Swing Into Spring

The Rock Swing Into Spring

February 2015 IN THIS ISSUE GENERAL MANAGERS CORNER WHAT’S GOING ON AT THE CLUB THIS WINTER/SPRING WINTER/SPRING CALENDAR OF EVENTS JANUARY RECAP GET INVOLVED - A LIST OF FIREROCK CLUBS BOARD OF MANAGERS STAFF DIRECTORY

THE GENERAL MANAGER’S CORNER

I have been very fortunate over the past 30 years to have been associated with a myriad of great golf courses, magnificent clubhouses, great amenities and nice people. As I look back to those Clubs and try to answer the question in the title of my article it becomes clear in my mind that the answer is quite simple. A great Club is not necessarily the one with the best golf course or the grandest clubhouse nor the one with the fanciest amenities. The great Clubs that stand out in my mind are the ones with great people. Great Clubs need dedicated individuals either on the Board or in ownership, in management, in the membership and in the service staff. Let’s face it, if it was merely about golf there are a lot of daily fee courses that can meet your needs. If it was only about dining, there are also a multitude of options for you to consider. The same applies to tennis, fitness and the pool.

A great Club encompasses all of those amenities and services and delivers it in a way that makes a member feel special. A great Club is about lifestyle, it’s not about golf, dining, fitness; it’s about the delivery of those services. A great Club is a place for like-minded individuals to share an experience.

A great Club requires a vision, commitment, passion and soul. Great Clubs know their identity and do not typically deviate from the course of action that they have set for themselves in their vision statement. Great Clubs have an identity.

Most Clubs that I have managed over the years, unlike this one, have been around for 100 years or more and are a focal part of the community in which they are located. Generation upon generation joined the Club and continued the tradition. I’m sure that during all of those years these clubs had to re-invent themselves and adapt to a changing society around them, however, they probably never lost sight of who they were and what they meant to the community. Many of them were challenged with bigger, shinier golf courses popping up in the vicinity but the successful ones soldiered on and remained true to their vision and mission. They were successful because they had great people leading them.

As I pour over the recent survey results and many comments that were echoed, it is clear to me that we are not yet a great Club. Can we be, absolutely! It is clear in many responses that you the members are seeing some positive change happening be it on the golf course, in the dining room or in other areas of the Club. The Club is still in its infancy whether or not we consider 2000 as its inception date or when the members bought the Club just over a year ago. We therefore do not have the benefit of many traditions yet at the Club. We do have a strong, passionate and committed ownership group and we are putting a solid management team together and most importantly we do have a great core of outstanding members.

There is tons of potential here at FireRock to make this a great Club and together we can make it happen. We need you support and I do understand that we must earn it. Your support can come in many ways: bringing guests, dining at the Club, participating in events, purchasing items in the golf shop and the ultimate compliment: referring your friends to join our wonderful Club. Your continued feedback is also vital and two way communication is vitally important.

I am delighted to a part of it, my Department Heads are excited and all of our Associates are also thrilled to be part of the FireRock family. Together we will make FireRock great.

Denis

Happenings and Events

A Season of Fun With the season in full swing and different activities going on almost every day, it can be hard to keep up with all of the events. This month, we would like to highlight everything the club has going on during the rest of winter and into spring. From golf tournaments to club parties, to wine dinners, it is going to be a busy couple months. Be sure to get your calendar out and mark down the events and activities you would like to attend so you don’t miss out on the excitment of the season.

For our golfers, the pro shop has planned an abundance of both large and small tournaments. Everything from the casual FireRock Cup to the formal Member Invitational’s, there is a tournament to fit the needs of all of our golfers.

This year for our Men’s Invitational, March 25-28, the planning

committee has decided to go back to the traditional roots of the game.

It will be a very classic tournament with golf as the focus. The event will begin on March 25th with registration, practice rounds, dinner and Calcutta betting. The following morning players will begin the tournament by playing the first two matches. Friday, March 27th, the following two matches will be

played before spouses and guests join for cocktails and dinner. Saturday, the 28th will bring the final match along with pari-mutual wagering. Spouses and guests will again arrive for a brunch in the afternoon. After the tournament concludes with a shootout, everyone will rejoin in the clubhouse for cocktails, heavy hors d’ oeuvres and the awards ceremony. It will be an incredible event and is a highlight for many of our members and their guests.

Pictures: Snapshots of our 2014 Men’s Invitational.

Happenings and Events The ladies member guest golf tournament is also a great event. Happening March 16-17th, the two-day tournament will feature hosted breakfasts, lunches, hors d’ oeuvres and dinner.

