|
|
|
President’s Letter
Many of our members tell me that “Fall Golf” is the best season to enjoy our golf course. Unfortunately, we are still waiting for “Fall” and the bonus days of an “Indian Summer”. The weather certainly has not been our friend and the limited opportunities to golf will have an impact as Rick, Tony, Al, and Julia work hard on closing the books for 2018. As I write this the weather has resulted in the course being closed to all play.
Your Board, Committees, and Staff have remained busy with the planning and execution of all the tasks required to close out 2018 and position us for an early 2019 opening and another successful year. The approved 2019 budget provides a well thought out balanced budget and continues our conservative approach on projected revenue. The approved budget calls for a modest increase in membership dues and modest increases in our golf course expense lines. The 2019 membership rates have been posted on our web site.
COMMITTEES
Our bylaws delineate how we should operate our club and list some very specific requirements as it pertains to standing committees. The purpose is to involve more members in the business we own to deal with the various aspects of running our Club. The volunteers on the committees provide an invaluable service by being extra sets of eyes and ears and helps the Board hear the desires of a larger segment of the membership. The committees to be established are Executive Committee, Finance Committee, Golf Committee, Grounds and Greens Committee, House Committee, Membership Committee and Social Committee. Detailed descriptions of each required committee can be found in the members section of the web site. On an annual basis the President will solicit from the membership volunteers to serve on the Standing Committees. If you are interested in sharing your expertise on a committee, please email Julia in the business office or contact the Board member assigned to that committee.
“Smart Pass” Discounted Guest Passes
Last month I discussed the guest pass program which rewards members who commit for the next season early with “free” passes. Please refer to the Oct 15 Fox newsletter for the details.
We sometimes confuse the above passes with the “Discounted Guest Passes”, commonly referred to as the “Smart Passes”. These popular discounted guest passes are offered for sale for a week in December and a week in June. The Smart Pass includes cart and may be purchased for $35 from 10 December thru 17 December inclusive. Passes purchased in December 2018 expire at the end of the 2019 golf season. You can purchase your passes by calling Julia in the office or online at https://www.ballstonspacc.com/shop.
The discounted passes will also be available during US Open week in June.
Processes
Our unprecedented growth the past few years has not come without some pitfalls. I looked back at the slides from our December 2014 membership meeting and it indicated we finished 2014 with 209 memberships. If I have down the math correctly, we finished 2018 with 315 memberships and 375 golfers. This increase in memberships has not resulted in an increase of personnel to service the added members. Our dues have been kept at a reasonably low level due to the many volunteer efforts of our members at BSCC.
We continue to explore policy and administrative changes to streamline processes, take advantage of changing technologies and eliminate potential errors while providing you the best possible service. Some of these changes require us to do business differently and establish some “rules”. Philosophically the Board struggles with establishing rules but realizes we have no choice as we move forward.
Thank you for understanding and doing your part to help us keep our expenses in the office at a minimum and not overburden our volunteers.
THINK SPRING
Paul
|
|
|
|
November 18th, 2018
This month, I want to highlight changes in policy / procedures that have been approved by the Board of Directors, making sure the membership is aware of these important changes.
First, Paul highlighted in his October letter the changes to the guest pass policy and who will get them. I don’t want to repeat the changes here but if you are unaware of what they are, I encourage to go to our website and read the October Fox.
The Board has approved a 2019 budget and included in that budget is a 3% dues increase. For a single membership, the increase is less than $7 per month.
If our ongoing effort to maximize our efficiency in the Business Office, we have made a few changes for next year. For those paying dues monthly, all payments will be processed on the same day.
The same is true for those paying their monthly restaurant / golf shop charges by credit card. All of those payments will be processed on the same day, but it will be a different day from the dues payments.
The Board recently approved increasing our late fees for late payments. The new fee for a late restaurant / golf shop invoice will be $25, up from $10. The late fee for missing a dues payment will be $40, up from $25. We continue to struggle with late payments for our restaurant and golf shop charges. While we can and do take away golf, it remains a significant effort and the increase to $25 we hope will be more of a deterrent than the $10 was. If not, the $25 may be able to help offset some the the additional cost it takes to resolve these issues.
The increase in the late fee for dues payments was implemented to encourage our membership to stay current with their dues payments. It is very important as a club to know what our membership numbers look like in the February - April time frame. We often don’t hear from members until it is time to play golf in April. Therefore do not know how many members we can expect to have and that really hurts our ability to plan for the season. We have a budget based on a certain membership level and when we don’t know if we will reach that level, that makes spending challenging.
So I ask everyone, if you know you are coming back, please keep current with your payments. We have a number of options to pay your dues, please select one that works best for you. It would be most appreciated.
