Sylvania Country Club Celebrating 96 Years of Excellence September 2012 1 Volume 26 Issue 8 Celebrating 96 Years of Excellence September 2012 In this issue: Manager Message President s Letter 2 3 Member Announcements Progressive Dinner 4 6 Green Report 7 Did You Know 8 Ladies Golf News Mediterranean Bistro 8 9 Tennis News 10 Calendar 12
Sylvania Country Club Celebrating 96 Years of Excellence September 2012 2 Manager s Message As we slowly start to wrap up a successful summer season we optimistically look forward to the upcoming fall and winter. We expect to keep the golf course and tennis courts open as long as possible as there are plenty of great golf & tennis days still ahead of us. The clubhouse is packed with social events so please take a look at page 12 and save the dates for the events that you wish to attend. Just to remind you, your friends are always welcome to join you at your club for any event. I always preach I am as good of a manager as our weakest link, this year, on numerous occasions, our staff has made me so proud of them. I am confident that we are going to continue to keep improving our services to the point of providing unmatched private club experience in the region...which is our ultimate goal. I would like to congratulate the 2012 Pot of Gold winners Frank Viviano, Marshall Bennett, Mark Feldstein, and Mike McArthur. Also a big thank you to the committee for helping us, once again produce a successful, sell out, golf event here at the club. Jason Stuller, Justin Howard, and Justin Pollock should also be recognized. These guys worked around the clock to make sure that every single detail was taken care of, from Thursday night s draft and Calcutta to Sunday s final scoring. According to your feedback the annual Tennis Harst Cup tournament was a huge success as well. The courts were full, weather great, food delicious, and there was not in shortage of beer. Thank you to all the members who participated and thank you to the staff who executed such a fine event. With your continuous membership support along with continued staff dedication and hard work we look forward to a great and successful autumn at the club.
Sylvania Country Club Celebrating 96 Years of Excellence September 2012 3 A Letter from the Club President What a terrific summer we have enjoyed! Not in recent memory have we enjoyed weather so consistently hot and dry and we all took full advantage of it! Attendance at the pool, total rounds on the golf course, and participation at various Club functions are all higher than in past years. In the club house, we are showing a significant profit in our food and beverage area, as many members have have taken advantage of the popular weekly dining specials and theme nights. We have Boris, Chef Victor, and a host of hard-working staff to thank for the wonderful dining experiences of this past summer. The increased volume of traffic through all areas of the Club, while a blessing, reminds many of us that there is still so much more to do. Working cooperatively with the Board, all our managers have done a phenomenal job of paring expenses over the last few years and kept efficiency and quality at high levels. Financially, we have been aggressive about paying down existing debt and have avoided extending our line of credit. For the first time in more years than many can remember, we are getting closer to a break-even point which includes the funding of our depreciation. A concept which is difficult to imagine given the overall condition of the area's economy and the travails of private clubs in general. In a very important move, the Board recently voted to re-instate the Long Range Planning (LPR) Committee. The LRP Committee s primary task will be to act in an advisory capacity to help prioritize all the Club s projects which have become more evident as overall utilization has increased. Our membership is quite passionate about several key issues which need to be appropriately vetted and considered. Moreover, the LRP Committee, along with the Board and member input, will need to decide upon the best vehicles to fund various projects, while not jeopardizing current services. It is a delicate balance to be sure, but the long-term survival of our Club depends on how successful we are in pulling together, not apart. The year 2016, only a few short years away, marks SCC's centennial anniversary. We need to all think about what we want our Club to be, and look like, as it moves into its second hundred years. We need to keep in mind the vision of those who, for example, moved the pool from what is now the patio to its present location; and consider the foresight of those who acquired, and cleared the land, to change holes 1 and 2. None of these projects were without financial sacrifice and undoubtedly our current needs and desires will also have a cost. Working together to collect ideas, input, and feedback, we can start to plan for the future while making certain we don't lose sight of the less glamorous day to day items the Club needs to continue to serve its members in the manner we have all come to expect. Your opinion matters. Please get involved as we move forward. As always, thank you for all you do for SCC. Tom Schlembach
