Hello everyone,
What a difference a month makes! Last newsletter we were welcoming everyone back with COVID restrictions in place. Now we have a few weeks under our belts, the course is busy with play, Sue is back creating fabulous food for us to eat, and the greatest, seeing you with smiling faces not covered up with masks!
We have updated the Golfer's Handbook, removing COVID restrictions, and the noodles in the cups. I know that will make many of you extremely happy. Water jugs and divot sand are back on the course for you to utilize. We are almost back to the norm.
Brody Yates rejoined our team this week bringing with him a vast knowledge of golf. We would like to congratulate him on his finish at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Individual Championship earlier this month. Brody showed off his natural talent, tying for 5th in the event. Way to go!
I would like to encourage singles and two-somes to sign up to play with other singles and two-somes. You can meet some great people on the course, have some laughs and play golf. There has been a trend of many two-somes on the tee sheet when there is another group of two they could pair with. You never know who you might end up playing with.
Weekend tee times are a hot commodity. Please remember if you make one, or two, and cannot make it, to let us know. This has happened a few times this year. The online system only allows you to cancel yourself; therefore, call the Golf Shop if the reservation is for the day of, or email golf@kwiniaska.com if the cancellation is for another day.
Below you will find information on the 1-Day Member Guest, Member Match Play, Member-Member Match Play, Ladies' League and more. The season is kicking into gear and we are ready! Junior camp begins the week of June 14th. The kids will be playing at 12:30pm Monday - Friday.
A reminder, Monday, June 14th the course opens at 12pm. This allows time for the Grounds Crew to spend a little more time on the course. We have also scheduled for the parking lot to be restriped that morning. I know my eyes are having a hard time seeing some of the lines.
Many of you have asked me about Mr. Nappi and how he is doing. A couple of months ago he fell and injured his back. With pain increasing over the past few weeks, he admitted himself to the hospital and it was discovered he broke part of his back. A plan is being created and the healing process will hopefully begin. He asked me to say hello to everyone for him and has appreciated hearing people asking about him. He cannot wait to start spending more time at the place he loves so dearly. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers for a quick recovery.
As always, if you have any questions or need any help, please do not hesitate to reach out to JP, Brody, Jake or myself. We are here for you.
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Looking forward to a fabulous season,
Club Manager
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2021 MEMBERSHIP
We are full! Thank you all!
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LADIES' LEAGUE
Competition Starts Monday, June 7th
Register weekly by Saturday for Monday play
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We would love to be open 7 days a week, mornings and evenings; however, until a part-time cook is found, the pub is
Currently Closed on Tuesdays.
There is now staff to help Sue with taking orders, serving food and making drinks. Welcome back Emma and Avery and hello to Caroline, Macy and Kate. For now, pub hours are:
Monday: 11am – 8pm
Tuesday: CLOSED
Wednesday: 11am – 8pm
Thursday – Sunday: 10am – 5pm
The Golf Shop staff is happy to fill water bottles and get drinks or snacks when the pub is closed. Thank you to everyone for your continued support of the pub and welcoming Sue back. She is a wonderful lady and great chef!
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If you have played the game over an extended period of time, you may have experienced slow play at one time or another and the frustration that can arises from that experience. Typically, a round of golf (with four players) over 18-holes should take approximately four hours or less! The following are some ways we can help our fellow golfers keep within the acceptable playing time at Kwiniaska, have a more enjoyable round of golf, and be considerate of the other groups on the course.
1) When it is your turn to play your shot be ready. USGA guidelines state you get your clubs, analyze a shot, take a practice swing, line up a putt, and complete your shot all within 40 seconds. Time begins immediately after the previous person has hit.
2) Go directly to your ball. Golf is a social game but there is a time and a place to talk with your friends.
3) Carry an extra ball in your pocket. Errant shots do occur.
4) Score your card on the next tee. Wasting time on the green slows up play.
5) Play a provisional ball when appropriate. “Rules of Golf”
6) Sharing a cart. Drop the first person at their ball and then proceed to your ball.
7) Speak up if your group is falling behind. It’s your responsibility to stay in position on the course.
8) Play ready golf. If a player is not ready for some reason, play your shot.
9) Always be aware of your position on the course. When necessary, let a faster group play through.
