Neon Green Spring is Coming Soon!

Hello everyone,

The past couple of months have been great on our end! Howard, JP and I still come to the office Monday - Friday (unless weather dictates otherwise) but rather than the minimum 10 hour day, we are half that, depending on the project. This allows us to still be productive at work, prepping for a fabulous 2023 golf season, but we are also enjoying some much needed downtime with the families. Personally, I feel well rested and ready to take on the upcoming season!

The past couple of months Howard and his crew worked on a dumping site (grass clippings and course debris) behind #4 tee, many willow branches were chewed up by the sweeper and the inside of the barn has seen a partial makeover. Spring shop orders are all set, let's hope the distribution issues many companies faced last season are worked out. Is there anything you would like to see the Golf Shop sell? Let us know.

Our 2023 Calendar of Events is listed below. One major change this year...the Club Championship is now in August and the two day Member - Guest is in July. The management team discussed this at great length and feel the club championship should be towards the end of the summer rather than in the middle. Before you ask, opening day has not been determined yet. Let's see what the next few months hold.

As we begin thinking about the upcoming season, registration for many summer activities have already begun, or begin soon. Just like the kids' summer camps, if you do not register early, you COULD miss out as the event is sold out. Why mention this?

We are lucky enough in this state to have supportive golf associations which offer many different events, allowing for golfers to meet other golfers, have fun and enjoy a friendly competition. If you have yet to participate in one, I strongly recommend trying it out. The people who run the events, as well as the participants, are great people who enjoy the game of golf. To participate you need to have an active GHIN, and as a member of Kwiniaska Golf, this is included in your membership.

Vermont Golf Association (VGA)

VGA registration opens March 1st. You need to complete a profile prior to event registration.

• Questions: Contact John Goodchild at john@vtga.org

Vermont Women's Golf Association (VSWGA)

VSWGA registration opens in April. You will need to register on the site and pay $30 in annual dues.

• Questions: Contact Ashley Bond at ashleymbond@yahoo.com

Vermont Senior Golf Association (VSGA)

VSGA Registration is now open. You need to complete a profile and pay $50 in annual dues.

• Questions: Contact Bob at Treasurer@vtsga.org

Vermont Junior Golf Tour

Registration takes place on the VGA website on February 1st. You need to complete a profile and pay $50 annual fee.

• Questions: Contact John at john@vtga.org

In addition, there is a VGA Scholarship that is given out each year and now is the time to apply. Who does not need money for college? Apply no later than April 17th, 2023.

For parents/grandparents of junior golfers interested in summer camp, Gonzo's Junior Golf Camps are currently open for registration. Have your child learn the rules of golf while swinging with certified PGA instructors and having fun outside in the summer. Kwiniaska junior members receive a discounted price. These camps tend to sell out so make sure to get in now!

Invoices will be emailed out February 15th, 2023 as a reminder of your 2023 membership fee balance. Remaining payments on membership are due no later than April 1st, 2023. You are welcome to send checks in anytime throughout the winter.

Please remit to:

Kwiniaska Golf Club

PO Box 1329

Shelburne, VT 05482

Once your check has been processed, you will receive a receipt in your email.  

Remember, if you pay by check or cash, the 6% sales tax will be included in the price. If you pay with a credit card, 6% sales tax will be added onto the price. 

We are scheduled to take a new cart fleet this spring. Yamaha has confirmed that the carts have started to ship. These will be very similar to what we have had the past few years. Many of you have asked about the cart membership pricing. I have included the rates on the Membership Information Sheet listed below. There is no rush on purchasing the cart memberships; however, if you would like to have it added to your membership balance on your account, please let me know.

We are starting our search for the next Kwiniaska Chef! If you know anyone interested, send them to to kwiniaska.com to apply. We will also be looking for a Golf Shop Manager. Howard recently acquired a new Assistant Superintendent! Check out his article in this newsletter to find out who is returning to take on the role!

If you need any help or have any questions, please reach out.



