In Loving Memory

It is with deep regret that we inform the membership of the passing of one of our members, Dee Sharp. Dee passed away on April 1st, 2023. Beloved wife of Jim Sharp and loving mother of Alexis (Lou) Asinger and Cortney (Scott) Marsden. Loving grandmother, sister, and friend to many.

Dee was an avid tennis player, pickleball player and was involved in the 9 and 18 Hole Ladies Groups at Forest Hills. She has been a member of the Club since 1999.

Dee was appreciated and loved, by all who knew her. She always put others, especially all her “girls” before herself. Dee was overwhelmed, and thankful, by the thoughts, prayers, and expressions of love from her numerous friends during her courageous battle. We extend our thoughts and deepest sympathies to the Sharp family during this difficult time.

Club News and Reminders

Congratulations to the Mauzy Family!

Congratulations to Mike and Missy Mauzy, who welcomed their son, Brooks, on February 12th.

Brooks joins proud big brother, Mason, 8. We look forward to seeing your family around the Club!

Hours of Operation Update

Throughout the month of May, there are a few modifications to Club hours, most of which pertain to a la carte dining:

● Sunday, May 14th : Mother’s Day Brunch (Reservations Required) - Closed for Dinner Service

● Friday, May 19th : Closed for Dinner Due to Men’s Invitational (Open for Lunch)

● Sunday, May 28th : Closed for Dinner Due to the Hamptons Party (Open for Brunch)

● Monday, May 29th : All Club Facilities Open / A Limited Menu for a la Carte Lunch Service Offered / Lunch & Dinner Buffets Available on the Lower Patio

● Tuesday, May 30th : Golf Shop, All Dining Areas, Aquatic Center Closed

Have Exciting News To Share?

We encourage our members to share with us the interesting and exciting things happening in your lives! Please send your details to Whitney Wendel at whitneyw@foresthillscc.net. We will do our very best to include your information in our upcoming newsletter. The deadline is always the 20th of the month.

Newsletter Prize

Hidden within the pages of this issue and future issues, we have included a member’s number chosen at random. If you come across this number and it happens to be yours, contact Whitney at whitneyw@foresthillscc.net to redeem a $100 Gift Certificate good toward your next food and beverage purchase.

Gore

Spring is here and it’s great to see so many of you around the Club. The Food and Beverage Team did an exceptional job putting on great Easter events for our membership, their families and guests. During Easter weekend, we hosted over 1,400 members and guests between the Easter Fair and Easter Brunch. The children excitedly collected over 4,000 stuffed eggs at our Easter Egg Hunts and we served approximately 25 dozen doughnuts on our “doughnut wall” during Easter Brunch.

We are glad to have had the opportunity to welcome our new Executive Chef, Michael Dority, to the team just after Easter. He started on Tuesday, April 11th. He is settling in well and getting to know the team, the operation, and our members. If you haven’t had the opportunity to meet him yet, we are working on scheduling a “Meet the Chef” event to give you all an opportunity to meet and get to know him.

In other food and beverage news, we are very excited about the success thus far of our inaugural Bocce Ball Leagues. Ryan Schaben, our Assistant General Manager, has done a great job making sure that this has kicked off with a positive start. We thank all of you that have joined the league for your participation and hope that you are enjoying it as much as we are!

I would like to take some time to share a brief update on projects taking place around the Club. Our Facilities Maintenance Team has been hard at work making small improvements that you may have noticed. They have just finished sinking the large refrigeration unit behind the Men’s 19th Hole bar into the wall to allow for better utilization of space in this area. They gave the men’s Prefunction restroom a small facelift with updated lighting fixtures and new paint. Lastly, they are currently repairing the tile in the Ladies’ Locker Room that was disturbed from the sewage pipe leak repair last month.

The Swim Locker Room repair from our most recent sprinkler system pipe break is going well. Our contractor is moving along quickly with this project. We are working with our Designer and the House Committee to make some small improvements to this space as a part of the rebuilding, such as updated lighting fixtures, new paint and new front doors. We are hopeful that this space will be complete by Memorial Day weekend to reopen with the Aquatic Center.

The golf course restoration from the creek project is near completion. We frequently hear positive comments about the creek work and the aesthetic that it has brought to the golf course. As discussed in my February newsletter, the Club has realized savings in the creek project. This is because the eco-friendly and natural looking approach has had an added benefit of savings from the original budgeted cost of Phase 1,allowing us to complete additional Phase 2 areas to the project. As a result, the LongRange Planning Committee, Grounds Committee, Finance Committee, and the Board of Directors have all approved the completion of the final aspects of Phase 2 of the creek project. This will include the cleaning up of the stilling basin on Hole #17 by converting the current pond to a creek feature. In addition to this project taking place this fall, we will also be completing the remaining untouched bunkers to Better Billy Bunkers on the Championship Course. We will communicate additional details in the coming weeks and months as we approach the start date of these projects.

Charles Nance

Fellow Club Members, we have a total of 2,562 regular users of our amenities here at Forest Hills. This is a large population considering our limited geography. To fully enjoy our time here, we each need to receive and reflect the respect a club member deserves. In this context, respect means that we must help others who come to the Club enjoy the best possible experience. To achieve this, we must respect our club traditions and rules.

Please remember to not leave litter behind for others to look at or pick up. This includes but is not limited to cigar, cigarette butts and other smokeless products. Please remind dependents and guests the importance of following club rules, and of respecting others while at the Club.

