August 2023 Newsletter

Raintree Country Club Member Newsletter

Matt Arnold

Kristen Bernard

David Boyce

Katie Eggers

Zach Hall

Kim Marks

Shane McKiernan

Crystal Rowe

Vicky Shannon

Stephen Winters

Richard Woodcock

Each month you will find information to keep you up to date with the latest news and events along with news from our various associations.

CONTACT US

Should you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to our Staff.

ADDITIONAL STAFF CONTACTS

Luis DeJesus Head Golf Professional

luis.dejesus@raintreecc.net

Brad Fellrath

Course Superintendent bfellrath@yahoo.com

Steve Bogdanoff Director of Instruction sbogdanoff@pga.com

Miles Chapman

Teaching Professional miles.chapman@raintreecc.net

Brian Talley Director of Communications brian.talley@raintreecc.net

Melissa Rodgers Controller m.rodgers@raintreecc.net

Jordan Keiper Clubhouse Manager jordan.keiper@raintreecc.net

Michael Koshivas

F & B Director michael.koshivas@raintreecc.net

Jennifer Sullivan

Catering Director catering@raintreecc.net

Gerson Cordova

Executive Chef chef@raintreecc.net

Isabelle Josey F & B Manager isabelle.josey@raintreecc.net

Tom Kennedy Facilities Manager tom.kennedy@raintreecc.net

ASSOCIATION CONTACTS

RMGA Peter Fowler 704.516.0495

RWGA Barbara Blackford 704.614.4756

RSMGA Pete Marco pmarcop49@gmail.com

R9H Marguerite Davis 704.618.2128 Clubhouse & Fitness Center Lakeside Grille Golf Shop Tennis Shop Sunday

Driving Range 7:30AM - Dusk (Closed Tuesdays 12PM-3PM)

North Halfway House Open Daily 9AM - 6PM South Halfway House Open Daily 9AM - 6PM

Hours of Operation are posted in advance and are subject to change due to weather or some other unforeseen reason.

2023-2024 ADVISORY COMMITTEES

Congratulations to the following Members who have been selected to serve on the various committees at the Club. Each year Advisory committees are formed to assist the Board of Directors and Management in exceeding the needs and desires of our Members. We have a large Membership consisting of individuals from various experiences and having a wide range serving on Committees is a great way to represent this diversity.

Property & Insurance

Chair: Zach Hall

Josh Harms

Justin Baker

Robert Altemare

Grievance

Chair: Matt Arnold

Stephen Winters

Lance Behymer

David Boyce, Sr.

Rodney Gaddy

Mark Nelson

Rich Grippando

Tennis/Pool

Chair Katie Eggers

Mike Fresina

Vicky Shannon

Crystal Rowe

Michael Hall

Rob Dayton

Nicole Love

Melissa Luther

Ty Leonard

Ciara McKiernan

Long Range Planning

Chair: Laura Sullivan

Jay Herring

Kristen Bernard

Zach Hall

Jake Wiesehan

Peter Fowler

Charles Jones

Membership Committee

Chair: Laura Sullivan

Wenona Van Winkle

Bart Reeves

Pete Katz

Charles Humphries

Eric Tresino

Keith Moynihan

Scott Morton

Cliff Bauer

Pepper Pounds

Finance Committee

Chair:Thom Goeken

Dennis Lazarus

Matt Michel

Kim Marks

Jay Herring

Ben Law

House & Social

Chair: Stephen Winters

Scooter Abrams

Karen Allen

Matt Yarmey

Michelle Michaels

Bonnie Sheppard

Katie Eggers

Glenn Wright

Christine Motherwell

By-Laws

Chair:Shane McKiernan

Richard Woodcock

Eric Hilt

David Boyce

Mark Bartholomew

Melissa Orr

Rodney Gaddy

Golf & Greens

Chair: Jay Herring

RMGA Representative

RSMGA Representative

RWGA Representative

Ladies 9-holers Representative

Handicap Committee Representative

Member-Guest Committee

Representative

Pete Marco

Bill Grey

Tim Burson

Sean Marks

Trey Norton

MESSAGE FROM THE GENERAL MANAGER

I want to thank the numerous members and associates of Raintree Country Club for the very warm welcome. I continue to meet many fresh faces, which will certainly continue with our strong membership base and size. My family and I are extremely excited to relocate, get settled into the Charlotte area, and become involved in the local community.

First, I’d like to welcome our new Clubhouse Manager, Jordan Keiper. He comes to us from the Winston-Salem area and Bermuda Run Country Club and will oversee all food and beverage operations. Jordan graduated from culinary school with honors, is a trained mixologist, and has a passion for the hospitality and food & beverage industries. Along with his family, they previously owned and operated The Tavern in Old Salem.

