The Birnam Buzz - January 2023

DEAR MEMBERS OF BIRNAM WOOD

PRESIDENT’S LETTER

Stanton Anderson, President

Happy New Year and best wishes to all of you reading this column!

The Birnam Wood Board and I wish you the happiest of New Years, and we hope that the coming year will be healthy and even prosperous.

On behalf of the Board, I want to report on the major issues that the Board will be dealing with over the coming months.

Several weeks ago, the Board created a Special Committee in response to changes in California law that require a review of our current governance structure. Comprised of two homeowners, two resident members, and myself, the Committee is scheduled to meet in the next week or so to review recommendations from our outside Counsel and governance experts. Their findings and recommendations will be reported at the January Board meeting.

The Construction Oversight, Design, and Finance Committees continue to meet regularly to coordinate plans for the renovation of the Clubhouse patio. Those plans should be finalized in the coming weeks, at which point I will communicate these decisions to all members of the Club.

Outside security consultant, former Santa Barbara Police Chief Cam Sanchez, is working closely with Manny Bravo, Birnam’s Director of Security, to review the Club’s current security arrangements. Cam and Manny are scheduled to make their findings and recommendations to the Board at its January meeting.

The Green Committee has received preliminary construction estimates from several firms and is working with our Golf Course Architect, Todd Eckenrode, and our Golf Course Supervisor, Ryan Bentley, to determine next steps. Once this process has been completed, the results of those efforts will be reported to the Board and to the membership.

Over the past few months, the Board and I have leaned heavily on our newly constituted committees. On behalf of the Board, I want to express our appreciation for the many hours the Committee chairs and members have spent not only on the issues outlined above but also on a number of other issues important to the Club.

Lastly, on behalf of the Board, I want to extend best wishes to everyone for a Happy New Year, and we look forward to a great 2023!

FROM THE GENERAL MANAGER

Jordan Sweeney, CSW, General Manager and Chief Operating Officer

I want to begin by congratulating our Employee of the Year for 2022, Ryan Whitmore. Ryan has worked in our cart department since May of 2019 and brings a great sense of hospitality to our outside service. Members often comment on Ryan’s infectious disposition, willingness to help and great attitude. Please congratulate Ryan on this incredible achievement. We are thrilled to have him on our team.

December brought a lot of fun to the Club. We hosted many sold out events and began the new tradition of TGIF “pop up” bars in our newly renovated lobby. Louie Flores started this tradition and festive holiday cocktails were enjoyed by many. Due to the popularity of this event, we will continue the tradition of hosting “pop up” bars on the first Friday of every month and seasonally throughout the year.

The annual Citrus Singers event was a special treat for our members. The clubhouse was filled with beautiful music that put everyone in the holiday spirit. Though it rained the weekend of Santa’s Brunch, the day ended up being clear and perfect! Santa arrived via escort in one of our security vehicles accompanied by Mrs. Claus and our sold-out event was fun for the whole family. Our Champagne and Caviar event was a night of pure elegance where members enjoyed the finest caviar and champagne, and it was a pleasure to see members dressed up and enjoying their Club’s new ballroom. As I write this article, our New Year’s Eve 007 party hasn’t happened yet, but we have a special night planned with our member’s favorite band! In January, we have our Seafood Extravaganza on Saturday, January 21st.

In closing, we are preparing for the renovation of our patio due to begin in February. Stay tuned for updates. Thank you very much for your support. Here’s to a great 2023 at our Club!

Jordan Sweeney, CCM General Manager

MEMBERSHIP

Welcome New Members

– December 2022

Nathan Lipps (Allison)

Junior Golf

Christian Menard, Gayle Beebe, Howard Rochestie

Nathan and Allison met at Westmont College. After graduation, they married and moved to the Bay Area to be closer to family and focus on Nate’s career. They have three children and recently decided to return to Santa Barbara to raise their family. Nathan has worked for a number of startups over the past 10 years and currently works with Element5. They enjoy serving their community through volunteering and are very excited to become part of the Birnam Wood family.

Ashley Fickel (Connie)

Intermediate

Golf

Michele Saltoun, Bob Marshall, Bill McBride

Ashley grew up in Santa Barbara and graduated from Laguna Blanca, the Howard School and Westmont College where he was a two-time All American on the tennis team. Connie was raised in the Midwest before moving to California for Law School. The two met at Pepperdine University School of Law. (Connie also obtained her MBA from Pepperdine’s business school.) They are both practicing attorneys and moved back to Santa Barbara in 2017. They both play tennis and golf and are members of the Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club and the California Club. They also enjoy tasting and collecting wines from the Central Coast in their free time.