Sylvania Country Club Celebrating 96 Years of Excellence September 2012 4 Member Announcements Kudos! A Wellness Concert presented by It s My Turn Fitness & Wellness Spa, owned by Meg Milano, was held here at SCC on Saturday, August 4. The Concert was in memory of, event chairman, Sharon Kripke s mother, Norma Conn Cohen, who died of endometrial cancer and in honor of Meg s sister Mary Catherine Rusnak, a two year survivor of ovarian cancer! The $6,000 raised will allow about 25 cancer survivors to attend a spa day which includes facials, massages, movement classes and lunch with fellow survivors. Check out the spa s website at www.itsmyturnfitness.com! Congratulations! Left to right: Bobby & Sharon Kripke with Meg & Bob Milano On Thursday, August 16, our sous chef Chris Moore and his wife Erica welcomed their third son, Greyson Liam weighing in at 9 pounds, 5 ounces and 22 inches long! Greyson Liam Send your member announcements to jkuns@sccclub.com by the 25th of the month! Sylvania Country Club Staff Spotlight For the past four years, Sylvania Country Club has been Justin Pollock s home away from home. The Fremont, Ohio native could have taken a quick 45 mile trek to arrive here in the SCC Pro Shop, but he decided on a more indirect route. After graduating from Fremont Ross High School, Justin moved to San Diego to attend the San Diego Golf Academy. While attending the academy he was fortunate enough to work at two of the top private clubs in the area, Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club and The Santaluz Club. I believe that my time employed at these two fine facilities and my education at the academy gave me a great start to my career, Justin says. These experiences helped bring me to Sylvania Country Club in 2009. Justin s education in the golf industry continues as he works towards his Professional Golfers' Association of America Membership where he is currently a PGA Level 2 Apprentice. While at SCC Justin has created and, presently coordinates the junior golf program; provides golf instruction and lessons; organizes and facilitates member tournaments and outings; he is available for personal club fittings...and will do anything necessary to ensure that Sylvania Country Club runs efficiently and profitably. Sylvania Country Club has been a great place to call home for the past four years, says Justin. During my time here I ve been so fortunate to have the members, Jason Stuller, and Justin Howard all play such great and positive roles in my development as a golf professional.
Sylvania Country Club Celebrating 96 Years of Excellence September 2012 5 Golf Shop News September Golf Shop Hours: Monday: Open at Noon September 10 and 24 Tuesday Sunday: 8:00am-7:00pm Congratulations to Marty Gallagher our 2012 Club Champion! Aerification: The annual Aerification will begin Tuesday, September 4 and finish Friday, September 7. During this time the golf shop and course will be closed. The practice facility will also be closed. If you plan on using your golf clubs during this time please pick up your clubs by Monday, September 3. Pace of Play: We have had some issues with Pace of Play on the golf course lately. Playing ready golf is one way to relieve some of the problems but staying up with the group in front of you is the best way to remedy the situation. We try to keep a Four hour pace on the golf course at all times and my staff and I will be monitoring the course to make sure everyone is doing their best to play in 4 hours or less. Sweepstakes: The last Men s Sweepstakes of the season will be held September 1 with tee times starting at 8:30 a.m. The format for this event is ABCD Scramble. The AB players will play the Black tees and the CD players will play the Blue tees. Breakfast will be included with this event. 1-Day Member Guest: The last 1 Day Member Guest for the season will be held Friday, September 21 with the shotgun starting at 1:30 p.m. The format will be 2 Best Ball of 4, full handicap. Please call the golf shop if you are interested in bringing a group. Golf Course and Practice Facility: Just a reminder that the golf shop is closed on Monday, September 17 and Tuesday, September 18 for the Toledo Open. If we are holding an outing the golf course is not available until after the outing has finished. Reminder that you need to replace your divots and repair your ball marks on the greens. We are still monitoring the cart traffic and things have improved. I appreciate the members that have helped with paying attention to where they are now driving and have had many positive comments made about trying to enforce the cart etiquette. Remember that this is your golf course and we must respect and take care of the best course in the area.