Be well and happy,

Charli Kail

Club Manager

It's that time of year to register your junior golfer for the Drive Chip Putt Qualifier, and there is one local! The Kwini Club Practice Facility is playing host for the local qualifier for this fun event.

Finals take place at Augusta National April 2024.

Never heard of Drive Chip Putt?

Check it out here

2023 MEMBERSHIP

Mr. and Mrs. Nappi's direction for this golf club has been clear since day one: Focus on the membership and bring the golf course up a couple notches to offer golfers a better experience than your average public course, ultimately resulting in superior customer service where all feel welcome.

Thinking about a membership for 2023? Check out the information below. If you have questions, please reach out to Charli at ckail@kwiniaska.com.

2023 RULES OF GOLF UPDATE

If you enjoy the game of Golf but are not a rules enthusiast, or have never taken the time to read The Rules of Golf you’re not alone. The rules can be cumbersome, hard to interpret and apply, especially when it comes to penalty shots. Therefore, The United States Golf Association (USGA) and the Royal and Ancient (R&A) governing bodies for The Rules of Golf have been updating and simplifying the rules for today’s game. Their goals are basically making the game more enjoyable, forgiving and more inclusive. 

The rules modernization initiative began in 2012 with the vast changes occurring in 2019. The Rules of Golf went from 34 to 24 with one being added in 2023. There are now only 25 rules. Here are a few of the USGA and R&A objectives to enhance the game:

• Be more easily understood and applied by all golfers.
•  Improve the pace of play.
• Avoid unnecessary concepts and expectations that may create penalty traps for the player.
• Be more consistent, simple and fair.
• Use a consistent approach for similar situations.
• Use concepts, procedures and outcomes that are more intuitive and easier to learn.  

Here are five of the modifications for 2023:

1. Modification for players with disabilities – The former rules made a number of accommodations for players with disabilities under a local rule which the Committee could enact. Rule 25 will always be in effect so the Committee will no longer have to craft a local rule.    
2. Handicap usage on Score card – It will be up to the Committee overseeing play to ensure the accuracy of one’s handicap in stroke play. Long gone are the days when scores were kept exclusively with pencil and paper.  The use of technology has changed all that.
3. Club damaged during round – You will now be allowed to replace or repair a club due to damage with just one caveat. The damage must be inadvertent and not due to malice. So don’t snap your putter over your knee.
4. Ball moved by natural forces – When your ball is at rest after taking relief and then rolls into another area of the course due to natural causes, there is no penalty and you must replace it. Even if your ball rolls out of bounds or into a penalty area you must replace it.  
5. Back- on the line of relief procedure – Now a simpler procedure when dropping back on the line. When you encounter a drop under the Rules of Golf the ball must merely come to rest within one club-length even if it rolls closer to the hole. 

Penalty Areas are one of the major changes to the Rules of Golf that occurred in 2019. They are defined as bodies of water or other areas defined by the Committee where a ball is often lost or unable to be played. They are defined by red or yellow markings.

These are just a few of the many new changes to the Rules of Golf.

Remember the rules are there to protect the integrity of the game we all so enjoy. So, take some time in the off season to read through the Rules of Golf.  Our first Member Clinic this spring will be on The Rules of Golf and the World Handicapping System. Hope to see you there.

Sincerely,

John Paul, PGA

For more information on the Rules of Golf, check out the USGA website https://www.usga.org/rules-hub.html

Gift Cards are a great gift as they can be applied to membership, player's cards, shop merchandise, golf fees, lessons from John Paul, food and drinks from the pub. They cannot be used at the practice facility. 

Purchase yours now online for that special golfer in your life!

 WWW.KWINIASKA.COM/GIFT-CARDS/

2023 CALENDAR OF EVENTS

THE DEAD OF WINTER AND THE PULL OF A BLACK HOLE

Like all other seasons on the golf course, it’s all up to Mother Nature how the golf season winds down. Sometimes, she shuts the door early then teases a few more glimmers of hope like the usual January thaw. Others, like this year, make you wonder if Global Warming is indeed changing things to such a degree that we may need to rethink what Winter truly is going forward and what it means for the golf season. (NO, we’re not closing later!) For instance, New York City just broke a 50-year record for the latest snowfall. They are still waiting! I wonder…. How long before palm trees replace maples trees at Kwiniaska and Spanish moss hauntingly dangles from the remains of willows?