If you have decided not to come back as a member, we would also like to hear from you. We can then remove you from our system and prevent you from getting unnecessary mailings from the club.
The Business Office has become a very busy place pretty much year round. We are working to wrap up our 2018 season while getting ready for 2019. The 2019 invoices will be sent out in late December via email and by mail in early January. Between now and then, I will be working with Julia to review members invoices, ensuring that they are correct. For example, new members are in the correct year of the multi year special, JE are in the correct JE category based on their age etc.
For any member that turned 70 this year, please let the Office know since you now qualify for the Senior membership.
I will provide a financial update in our December Fox.
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
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well winter has arrived. I saw the first snowfall last Friday. It didn’t last long but we know what’s coming. All and all we had a good golf season. The golf course was in great shape, I met a lot of new people and I played better than past years. We continue getting new members which means the golf course is getting busier. Todd and his crew have done a great job trying to accommodate all the members getting them out when they want to play.
Steve and his crew are busy getting the golf course ready for the winter. I’m sure he will put it off for as long as he can to allow the die harts (jimmy) to get in that last round.
Todd will be having his annual Christmas sale in the pro shop sometime at the end of November or the beginning of December. So keep that in mind when you are looking for a Christmas present for someone.
Just a reminder that the October bills are due. Please pay these on time as we have to pay the restaurant and the Pro Shop by the 15th of the month following the charges. We still have several members whose bills are overdue.
Todd and I appreciate the good things you say about the pro shop and the job they do. Hopefully we have lived up to your expectations, we certainly try. Thanksgiving is just around the corner so at this time I would like to wish all of you a happy and healthy Thanksgiving.
Tony Lupino
|
November 2018
Membership
The golf season is winding down here in the great Northeast. I am hoping there are still a few more rounds to be played over the next few weeks, so I am not quite ready to put away the clubs. I’m sure I’ll see some of you out there on that next dry day. As for next year, it will be here before you know it. Below are the updated prices for 2019. The new applications will be printed shortly and posted on the website. If you know of any friends or family who are interested in joining next year, please contact Julia in the Business office to help with the application process. Until next time, enjoy the rest of the Fall season.
Membership Specials 2019
*34 years of age and over
Ballston Spa Country Club 2019 Rates
Unrestricted Membership
*Includes grandchildren, nieces and nephews
Ages for membership categories are all based on age as of 1/1/19
Fees subject to NYS Tax. For more information contact Business Office at (518) 885-1603
|
|
|
|
This less than perfect weather continues into November. I am not sure how much rain we have totaled this fall but it has to be a lot. I don’t really remember it ever being this wet since I’ve been working here. The constant rain makes it tough for us to accomplish things on the course. Some areas of the course haven’t been mowed in weeks. The leaves are difficult to move when they are soaked. We started next year’s green surround and that project is halted due to very wet ground. With colder temperatures moving in I hope we are not in for a record year of snow fall. I am sure you are as frustrated as I am with the weather but I guess we can’t do much about it. Some bit of good news is our golf course is in really good shape going into winter. Some of the wet areas are rutted up but the turf grass is very healthy and should be in good shape to handle the harsh winter months ahead.
We have started to put the golf course to bed this past week. We have sprayed all the short grass with a fungicide to help the turf against snow mold disease. The irrigation system gets all the water blown out so the pipes don’t freeze. The greens get another deep tine aerification and topdressing of sand. The past few weeks we were able to aerify the fairways. We used a solid aerification tines which helps break up the clay soils. The tees and approaches were deep tined like the greens were. With all the rain we have had, we were very lucky to have gotten all this work accomplished. I know that all this hard work will help keep the turf in top shape for next season. Greens covers will be next but we will just wait and see what the weather does for those. Keep checking you emails because I will need help putting those on. Thank you to the volunteers who help with these covers. The covers a lot of work but they ensure that we have good greens in the spring.
The next years green surround that is part of the 5 year program is number 4. A few weeks ago we started clearing the bunkers of all the old sod and old sand. We start with a clean slate and then go from there. The weather keeps us from continuing on this project. I was hoping to get a bunker shaped in but the ground stays muddy over there with all this rain. This is the project that will get completed next spring but I was just hoping to get a head start this fall.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
An article from the archives, circa 2007 and part of my book, How to Par the 19th Hole, which has 120 articles like this one, is available from the Golf Shop and would make a great Christmas present for a golfer. Proceeds from sales go to the Green Committee to be used for course improvements. Check out my blog in the Times Union for periodic articles not found in the book.