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Sylvania Country Club Celebrating 96 Years of Excellence September 2012 7 The Green Report by Steve Brown September marks aerification season as we will be aerating greens, tees, and fairways. The course will be closed on September 4 7 for aerification, weather permitting, we will reopen the course Saturday, September 8. Due to the overseeding the range tee will be closed and we will hit from the mats for a short period of time. This summer has been a record setter with the highest temperatures ever on record for the month of July. The golf course as a whole has endured the summer stresses very well and we are in place to have an exceptional fall golf season. Traditionally the fall provides some of the best course conditions and most enjoyable golf here at SCC. The record setting year has also been a major test to our current irrigation system. While the golf course may appear to be in great condition, it comes with a very high cost. In order to achieve the results you see the staff has had a very harsh, long season. On any given day we will have 6 employees working extra hours to water hot spots. This is done to help compensate for the inefficiencies of the current system. The current system s coverage is not the only issue we are dealing with, the components are also deteriorating rapidly and beginning to fail on a regular basis. The main lines we are using were installed with the water tower 70+ years ago and many of the other components of the system are 20+ years old and continue to require more repairs each season. This past week alone we have had 3 main line failures. These are very costly to repair, in excess of $1,000 per break, and they also create an unsafe work environment. There are also major issues with our water quality and supply. The system is supplied from 2 wells which are very high in sulfur. If any of you have been around while we are watering you may have noticed the strong sulfur odor. The sulfur makes it very difficult and expensive to grow high quality turf grass. The wells also only supply 750 gallons of water per minute, systems should supply 1800 gallons. This would allow the course to be watered in 4 hours or less, our current system runs for almost 12 hours every night. Future regulations will also limit our use of the current wells, which means there will be a point in time we will not have enough water for golf course. While the current system continues to operate, main line breaks continue to accelerate and repair costs have grown in excess of $30,000 this year. Thirty years ago the system may have been state of the art but it has seen better days and has become very unreliable, and at some point, inoperable!
Sylvania Country Club Celebrating 96 Years of Excellence September 2012 8 The Club is offering a la carte breakfast features for our early risers on Saturday mornings! Join us from 7:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. every Saturday! Plus, our Eggs n Waffles Sunday Breakfast starts up again September 16! We do not use any processed deli meat in our menus. Our ham, roast beef, and turkey is all cooked on site and served fresh to our members and guests. The club will be closed Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays in November and December. Wine Club s 2nd Annual Wine Show, November 16 is open to all members and your guests. It will feature over 50 unique wines for you to sample and purchase at retail pricing...the perfect way to stock your rack for the upcoming holidays and get a jump start on your gift giving list!! Only $15 per person! Reservations can be made by contacting Jennifer at jkuns@sccclub.com. It s never too early to mark your calendar for the club s upcoming fall & winter events! Halloween Family Spooktacular, Sunday, October 21; Spanish Wine Dinner, Saturday, October 27; Thanksgiving Dinner at the Club, Thursday, November 22; and our premier event Snowball, Saturday, December 8! Our new fall lunch and dinner menus will launch Wednesday, September 5! On Wednesday, August 29 the 18 Holer s crowned their 2012 Club Champion, Jackie Toth! Additionally, Cathy Gordon was named the 2012 President s Cup winner. Great Job Ladies! Club Championship: First Flight: 1st Place (overall): Jackie Toth, 2nd Place (Tie): Cathy Gordon & Pat Hopple, 3rd Place: Barb Biggs Second Flight: 1st Place: Ellen Navarre, 2nd Place: Anne Bauer, 3rd Place: Karen Grossman President s Cup: 1st Place: Cathy Gordon, 2nd Place: Jackie Toth, 3rd Place: Meg Milano Results from other August Events: Eenie Meenie: 1st Place: Katie Loh, 2nd Place: Carol Hanrahan, 3rd Place Tie: Barb Biggs & Jackie Toth Shootout: 1st Place Winners: Jackie Toth, Cathy Gordon, Mary Ziegler, Donna Kean, and Ann Meier Bring A Friend: 18 Shades of Green: 1st Place: Nancy Robon, Rebecca Schmitz, Cynthia Frankart & Carol Repass 2nd Place: Ann Meier, Nancy Harp, Sue Smotherman & Rita Brandeberry 2012 Club Champion Jackie Toth (left) with President s Cup Winner Cathy Gordon (right)
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Sylvania Country Club Celebrating 96 Years of Excellence September 2012 10 News from the Courts by Jeff Harst If anyone has questions about indoor tennis contact Jeff at 419-902-2192. Indoor court time, private lessons or group lessons available. Mark and Stephanie Greenblatt defended their 2011 Harst Cup title by winning the 2012 Harst Cup! The team of 6 overcame a first round deficit to reclaim the lead by round 4. The players at this year s event dealt with the heavy fan fare, crazy weather, and all around great tennis. The winners even took their trophy s for a victory lap around town in a limo!!
Sylvania Country Club Celebrating 96 Years of Excellence September 2012 11 On Wednesday, August 15 the SCC Ninettes hosted the 9-holers from Stone Oak Country Club. The ladies enjoyed beautiful weather, fun golf and a lovely luncheon full of laughs and fantastic camaraderie.
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