Spring / Summer 2021
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE As I write this article for the Newsletter, we are entering the mobilization period for the beginning of the Golf Course Renovation and Restoration project. Heavy-duty construction equipment began arriving over the weekend and is parked beside the Maintenance yard. Our golf season ended yesterday, and reciprocal play began for many of you today. Some of you will be heading to your summer homes over the next few weeks, not returning until the fall. When you do, you will join us to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Lost City Golf Club and enjoy a renovated and restored golf course, a remodeled Men’s Locker room, and a modernized Pro Shop. The House Committee already has plans underway for the Club’s 50th Anniversary and Welcome Back party next November. Hopefully, by then the Pandemic will be behind us. March was Championship month and I congratulate our Club Champions, Barb Lilley and Doug Sufrin. “Hats Off” to the Flight Winners: Gina Devine, Sharon Sands, Claire Rose, Billy Williamson, Andy Transleau, Roger Rose, Don Stewart, and Tony Polera, who also proved to be the victor in the “Shootout”. Congratulations to all our winners. At our March Board Meeting, we ratified Committee members for this year and their names and Committees will be posted on the Club’s website,
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
which will also be reconstructed this summer. Joining Kevin McPhillips, Barry Neagle, and Tom Withka on the Nominating Committee are Ian Crawford, Gina Devine, and Barb Golding. Ian will Chair the Committee. If you are interested in serving on a Committee or the Board you should contact Ian or a member of the Committee. I am happy to report that our Membership is full. We have established a “Waiting List” for those wishing to join the Club. Currently, our Initiation Fee is $7500. It is expected that as of November 1, 2021, the Initiation Fee will increase to $15,000. At our March meeting, the Board admitted 15 new golfing members and 2 social members. We now have a total of 434 golfing members in various categories, 227 social members, and 17 members on leave of absence
On behalf of the Board and the Membership, I welcome all our new members to the Club as we strive for a very positive Member experience at Lost City Golf Club. Also, a reminder to those of you who will be here over the summer months, the Club is offering “To Go Food Service” Tuesday thru Saturday evenings. In April our bar will be open for “Happy Hour” Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday on a trial basis and possibly into May if results are positive. To Go Food service will be available at the bar, albeit with limited staff. I wish everyone a safe and healthy summer. Be sure to check the website for construction updates as we expect to keep the membership updated with our progress via drone photography. Keith Billings
FOLLOW THE RENOVATION Last week I passed my sUAS Pilot test. What does that mean? It means that I will be taking pictures and video of the renovation each week and sending on to all of you. All videos will be hosted on our YouTube Channel Please do not drive out on the course…. I will bring the course renovation to you! ~ Michael Dolan – Membership Director & Drone Pilot
9th Green South
Driving Range
Week 1 Drone Pics
RENOVATION UPDATE The processes for the modernization of the Men’s Locker Room and Pro Shop are advancing well toward the completion of the work before October 2021 — on Budget.
CLUBHOUSE
Bids were received on January 15th and discussions with two bidders involved a great deal of Bid “Levelling” (analysis to confirm that their Bids were apples to apples and that the LCGC would receive a highquality finished product). The process did not flow as quickly as anticipated however, we selected a Preferred Proponent in late February, made an informal Award in early March, and will have the Contractual Agreement in place by April 9th. Pre-construction planning & procurement by the Contractor and the application for the requisite Permits and Approvals have commenced and will carry on through April and May, with demolition on site expected to commence by early June. Our revised target is to have the Work substantially complete in early September; however as some dates and durations are beyond our control, we remain flexible ........ amidst a general Project timetable that affords some flexibility.
I acknowledge and appreciate the great efforts by Building & Premises Committee Members Mark Kutsher and Doug Hutchison, Club GM Leo McMahon as well as the Architect and the Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing Engineer through the detailed and lengthy Post-Tender/Pre-Award process. The Contractors were extremely patient and cooperative through this period. We are confident that our modernized Clubhouse facilities will make us all proud.