Candidates for Membership

The following new candidates for membership will be considered at the next meeting of the Membership Committee:

Janna Kohl (Jonathan)

1st Century Bank

Hollis Jones (Dawn)

Retired Corporate Exec./Author Cory

Out of State Dallas Country Club Bill Hickey

For the best interest of the Club, information regarding any candidate, whether favorable or unfavorable, is earnestly requested. Communications concerning any applicant may be made personally or by a signed writing to the Membership Committee. All communications will be held in strict confidence.

Please submit comments by Friday, January 27, 2023.

Membership Committee:

Kelly Vandever, Chair Jen Abed Trey Evans David Grotenhuis Ryan Malmsten Patty Marshall

Lina Ensor Non-Resident LA Country Club James Fordyce

Martin

Marta Babson Matt Porter Betsey Moller Chris Gregoire

FROM THE DIRECTOR OF CLUBHOUSE OPERATIONS

Luis Flores

As I reflect on December’s events, starting off with the Citrus Singers, Brunch with Santa, Champagne & Caviar dinner, and New Years Eve, I am impressed with Birnam’s busy social calendar! We truly have a great supporting act with our membership. All these events sold out within minutes. It’s a great feeling to plan these events and to see them come together. The support and joy that all of you bring to Birnam Wood makes it an amazing place to be. Thank you for your continued support throughout the year. Looking ahead to January, we’ve got the Seafood Extravaganza and Paul Lato Wine Dinner, two fun events you don’t want to miss.

COTTAGES UPDATE

Have you seen our new look for our Garden Cottages? All exterior work has been completed as of December 20th. We received our newest patio furniture and it’s so inviting! Start planning your next outing and book your cottage by using our Club App under the Cottage tab or through our member website under Cottage Rentals.

LOCKER ROOM UPDATE

Ladies, we have less than ten half lockers available. Email me to reserve yours at lflores@bwgc.net. We currently have a waiting list for men’s lockers. If you would like to be added to the list, stop by and see Enrique Figueroa in the locker room.

Thank you and Happy New Year

TGIF Wine Seafood Event Extravaganza

Paul Lato Wine Dinner Mixed Friday Game Men's Team Play vs. Montecito

GOLF NEWS

Michael Goodcase, Director of Golf

The Holiday Season has come and gone. A brand-new year has begun!

I trust everyone enjoyed their time with family and friends. Hopefully, some of you have made a resolution to play more golf and to play better golf. We are here to help. If you have any interest in booking a lesson, contact the Golf Shop. The lesson rates are $60 for thirty minutes and $120 for one hour (PGA), or $50 for thirty minutes and $100 for one hour (PGA Apprentice). The teaching academy will have a new launch monitor (Trackman 4 unit) installed very soon.

We had quite a bit of much needed rainfall throughout December. It was so great for the golf course. Mixed throughout those storms, we had a few fabulous events that I would like to highlight.

The Men’s Guest Day in December had a very nice turnout on a gorgeous day for golf. Congratulations to the net winners: David Cronenbold, Jose Cronenbold, Parker Anderson, and Dick Nordlund. The gross winners were Nathan Ridgell, Spencer Foosherian, Dan Kennedy, and Mark Abrahams.

The Ladies’ celebrated their “Especial” Holiday Guest Day on December 9th. The field had 73 golfers on another glorious day at Birnam Wood to be a part of Feliz Navidad. As you might imagine, wonderful Mexican food, prepared by Chef Abdu, and Tequila were a large part of this event’s theme. There was a special visit from Señor Santa whose gift was, of

course, mini bottles of Tequila (look for photos in the Buzz). The players had a raffle where they could do the previous winner “dirty” by stealing their prize. The net winners of this event were Elizabeth Slaught, Wendy Laub, Asia Anthony, and Hilary Sims. The gross winners were Nancy Hunter, Katie Crook, Barbara DeGroot, and Sue Wilcox.