Golf etiquette requires that all golfers: fill your divots in the fairways, replace your divots in the rough, rake the sand traps, and fix your ball marks on the greens. Let’s all try to fill two divots and fix two ball marks for each one that we create on the course. The sand bottles in each cart can be used to fill divots, even when it’s a trail day. Over the past year, we’ve had a team of fellow members display extraordinary respect for the rest of us. A tremendous THANK YOU to the Monday Divot team for their efforts in improving course conditions for all of us. Let’s all try to help eliminate the need for this exceptional effort, simply, by following proper golf etiquette.

We are blessed with a dedicated professional staff. Our staff is present for the singular purpose of enhancing and improving our experiences at the Club. Let’s treat them with the respect that they deserve. Thanks for your ongoing commitment to Forest Hills Country Club.

Grounds Update

by Scott Reynolds, GCS scottr@foresthillscc.net

We have enjoyed a much better spring than the past two. The Zoysia has broken dormancy and the cool season grasses are filling in nicely. We had a very successful greens aerification process where the weather cooperated and some slight adjustments made all came together.

Our Upcoming Tasks Include:

• The Contractor will be finishing up restoration of damaged areas

• We will be fertilizing Zoysia fairways and tees

• The Team is working on green speeds getting quicker

• General mowing procedures

• Spraying for broadleaf weeds

The Short Game Area is maturing well and will be ready for Opening Day on May 10th. We are excited for this event. We have a lot of work left to do before the heat of the season but we are off to a good start. We will stay focused on the goals we have set, and the Team will keep moving forward.

The Grounds Team recently began mowing of all our warm season zoysia grass in the fairways and on our tees for the first time.

New sod installed near the large putting green, which will open on May 10th.

As we begin a new fiscal year, it is a good time to reflect on the financial results for the past year, highlight capital enhancements made to the Club, and emphasize what is planned for the upcoming year.

For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2023, our operating costs were $5.2 million. This is 7% higher than our budget and 22% higher than the prior year. The cost increase was driven primarily by:

● Inflation – food, beverage, diesel gas/water, fertilizer, paper products, etc.

● Wages and Contracted Services – grounds and food service staff

● Additional Areas of Service - fully utilized in FY23 for the first time

● One-Time Costs – due to changes in leadership personnel (COO, AGM, Exec. Chef, etc.)

We have all experienced the inflationary changes either in our businesses, at the grocery store, or with our home utility bills. Even with additional recruiting and hiring resources, our ability to attract personnel with the current employment market was challenging. This caused us to turn to outside contract resources for the grounds crew, service personnel, and even dishwashers. For those we did hire and to retain our existing staff, the average hourly wage rate increased significantly. During the year, we added additional areas that were fully staffed for the first time, like the Pool Cabana, Tennis Chalet, and Pickleball Courts. Given the changes in Club leadership, including the General Manager, Assistant General Manager, Membership Director, and Executive Chef, we incurred one-time costs that will not be recurring.

While our Net Loss of $240,000 was roughly $101,000 greater than budget, we were able to manage to avoid a “13th month” operating assessment. Menu/event pricing, along with increases in dues during the year, reflect these inflationary and market conditions and allowed us to contain our losses. We closely benchmark our pricing and dues levels with our local peers and continue to provide a better valued alternative than the other clubs in our benchmark group.

Capital Enhancements

Substantial enhancements were made to our Club grounds and golf course during the year. Your feedback on the “Creek Project”, as it has fondly been named, is that we had a resounding success. Not only are we pleased with the aesthetic and functional results, but the costs were managed to a level significantly below budget. With those savings we were able to complete the entire Creek Project, what we had initially thought would be Phase I and Phase II, without a planned second assessment. On top of that, we had remaining funds to move forward with work on the Hole 17 pond and spillway improvements planned to begin in the fall after the golf season.

Beyond the Creek Project, we completed the Short Game Area and the Bocce Ball Courts. We all look forward to the opening of the Short Game Area. The initial results from the membership’s investment in Bocce Ball are very encouraging. We’re experiencing high levels of member engagement, as well as higher levels of food and beverage use on league nights.

With our capital funding, we completed an initial phase of work installing greenside Better Billy Bunkers (BBB). On the Champion Course roof repairs, HVAC repairs in the Café, 19th Hole furniture updates, and decorating updates to our lobby, corridors, Club Room, and employee restrooms.

Looking Forward to Fiscal Year 2024

We have budgeted $5.6 million, a 5.5% increase, in costs to operate the Club for the fiscal year that will end March 31, 2024. This reflects the continued inflationary environment along with market driven increased labor costs. Management has worked to minimize the need for contracted services by proactively recruiting grounds team and service personnel. This increase also reflects the new member amenities (Short Game Area and Bocce Ball). Increased costs will be supported by service hour reductions during targeted months, along with a 3% dues increase that went into effect April 1, 2023.

For Capital Projects beyond work on the 17th hole pond and BBB, our capital spending will be directed toward much needed new grounds equipment and golf carts. Additionally, our Swim Locker Rooms and sprinkler systems will be updated along with certain kitchen and IT systems. To enhance safety, our driving range net will be upgraded.

Thank you for your continued support of our Club. Your Board and Management team remain committed to delivering a highquality product at a reasonable market value.

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