Jamie Haldenby
HOUSE REPORT How quickly this season has flown! It seems like just last month we were planning the Welcome Back Party and here we are in April with the course closed for our very exciting Renovation! Covid protocol has been difficult but we sailed through the year with the great majority of us remaining healthy and able to enjoy the Club and its offerings. March events continued to be well-attended with TGIF everyone’s favorite. In fact, the last TGIF in March had over 150 participants! And we had lots of fun “Dancing in the Dark” at our farewell fete on March 20th. We could have used a little less wind but the delicious dinner and lively camraderie made for a very special night! Thanks to Chef Glenn and Mihai and his staff for a superb job. We originally planned to close April 1 but decided to remain open through Easter so we were able to enjoy a final TGIF, again with record attendance, featuring a seafood buffet for Good Friday. Easter Brunch on Sunday, April 4, received many compliments from the capacity crowd both for the wonderful food and the live music by Guitarist Bob Folse.! During our closure, the Kitchen will remain open for take out service from Tuesday through Saturday, 4 to 7pm with Chef Glenn cooking and Mihai expediting. For the month of April, the bar will be open for Happy Hour Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 4 to 7pm. Come socialize a bit with fellow members and then bring dinner home!
Dancing in the Dark Reciprocal dining will begin May 1st for Quail Ridge, Delray Dunes and the Little Club and May 17th for the Palm Beach Yacht Club (black out dates will apply.). We ask that you email reservations@lostcitygolf.com 48 hours ahead so Mihai can handle the reservations for you. Back at Lost City, we are planning outdoor cookouts for May 9 Mother’s Day, May 31 Memorial Day, June 20, Father’s Day, the 4th of July, and Sept 6 Labor Day. An outdoor Lobster Feast is scheduled for July 24th, a Feast of San Gennaro for Sept 25th and Oktoberfest for Oct 16th. Pickleball will remain open for the month of April only. Card playing will be allowed inside the Clubhouse for the month of April from Tuesday through Saturday, 11:30am to 5pm with limited services (water and coffee stations only.). Card games can be played in the Dining Room or Grill Room. The Clubhouse will be closed on Sundays and Mondays until November 1, as well as for the entire month of August when there will be no take out food service which will resume in September. Finally, the House Committee joins Mihai in extending our best wishes for a healthy, safe and enjoyable summer to those members leaving our area and a “come by and see us” invitation to those spending the summer here in beautiful Florida. Soon we’ll get to work planning our 50th Anniversary Welcome Back Celebration!
From the General Manager Dear Lost City Golf Club Members, 2021 marks the 50th anniversary of the members purchasing the Lost City Golf Club from the original developer. It is probably safe to say this year was the most unique year out of the 50. We had a renovation underway and hopeful plans to grow the club for the future. Then the pandemic hit. We kept moving forward day by day and sometimes hour by hour. The renovation project kept moving forward. We operated as close to normal as possible with a clear understanding that the Lost City Golf Club is important to our club members and staff members today and in future years. The Board, Committees, Staff, and our club members deserve a lot of credit, during stressful times we all brought our good side to the table. Our golf course is ready for its Tom Fazio II renovation this summer. All of our green complex’s turf and rough turf have been exterminated. Our fairways are in the best condition they have been in for the past several years. We are on track for a beautiful new golf course opening on November 1 of 2021. Thank you to Steve Yager and his Course Maintenance Team. Thank you to Bob Koepka and his Green Committee. Based on other area club’s renovation stories, we had projected that a big increase in our membership roster and initiation fees would take place after our golf course renovation. COVID-19 changed that. Our membership roster is full and all new members going forward will be part of a waitlist to become full golf members. Those on the waitlist must pay the full initiation fee and become afternoon golf members. Mike Dolan will be keeping you all up to date on our renovation projects with timely drone videos throughout the summer. Thank you to Mike and Cassandra Dupar, our Membership Department. Thank you to Paul Feick and his Membership Committee.
