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President's Message
It has been a whirlwind since last July and all the changes we had to live through with the pandemic. Last year, there was a prediction that we would have a vaccine sometime in January of 2021 and at that time we were happy just to get outside and play some golf. This year, the restrictions are lifted and the opening day of the track is today at 100% capacity! The golf course is in impeccable condition and has been holding up well even with all the wet weather that we have been having over the past few weeks.
This month is a busy one for tournaments, the Woman’s member guest, the Men’s member guest, there is a Woman’s interclub and the Mark Rider tournament along with the normal play. That’s a lot of golfers on the course. Steve, Todd and their staff will be working hard to make sure that all the events go off without a hitch. Be sure to give any of them a kind word when you see them because they can’t hear complements enough. .
The Board and Committees have continued to work hard over the past month and I encourage any members that want to serve on a committee to contact the Committee Chair to get signed up. The more people we have working together makes it easier for all of us and it helps bring in many different and valued perspectives.
As always, if you want to reach me to discuss anything, please send me an email at roger.laime@aecom.com or call me on my cell phone at 518-772-7754. Please practice respect and tolerance, be safe and enjoy the summer.
Roger Laime
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Membership – July 2021 Fox
The summer solstice, when the sun reaches the highest point in the sky, was June 21st. The daylight hours are just a few minutes shorter now but there is still plenty of time in the day to enjoy a round of golf with your friends. We have a full membership and have added more names to the waiting list which as of this printing has over 75 names. The Membership committee and Board will review existing policies during the coming months to prepare for the 2022 season.
With at least 4 months remaining in the golf season there is a lot to look forward to. Golf tournaments, leagues, the fantastic course conditions that Steve and his crew provide as well as the professional services Todd and his staff offer are a few of the many reasons we all joined this great club. Being a member of a club carries with it responsibilities that we all have so that our course and club continue to improve and succeed. Responsibilities include:
- Paying your monthly bill on time to avoid the “no-play” list.
- Fixing divots in the fairway by replacing or filling with sand.
- Fixing ball marks on the green (yours plus one or more) so that the next person putts on the same smooth surface you had.
- Paying attention to ropes and cart signs when driving a gas-powered golf cart.
- Being respectful of other groups when playing your favorite music.
- Being respectful of restaurant and pro shop staff.
As always, if anyone has any suggestions for the Membership Committee please send an email to slk8958@gmail.com.
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 Hi !
It is hard to believe it is mid July already!
I wanted to thank everyone again for their continued support to the staff and Board as we all continue to try to make smart decisions and improve operations. We appreciate everyone’s patience.
As many of you know there was a second PPP loan that came out and we applied for it earlier this year with Ballston Spa National Bank. It was given to any business that demonstrated a decline in revenue from 2020 to 2019, which we were able to provide. We were thinking this second PPP loan would help us make sure we make budget with decreased revenue areas, tight expense budget lines and possibly purchase some much needed course equipment. To date we had to purchase 1 spreader and 1 blower in order to perform our normal course maintenance. What we did not anticipate was the increase in costs to the extent we are seeing. This increase in costs is effecting every industry and includes ours. We have seen an increases pretty much every expense category including fertilizer, fuel, parts and labor. Like most business’, getting people to work is also a challenge and hourly rates are up. Availability of parts and equipment has also been harder. Steve does an excellent job in his area in purchasing all materials in efficient manner, weather it is pre buying or locking in, he is on top of it all. However, it has been harder to combat rising price increases in all areas and manage negative budget variances. We are making a lot of improvements in maximizing revenue and cost control in all areas of our budget, with each Board member being more responsible for each area’s budget. This is a much needed process as we continue to closely monitor our budgets each month.
As you may recall from discussions at our Annual meetings, a prior Board voted a few years ago on a plan for our bunkers and other course improvements. We included this billing in our July 1st invoice and appreciate everyone’s understanding this. We also would appreciate it if everyone can please have their accounts paid up by the end of each month.
Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.
We appreciate your support always!
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 Roger Laime our board president has appointed me as House/Restaurant chairperson, and I have been working closely with Mangino’s to address some of the concerns brought to me by the membership. A couple of the more immediate plumbing issues have been resolved. Also, the prices for soft drinks and beers on the beverage cart are now aligned with the prices at the clubhouse.
