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Volume 12
Issue 1
April 2006
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CONTENTS
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| | President's Message by
Gary Roman
| President's Message:
Last year at this time I wrote to the Membership about the completion of many projects that we had undertaken as a Club over the prior three years. That letter spoke of the remaining construction on the golf course, which was to be completed in the spring of 2005. This year I am happy to report that there will be no carryover projects and that the golf course will open during the last week of March, weather permitting. In addition, because of the combined efforts of many volunteers, the vacancy in the Restaurant has been filled and will be in the very capable hands of Christine and Cameron Daly.
With the Restaurant Concessionaire vacancy filled and the renovations complete at this time, the primary goal of the Board of Governors has and will continue to be the recruiting of new Members in all membership categories. With that goal in mind, the Board revised the membership categories this winter with a combined emphasis on retaining existing Members and attracting new Members. To advance that recruiting goal, the Club participated in two Chamber of Commerce Business Fairs sponsored by the Suffield and Enfield Chambers in March 2006. The interest by prospective Members has been very strong from these events; however, the effort for recruiting is an activity that will need to continue throughout the entire year. Historically, our best recruiting results have come from the Membership. It is much easier when "friends" recruit "friends". Please invite your neighbors and friends to enjoy the Club's facilities, or to join you at an event. The Website (www.suffieldcc.com) has been updated, so that you and your friends can view the Events Calendar and to find a copy of the 2006 Membership Application and Rate Schedule. If any prospective Member has a question about the Club, please refer them to Matt Ide, who is the Membership Chairman or myself.
This year's social calendar started off with the St. Patrick's Day Open House, which was a great night for about 180 people. The Daly's introduced themselves and their family to the Membership and everyone was treated to great food and drink and the Daly's had their menu selections on display for all to view. In addition, those in attendance were treated to the tunes of a UCONN accapella chorus and to the nerve-racking play of the UCONN Huskies Men's basketball team in the first round of the Tournament. Since that night, the Daly's have hosted a few events and have also been open for dining on the weekends. Please call to make your reservations and introduce yourselves to Christine and Cameron.
The Social Committee has already and will continue their hard work with the various Committees planning social events for the entire Membership, which best utilizes the talents of the Daly's and the Clubhouse. Please read about various events of the Club organized by the Social Committee in this newsletter.
I look forward to future newsletters where I will be able to report the many successes in 2006, and I hope that each of you enjoys the facilities of Suffield Country Club this year
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Pro's Corner by
Stan McLennan
| A Big Welcome to the 2006 Golf Season. I'm looking forward to a very positive year at the club. We need everyone to come together and promote our beautiful facility. Tom and his staff do a great job of giving the members a great place to enjoy and play this great game. The golf shop will open for the season on March 28th. The shop will have limited hours until the course opens. My only sales pitch is to let all members know that your pro shop sells top quality merchandise at the most competitive prices and offers custom club fitting to golfers of all abilities.
The golf schedule is on the web site and there are some minor changes and events to be added. I welcome the Daly Family to Suffield. I heard the St. Patrick's Day party was TERRIFIC. I want the members to know that Andrew has taken a new job at Farmington Woods. I will greatly miss him. He did a nice job in his 4 seasons at Suffield. I wish him the best!
A couple of the highlighted events for the upcoming season will be the Breast Cancer Tournament and our annual 3-Day Member Guest. Last year's Breast Cancer Tournament raised $7,458 in donations plus another $2,500 in raffle donations. We look to expand upon the donation to the Susan G. Komen Foundation this year. The Suffield sports academy for juniors will be held the week of June 26th - 30th. This is going to be a special week of activities for the youth of our club. If you have not received our brochure, please contact Stan at the Pro Shop. (860) 668-7260.
I look forward to having a great year and seeing you all very soon.
Until next month,
Stan
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Women's Tee
Susan Szwed
| Hello Ladies!