The Golf Shop hosted the Annual Christmas Sale and 9-Hole Golf Tournament on Sunday, December 4th, as drizzle came down for most of the day. There were a number of members who took to the links despite the less than desirable conditions. The winning team was Charlie and Carrie Bissell, and Asia Anthony. The Christmas Sale was very well attended by members across our different membership categories. The largest discount balloon was picked by Anders Bergstrom’s daughter, Wren (50% off). Many other members felt the joy of Christmas as they picked discounts of 40 and 45% off. At the end of the day, the Golf Shop had the annual raffle. One of the club’s newest members (December 1), Ashley and Connie Fickel, made their first visit to the club to shop, play golf, and have a meal. Needless to say, they won one of the raffle prizes. As their name was called, the staff noticed that they were just about to exit the Terrace into the lobby. They were called over to get their gift and the rest of the members in attendance invited them to stay and enjoy a glass of wine. Fast forward a few minutes, the grand prize, a 10 second free shopping spree, was up for

The BWWGA 2022 most improved players:

January - Ingrid Brandes

February - Marta Babson

March - Patty Sheehan

April - Teri Sahhar

May - Melanie Judson

June - Vivienne Bellisario

July - Diane Lundberg

August - Esther McKinley

September - Celeste Turbeville

October - Nancy Hunter

November - Madeline Stack

grabs. The winner of this prize must be present to win, for obvious reasons. A number of names got picked who were not present. Finally, guess whose name gets drawn from the hat? Ashley and Connie Fickel! Connie Fickel made great use of the 10 seconds, gathering four items for a grand total of just under $400! Not a bad first day at Birnam Wood!!

ADD MORE DISTANCE TO YOUR GOLF GAME

Scott Maier, PGA Certified Teaching Professional

Would you like to add more distance to your golf game? I thought so. There are three main areas to look at when you want to add more distance.

1. Equipment

2. Fitness

3. Technique

EQUIPMENT

Playing golf with clubs that do not fit your swing will reduce clubhead speed which will, in turn, reduce your ball speed. No matter what level of player you are, have your clubs professionally fit to your optimal specifications. It is critical to play with clubs that are the correct length, lie angle, loft, and shaft flex.

FITNESS

If you already have a fitness program great. If not, I suggest you start one. The goal of your fitness program is to eliminate any deficiencies you have in strength and flexibility. I had the pleasure of working with a great sports trainer, Kevin Brown. His motto was to train your entire body, upper and lower, front and back, left and right, no deficiencies. Focusing on one area of your body while neglecting others will prevent you from achieving your maximum ball speed. It will also lead to inefficiencies and possible injury.

I would include nutrition (eat a healthy diet), hydration (drink plenty of fluids), and recovery/sleep (get 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night) into the fitness category.

TECHNIQUE

There are four main power sources in the golf swing, hands, arms, pivot, and rotation. Here are four key checkpoints to keep in mind.

1. The lead hand is flat or bowed at impact.

2. The trail elbow leads the trail hand half-way down, just like the throwing motion.

3. The golf swing is a two-pivot swing. Your weight and pressure will shift to your trail foot in the backswing and to your lead foot in the follow through.

4. Your goal is to rotate your shoulders more than your hips at the top of the backswing. A minimum of 30 degrees is recommended. Keep in mind it is not how much you turn rather how you turn.

Improve these three areas of your golf game and you will create more ball speed and increase your distances.

Schedule a lesson today if you would like to add more distance to your golf game.

FROM TEE TO GREEN

Ryan Bentley, Golf Course Superintendent

WINTER CONDITIONS – The good, the bad, and the ugly of winter turf

With December rains of over 3.5 inches (“the good”), the night time temperatures dropping to a frosty condition for multiple days in a row (“the bad”), and the golf course undergoing dormancy (“the ugly”) and the change from the green grass of summer and fall to the brown and down dormant Bermuda grass of winter.

By now, I am sure most everyone is aware that we have a Warm Season Grass Golf Course, that being hybrid Bermuda grass. Our turf grass has almost no real growth potential from late November through March though we may see little spurts of growth during a warm week. We do paint and fertilize when we know we will experience warm weather to try and trigger growth. Below, is a graph explaining warm season growth potential vs. cool season growth potential. Below, the light green or Cool Season growth potential indicates when Poa Annua has the growth advantage and the dark green is the warm season or Bermuda (Birnam Wood Grass type in fairways tees and roughs) has the advantage.

The “Truth” - warm-season / Bermuda grass vs. cool-season / Poa Annua and Ryegrass.

Source is USGA, United States Golf Association

Greens are in good health after our late fall aeration and the speed and smoothness have dramatically improved.

Overall, the late fertilization and pigment sprays worked for a prolonged growing season in fall. The pigment and fertilizer will also help to keep a satisfactory amount of color this winter. As seen below.

Pictured below #12 Green (12/21/22)

Pictured below Hole #18 Fairway turf after drying out (12/20/22)

The light green represents (Poa Annua and Ryegrass) and the dark green represents (hybrid Bermuda grass) BWGC is predominantly warm season grass / Bermuda.

The “Good” Rain in December is just below average, and we did have a 4-day storm that brought 3.5 inches of rain. This was much needed and, in the long run, a huge win.