I have heard from many of you about your various experiences with Mangino’s, both positive and negative. And I have also met with Mangino’s about their experience in serving our membership. There may be some disagreements about how Mangino’s should operate but I think we can call agree that the quality of the food has been outstanding. Mangino’s has had to deal with significant supply chain and staffing issues caused by the Covid19 pandemic but they are doing their best to provide you with a quality clubhouse experience.
I will be working with the Restaurant Committee and the board to develop a plan to finish out the year with Mangino’s and to develop a plan for the 2022 golf season and beyond. A broad range of options will be considered and discussed. If you have an idea on how the club should move forward, please contact me via email (j.n.lockwood17@gmail.com) or on my cell phone (401-662-1956).
Thank you.
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July 4th weekend has come and gone. Summer seems to be flying right on bye for me, I guess. The course is handling the play and the weather pretty good. My crew and I are keeping busy with mowing and setting the course up daily. Mother Nature has been giving us a little too much rain as of lately. There are a lot of wet areas in the fairways and rough. The mowers are doing their best to keep up with the grass but it is growing almost out of control. The humidity has also been pretty high so with all this moisture we have an increase threat of fungal diseases. It has been a challenge keeping up with all the spraying that we need to do to prevent a disease outbreak. Anytime it is not raining, I need to spray but also mow and there is also increased play on non- raining days. It just makes it challenging when the weather is wet like this. Its actually easier if it is drier because the grass is not growing out of control and we can play golf every day. Whatever Mother Nature throws at us we will work with it and give you the best conditions we can. Thank you for your patience.
We have recently purchased a new blower to pull behind our work carts. We use this machine almost daily to blow off grass, leaves, needles, pine cones, etc off of our greens, tees, fairways. We have always tried to keep our playing surfaces free of debris throughout the season and this new machine will help us do that. Our old machine was showing its age and will be used as a backup and for leaves in the fall. Thank you to the board and membership for this purchase.
I have gotten questions lately about our rising cost as far as the maintenance of the golf course. I am sure everyone is aware that almost every thing you buy is costing more than it did a year ago. We have seen that as well with supplies we need to take care of the golf course. The biggest jump is fuel. We will go over budget this year with fuel because we kept the same budget as the year before. Fertilizer and chemical saw a 10 to 15% increase from last year. We early order most of our product and locked in last years prices. So, we take delivery of our product in the spring and pay in June but pay last years prices. So, this year’s budget for fertilizer and chemical should be good. The problem with be next years budget if prices continue to rise. Labor is our biggest expense. Trying to get people to come to work is costing more and more every year. Government hand outs make it so people make more money staying home than coming to work for what we can afford to pay people. We have a great crew now that is doing an amazing job out there. They all take pride in their work and love being here. If you see them out there, please thank them and compliment them on doing a great job. A compliment goes a long way for a person’s self-esteem. There is a huge battle out there right now between businesses to keep good employees. There are more jobs than good employees, so you really have to keep your employees happy and that usually ends up with increased wages. Otherwise, it’s really easy for them to find another job now. We will always try to find ways were can save money here and there so that we can try to meet budget. It’s a real challenge though. I think it’s going to be a long while before we get back to something normal as far as these price increases though.
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Well, it’s Member/Guest season again and this one will be my 25th attempt at bringing home the bacon. Normally it would be Canadian bacon (something you can’t get in Canada, actually), because 21 of those attempts were carried out with my Canadian cousin, Jim Fisher.
But not last year and not this year. The Canuckians have built a virtual southern wall (out of recycled hockey pucks), along the longest border in the world which has effectively brought non-essential travel to an agreed, mutual halt between the two nations.
But in his absence, I would like to recall some highlights that stand out in my time-ravaged, septuagenarian memory.
The things that most M/G participants will remember about Jim is that he always brought a big bottle of a craft Canadian beer for each of the 10 opponents we did battle with, as well as Todd and Steve and our practice round twosome. He’d figured out the way to an American male’s heart is through beer. Also, they all loved the guy for who he is, someone who doesn’t see the glass as being half full or empty – it’s always overflowing. And of course there were the flags he festooned our cart with.