I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their responses to the new golf format and schedule. The responses were favorable and motivating. We will proceed with having the Ladies League on Wednesday evenings. Our opening banquet will be on April 26th @ 6:30. I will be calling or emailing all of you with the specifics concerning the menu.
Again thank you for your enthusiasm and please do not hesitate with any ideas, opinions, suggestions etc... We want to keep the communication open! We look forward to seeing everybody on the 26th |
New Members
| WELCOME
Please give a warm welcome to the newest members of our club.
Michael Reinhard
George Gialopsos
If you see them around the club house or on the greens please welcome them to Suffield Country Club.
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Grounds By
Tom Watroba
| Another season is upon us and I'm reasonably certain we'll be open for play by the time this newsletter goes to publication. Although "winter" may not be through with us I believe the course has survived the winter in decent shape even though we have to deal with some man made damage this spring. Let's hope we can get some nice spring weather so you can work on your golf game and we can continue working on the course.
I'd like to start this year with a little something different. The following are excerpts from Steve Mona's monthly message in Golf Course Management magazine. Mr. Mona is CEO of The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America {GCSAA}.
Results were released from what's been called the largest and most comprehensive study ever done on golf's best customers. The survey, conducted by the Golf Digest Publication Research Resource Center, is called "Perspectives from the Core: A Comprehensive Look at Golf's Best Customers. The survey looked at "core golfers"-
Adults who play 8 to 24 rounds a year and "avid golfers" adults who play more than 25 rounds a year. The "core" and "avid" groups are considered golf's most important constituents because they play the vast majority of rounds each year, spend a disproportionate amount of money on the game compared with less engaged players, and watch golf on television. They clearly are the people "who make golf go."
The survey included 96 one on one interviews in 6 U.S. markets. In addition, 13,290 golfers responded to an online survey. This large sample size ensures that the survey results are statistically valid. Among other things, the survey asked respondents to identify from a prepared list the principal drivers of their satisfaction with a round of golf. The No. 1 answer was "well maintained greens and bunkers" (6.34 on a 7 point scale); No. 2 was "well maintained fairways and tees" (6.28); No.3 was "the people you play with" (6.24); and No. 4 was "playing well" (5.84).
The message here is clear and obvious: The condition of the golf course has the most influence on a golfer's enjoyment of the game; even more important than whom the golfer is playing with. This outcome is no surprise to GCSAA members, and reinforces the message the association has been delivering for a long time about the golf course superintendent being key to golfer's enjoyment of the game. Also supporting that message about attracting and retaining customers was a survey question asking golfers if they generally prefer to play a course that is "very challenging but not in top condition" or one "not as challenging but in very good condition." Interestingly 88% of respondents said they would rather play a course that was not as challenging but in very good condition versus 12% who preferred a very challenging venue not in top condition.
Those interested in the study's details can see them at www.golf2020.com/PowerPoint/2005/AvidGolfer Research.ppt
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Swimming by
Kelly Patterson
| Spring has finally arrived and it's not too early to begin thinking about warmer days and pool activities. Weather permitting, the pool will be opening from noon-6pm for the Memorial Day weekend, May 27-29. If weather conditions permit we will be open weekdays May 30 through June 19. Please note we will be hosting Jr. Swim Championships Saturday, July 29.
Upcoming event with more information to follow in the May newsletter:
* Sign up for swim lessons
* Swim team
* Swim suit sale
* End of the school year Splash Party
* End of the school year Ice Cream Social
* Swim Meet schedule
* Don't forget to sign up for the Sports Academy
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Tennis by
Andy Brydges
| Welcome Back Tennis Members,
I'm sure that everybody joins me in hoping that the good weather comes quickly so that tennis can resume as soon as possible. The Tennis Committee (Andy Brydges, Andy Rarus, Peter Judson, and Joe and Mary Mladinich) looks forward to another great season of competition and social events. If you have any ideas or suggestions on how SCC Tennis can improve, please contact us.