The “Bad” and the “Ugly”

Pictured here is the same fairway, Hole #18, 2 days after the rain. As you can see, the fairway after two days of drying still had puddles and worm castings popping up everywhere.

Hole #11 right side rough in full shade

What can we do?

The rain was much needed and a blessing for the area, however, on the golf course we experienced three days of saturation and prolonged puddling. The rain is always welcome, yet the puddling will cause discoloration and thinning. The only thing we can

do from a maintenance standpoint is be patient, back off major maintenance, and focus on clean-up, bunker, and drainage work.

For a Superintendent managing warm-season grass, this is the hardest time of the year as the best prescription is patience. Our team constantly reminds each other, all conditions are temporary. It’s amazing how much a golf course can change in 5 days and, typically, Mother Nature is in control. Of course, there are many things that we call “self-inflicted” wounds during the winter season and we as the maintenance team try our best to avoid them, remain patient, and don’t overdo it.

Key maintenance strategies that are changed during winter are the following:

• Reduce mowing around rain and frost; this eliminates further wear and tear causing prolonged damage

• Reducing and restricting cart usage around rain and frost, again to reduce wear and tear

• Spreading the tee placement around on the tees utilizing more of the tee

• Seeding with cool season (Ryegrass) weak teeing areas and/ or thin shady areas

• Protecting shady areas with ropes and stakes to direct traffic out of these areas

• Trimming trees to open the canopies for more sunlight to get through to the turf surface

• Brooming dry worm casting to knock-down the dirt the worms bring to the top of the soil

Our team will continue to enjoy the benefits of rain and focus on improving our conditions with different cultural practices and agronomic programs. This will ultimately lead to top-quality conditions over time.

Pictured below is Hole #9 Green and Hole #11 Green and Approach. Both improved areas from last winter as last winter we experienced thin turf around the greens and on the collars.

Hole #3 – Shade the enemy of warm season grass!

No matter what time of year, shade is the enemy of Bermuda grass. Bermuda grass performs best with heat and sunlight. In this picture we have several issues that have led to thin turf.

• Yearlong shade

• Prolonged wet area during rain events

• Shady winter causing a cold pocket during the coldest of days

More rain equals more worms

In this picture you can see the thinning turf and what we call “worm castings” or mud. This is a tough situation to manage and again the best prescription is to be patient and wait until the mud dries then drag it in with brooms. Worms are a sign of a healthy soil; they are not good for golf so we will be doing our best to cleanup the castings as quickly as possible.

Pictured here Hole #7 Green

This picture serves our maintenance team as a reminder that although we are battling the challenges of Winter Conditions, we are working hard to provide the best conditions given the challenges we face. Our team is constantly evaluating what we can do in the future to improve and soon we will see those improvements as all things are temporary when it comes to golf course conditions.

We have included several more pictures illustrating some of the “ugly” conditions that you may see out there as we go through winter.

Hole #2 – Par three tee with heavy use and heavy shade. Seed has been applied and germination has begun; it’s only a matter of time before we see improvement.

Ryan Bentley Superintendent

DUCKS ON THE POND

By Bob Marshall

The pond at the #9 green is a major attraction for golf balls (including two of mine yesterday), but it is also a magnet for birdlife at Birnam. In early December, a Golden Eagle, a rarity in Montecito, calmly sat beside the pond for more than an hour, allowing Golf Pro, Dave Tucker, to walk right up and take the photo above. Dave also reports a unique visit from Brown Pelicans last month, not rare, but quite lost. For years, an Osprey has occasionally perched atop the tall evergreen tree by the pond, watching in vain for fish.

More regularly, the pond is a home for wintering ducks down from their breeding grounds in Canada. The numbers and varieties vary: in the previous five-year period we counted an average of 7 Ringed-Necked Ducks; this year you will see an astonishing flock of 170 sitting on the pond, dodging golf balls. You can identify the males by their black heads and grey flanks; the females are a more uniform brown. Scattered among the Ringed-Necks are a dozen or so Bufflehead. Again, it is the males that stand out, with a stunning white patch on the back of the head. You will see both species diving underwater to feed (on what?), whereas the more familiar 28 Mallards sit placidly on the surface when they’re not resting on the bank near Anne Towbes’s house.

Of course, you can find birds all over the Birnam property, not just on #9. On this year’s annual Christmas Bird Count (sponsored by the National Audubon Society), Houston Harte and I identified 38 species on an early Saturday morning, almost all quite common, up from a count of 33 last year, but down from a Covid-year high of 44. In exciting news, Birnam was host last year to the only Lewis’s Woodpecker in the Carpinteria census.