Golf is played, for the most part, without the supervision of a referee or umpire. The game relies on the integrity of the individual to show consideration for other players. It is also your responsibility to care for the course while you are out playing. Repair your ball marks, rake the bunkers and repair your divots. This is the true spirt of the game. These simple suggestions will help improve your pace of play and make the course enjoyable for all players.
Enjoy all the game has to offer and we look forward to seeing you on the course.
John Paul, PGA
Director of Golf
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The Professional staff will be conducting a number of enjoyable and educational golf clinics for the membership this year. They are open to all members and free of charge. The clinic will be interactive, but most of all fun.
Our mission is simple, to enhance your enjoyment of the game. We will cover a number of topics with the main focus on improving your skills and knowledge of the game, but also enjoying the camaraderie of the members and staff. Listed below are the dates and topics to be covered this season.
6/10/21 – Fundamentals of the Swing and What’s in the Bag
6/24/21 – Mid and Short Irons
7/15/21 – Chipping and Pitching
7/29/21 – Putting
8/12/21 – Bunker Play
8/26/21 – Woods and Hybrids
Clinics will be held on Thursdays starting at 5:00pm, and should run between an hour to an hour and half. We will meet at the Clubhouse and then head out to the appropriate facilities. Remember the game continues to change and evolve so there is always something new to learn. We look forward to seeing you at the clinics.
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WAITING FOR A SHOT IN THE ARM |
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Well, it’s been over a year since all of this craziness began and for much of that time, many of us were waiting for a shot in the arm to tell us that we were nearing the end, that a return to some sense of normalcy was just around the corner. Thankfully here in Vermont, we’re a few measly percentage points from that becoming a reality. The return of accessories to the golf course; bunkers rakes, divot bottles, cooler sheds and the removal of noodles in the cups signal that the end is indeed near. This brighter future could allow for a greater resurgence for the golf industry, which may even include people using bunkers rakes, divot bottles, replacing divots, fixing ball marks and actually understanding what the 90 degree rule is. OK, I went too far with my delusion. In my defense, it has been a long year and I am writing this in a bar!
In the golf maintenance world, we are all waiting for a shot in the arm of a different kind. One of the side effects of this whole thing has been the effect it has had on the labor market. As any person who owns a business or has tried to hire anyone for anything knows, the shortage of labor has hindered everyone’s ability to get anything done. As real estate booms and people are set free from their pandemic shackles, free to reenter existence, the lack of viable candidates to actually do the work that exists on every corner and in every store, is nonexistent. We have the same problem here at Kwiniaska. Since March and through the glorious weather that was April, we have been scrambling to keep our heads above water and the grass below knee height as we wait for our youthful reinforcements, that shot in the arm that gives us hope that things will start to move forward. The reinforcements come in the form of college students and although we will have them for a very short time, the respite from daily maintenance tasks will be welcome. Don’t get me wrong, superintendents love to get back to the basics, to just hop on a mower and get lost, but the stories of courses trying to maintain conditions with 3-4 people are scary. Everyone in golf may have to adjust their golf conditions expectations moving forward. Luckily, we have hope on the horizon and the help has started to trickle in. I cringe every time I drive by the half-completed tees on 5, 11 and 18 as I had hoped to have had them close to opening by now. I know my talents are better served with the larger tasks and the larger plans we have here at Kwiniaska, so hopefully the ball starts to move downfield and I can get back to building and smiling when I hear the collective groan of my employees when the 38th Saratoga Sod truck rolls into the parking lot.
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US Open Rough
I’m often amused and more regularly annoyed by the rumblings of the Peanut Gallery. Lately the only rumblings I pay attention to are when they blast next door. One of the side effects of what I have just described has been our inability to keep up with those daily tasks. I often tell people, “clay only exists in two forms, mud and brick and there’s about 20 minutes in between.” For those of you who are new members at Kwini and for those long-time members who know all too well, we are built of and on clay. Clay has an incredible water holding capacity which means that when it rains, the clay holds onto that water providing the grass an abundance of water for weeks of growth. A week of 4” of rain with warm temperature and short staff this Spring allowed us to provide tournament condition rough worthy of a US Open. No, this is not by design as the hollow shells surmise. Based on tales of yore, it has always been that way and it will always be that way here at Kwini in the Spring. With the labor dynamic in golf showing no sign of getting any easier, my advice for golfing in the Spring at Kwini is, “keep it in the short grass and wait for better days.” When the rain stops, here comes the brick…and the Kwini roll, but only if you keep it in the short grass. Duh!