* Courts - As usual, we will try to open the courts around May 15. This is always dependent on how soft the courts are due to the spring weather.
* Socials - Details will follow and other events/volunteers are welcome, but we already have a few social events penciled in on the calendar:
* June 11 French Open Brunch play in the morning followed by croissants at the clubhouse while we watch the French Open final.
* July 9 Breakfast at Wimbledon?
* July 22 BBQ/Badminton social at the Brydges's, possibly to include the junior program players in the afternoon
* August 12 Evening social at the Rarus's
Please continue to check the online calendar at www.suffieldcc.com/calendar for a full schedule of the club's events.
* Greater Hartford League
Men's and Women's GHL matches begin in early June. We try to field competitive teams but at the same time give everyone interested a chance to participate. Please let Johanne Presser (women's team) or Andy Brydges or Peter Judson (men's team) know if you plan to or would like to play this year. Men's matches are Monday nights. Women's matches are Tuesday mornings, with practices Mondays at 4pm.
* Staff - We are fortunate that our excellent staff at the courts returns each year. Russ Bombard returns as our Head Pro, and Judy Campbell as Director of Tennis. Tim Judson will return to teach and help with afternoon court cleanup, and DeeDee Presser to do grounds maintenance, which is great as last year the courts were in superb shape. We are crossing our fingers that ESPN comes up with a schedule that allows Dan Presser to return to teaching too.
* Junior Program - The Junior Program will begin on the 19th of June. Sign up sheets will be posted at the tennis clubhouse prior to that date. Judy and Russ will assign players to various groups for that program.
* I encourage all Junior players between 7 and 15 to consider signing up for the SCC Sports Academy, which will run from June 26 to June 30. Portions of the Junior Tennis Program will be suspended for that week in anticipation of many players being involved in the Sports Academy.
* Last, if you are going to have a group that meets the same time each week, please contact me before the courts open (abrydges@cox.net). I will need to know the day, time, and players as well as a contact person for the group.
See you at the courts! Andy Brydges
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House Committee
Gary Roman
| During the past few months, the House Committee has been working very hard to address the vacancy of the Restaurant manager and that effort has paid off with signing of a Concessionaire Agreement with the Daly's. The House Committee was very pleased with the selection process and ultimately believes the Daly's were the right choice for Suffield Country Club.
In addition to the concessionaire selection, the House Committee did some decorating in the Clubhouse, which was completed by the Open House on St. Patrick's Day. A special thanks to Tom Watroba and his staff for the painting in the Clubhouse interior and to Allison and Jim Glynn for the selection and installation of the window treatments. The Club received a gift of a new telephone system from Brian Tierney, which will allow for phone calls to be directed to the proper department or for the caller to leave a voice mail for a later response. Many thanks to all those who participated in the House Committee tasks since last fall.
My first newsletter of 2006 will be my last as House Chairperson, as there are two new Chairs for this very important Committee. Bob Shea and Christopher Beaulieu have agreed to share the chairmanship for 2006. I am pleased with this selection, and wish them much success.
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Social Committe
Joyce Pemberton
| SOCIAL EVENTS
As an intro to the new season, the restaurant will be open at the following times: In case the credit card program is not working, please bring a check or cash.
Reservations only: 668-5454
Service: 5:30 pm to 9:00 pm
March 24 Friday March 25 Saturday
March 31 Friday April 1 Saturday
Future Events!!!!
Saturday April 22 Tour of the World Wine Dinner
Sunday May 14 Mother's Day Brunch
Friday May 19 Comedy Night with Dinner
Sunday June 18 Father's Day BBQ with the Family
and games for all.
Saturday June 24 Swim Team Recognition
Keep tuned to the SCC website for details!!!!
(www.SuffieldCC.com click on the calendar event you are interested and details will show on the next screen.) If anyone is interested in serving on the committee or have ideas, please call me at:
573-9768. Joyce Pemberton
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