From the General Manager Our dining operations did an outstanding job over the past year navigating the treacherous COVID-19 waters. The COVID-19 rules and regulations were changing day by day and sometimes hour by hour. Similar to our renovation projects, our staff and committee members were determined to put together an aggressive plan to ensure our club members had contact with their family and friends in a safe environment. The tenacity displayed by our staff and committee paid off. All members that wanted to get together outdoors for food and drinks were accommodated. Other members that chose to stay home were able to take advantage of our “To Go Food Service”. Thank you to Mihai Ripanu, Chef Glenn Cinguina, and all of their team members. Thank you to Carla Kutsher and her House Committee. Each year our financial goal as a club is to break even. If we have a deficit at the end of the year all members share in covering the deficit. In the summer months our food and beverage department operates at a loss during normal years. This year we will have much less dining activity due to our golf course renovation. In our efforts to keep members connected to the club and keep key staff employed we are offering “To Go Food Service” which will be available for dinner Tuesday through Saturday. The bar will be open this April (hopefully other summer months) on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday from 4 pm to 7 pm. “To Go Food Service” will be available at the bar with very limited staff service. The past 12 months showed a huge increase in golf activity across the country. Our rounds were up over 20% for most of the year. Our staff levels did not increase during that period. The added activity and COVID-19 golf cart rules changed the habits and processes of members and staff alike. We offered protective dividers for 2 rider carts and received 12 additional golf carts in January which helped quite a bit. We appreciated the patience our club members displayed and the efforts of our staff members. We were able to conduct our golf tournaments with some slight modifications. Our tournament activity was on a par with previous years, in some cases even better. We hope you all had fun playing at the events. Thank you to Jason Brown and his team. Thank you to Roger Rose and his Golf Committee. Thank you to Jim Simon and Joe England for helping out with our Club Championship Final Round Matches.
From the General Manager This past year Carl Mascianica passed away and Alex Perkins retired. They were two great guys and exemplified the core values of our Lost City Golf Club Staff. They both will be missed. Alex may come back in November on a limited basis to offer his “world-class shoe-shining skills”. Please remove all of your personal belongings from the men’s locker room before Sunday, April 4. Rueben is our new Building Maintenance Superintendent. Rueben worked with Alex for a few months and has been doing a good job. Rueben has been trained, and is qualified to use our electrostatic sprayer, and has been disinfecting our facilities for the past 2 months. More importantly, he is a great guy just like Carl and Alex. This summer we will be breaking down each room in the clubhouse, all of the golf course bathrooms, and cart barn. All will be refurbished and will be looking like new come November 1. Our men’s locker room and golf pro shop are awaiting their much-needed facelift. Elite Construction Concepts will be our general contractor. They have been part of many commercial projects in South Florida, most recently Broken Sound Country Club. Elite will be working with Design Republic (building architects) to ensure we get a beautiful new men’s locker room and golf pro shop. Thank you to Jamie Haldenby and his Building Committee for all their hard work and “strong” negotiating skills.
Christine Rigg moved on to the Sailfish Club on Palm Beach Island and we wish her well. Ed Pass is back for his second tour of duty as our Lost City Golf Club Controller. Ed has been reviewing our accounting department processes. He has found several areas that need to be tightened up and improved. All of his efforts will add to a more enjoyable member experience. You don’t want incorrect charges on your monthly bill and neither do we. You want your member dollars monitored closely and used efficiently and so do we. Thank you to Ed Pass and his team. Thank you to Don Greenhalgh and his Finance Committee. We will be addressing issues and complaints that were brought to our attention over the past few months. We will make changes as needed to improve our policies, processes, and staff training programs to provide the best possible club experience for our members. We have many events and celebrations being planned for our Grand Re-Opening and 50th Anniversary in November of 2021. It is going to be INCREDIBLE!!! See you all then!! Enjoy every swing!!!
