Golf Committee March 10, 2020 Minutes
Attendees:
Michael Peabody, Dan Becker, Matt Dillon, Michael Nicoletti,
Lisa Erickson, Carol Garvey, Ed Reeder, Jim Reis, Board of Governors: John
Korvin
Meeting with ClubCorp
Prior to the Golf Committee meeting there was a meeting with Dan
Hewitson, ClubCorp’s Senior VP of Operations.
GBGC was represented by Michael Peabody, John Korvin, and Dan
Becker. The meeting was to discuss
ClubCorp’s recent budgetary decisions.
Here are key points from the meeting:
Both the Tilly’s kitchen and the golf course projects are postponed. No assurances that they will be approved in
the future.
No explanation why Tilly’s kitchen was approved in 2019 and postponed in
2020.
Apollo has different approach to capital. ClubCorp gave a little to
everybody. Apollo gives a lot to a few. Apollo has different budget timetable
than ClubCorp. ClubCorp made decisions in October. Apollo is much later.
All dues and revenues go into a corporate-wide pot. Other clubs got
projects approved. We didn’t make the cut.
There will be no relief on dues.
It was agreed that Apollo/ClubCorp did a poor job of communication and
they recognized that we thought it was a virtual certainty that our projects
would be approved.
Mr. Hewitson got a clear picture of why we were very unhappy and the
potential damage to the GBGC brand but he was not authorized to do anything
about it.
Mr. Hewitson said that GBGC was valued by Apollo and they had no
intention of selling it.
There will be a follow up visit for further discussion.
[Attached are the agenda and Korvin’s and Becker’s talking points]
General Manager Update
The ClubCorp meeting was discussed.
Matt Dillon was recognized as the ClubCorp Supervisor of the
Year - Pacific Region.
Pro Shop / Outside Services Update
·
Evaluating a new Outside Services head position.
·
A new golf cart fleet, without speakers, will
arrive in the Fall.
·
We will be switching to Callaway range balls.
·
Mike N is investigating the possibilities of
private cart owners installing the GPS system.
Action Item: Mike N – Report your findings.
Course Conditions
·
The club will soon start using a new pin
placement and management program (
ezLocator).
We will no longer have the red, white,
yellow pin progression.
Daily pin
locations can be found via an app, GBGC cart GPS, or daily printed pin sheets.
The benefits are many, among them: avoids
“unfair” pin locations, increased green health, and introduces pin locations
that may make feel like you are playing a new course.
The technology has been widely praised everywhere
it has been used.
Matt will provide
rollout specifics soon through the Granite Bay Course Update.
·
Aeration this Spring will be solid tined (no
extraction). This aeration will have
much shorter-term impact on playability.
·
Bunker maintenance: Trying to keep the sand
level consistent through the rainy season, will add sand later in the year..
·
Hybrid Bermuda Surrounds – they will be higher
later in the year. This will help avoid the
extreme runoff of balls that travel a bit too far (like #11).
Junior Golf Update
·
Plans will need to be adjusted as a result of
the changes to the course closure.
·
Designated range stations will be in place to
ensure that golfers can warm up prior to play..
Handicap Integrity / Reports
·
Jack and Michelle could not attend but reported
their statistics. Jack reported a 69
percent compliance of posting scores in February. Michelle reported 78 percent compliance.
Locker Room Attendant
·
The Locker Room is in place.
Action Item: Mike P – Send an announcement to the members.
On Boarding Process/Policies/Codes
Tournament Update
·
There were two NCGA qualifiers and the Couples
tournament. Both had higher attendance
than in the past. The Couples tournament
had twice as many participants than last year.
·
March will have s
·
As always, check the Club Life app for details on upcoming tournaments.
Attention to Detail / Action Items
This is a portion of the meeting where the committee reviews
and voices items that should be corrected or where GBGC comes up lacking when
compared to other clubs. They should be focused primarily on the Golf
Experience.
Prior items:
·
#5 bathroom walkway – loose tile, trip hazard.
-- In 2019 all bathrooms will be
repainted and tile replaced/repaired.
This is currently in process and awaiting final budget approval. Note
that the tiles have been replaced.
·
#10 fairway too narrow/rough too wide when using
Pebble tees.
-- There will be tree trimming and likely
the contours will be smoothed when the course is re-sodded.
·
It was suggested that a new Tournament tee be
added to #11.
-- Will be done when the course is
re-sodded.
·
Other area courses have short videos that cover
course care, etiquette, etc.
Action Item: Mike P – Come up with a plan to make the videos a reality.
This month’s unfiltered items:
·
Members are frequently leaving balls on the
chipping green or not raking bunkers after they are finished with
practice. The Committee agreed that this
was poor etiquette and disrespectful of fellow members.