Secondly, the Raintree member survey has recently been completed. This will assist Troon Golf, Raintree Staff, Committees, and Board of Directors to prioritize capital projects and future operations of our club. We know there is a fervent desire to improve the look and feel of Raintree Country Club, and several vested parties are committed to moving these initiatives forward.

We are so happy to be in the swing of summer and so many of our members are enjoying the amenities Raintree Country Club offers! To ensure everyone continues to have fun throughout the season, I want to offer a gentle reminder that Raintree Country Club has bylaws/rules & regulations all members are expected to follow. There are also consequences for behavior that is unbecoming of a country club member. To quote the Ritz-Carlton credo – Let’s ensure Raintree Country Club is a club where “ladies and gentlemen serve ladies and gentlemen.”

Thank you again for the warm welcome and I will see you around Raintree Country Club this summer at one of our member events.

Sincerely,

Shannon Archer General Manager

General Manager Shannon Archer

Chris Taylor Duo

BINGO NIGHT Games fun and prizes

Get ready to shout "BINGO!" and win some fun prizes to end the summer!

AUGUST 11TH

$25++ | includes dinner & 3 BINGO Cards

Menu: fried chicken, mashed potatoes, broccoli, house salad, dinner rolls, cookies

Doors Open at 5:45PM

DINNER 6PM | BINGO 7PM Reservations Required |

August 16th | 6:00-8:00PM

Ages 5-12 | $22++

Reservations Required | 48 Hour Cancellation

Join us for a night of dancing, karaoke, & games with a buffet dinner of chicken fingers, turkey corn dogs, tots, mac & cheese, cookies, brownies

Wednesday, August 16th

6:00 PM - 8:00PM | $45++ | Ballroom

Enjoy an evening out and bring out your inner artist. Guided painting and light finger foods included.

A Member Bar will be available with PINOT SPECIALS.

Reservations Required | 48 Hour Cancellation

MUSIC L I V E

A T T H E P A V I L I O N

AUGUST 18 | 7-10PM

5 PIECE BAND FEATURING

MEMBER HOWIE WEBB

RAINTREE KIDS GIVE BACK

Bring a NEW School supply and enjoy an evening of swimming, food, DJ, & Raffle Prizes.

All supplies will be going to the womens shelter, Center for Hope.

All donations are welcome even if you can't come! Drop off bin at the Pool

Ages 6 - 18 | $12++ | Reservations Required | 48 Hour Cancellation AUGUST

| 7-9PM

COUPLES GOLF RESULTS:

There were 28 players that participated in the Couples Golf event that took place on June 25, 2023. The difficult 1-2-3 Combo format required a true team effort to post a great score. At the end of the event the team of Dave Boyce Sr., Sue Frost, Rob Dayton & Anne Bowers were able to pull out the victory! Great playing everyone!

2023 MEN’S FALL MEMBER-GUEST DATE:

The 2023 Men’s Fall Member-Guest will take place on October 12-14, 2023. This is a (2) man team event of match play against all teams in the flight. Please be on the lookout for the registration link in early August!

INCOMING GOLF SHOP MERCHANDISE:

As we enter the summer months, please be on the lookout for new items from FootJoy, Turtleson, Johnnie-O, Nike, American Needle and Winston Collection. Golf Shop inventory moves quickly so be sure to follow Raintree on Instagram for new merchandise posts!

JUNIOR INTERCLUB UPDATE:

The 2023 Junior Interclub season is rolling along as we have (3) matches in the books with (1) more match in July and (1) more happening in August. The team currently stands in 3rd place as we look to defend last year’s championship title!

CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP UPDATES:

The 2023 dates are in the books, and we are excited to see the competition in all categories! The Dates will be listed below for all!

Senior Club Championship | August 19th & 20th

Junior Club Championship | September 30th & October 1st

Men’s Club Championship | October 6th - 8th

Ladies Club Championship | October 7th & 8th

Couples Club Championship | October 21st & 22nd

QUEEN FOR A DAY

Niners competed for fun and prizes at the River Hills Invitational on July 19, where the theme was ‘Queen of the Green.’

Jane Fisher, Belinda Kirby, Pat Perrine, Ellie Savage, Diane Urbanski, Bonnie Thyer, Nancy Kipnis and Marguerite Davis

MONEY, MONEY, MONEY...

No one took home the big prize during the Niners’ July Fun Day.

CURRENT PUTTING POT—$170

COMING UP IN AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER

August 1 – Member/Guest Fun Day, 9 a.m.