Although Golf Course Superintendent, Ryan Bentley, has his dogs ready for Coot that befoul the greens, he is a birder himself and is happy with the ducks on the pond. “One of the great things about golf is that it is played in nature,” notes Ryan– even if it means we lose some golf balls along the way.

FROM THE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR

Scott Burton

The mornings are cool, yet Athletics are sizzling at the club!

Well, another winter is upon us here at Birnam Wood, and club activities are going strong!

The holidays are upon us, and recently we celebrated Thanksgiving with our annual Turkey Challenge. Twenty of Birnam’s most enthusiastic pickleball players came out on a beautiful Saturday and had a fantastic day filled with fun play and amazing camaraderie. We served a light breakfast before play began, and lunch at noontime, while our quest for the best played out.

Spirits were high and it was obvious that the level of play has grown tremendously here at the club over the past year. In the end, Champions were crowned. On the ladies’ side of the Holiday Turkey Challenge, it was Trina Grokenberger who came out on top. On the men’s side, it was our own Ed Gibbs who prevailed as champion. Runners-up Bill Reyner and Patti Gibbs played spirited pickleball and were just a few points behind our eventual winners.

On the Tennis side of the courts, we hosted our popular “Burn Off The Bird” our dayafter-Thanksgiving tennis clinic. This was a super fun opportunity for our members to burn off some of that amazing feast Birnam Wood featured the day prior. We had a great time with skills and drills for game improvement, as well as “Live Ball” game format tennis. It was an action-packed morning on the tennis courts that left everyone fulfilled and full of smiles before, during, and afterwards.

The holidays have been fantastic here at Birnam Wood, and we look forward to 2023 to be even more exciting and busy with upcoming sporting activities. Stay tuned for more information regarding all things Pickleball, Tennis, Bocce, and Croquet in the coming year.

Remember what the great Ernie Banks once said when participating in sporting events, “The only way to prove you are a good sport is to LOSE.” It truly is the journey, and not so much the destination, we enjoy. Honored to be your Director of Athletics. Wishing you all good health and fitness. See you on the courts!

GROUP FITNESS CLASSES

BIRNAM WOOD GOLF

2031 Packing House Road Santa Barbara, CA 93108

CLUB

CLUBHOUSE DRESS CODE - Country club casual dress is acceptable during the day in all areas of the clubhouse. For gentlemen this includes slacks or Bermuda shorts, collared shirts tucked in at the waist with a belt, or appropriate golf and tennis attire and for ladies this includes dresses, nice pants, skirts, and similar attire. In the evening, a country club casual dining option is available in the Casual Grill, the 19th Hole Bar, and on the Terrace. The Club may request event-specific appropriate attire (black tie, blue jean pants permitted, etc.) for certain functions. Members hosting or sponsoring private events are responsible for communicating the Club dress code to those attending such events.

CANCELLATION POLICY - Reservations for private parties and Club sponsored events will be charged to the Member’s account unless notice of cancellation is received at the office at least 48 hours in advance. Reservations for Major Club sponsored special events will be charged to the Member’s account unless notice of cancellation is received at the office at least one week in advance. Should a cancellation be made after these times, a charge of one half of the price of the event will be made. Should no cancellation be made, the full price will be charged.

CELL PHONES AND BUSINESS PARAPHERNALIA - The use of cellular phones and other electronic and wireless devices for the purpose of conducting audible conversations is strictly prohibited on the Club premises (including the Clubhouse and the Terrace areas of the Clubhouse, tennis courts, croquet courts, driving range, and golf course), except inside parked vehicles and the locker rooms and except for medical emergencies.

FOR YOUR PROTECTION - Audio and video recording is taking place at Birnam Wood.

STAFF ROSTER

Jordan Sweeney, General Manager and COO

Luis Flores, Director of Clubhouse Operations

Kristy Evans, Director of Membership & Communications

Michael Goodcase, Director of Golf

Ryan Bentley, Golf Course Superintendent

Scott Burton, Athletic Director

Manny Bravo, Director of Security

Dolly St. Germain, Controller

Debbie Daggett, Director of Human Resources

Eric Salazar, Director of Food & Beverage

Abdu Romero, Executive Chef

Tiffany Grummer, Director of Private Events

Israel Ruiz, Facilities Director

Joy DuMay, Fitness Co-Director

Liz Parrish, Fitness Co-Director

Katie Atchley, Executive Assistant

Cathy Kendrick, Lead Front Desk Attendant

The official publication of the Birnam Wood Golf Club, published monthly for members of the Club. Phone 805.969.2223 | Website: bwgc.net | Email: frontdesk@bwgc.net