Action Item: Mike N -- Propose a solution to the issue.
·
The Red tees on #10 are blind to tees further
back. Golfers on the Red tees are
frequently “in the line of fire”.
Action Item: Matt/Mike N – Explore a possible solution
-- DONE (trees trimmed)
New Business
A proposed 2020 Golf Calendar was presented, given the course
remaining open. A key Ladies event was
added.
Open Action Item Summary
Mike P – Make sure that the club website gets updated with
the new policies and codes.
Mike P – Come
up with a plan to make the videos a reality.
Mike P – Send
out an announcement to the members about the Locker Room Attendant.
Mike N –
Report on the possibilities of private cart owners installing the GPS system.
Mike N --
Propose a solution to the issue of improper practice area etiquette.
Mike N – Get a larger scorecard box for Tilly’s.
Mike N – Provide the new golf guide to the Committee.
Mike N/Lisa E – Establish welcome procedure for lady
golfers.
Mike N – Invite the
Golf Committee to the next New Member Orientation.
Next Meeting Dates (all 4pm)
4/28, 5/27, 6/23 (subject to change).
Attachment: ClubCorp Meeting Agenda
ClubCorp Agenda – March 10,2020
Attendees:
Dan Hewitson – Vice President, Pacific Division
Michael Peabody –
General Manager, Granite Bay GC
John Korvin – Chairman,
Board of Governors
Dan Becker –
Chairman, Golf Committee
Member
Relations History
Food and
Beverage
-
New
Chef and F&B manager
-
Member
Surveys
Golf
Operations
-
New
Pro
-
Outside
Services
Product
-
Clubhouse/Locker
Rooms
-
Golf
Course
Communications
Brand/Reputation
-
Damaged
in the Marketplace
-
New
Member Recruitment Impact
Financials
-2017 - 4.2% Dues Increase – No Noticeable
Capital Investment
- 2018 - 4.3% Dues Increase – No
Noticeable Capital Investment
- 2019 – 5.0% Dues Increase – 2 Clocks
- 2020 – 5.9% Dues Increase – No
Noticeable Capital Investment
- 2020 – 3.5% Credit Card Charge – Seen
as a Dues Increase
Tilly’s
Project
-
Approved
in 2019
-
Rescinded
in 2020
Member
Relations Today
Attachment: John Korvin’s Talking Points
HOW DID WE GET HERE? – VIRTUALLY CERTAIN
Bent Grass - Lots of Water - Wet Summer Conditions
Drought - Water Restrictions
Bermuda - Solves Current and Future Problems
Step1 - Multiple Types of Hybrid Bermuda Patches
Step2 - Surrounds on 4 Holes
Step3 - Sod #17 Fairway and 14 Surrounds on Remaining Holes
Step4 - Delay #7 Tee Complex until ‘The Project’
Step5 - No Sale of Outside Tournaments between June and
November
Step6 – Move Men’s and Women’s Invitational’s to April
Attachment: Dan Becker’s Talking Points
For this part of the conversation, I will focus specifically on
golf.
Speaking for myself, I’m passionate about three things as it
pertains to GBGC;
1. Playing
golf.
2. The
golfer experience.
3. Golf
member customer service.
When Michael came on as GM, John and I enthusiastically committed
to whatever time it took - and whatever was asked of us - helping Michael with
anything/everything having to do with the Golfer Experience.
We became passionate liaisons - and communication avenues - for
Michael, Matt Dillon, the members, as well as some of the key GBGC employees.
Essentially, being the primary communication “link” between the
capital contributing entity, and members.
The good news, on a local level, it has paid dividends as we
continually address (and improve) the member experience. Such as;
1. The
Head Golf Pro responsibilities & duties.
2. Outside
services.
3. Pro
Shop service and support.
4. Junior
Program.
5. Attention
to details.
6. Locker
Room service and support.
7. Golf
Course conditions and the playing experience.
The more realistic news, in spite of a course that has extremely
“good bones” is we are taking daily bullets on the more critical “corporate”
things such as;
1. Awful
summer course conditions - specifically fairways, roughs and surrounds.
2. Terribly
inconsistent bunkers.
3. A
municipal looking practice range (poor drainage, bad looking turf, deficient
fence, etc).
4. Over
used and abused tee boxes.
5. Tired,
often smelly & dated locker rooms.
6. A
half-pregnant course with all kinds of grasses and conditions scattered
throughout.
All of these challenges are currently being held together by
nothing more than band-aids and hope - and the herculean efforts of people like
Michael, Matt Dillon, and some other key employees.
John and I are both in an extremely compromised position. We simply don’t know what to say (or do) in
light of recent postponements. Hope and
verbal timelines aren’t going to cut it going forward.
And with drought ramifications becoming more and more evident, it
can only get worse!
