheaded our search last year for a new restaurant operator. I know you join me in thanking Beth for her service to BSCC.
Meeting Season
As the golf season winds down we enter what I affectionately call the meeting season. The Board will hit the ground running as we work to close out a successful 2016 and plan for 2017. The many standing committees will be meeting to provide broad recommendations to the Board in there respective areas of expertise. This will culminate in the December Informational Meeting scheduled for Dec 4th at 12 in the clubhouse. Please mark your calendar and plan on attending.
THINK SPRING!!
Paul
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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 in excellent financial shape. This month’s report is currently projecting an end of year balance of $48K, which is about $10K less than we started the year with.
This is significant because we have made a number of improvements (bunker on 8, clubhouse, clubhouse renovations) 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 such a positive cash position is very good news.
The Board understands that we need to do a better job of managing the outside tournaments, but those outside tournaments were critical to our success this year. All totaled, we spent $51.6K in improvements and emergent needs and this would not have been possible without the revenue outside play generates.
Our membership dues revenue continues to decline as a percent of total revenue. This year it was approximately 52% of total revenue, the lowest it has been for at least the last 12 years.
As recently as 2012, dues revenue made up over 60% of total revenue. Dues revenue in those years was anywhere from $540K upwards to $570K. That is significantly higher than the $490K and $496K we have had the past two years. Outside play and tournaments are used to cover the significant shortfall in dues.
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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As the golf season begins to wind down, the membership committee is getting revved up. As we begin the budget process for next year, we will evaluate our membership status. The committee will look into membership growth and retention. It takes many minds and different ideas to reach our goals. If you are currently on the committee, please let me know if you plan to continue for another year. If you are interested in joining us, please let me know. Here’s to another great year.
House
Volunteers
40 Volunteers who contributed their time and talent for the betterment of our club enjoyed socializing for a few hours at the club in September. Unfortunately many of volunteers including 28 of our female members were playing golf out of town that weekend and missed the event.
Within the past month, members painted the clubhouse and the restrooms on the course and aerated the greens and fairways. Here are a few pictures to show you -volunteers definitely make a difference at Ballston Spa.
The Superintendent called it “organized chaos”.
Mary & Max admiring the finished product.
Nothing better after a hard day’s work!! You earned it.
Please watch for the announcement on Project Day. There are a few important smaller projects in the clubhouse that we need to tackle before the winter.
Aqua Tees
Some comments to date: like the new tees; can make the green in regulation; averaging a stroke less per hole; how about 18 hole hybrid set up with aqua tees for some holes and green/red for the other holes; and, would play the aqua more often if they were rated.
The aqua tees will remain in place for next season. If USGA re-rates our course, we would certainly want the Aqua and any hybrid 18 holes rated.
Golf
2016 NYS Women's Senior & Super Senior Championships
In late August, several of our women golfers played in State Senior Championship at the Whiteface Club. They represented Ballston Spa with some excellent golf. Congratulations to all our players.
In the Senior Division Sue Kahler came in seventh out of 60 players followed closely by Cindy Walkanowski and Mary Assey.
In the Super Senior Division Kate Oppediasno and Max Tucker tied for second out of 50 players with Joan Taylor, Suzie Mansfield, Gail Brophy and Pat Joseph all scoring among the top 20 players.
RYDER CUP
"Look at the two pictures. Guess who won? Yes you are correct the women edged out the men 22.5 to 17.5. In the four nine hole matches over two days, the girls won the better ball and the alternate shot of partners. The guys won the scramble and single matches. Certainly some excellent golf and fun by all. Congrats to our ladies."
Hall of Famer
Congratulations to member Todd Duval. If you missed the October 11, 2016 Sports Section of the Schenectady Gazette, Todd was installed into the Shenendehowa Hall of Fame for his outstanding play on the basketball court during the 1988-1990 seasons. His 258 assists (as a much slimmer Todd) in his senior year remains as, “….a school record that’s never been threatened.”
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We finished our fall aerification last week. The greens and fairways were done several weeks ago but we still needed to finish some approaches and the tees. The course has healed up nicely. The weather cooperated nicely and everything went about as smooth as it could go. I had lots of volunteers and we could not have done it without them. Big thanks to Todd and all the volunteers.
We used the greens plugs on our new sod nursery. A good root zone mix was leveled ahead time to create a good base. Fresh plugs were collected off the greens and then spread all over the surface of the nursery. The area was then seeded with bent grass and rolled. The plugs started to grow very quickly and the seed has also germinated. We have already mowed the sod nursery as of this past week. I am very pleased with the sod nursery. It will take some time but the surface will get smoother and smoother. The goal will be to use this sod for future green expansions and or be able to fix damages.
Now that the aerification process is done we can start the bunker renovation project. We started with the 9th hole. The sod around the bunkers will be removed and the sand will also be removed. New sod will be placed around the bunkers and a liner will be lined in the bunkers. Finally new sand will be added. All the green surrounds that have bunkers will have the same type of renovations. The greens committee has selected the 9th and 1st holes to be completed this year.