Leo McMahon General Manager Lost City Golf Club
WGA Our March calendar was culminated in an 18-hole scramble and a fabulous luncheon. At the luncheon outgoing President Diane Potter introduced our 2021 President, Claire Rose. Diane thanked the outgoing board members, Stevie Davenport and Linda Reichenstein for their many contributions the past three years. She also welcomed the incoming board members, Mary Lynn Liegel, Lynda Forbes, Pat Cmarik and identified Mary Lou Neagle as the next Tournament Chair. A wonderful time and lunch were had by all. March event winners were: Stand aside Scramble. March 30: Patmore, Sands, Hannigan, De Riso- Gross Dowley, Kingsley, Pasquale, McLernon -Net #1 Greenhalgh, Albright, Fashijan, Cashman-Net #2 Pro Team 3/23 Entire field broken into Two teams The Blue Vs.The Red Teams
Ironically 4 Blue teams beat 4 Red teams, 2 Red teams beat 2 Blue teams and 3 sets tied. In that regard, the blue team won. -- BUT. The Red Teams scored more points and beat the Blue Teams 84 to 78! Go figure! Diamond Event. 3/9 Group 1: Neagle-20, Anderson, B -15, Cmarik-12, Patmore-10, Silversten -9 Group 2: Hannigan-20, Martensson -15, Feick -12, Craddock- 10, Kingsley-9 Best Trios 3/2 Flight 1: Devine -3, Vaughan-1, Forbes, Potter, Neagle, Patmore -tied E Flight 2: Billings-8, Blumel (tied) with Kingsley-4, Liegel tied Stewart +3. Summer 2021 events: Jason Brown is working with the WGA to obtain “play” dates at some of our reciprocals. In April and May, we will try to find two sites that will allow 12 women to play on a given day. Please watch and read carefully any emails sent to you advising of a date and course. Sign up promptly to assure your inclusion. You may only request a spot for yourself, no additional players. Our first event – Breakers West 4/9 and Wellington National 4/9. Play well ladies! And thanks Jason Brown!
9-Holers Hats Off To Spring! Forty one 9-Hole Ladies and their guests celebrated spring at our March 23rd Member-Guest luncheon , all wearing glorious spring bonnets. The morning golf scramble was followed by Chef Glenn’s glorious luncheon: chicken in lemon Chardonnay sauce, spring vegetables, and chocolate molten lava cake with raspberries and cream. So good! Marsha Becraft, a cosmetologist and 9-Hole golfer, presented “Younger Than Springtime” - a primer on skin care & chemical-free make-up for us Young at Heart ladies. Marsha also did a make-over on our good-spirited model, Mary Lou Vowteras. Marsha designed our centerpieces and favors, too. Hats off to Marsha! Our golf winners were: 1st place: Joanne Driscoll, Mary Lou Neagle, Sally Howard & Sandra Blumel. 2nd place: Nanci Jackman, Linda Heilman, Linda O’Malley & Patty Schmelzer. Closest to the pin: Ann Snyder Longest drive: Joy Bayrouty Closest to the line: Nanci Jackman Thank you to our luncheon committee : Dorothy Ballantyne, Marsha Becraft, Anne Dougherty, Linda Heilman, Susan Innocenzi, Nanci Jackman, Linda O’Malley and Eileen Sullivan. And special Thank Yous to Cassandra Dupar, who designed our glorious invitations and menus, Chef Glenn and Mihai who helped plan the menu, the table set-up and arrangements, and to Mihai’s staff who always take good care of us!