September 19 – Cookies for a Cause with Raintree Senior Men, 9 a.m.

A Handicap Index is the measure of a player’s demonstrated ability. A Low Handicap Index represents the demonstrated ability of a player over the 365 day period preceding the day on which the most recent score in their scoring record was played and provides a reference point against which the current Handicap Index can be compared. The Low Handicap Index is re-evaluated with each score entered. It is the basis for the soft caps and hard caps which suppress the upward movement of Handicap Indices due to temporary loss of form to a level inconsistent with a player’s demonstrated ability. The caps also serve as anti-abuse safeguards and aid in minimizing the potential for handicap manipulation. There is no limit on the amount by which a player’s Handicap Index can decrease.

Please contact the Handicap Committee with any questions.

Handicaps

RAINTREE OMEGA TEAM WINS ONE, TIES ONE

The Raintree OMEGA team won a home match in late June and tied another match mid-July boosting the season record to 3-2-1.

Raintree took down the Peninsula Club with a resounding 16.5-7.5 score on Jun28. The teams of Kevin Arnold-Lincoln Ely and Gary Gardner-Bob Kirby led the way with three points each while the teams of Richard Woodcock-Rosey Blackwell and Joel Reichard-Roger Littell each scored 2.5 points. Every Raintree team posted at least one point.

On July 19, Raintree hosted the Palisades team and posted a 12-12 tie. The teams of Rick Zwicknagel-Dennis Lazarus and Jim Rembowski-Lance Deutsch led the way with 3 points while the team of Tim Burson-Larry Witham scored two points.

Raintree OMEGA team members (L-R): Lance Deutsch, Dennis Lazarus, & Jim Rembowksi

CPR-AED TRAINING

The RSMGA hosted a CPR-AED training session for 45 members on July 19. A medic from Mecklenburg EMS will gave a presentation of what to do on the course if someone suffers a medical emergency on the golf course. The instructor emphasized the importance of calling 911 and demonstrated CPR as well as showing the use of an AED. Hats off to Jim Venker for spearheading the training effort.

RECENT WINNERS

July 12 – 1,2,3, Balls

1st – Tom Phillips, Ben Ormand, Stephen Maag, Tom Flaherty -15

July 5 – Net Points

1st – Dennis Lazarus –44 points

2nd – Marty Jenkins – 43 points

3rd – Dave Amico – 42 points

June 28 – Nine Points

Jim Barnett

John Paul chaney

Skip Long

Dennis O’Dell

Greg Koch

Jean Tassy

Tim Burson

Peter Fowler

June 14 – Net Points

1st – Stu Cojac 43 points

2nd – Rosey Blackwell 40 points

T3 – Bob Edwards 38 points

Dennis O’Dell 28 points

RWGA INTERCLUB

On Wednesday, July 12 Cowans Ford won 8 points while Raintree won 7.5, so that gives us an 8.5 point lead overall. We’re doing great! Thanks to everyone for your support! Our next match is August 30 against River Run and we’ll be playing at Carmel CC.

MONTHLY MIXER

The next Monthly Mixer will take place on Friday, July 28. Monthly Mixer is a social event consisting of 9 holes of golf and is open to any member at Raintree Country Club. It is played on the 4th Friday of each month with a 5:30 p.m. shotgun. You will be provided with a different partner/team each month. Sign up is handled in the Pro Shop and must be done no later than the Thursday afternoon prior to the event.

CCWGA

The third CCWGA event took place on Tuesday, July 14 at Palisades. RWGA winners at this event included Hongjoo Kim (1st Gross in her flight), Cindy Sikorski (1st Gross in her flight), Susan Fritsch (2nd Gross in her flight), and Barbara Littell (2nd Gross in her flight). The next event will be held Tuesday, August 8 at Carolina Lakes.

PLAYDAY EVENTS

July events are coming to an end as we soon move to August. The Little Ringer Tournament took place on two consecutive Thursdays (July 13 and July 20). Results of this event will be posted in the Ladies Locker room. The hot weather made this a challenging event. The mid-year RWGA meeting was held following the July 20th round of play. The final July playday will be the Red/White/ Gold team event on July 27.

Upcoming Events in August include:

Low Gross, Net & Putt (also NCState Play Day)

Mutt & Jeff

Medal Play (a 2 day event)

Criss Cross

Six Pack (also informal guest day)

SATURDAY PLAYDAY

The Saturday Playday has been rescheduled for July 22nd. Results will be shared in the upcoming newsletter. This event is open to all members of RWGA. Signups are handled by Golf Genius invitations. If you have any questions contact Laura Sullivan.