We appreciate your patience as we work on these renovation projects. There will be a temporary green on the hole we are currently working on so the work will not halt play. So come out and enjoy the course while the weather is still nice. Thank you to the volunteers who are helping with this course improvement project.
It's hard to believe it's mid October and the course activities are winding down. Next weekend coinciding with the end of season cross country event, Henry's will be holding their first annual Halloween Party!! I'm sure this promises to be a very lively night!!!. Henry's will stay open through the golf season, but once the course closes, they will only be open for a few catered events. I want to thank them for giving us a great 1st season.
This will be my last Fox article as my term on the board has ended. I want to thank you all for your support and ideas, and special thanks to the restaurant committee. As you probably realize, we're now still shy one seat on the board. I would like to encourage someone to come forward, as even though it takes time and hard work, it's a great way to be a part of the decision making at Ballston Spa. If you want your voice to be heard, please consider stepping forward!!
Thank you
Beth Todd
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 Okay, I admit it. I'm a hypocrite.
Over the years, as I've watched others scale mountains using no safety devices, watched people throw themselves off cliffs and sail through the air subjecting themselves to the whims of the Air Current Gods and willfully spelunk underground caves that involve swimming through tight channels to get to a rumored safety chamber, I've called them idiots, or worse.
Despite this aversion to self destruction, I recently agreed to a similar activity. It involved a late fall eight mile hike carrying weights up and down significant changes in altitude, walking through dense, high grassland, and navigating vast regions of sand. On top of this physical challenge, I was assured I would experience despair, remorse, calling out for my mommy to save me, and high anxiety on a regular basis throughout the 5‐6 hours of Hell and would, at the conclusion, be put on suicide watch, once the EMS squad confirmed I was still alive. Yet I didn't hesitate to agree to participate in this demoralizing, Death Wish Activity.
That's right, folks. I'm playing Bethpage Black this week and I'm carrying.
Shortly after I announced my intention to take this challenge on, I noticed my wife, The Amazing Max, looking up the Blue Book value of my car on line. When she learned I'd be playing the Red Course the day before the Black, she put in a call to our golf club's office inquiring about a single membership for 2017 and much too casually asked me if I thought it would be okay to wallpaper my office. She suggested a floral design.
I get one day off for physiotherapy and counseling, if and when I get back, before I have to play in our club's version of the Ryder Cup, a two day event pitting men against women, involving unbelievable trash talk, demeaning tee prizes and bragging rights that last a year. It's going to be a tough five days but at least I'm beginning to empathize with the generally sane, grown men who voluntarily agree to try and outrun several two thousand pound bulls through narrow, crowded cobblestone streets.
Watch this space, as they used to say, for updates on both activities. But if you don't see anything within a week, check out the obituaries.
10/14/2016
I'm back.
The trip got off to a fascinating start when the morn‐ ing of my departure our house alarm went off at 5:30 AM and we immediately got a call from our security service telling us to evacuate the house because oth‐ erwise we would die from carbon monoxide poison‐ ing and the fire department would soon be there. I had to leave very early to get to Bethpage for our tee time but the volunteer fireman who showed up didn't seem fazed by the fact that I was dressed in shorts and polo shirt, ready for the links at 5:45 on a dark, cold October morning. As it turned out, it was a false alarm due to an expired sensor but it got the adrena‐ line going early.
Our first 18 was the Red Course, which some reviewers had said was as good as the Black but none of our foursome from BSCC (Rick Funaro, Ed Lake and Tony Merola) agreed.
I hit a total of 1 green in regulation all day, but was saved by 14 putts on the front and ended with an 84. The goal was to break 90 on the Red, 100 on the Black. It was evident that this course was played over 50,000 times a year (our course does about half that number), with many unrepaired ball marks and hardpan lies in well traveled areas but it was still a great experience.
The next day was The Black. Most of the reviews estimated the walk to be about 8 miles (due to some long green‐to‐tee treks plus the course length), over topography that had many hills equal to our 13th and 15th, so I opted to carry a Sunday bag with 9 clubs, reasoning it
would be easier on the guys
The Green
when they had to lug my lifeless form from the 12th hole back to the clubhouse before resuming their round.
The Black is simply phenomenal. The layout is exceptional, with no two holes alike and many were bunker‐protected elevated greens. Really elevated.
Steve Solsky had alerted the Black's superintendent that we would be there and he met us on the third hole for a chat. On the next hole, I had a great tee shot (for me) and then proceeded to visit three large bunkers before finally bringing the hole to its knees with my final, ninth stroke.
The 18th at Bethpage Black
Despite the quad, I finished with an 87, surpassing my goal, tired but happy, knowing that next time I could shoot a 78 if I just skip the fourth hole.
Tomorrow and Sunday the quest continues as we take on the BSCC Women in the Ryder Cup. Our tee prize has been de‐ signed to be as demeaning and demoralizing as possible, something that they not only expect but strive to exceed with their tee prize.
As if The Black hadn't reduced my self esteem enough for one week.
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