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 As we enter the fall season of golf I thought I would start my letter off with a picture taken by Kevin Keelan last October. The weather has cooperated and the fall aeration has been completed followed by a beneficial soaking rain. Fall certainly is a great time to enjoy the beauty of our golf course. Fall is also a very busy time for the Board of Directors and our Committees as we close out a very successful 2015 and plan for 2016.
Welcome to our new members and be sure to say hi and welcome them to the BSCC family:
- Jose and Vilmary Fuertes
- Bob Steve
- Bill Sullivan
BSCC Annual Stockholders’ Meeting
Friday, October 2nd, 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 2nd, 2015 commencing at 7:00 PM in the clubhouse. Please mark your calendar and plan on attending.
By now all stockholders should have received the official notice with a proxy enclosed. If you have not received your notice please contact the office immediately.
The purpose of the Annual Meeting is to elect one (1) member for the Board of Directors At the conclusion of the election the number of Directors will have been reduced from the current 8 to 7. Director Bob Miskanin is completing his second term and is ineligible to run. Vice President Harry Talmon is completing his first term.
See you on the course.
Paul
Meet the 2015 Board Candidates
 My name is Roger Laime and I would like your support in my candidacy for the Board of Directors at the Ballston Spa Country Club. My family and I have been members since 2008 and feel that the course is impeccably maintained and offers unique challenges each time we play it. In addition to the course, the members are a key aspect that attracted us to the BSCC, everyone is always friendly and quick to offer a kind word.
Throughout the years, I have tried to remain active and involved in club activities. I have been active on various committees, have been a regular participant in work projects each year and assisted in the recent installation of the fire pit. While I don’t always get to play as much as I would like, I have tried to play in as many tournaments as my schedule allows.
I have an engineering background, working on highway, civil and bridge replacement projects all over New York, Vermont and Canada for over 32 years. I also am a Planning Board Member in the Town of Malta, served as the Chairman of the Malta Downtown Planning Committee, served on the Malta Highway Garage Relocation Committee and served as a Board Member on various professional organizations. I believe that my logical approach to problem solving will be a benefit to Board and subcommittees and will provide a positive benefit to the membership and its objectives. My goals as a Board member would be simple, promote new membership, reduce operating expenses, maintain the course and facilities and reduce the member’s annual contributions.
I ask for your support in seeking this position. It is through the collective voice of the Board that creates the positive direction for the membership and I would be honored to be your representative and present your opinion.
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We continue to project an increase in our green fee and cart revenue, well above our budgeted amount. August was the first month where we did not exceed our numbers from the previous year. August 2015 was in line with how we did in August 2014.
Our membership numbers are pretty much final and we are about $12K under our budget.
We continue to monitor our expenses and we have not experienced any unplanned or unexpected expenses with the exception of purchasing fill that was dumped and graded at the end of the practice area. This fill may be used later on other areas of the course.
We continue to be very optimistic about how we are doing and how we expect to finish the year. We expect to finish the season with a significant increase to our cash position.
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.
There has been no additional meetings to discuss options for our clubhouse. A meeting has been scheduled for September 21st.
Sincerely,
Rick Funaro,
Treasurer
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The golf season is slowly winding down, but there is still a lot of golf left to play. The membership committee has been meeting on a monthly basis throughout the year to review membership policies and enrollment. We know that the choice to join a golf club has been diminishing over time and we have worked tirelessly to make the experience at Ballston Spa Country Club the choice for you. We have surveyed new members to evaluate their golf experiences. We also have been focusing on policies that will retain our current membership. Our goal is to make Ballston Spa Country Club the choice for you and your friends. Attached is a chart showing the change in membership throughout this year. As you can see our membership has grown this year. We plan to continue this path next year. Please continue to spread the “best kept secret “ of Ballston Spa Country Club to your friends. Remember, our best advertisement is our membership.
2015 Membership Numbers by Month
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I just have a few updates for everyone. The greens and fairways have just been aerified this past week. This important cultural practice is always scheduled for after Labor Day. Other than record heat, the huge project went quite smoothly. We had lots of help from volunteers and the rains held off until later in the week. I want to thank all the volunteers because without them the amount of work could not be done and the quality of the massive job would not have been as good. There are only so many hours in a day, so without all this help I would have had to rush the job and the course would not look so clean afterwards. All the holes would not be full of sand on the greens and there would still be debris left on the fairways. The volunteers helped to make this aerification look as professional of a job as possible. Thank you all.