A putting tournament at the end of the first day with hors d’ oeuvres and

Rally for the Cure Breast Cancer Awareness, is a great tournament for our ladies and their guests to wear their pink, support the cause and raise money for breast cancer. In March, the Couples Club Championship takes our regular couples golfers and puts them into a competitive setting to see which couple reigns drinks is a guest highlight as well as the dinner and awards ceremony at the supreme. April brings us the Men’s and Ladies Club Championships end of the event. where each respective sex plays for Other golf tournaments this season their own title. And last but not least include the Senior Club Championis the end of season FireRock Cup. ship, where our seniors battle it out

for bragging rights of best golfer 50 and over. Men’s and Ladies Member/ Member tournament, an event that pits couple against couple. Rally for the Cure Breast Cancer Awareness, is a great tournament for our ladies and their guests to wear their pink, support the cause and raise money for breast cancer.

Pictures: Snapshots of our 2014 Ladies Member Guest Tournament

With all these tournaments going on, the club also still has its weekly and monthly golf events. These include; our ladies league every Tuesday, Cactus League (a multi-club ladies league), Several different weekly men’s leagues, Men’s Interclub (a multi-club men’s league), and the FireRockers League. For any additional information on the tournaments or golf groups, please contact the pro shop at 480.836.8000.

$950 per two person team

It is an incredibly busy time for our clubhouse as well. The food and beverage department has many events planned in the upcoming months ranging from wine dinners to Easter brunch. Each event has been meticulously planned with incredible decorations and delicious eats.

With the first one successfully under our belts, the club will continue hosting a series of wine dinners throughout the spring. Each dinner will feature different wines from our collection. These memorable and educational dinners offer multiple courses of flavorful food that pairs with individual wines. A representative or winemaker of the winery will spend the evening educating the guests on the wines, as they are served Chef Zanow’s mouth-watering fare.

Another event that highlights the culinary team at FireRock is our Valentines Day dinner. Our Champagne and Roses dinner allows guests to pick from a fourcourse menu with options such as beef tenderloin and Hawaiian Ono. Champagne will be flowing all night and each lady will receive a As the most popular event of the special red rose. season, it is important to make early reservations for our Easter brunch. If your group has children that would like to participate in the egg hunt, be sure to schedule the reservation accordingly.

Our spring party, April 11, is themed “American Graffiti.� It is going to be an evening filled with cars, music, Easter brunch is also an incredibly food, and entertainment- the perfect way to spend one last evening with popular event. With the annual egg hunt, pictures with the Easter your fellow members before many say goodbye for the summer. bunny, and petting zoo, there is so much for the kids to do. The brunch is a favorite, offering a variety of classic dishes and unique menu items as well.

Aside from special events the club has planned, our weekly and monthly activities are a great way to meet new people with similar interests. FireRock has a monthly book club that meets the first Wednesday of every month, as well as a monthly ladies social networking happy hour. Other fun events and groups are, Chef Zanow’s monthly cooking class, several weekly Mah Jong groups, as well as Gin Rummy, a Tuesday evening men’s poker group, Yoga on the event lawn and a bi-weekly bridge group. For more information on any of these groups, or to start a group, call 480.836.8100

Pictures: Left Page: Upper Left: Valentine Rose For The Ladies, Lower Left: 2014 Easter Petting Zoo, Upper Right: 2014 Egg Hunt, Lower Right: Spring Party Theme, “Graffiti”.

Right Page: Above: Yoga On The Event Lawn

February Events Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

1

2

8

9

Sunday Bunch MahJong Men’s Super Bowl Interclub

Sunday Bunch Scottsdale Senior Club Classic Championship Yoga MahJong Bridge

15

16

22

23

Sunday Bunch Scottsdale Harmony Yoga MahJong Men’s and Ladies Member/Member Sunday Bunch