9 Holers Our other March winners were : 3/2 : Mary Lou Vowteras, Marsha Becraft & Patty Schmelzer. 3/9: Patti Train, Joy Bayrouty & Sally Howard 3/16: Dorothy Ballantyne & Patti Train 3/30: Bertie O’Grady, Patti Train & Mary Lou Vowteras tied with Nanci Jackman, Joy Bayrouty & Marsha Becraft. 3/30 Chip-Ins : Marsha Becraft, Bertie O’Grady & Linda O’Malley. Cheers to All! No more parties or golf this season, but we look forward to a new beginning in November on our renovated courses. And we welcome all LCGC lady members - social or golfers - to join us next season for fun & friendship! We wish all a happy & healthy summer! Eileen Sullivan, Secretary
From the Treasurer Operating results for February were a bit disappointing as we were essentially breakeven for the month versus a budgeted operating surplus. The good news is that year-to-date we are still ahead of budget and had a net operating surplus going into March, the last full month of operations prior to the Club closing down on April 4th for renovations. March will be a critical month to determine the Club’s financial position heading into a period when there is a significant budgeted operating loss for the seven-month term of the renovations. We expect a positive comparison for the month to last year since the Club was closed for the last two weeks of March last year due to COVID. In response to member suggestions, the Bar will be open for service on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday evenings in the month of April. If the Bar can operate at breakeven in April, then extending operations to the end of May will be considered. In addition, the Club will be providing takeout meals five nights a week, Tuesday through Saturday, throughout the seven-month renovation period. For budgeting purposes, it has been assumed that Food & Beverage will operate at breakeven during this time. The takeout meal service was well received by members last year and the hope is that members
will take advantage of this offering again. On the renovation front, the Club has had conversations with prospective lenders for the $3,200,000 renovation loan and expect to receive proposed terms in the next week or so. In addition, our customary lender, Bank of America, will be offering the Club terms on a $1,000,000+ equipment line of credit to fund acquisitions and a $300,000 operating line of credit to fund our seasonal operating needs. We expect to have all of these arrangements in place by mid-to-late April. As a final note, the Club continues to attract new members as a result of the excitement being generated by the proposed golf course renovation. At this point, a waiting list for full golf privileges is in place as we are at or near capacity for protecting our no tee time policy, other than for Saturday and Sunday mornings. This is a great position to be in both financially and operationally to provide a superior member experience when we reopen in November. Don Greenhalgh, Treasurer
DONNA HOWELL MATCH PLAY EVENT This event for all women members of Lost City took place over 3 months. In this seventh year the event was renamed in honor of Donna Howell. She started it in 2015 with the help of Jason Brown. Donna and her husband, Gordon, resigned this year due to health issues. We miss them very much. Thanks to her help we were able to continue the event. 32 women enjoyed competing in two brackets. Flighted into four groups, many of the matches went to the final holes, with a few needing play off holes! Congratulations to the winners and runner-ups! Winners: Mary Lou Neagle, Jen Kelley, Marcy Albright and Claire Rose Runner ups: Laura Feick, Sharon Sands, Gwen McLernon, Joan Billings Consolation bracket winners: Martha Greenhalgh, Donna Brown, Debbie Kingsley, MaryLynn Liegel
MEMBERSHIP
Take Out
We are happy to report that we added 101 new memberships since Labor Day. We are currently full for Full Golf Memberships. Those joining now will start as Afternoon members until such time as a Full Golf spot opens. We still offer Afternoon and Limited Play memberships.
Dinner Tuesday thru Saturday 4pm to 7pm
Bar Wednesday – Friday – Saturday 4pm to 7pm
Full Golf Membership – 241 Limited Play Memberships – 41 Afternoon Memberships – 48
Don’t Forget That You Are A Member at…
& These 2 sites contain almost 1500 private golf clubs that you can play it. You sign up right on their site. You then request to play there right on the website. Check em out today!