The first time Jim played in any golf tournament was our first Member/Guest attempt and it more or less sealed our fate for the next two decades. We were in the Championship flight and we won. He was hooked.
For the next several years, Jim would meet me in Vermont for a round on Tuesday, play 36 holes on Wednesday, play/practice on his own on Thursday morning, play the practice round Thursday afternoon, then the 45 holes of the M/G on Friday and Saturday. In between, he would excuse himself from my company to go to a near by driving range, sometimes while it was raining. In short, he played more golf during the M/G week than he did that year in Canada before arriving, due in part to the late Canuckian spring.
So, some memories: I watch from the cart as Jim paces off his yardage from a sprinkler head on #4. He then stripes a beautiful shot that is still rising as it flies over the green. “Whoops. I added the yardage instead of subtracting,” he says sheepishly.
His amazing up and downs. We’re 2 down and Jim jars a 70 yard 3rd shot from the cart path to a 14th hole flag in the back left. Then he pars #15, and on 16 he badly thins his approach shot, which, at 99 miles per hour, hits into the bank and pops up 3 feet from the pin. Our opponents were never in it after that
On # 2 in the shootout, there’s barely a trickle of water in the creek, so Jim is able to play his second shot from the mud. It comes roaring out, covered in mud, heading enthusiastically for a rinsing in the pond, but somehow stops immediately upon landing – 3 feet from the hole.
On #11 he’s in the dense rough beyond the cart path, behind the green, with a tight back yellow pin. He flubs the shot, but it somehow bounces its way to a few inches from the pin. “I knew it was close as soon as I hit it,” he says with a straight face.
We’re in a chip-off with one other twosome. We’re about three feet from the clubhouse behind #18, chipping to a tight pin, several feet below us. The three of us struggle to keep it on the green. He knocks it stiff for the win.
We start on #13 one year back when I was an actual golfer. I birdie it for the win, then I par #14 for the win and birdie #15 for the win. As we walk off the green Jim says to me “Can I touch you?” with this fake melodramatic look of ego-deflating awe.
We’re in a two team playoff for the overall win and Jim has a three foot putt on #18. There are 90 guys watching, and Jim takes a lot of time looking at his putt until Todd, exasperated, tells him, “Jim, you can three-putt for the win.” The crowd loves it.
We’re playing the Calvey brothers, tied for the top spot in our flight and the 10th hole is our last. The pin is tight at 5 o’clock, Doug Calvey has a 40 footer from the back right – and he sinks it, to win. Next year, the exact situation, same Calveys, same tie for the flight, same last hole, same pin and ball location, but the roles were reversed and Jim seals it for us.
Again, on the 18th green we are playing off to decide our flight’s winner. We’re playing the 18th hole for the third time and when we finally win, 90 well-oiled guys surrounding the green break out in something approximating “song” with the opening words of “O Canada,” which were the only words they knew, but good on them.
So it’s a bitter/sweet tournament this year. Bitter because Jim won’t be here, sweet because my partner will be my son, Chris. But we’ll be carrying on with the whole Canuck schtick: these two hosers will be sporting shirts with a red maple leaf and the words, On the “eh” Team. Pretty neat, eh?
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June 2011 Fox
Dave Runyon, Randy Alexander and Mike Zegarelli are elected to the Board of Directors
Membership falls by a net 12 Members due to the continuing recession.
Steve lists the problems he is facing due to the constant heavy rain.
July 2011 Fox
10 new green covers are purchased with funding from a raffle.
Tournament Results:
Men's Member/Member
A Flight: 1st Mark Thornhill, Junior and Senior 2nd Dave Fizer 3rd Matt Riggins
B Flight Net: 1st Dan Lowenstein 2nd: Fred Dente
C Flight : Gross: Gary Lyons, Mark Sisson Net: 1st Bruce Kay, Ken Stevens 21nd: Jim Bryant, Don Gallagher
D Flight: Gross: 1st Stan Walkanowski 2nd Steve Ludwin Net: 1stGary Brenenstuhl 2nd Winston Wachtel
Women's Member/Member
Gross:1st: Cindy Walkanowski Net: Lauren Petraske, Rayette Johnson
3rd: Betty Thornhill
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