Here is a brief description of the greens aerification process:
- First we mow the greens to smooth the surface.
- Next we deep tine the green with long solid tines to break up deep clay soils about 10 inches down into the soil.
- Next the Toro aerifier pulls a plug about 3 inches in depth to remove organic matter and make a hole so sand can go into the surface of the green.
- The cleanup crew pushes all the plugs off the green and shovels the plug into carts so they can be hauled away. The plugs are put into a pile so they can decompose and eventually make beautiful topsoil.
- Next a brush is used once the leftover debris has dried. This brush loosens any plugs that may have been left behind from the cleanup crew.
- A large blower is then used to blow off the green of any leftover debris.
- The speed roller is then used to smooth the surface of the green. It becomes very bumpy from all the aerification machines.
- Topdress of the sand is next. The idea is to apply enough sand to fill all the holes but not over apply because it ruins the mowers.
- Once the sand dries then a brush is used to brush the sand around and fill all the holes on the green.
- Lastly the green is then fertilized and the cup and pin is installed back into the green
 The fairway aerification process is very time consuming because of the large acreage. The fairway aerifier can only aerify about less than an acre an hour. There are 20 acres of fairways at BSCC. That takes time just to pull your plug. Then you have to dry the plug and pulverize the plug to get all the dirt off. Then the fairway has to get blown off clean. It takes some long hours and lots of equipment and operators to complete the fairways aerification. Thanks to the weather cooperating and the help from volunteers we were able to complete all these steps. Some of the small fairways, the tees and approaches are all that is left to aerify. These can be completed in the next few weeks and we will not need to close to complete these areas. The plugs will be collected and saved for future projects.
Thanks again to all the volunteers. |
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This year, once again, we all got to enjoy a fantastic golf course. This is primarily due to the never ending work of Steve and his crew.
The aeration of the course went well. We had a good turnout of volunteers, so the work moved along very quickly. We completed the entire golf course (greens and fairways) in 2 days, the 2 hottest days of the year of course. Again this would not be possible with out members help. Thank you all.
We will be planning the usual Fall Project, but the date has not been set at this time. We will keep you posted.
Many of you have been asking about the plans for the right side of the 8th fairway. Last month I included the preliminary ideas for the work.
The general idea is to remove most of the pine trees
Grade the area and add fill to build small humps and tall grass
Move the cart path to the right and possibly build a fairway bunker.
These are general ideas, but nothing has been finalized at this time. If you have suggestions, please talk to a member of the Greens Committee. Again, we will keep you posted.
Thank you
Bob Miskanin |
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From The Golf Shop
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.
Merchandise Credit
All the credit on the Accounts are to 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.
Club Championship Results
For all those who have not seen the Results for this, you can find on our website under tournaments and Outings under results.
Congratulations to Overall Women’s Club Champion Susan Kahler and Men’s Club Champion David Fizer. Also to all the flight winners Kate Oppedisano, Pat Joseph, Mark Belanger, Kevin Krogh, and Mike Radzevich.
Golf Tip of the Month
We all know that Bob DeMarco has had some problems in the past with his short game, Specifically his chipping. The method that he is using now is actually a very good way to practice your short shots. Try chipping the ball with just your trail hand. Right hand for right handed players and vice versa for lefties. It is a good way to learn the process with out getting too rigid with your wrists. This will allow the wedge to create the proper angles in order to have the bounce of the golf club engage for a crisp solid contact. Practice this I think you find some success. It is a easy way to get the rhythm of the club working in proper fashion. And give Bob DeMarco kudos for his encouragement to never give up.
PGA Junior League
 This was our 1st Season with the PGA Junior League
and we feel it was a great success. We had 9 Kids involved in it and they played 6 to 9 holes in a 2 person scramble format at various clubs in the area and loved it. We introduced new young players to a competitive format and our kids did very well as they were the overall champions for the season. They played at 4 different venues this season. Congratulations to all that participated.
Ballston Spa High School Varsity Golf Team
It is that time of year again. The Ballston Spa Varsity Golf team is hitting the links. At the time of this writing, we have already played 6 matches and are currently 3-3. We would like to thank the members and staff for your continued support of our team. We appreciate your encouragement.
Go Scotties!
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Fox Article October
It's hard to believe that Summer is ending and Fall is upon us. Given the great old fashion Summer we had, I think this has been one of the best seasons in years.