SUMMER RECIPROCAL 2021 RECIPROCAL AND SUMMER MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION With many of the clubs in our area having both limitations to outside play and increased member rounds, access to these courses is based on limited availability. All Golf Reservations will be made from Golf shop to Golf Shop. Members are not to call reciprocal clubs directly. For Summer Membership information, contact the listed number and ask for the Membership Director. Procedure to book a reservation at our Reciprocal Clubs: Send an email to lostcitygolftimes@gmail.com with your request 3 days prior to the day you are looking to play. Your request should include: • At least 3 courses you are interested in playing. • A date and time range (in line with what is outlined below) you are looking to play. • The names of all players in the group. Once we have secured a reservation for you, you will be sent an email confirming the reservation. WELLINGTON NATIONAL (Wellington) April 5 thru October 31, 2021 $25 plus tax Credit Card Only (Visa, Master Card, Discover) Tee Times may be made 3 days in advance and subject to availability. After 11:00 a.m. on weekends and holidays and based on availability weekdays. No more than twice per month per member. Closed Mondays Closed for aerification May 17-21, July 12-16, September 7-10 SUMMER MEMBERSHIP (561) 578-8206 - April 1 thru October 31, $4,000 plus tax, includes cart plan, husband, wife, children under 23, Unlimited access to course, practice facility, pool, fitness
BREAKERS REES JONES COURSE (West Palm Beach) April (extremely limited) May 1 thru October 31, 2021 $30 plus tax Credit Card Only (Visa, Master Card) Tee Times may be made 3 days in advance and subject to availability. QUAIL RIDGE CC (Boynton Beach) April 5 thru October 31, 2021 $26 plus tax Member Charge back to Lost City Golf Club Tee Times may be made 1 day in advance and subject to availability. SUMMER MEMBERSHIP (561) 7375100 - May 1 thru October 31, $2,600 plus tax, $26 plus tax cart fee DELRAY DUNES G&CC (Boynton Beach) May 10 thru October 31, 2021 $25 plus tax Member Charge back to Lost City Golf Club Tee Times may be made 2 days in advance and subject to availability. SUMMER MEMBERSHIP (561) 7321600 - By Invitation Only; May 1 thru October 31, $2,500 plus tax, $25 plus tax cart fee FOUNTAINS CC / INDIAN SPRINGS (Lake Worth) SUMMER MEMBERSHIP (561) 642-2719 - May 1 thru October 31, $1,699 single, $1,999 couple plus tax, includes cart plan Atlantis CC (Atlantis) ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP (561) 9681300 - 12 months from start of membership, $2,000 plus tax, $25 plus tax cart fee or $1,500 plus tax trail fee if you use your own cart WANDERERS CLUB (Wellington) April 5 thru October 31, 2021 April $65 plus tax May thru October $25 plus tax Credit Card Only (AmEx, Visa, Master Card) Tee Times may be made 2 days in advance and subject to availability. After 10:00 a.m. on weekends and holidays and after 9:30 a.m. weekdays; based on availability. Closed Tuesdays Closed for aerification May 1011, June 21-22, July 26-27, August 30-31
SUMMER RECIPROCAL STONEBRIDGE CC (Boca Raton) April 5 thru October 31, 2021 $45 plus tax Credit Card Only (AmEx, Visa, Master Card) Tee Times may be made 2 days in advance and subject to availability. THE FALLS (Lake Worth) April 5 thru October 31, 2021 $45 plus tax Member Charge back to Lost City Golf Club Tee Times may be made 1 day in advance and subject to availability. Limited to 8 players per day. SUMMER MEMBERSHIP (561) 439-9512 - May 1 thru October 31, $650 per month plus tax, $30 plus tax cart fee, Unlimited access to course, practice facility, pool, fitness BOCA LAGO CC (Boca Raton) April 5 thru October 31, 2021 $54 plus tax Credit Card Only (Visa, Master Card) Tee Times may be made 2 days in advance and subject to availability. SUMMER MEMBERSHIP (561) 482-5000 - April 1 thru October 31, $2,500 single, $3,500 couple plus tax, includes cart plan JUPITER CC (Jupiter) April 5 thru October 31, 2021 $50 plus tax Credit Card Only (AmEx, Visa, Master Card) Tee Times may be made 2 days in advance and subject to availability. Limited to 3 groups per day. DEER CREEK GC (Boca Raton) SUMMER MEMBERSHIP (954) 429-0006 x 113 - Limited number available: May 1 thru October 31, $500 plus tax (Monday thru Friday, weekends after 11:00 a.m.), $1,095 plus tax (no restrictions), $26 plus tax cart fee
Our newsletters will return in October