Yes, a little bit of hyperbole, but things are changing along with everything else in the world that used to be considered normal. If Mother Nature indeed blesses you with an extended Fall, it’s a great opportunity to get a lot done like true long term infrastructure type projects…. if you have the bodies. Here at Kwiniaska, we have been dealing with an aging workforce and departures which have made it difficult to get even the bare minimums done on a daily basis. So, although we were outside until about Christmas, making any real headway was not in the cards as we focused most of our efforts on minimizing the workload for Spring. Finding bodies will continue to be the challenge moving forward for all businesses, especially in Vermont and especially in golf. It’s a lot more complex issue than people just not wanting to work. That is the battle cry of the uninformed (much like the term Woke) and many of the reasons are decades in the making and overdue in this labor storm.

For much of the almost 4 years I have been at Kwiniaska, I have been operating without an assistant through most of the changes and challenges. Finding qualified people who want this lifestyle is a serious problem within the industry. This past year, we were also seriously undermanned. The recent departure of our longtime mechanic has only added to the workload. Our new equipment takes the edge off some of that burden, but how long can one do the work of 3 and do you even want to try? It often has me wondering about the future and how we can possibly continue this trajectory with the continually shifting landscape.



I’ve always done more with less and believed that a smaller, experienced crew can get a lot more done than the constant cycling of new people through the ranks, but there is a need for new blood sometimes, young bucks to carry the load. Unfortunately, turnover has always been part of the equation in a seasonal business such as golf and always will be. In the modern work climate, minimizing turnover has become much more of a primary focus. Finding ways to retain people in an era when the employee priorities are so different than those, we were raised with is a daunting task of pin the tail on the donkey in a room full of elephants. Fortunately, we have a the Kwiniaska Black Hole.

Life on an Island

My first year at Kwiniaska, Charli and I often joked that we were working on the “Island of Misfit Toys.” So much drama happening for such a small club. She even bought me a “I escaped from the Island of Misfit Toys,” t-shirt for Christmas.

We’ve often joked since then about how Kwiniaska continues to suck people back into it’s orbit, unable to escape the event horizon. Although, there may be a number of reasons I’m sure, I like to think that the reason why people return to work here at Kwini is because we provide a unique work environment that people actually enjoy working in. That extends across all of the different personalities here at Kwini and is the reason why people come home, often numerous times, having seen what’s on the other side of the fence. The money is not greener and neither is the grass, but at Kwiniaska, there is a lot less stuff you can step in. Having worked at every type of club in my 35 years in the business, I think people appreciate working at a smaller, more in touch club than working in some of the soul defeating atmospheres of the Bushwoods of the world where there are more Judge Smails characters than there are Rodney Dangerfields.

With that as the setup, it is with great pleasure that the maintenance department announces the return of Chris Kaufman to the orbit of Kwiniaska as assistant superintendent. You may remember Chris from his summer in the pro-shop, his slick golf attire or perhaps his smooth swing from men’s league. (He hasn’t forgotten the sandbaggers, trust me). The year following the pro shop stint, Chris spent the season in the maintenance department and subsequently entered the turf management program at Rutgers University that Fall. After spending the past year at Ekwanok, #1 in the state, Chris will be returning in February to help prepare for the upcoming season. He returns with a thirst for knowledge and the self- awareness of knowing what fits what he wants for the beginning of his career. After expanding his skill set and filling his brain with knowledge of chinch bugs and manganese, he will be returning to Rutgers in the Fall to complete his degree. Upon graduation, it is our hope that Chris will remain in the Kwiniaska orbit. Spaghettification in Kwini’s gravity has its allure, I guess.

20 below this week. The golf course is closed!



Cheers,

Howie