The Women's Member/Guest was held on August 16th with results as follows:
1st Flight - 1st Gross -Kahler, Mansfield, Liberatore and Potter
1st Net - J.Bassett, DiMaggio, Healy and Prezekop
2nd Net - Federice, Joseph, Lampman and Reynolds
2nd Flight- 1st Gross- Castronovo, Oppedisano, Nevins and White
1st Net - B. Bassett, Bono, Chapin and Stock
2nd Ne t- Assey, Jakob, Nygard and Platt
The Mixed Member/Member was held on August 23rd with results as follows:
Low Gross - Jim Bryant and Kate Oppedisano
1st Net - Kathy Harkins and Jason Lowenstein
2nd Net - Cindy and Stan Walkanowski
3rd Net - Diane and Martin Brown
4th Net - Pat and Dick Stack
Our next, and seasons last, club tournament is the very popular Cross Country scheduled for October 31st. Watch your email for the sign up notice as this tournament fills up fast!!
Enjoy what's left of the season and if anyone has any ideas for some additional club tournaments for next season, please talk with either Todd or myself.
Beth Todd |
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If you are certifiably barmy about The Game you have at one point dreamed about being given the opportunity to build your own course. Few understand the difficulty of such an undertaking.
Say you were given the chance to create your own track on 150 acres of rolling woodland, transected by a meandering stream and having a pond or two. Perfect.
Now all you have to do is create 18 holes, a practice range, a putting green, a clubhouse, a pro shop, a cart barn, a parking lot, a maintenance shed area, roads that will allow you to get to all parts of the course with heavy equipment, and voila! you have the perfect golf course.
Oh. Did I forget to mention drainage? And the fact that you really shouldn't make the opening hole too difficult or playing into the rising sun, or the finishing holes into the setting sun? And that the water sources be large enough to withstand drought? And that parallel fairways are tacky? And that the par should be 72? And that each nine should have two par threes and two par fives? And that the ninth and the eighteenth greens have to be real close to the clubhouse, as do the first and tenth tees? And that the number 1 or 2 handicap holes shouldn't be the last hole or two (the reasoning being some competi- tors might get closed out on a match before they benefit from their handicap strokes)? And that (here's the biggy), each nine should be equally difficult? Good luck!
All of the above make golf course construction extremely confining when it comes to letting your creativity take wing. But the real test is having two nines that are considered equally difficult for all makes and models of the golfing public.
Our course has a front nine which has smiled on my game with a benevolence akin to the Pope blessing the barrio children in Rio. The back nine, on the other hand, takes a Jeffrey Dahmer approach to my game. There can easily be a seven stroke swing, often more. This past week some of us who get our jollies by reminiscing about our many and varied golf disasters, were recalling the worst examples of front nine/back nine discrepancies at BSCC. I mentioned a 31/41 round that I suffered through back when I was an actual golfer, but was easily trumped by another Member's 30/47. As usual, I bow to discretion and will not mention who that Member was. Bob DeMarco's secret is safe with me
That the nines be equitable in their difficulty defies reason. But look at any scorecard and you will see the handicap holes divided equally, with the odd numbered handicaps on one side and the even on the other. This makes no sense, other than the burning need to have a handicapping system that will accommodate a nine hole match. In my opinion, our course should have six of the nine toughest holes on the back side and indeed, the women at BSCC actually handicapped our course from the red tees based on an examination of women's actual scores over an entire year or two before the USGA told them to cut
it out. One or two of my buddies would disagree with this realistic ap- proach, because they ac- tually think they score better on the back side, and in my mind both should seek counseling.
As it turns out, the alloca- tion of shots by difficulty on any given round is of no consequence. "Huh?", you ask. "That's right", I respond.
It has been statistically proven that allocation of handicap shots on the most difficult holes has the same result as handicap shot allocation on random holes, no matter what their difficulty. In other words, it makes no difference whether the back nine and the front nine are equally difficult; it makes no difference if you give your opponent his strokes on the most difficult holes.
Here's the only thing that counts: given the above information, it would be to your advantage to offer the following pro- posal to your opponent: take your strokes on any pre-round-designated hole you want, but take one less than you are allowed.
He'll take it every time. He'll lose. Take the proceeds you reap from this bet and go build yourself a perfect little golf course.
Another scorecard from 1943 (Geno Turki) when we had 9 holes played twice from different tees.
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