As much as I love golf, I’m not blind to its imperfections. I see a sport that, at the professional level, has been pablumized. I listen to post-round interviews and wait in vain for the great quotes of yesterday to fly from the lips of today’s stars. But no. What I hear is white bread platitudes of programmed bromides laced with clichés and prosaic blah-blah.
Hagan, Hogan, Trevino, Demaret, Rodriguez and a bunch of other professionals from the past were always ready to speak their mind and often what they said was not polite but it sure as hell was interesting. The prize money, the endorsements and the trend toward political correctness have all contributed to today’s homogenization of the golf Pro. Call it Promogenization.
Today’s pros are afraid of appearing too egotistical, too hopeful, too opinionated, and as such they come across as being too dull. Even John Daley has become predictably boring. We liked you better when you were really bad, John. At least you were different. Now you’re one of the herd, being shepherded through your career by Nike, Taylor Made and Loudmouth Pants.
I need to hear a golf interview, a golf commentary, that is full of spice and life. I’m tired of the “I just played it one shot at a time, playing within myself, hoping I can hold it together, give it my best shot,” crap that I hear every week. What I need is variety. The spice of life.
But the players will never go back to the days of candid, colorful quotes unless the money disappears. This leaves us with the commentators. Maybe there’s a chance we can revive the pleasure of watching a golf telecast by recruiting more eccentricity.
I need characters. Instead of Lanny Wadkins, I need Yanni Wadkins in the broadcast tower.
“You know, it seems like Lefty has formed a Karmic bond with his sand wedge. His negative energy has been transmogrified into a sort of retrocognition that has allowed him to exploit his Chakra and as a result his sand game is cosmic! He’s actually Shirley MacLained his Piscean reality into a plenary revelation of Propositional Truth, while opening his stance and quieting his hands, and the result is just a paradigm shift worthy of Carlos Castaneda.”
OK. This might be a tad radical, but really, don’t you get the whole idea? It beats the hell out of saying “He seems to have regained his former strength as a sand player.”
I need color. Instead of the monochromatic mouthings of Ian Baker-Finch, I need a real Aussie talkin’ to me.
“Lumpy’s got a bit of an awning over the toy shop, probably from hoisting too much amber fluid, but he’s a fair dinkum family man with two ankle biters, a boy and a girl, and a wife who’s so skinny she has to run around in the shower to get wet. He’s been practicing a lot lately, busier than a one legged bloke in an arse-kicking contest, and it shows in his short game. He used to feel like a pork chop in a synagogue with the flatstick, but he’s got nothing to winge about now, with a 1.77 rating in putting.”
Ian would probably mention that the player has happily settled down into family life and rededicated himself to working on the short game. Yawn.
I need good ol’ boy down-to-earth honesty. Johnny Miller gets a lot of bad press because he says what he thinks, but he never attacks anybody personally. That’s his only flaw.
“Tiger don’t practice so much ennymor. Use ta be bizzier’n a Wess Virginny Tooth Fairy. But he’s sho’ nuff dropped in the ratin’s since he ranched ‘is back two munts ago changin‘ the all in his pickup. He seems a mite tard and ain’t gettin’ ‘is rat hand oar fastenuf. Haze fattin’ the urge to thank too much. Needs to guzzle more bare if’n y' ask me.”
Jim Nantz would have said that due to an earlier back problem, the player has suffered in the ratings and still needs to overcome some swing flaws to get back to his game.
Back in 42 BC, Publius Syrus said that no pleasure endures, unseasoned by variety. He was probably watching a golf telecast at the time.
|
The Fox April 2003
The Treasurer’s Report notes that frozen pipes caused ceiling and wall damage, exit pipes were clogged by grease and corroded outlets were replaced in the dining room. New outlets and fixtures, the tracing of all circuits, new rugs, new TV’s, a painting, wood staining, computer upgrades and wireless computer access were all provided free by the membership. Income from Member dues and fees income was $639,505, cart and green fees $195,505 and golf course expenses were $318,429.
The new deck will be ready this spring.
Because of cold weather and persistent snow, it’s estimated the course won’t be open until late in the month.
Cliff Tironi, our restaurant (Putter’s Pub), manager, Published his menu for the year. A Caesar salad cost $4.25 and a hamburger was $4.95, a 14 oz strip steak with salad, potato and vegetables was $11.95.
The Fox May 2003
Roy Williams, Al Squire, Harold Van Earden, Don Welton and Tucker announce their candidacy for the board.
As of April 24, the Club has 264 memberships.
Laura MacNeil is hired for the Office Manager position vacated by E.D. Pellegrin.
Todd announces that the Golf Shop will be offering massage service on the range or putting green for $1/minute with a 5 minute minimum, provided by PJ Faulkner.
The Lottery System for weekend play is initiated.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