Wednesday

3

Ladies Golf Gin Rummy Poker

Ladies Golf Gin Rummy Poker

Thursday

4

Book Club

10

11

17

18

Ladies Golf Gin Rummy Poker

24

Yoga Rally for the MahJong Cure Cactus League Gin Rummy Bridge Poker

Ladies Social Networking

25

Golf Events Club House Events

Friday

Couples Golf

5

12

Couples Golf

19

Couples Golf Men’s Interclub

26

Couples Golf

Saturday

6

Live Music in the Grill

13

Live Music in the Grill

7

Senior Club Championship

Valentine’s Day Dinner

14

20

21

27

28

Men’s and Ladies MemMe’s Member/ ber/Member Member Party Live Music in the Grill

Live Music in the Grill

Cooking with Chef Zanow

March Events Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

1

2

3

8

9

10

11

15

16

17

18

Sunday Bunch Yoga Ladies Golf MahJong Gin Rummy Cactus League Poker

Sunday Bunch Yoga Couples Club MahJong Championship Bridge

Sunday Bunch Yoga Ladies Mem- Ladies Member Guest ber Guest MahJong

22

Sunday Bunch Yoga MahJong Bridge

23

Ladies Golf Gin Rummy Poker

Ladies Golf Gin Rummy Poker

24

Ladies Golf Gin Rummy Poker

4

Book Club

Ladies Social Networking

25

Friday

Couples Golf

5

12

Couples Golf

19 Couples Golf

26

Saturday

6

7

13

14

20

21

Live Music in the Grill

Live Music in the Grill

Live Music in the Grill

27

St. Francis Winery Wine Dinner

28

Men’s Member Couples Golf Men’s Member Men’s Member Guest Men’s Member Guest Guest Guest Live Music in the Grill

April Events Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

1

Book Club

Easter Bunch

5

Yoga MahJong

12

6

Ladies Golf Gin Rummy Poker

13

7

8

14

15

Sunday Bunch Yoga Ladies Golf MahJong Gin Rummy Cactus League Poker Bridge

19

Sunday Bunch

Men’s and Ladies Club Championship

26

Yoga MahJong

20

27

Thursday

Ladies Social Netoworking

21

22

28

29

Ladies Closing Day Gin Rummy Poker

Sunday Bunch Yoga Gin Rummy FireRock/Sol- MahJong Poker heim Cup Cactus League Bridge

Friday

Couples Golf

Couples Golf

2

9

16 Couples Golf

23

Couples Golf Closing Day

30

Saturday

3

4

10

11

Live Music in the Grill

Live Music in the Grill

17 Live Music in the Grill

24

FireRock Cup Live Music in the Grill

Spring Member Party

18 Men’s and Ladies Club Championship

25

FireRock/Solheim Cup Cooking with Chef Zanow

May Events Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

1

2

7

8

9

15

16

22

23

Live Music in the Grill

3

4

10

11

Sunday Bunch Yoga MahJong

Mother’s Day Brunch

Yoga MahJong Bridge

17

Sunday Bunch Yoga MahJong Bridge

31

Sunday Bunch

Gin Rummy Poker

18

Sunday Bunch Yoga MahJong

24

Gin Rummy Poker

5

Cactus League Live Music in the Grill

13

14

19

20

21

26

Gin Rummy Poker

Book Club

12

Gin Rummy Poker

25

6

Ladies Social Netoworking

27

Live Music in the Grill

Live Music in the Grill

28

29

Live Music in the Grill

30

January Recap The month of January was the perfect way to start the New Year. January 24th, FireRock hosted the Flora Springs wine dinner, which turned out to be a huge success.

Owner of the vineyard, John Komes hosted the evening and chef Graham Zanow provided the five-course dinner. The courses ranged from a Maine lobster tower, to braised beef short ribs to truffles and chocolate spice cake.

tower, to braised beef short ribs to truffles and chocolate spice cake.

Also providing entertainment for the evening was Comedian/Hypnotist, Pattie Freeman. Pattie made the guests laugh all evening by transforming them into superstars, racecar drivers and hula dancers.

Also at the event was John Yourk Jewelry Design. The company displayed its custom jewelry as well as gave each couple an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner.

When it was over, everyone at the event ate amazing food, drank great wine and had an incredible experience.

Chef Zanow’s cooking class was the most successful one yet. It was so large, that it was moved from the private dining room to the main dining room. Featuring molecular cuisine, Chef Zanow taught the attendees how to use a smoke gun, make dry ice , ice cream, create caviars and whip up a little foam.

Pictures: Left Page: Flora Springs Wines about to be poured. Braised beef short ribs, A table of guests under the spell of Comedian/Hypnotist, Pattie Freeman, custom Jewelry by John Yourk. Right Page left colum: Guests enjoying themselves at the wine dinner.

Right Colum: Chef Zanow’s molecular cooking class.

Get Involved

Bridge Group: Every other Monday from 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Book Club: First Wednesday of every month from 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Ladies Golf League: Every Tuesday at 9:00 a.m.

Ladies Social Networking: Third Wednesday of every month from 4:30 p.m.-6:00 p.m.

Mah Jong: Every Monday afternoon at12:30 p.m.

Men’s Golf League: See pro shop for varying times and groups.

Men’s Poker Every Tuesday at 5:00 p.m.

Tennis: Contact tennis pro’s for days and times Yoga: Every Monday at 9:15 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

Board Of Managers

Jack Dempsey Scott Haggins Mike Hudson Lou Laskis Paul Mazze Brad Reeves Dennis Zentner

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