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Talking bout That G-G-G-Generation
Two of the saving graces throughout these past few years of turmoil has been the contributions of two of our most dedicated employees here at Kwiniaska, Dick Cady and Paul MacHavern. Both retired from their previous lives, they have chosen to spend their mornings cutting up with us in the maintenance barn and not at some McDonalds or wherever men of a certain age congregate (Kwini parking lot?). We have a lot of laughs down there and their local knowledge has been invaluable in helping me find where the bodies are buried and why things were the way they were. They were out there in the snow with me cutting brush and chipping for endless days when we finally shut it down on December 30th last year. They are bugging me to come back each Spring (our early start may have saved marriages) and they are there, before me, every day, doing the work that many “Generation whatevers” will not. Without their dedication and the work ethic that you find in most men of their era, Kwiniaska would not have made the gains that we have the last two years. They have been the ones keeping our heads above water this Spring and always, and for that I am grateful. They are the ones that care the most for Kwini, they are the ones that are the foundation of Kwini. Much better than clay, especially when things get hard. You’re only ever as good as your employees and they make it easy to feel good about where this all is headed. Golf construction projects are rewarding, yet difficult, regardless of their size. There are moments after countless long days when you feel alone, and some days during this pandemic, I literally have been. Dick and Paul always make sure I am not. They have kept those fairway lines straight and always tame that rough, so please throw a wave or offer a simple thank you to men of a certain era, who appreciate those simple gestures and know that when we’re looking for a shot in the arm, these guys are a shot in the ass.
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Just When You Think You’re Out… They Pull You Back In
Despite what has been a roller coaster year, it has been good to see so many people drawn back to what the Nappi’s have created here. The return of both membership and former employees who have made their way back has been an internal joke that we are more than happy to laugh about. The Kwini Black Hole! It speaks to the atmosphere that exists here and connection, which we have all been lacking in throughout this whole thing and when that happens you get an inkling that you must be doing something right and headed in the right direction. I’ve almost always been involved at the start of things, when the promise of the future is the attraction, and I’ve also watched from a safe distance as I’ve watched the death spiral as golf courses circle the drain of negative black holes. The return of the old, coupled with the fantastic influx of the new, is encouraging to see. Even golf courses have a circle of life and the rebirth of Kwiniaska is more nebula than black hole. When stars collapse, sometimes they can become a black hole and others, a nebula, which are the basis of some of Hubble’s most astounding and breathtaking pictures. When I see the nebula of new faces built on the foundation of what Kwini was, I think that we are indeed headed in the right direction. We are all made of stardust, just hopefully not clay!
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Not Done Yet. While Others Have Draft Boards.
Wasn’t it nice how quiet life became during this pandemic? The return of sound that didn’t hurt your ears. Birds, wind, water, the sound of bees. Things are quiet here at Kwini for the first time in couple of years. The incessant beep, beep, beep of construction equipment in May that was a fixture, now falls quiet. As much as I love seeing heavy yellow iron (across the street doesn’t do it), I think we are all relishing a more normal existence. Again, whatever that means. But by no means are we done with the improvements here at Kwini. While NFL teams have draft boards, I have project white boards, of which, I have filled several. A two-word description may equal a week of skilled work, others 4 hours of just finding the time on the priority list. Again, all subject to labor. Many of these projects are broad brush strokes, off the top of my head, like -IMPROVE FAIRWAY CONDITION. Most are simple, but all of it is years of work in the future. Yes, the heavy lifting is done, but we are by no means close to the plan in our heads. Bear with us, our nebula just went off and it takes years for the light to reach us.
Cheers,
Howie
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GIFT CARDS
Purchase online and we will email you the gift card for contactless ordering and receiving.
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Kwiniaska Golf Club
August 13th, 2020
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Photo by Greg Carter, Civil Engineering Associates |
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Howard Nosek, Course Superintendent
John Paul, Director of Golf
Robert Nappi, Owner
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