LADIES SCRAMBLE

The July Scramble was scheduled for Wednesday July 5. There was a small group of participants, probably due to the holiday. Play started at 5 p.m., however Mother Nature had other plans….a thunderstorm ended play, therefore the event was cancelled. The next Scramble will be on Wednesday, August 2 at 5 p.m. with registration in the 37th Hole starting at 4:30. Hope to have more join us in August!

THE RED, WHITE & BLUE

164 players competed in this annual 2-day event held on July 4th weekend. The flight winners are listed below:

Flight 1

Gross (Tie)

Michael Klenke

Paul Fitzgerald

Matt Kilgo

Jay Sylvan Net

Dave Foley

Chris Hamilton

Flight 2 Gross

Daniel Eggers

Will Ayers Net

Rawls Zollicoffer

Matt Michel

Flight 3 Gross

Mac White

Ryan Vince Net

Hayden Lee

Ashley Quick

Flight 4

Gross

Dave Boyce, Sr

Steve Jenkins Net

Jeffrey Kelley

Bob Hammond

Flight 5

Gross

Jim Tanger

David Todd Net

Jeff Dolan

Pete Harrison

Flight 6

Gross

Tyler Turner

Matt Yarmey Net

Graham Mull

Dustin Shoe

Flight 7

Gross

David Cohen

John Simmons Net

Michael Serwatka

Jeff Andrews

Flight 8 Gross

James Roberts

Eric Winter Net

Ian Schoenen

Todd Nelson

UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS

The next tournaments are listed below. Get your games in shape guys – there are still two majors on the schedule!

August 5 & 6 The Draft 9:30 Shotgun Both Days South/North

August 26 & 27 The Derby 8:00 TT/9:00 Shotgun South/North

INTERCLUB TEAM STANDINGS

The CGA Interclub season is approaching the halfway point and the five Raintree teams have achieved early success!

Regular Division

Bigley Team 5-1 With the regular season over, this team has to be a favorite to take it all!

Shaw Team 1-4 One more match remains.

Senior Division

Hamilton Team 4-2 In the playoffs!

Boyce Team 4-2 In the playoffs!

Super-Seniors

Marco Team 2-3 One home match remains.

MATCH PLAY TOURNAMENTS

The Gross Team Event has reached the Finals with the following teams meeting for the Championship:

Hamel/Klenke vs McCorkle/Rechner

The remaining events are in either the quarter-final or semi-final stage.

Please note that the deadlines are real. If you have an issue completing your match on-time please send a note to Peter Fowler at pfowler3@carolina.rr.com. But please be aware that unless there are significant extenuating circumstances, the matches must be completed on time!

PGA Jr. League

LOCAL QUALIFIER CHAMPIONS

Congratulations to the Raintree PGA Jr. League 13U All Star Team for winning the local qualifier held at Raintree in July! Representing Raintree was Alec Motherwell, Walker Jenkins, Jacob Montoya, Caiden Motherwell, Ben Chriscoe, Brooks Russell, Elyn Aldrich, and Sharon Liu.

Raintree now advances to the Regional Championship in Pinehurst on August 10th!

WHEN TO GET YOUR JR. GOLFER INVOLVED

At our Learning Center, we teach any and all that want to learn the game. From as young as 4 years old, there are many ways to introduce and continue education. One question we get most often from our parents is when and how should they start their juniors in the game. The best answer comes from the juniors themselves. It’s our goal at the learning center to find what makes our juniors have the most fun. In many cases, this means less structured practice and more competition.

Professional Miles Chapman miles.chapman@raintreecc.net

The age best to start your junior in golf will be different for everyone. Begin with testing the waters. Take them with you to Raintree, to the practice range, or even on the course. Simply let them watch. If they have fun, that’s half the battle. From there, our Learning Center offers a multitude of options for junior golf of all ages. From our Pee Wee Juniors ages 4-6 all the way to PGA Jr. League and Junior Interclub that includes higher level competition. At the start… and end, golf is a game. Our passion is to make it as fun as possible. When it comes to junior golf, the same passion applies.

Teaching

CONGRATULATIONS!

RAINTREE STINGRAYS

GREATER CHARLOTTE SWIM LEAGUE

DIVISION 4 CHAMPS!

SIMPLY THE BEST.......BETTER THAN ALL THE REST!

Congratulations Raintree Swim Team on a record season. Our team won our division 7-0 and won all stars competing against 6 teams in GCSL Division 4.

Our banquet completed our season with the top swimmer MVS (most valuable swimmer) achievement given to "Team Raintree". The season was a team effort .

A team MVS plaque will hang permanently in the outdoor pool entrance. We say goodbye to Madison Danser and Anna McNulty as they finished their summer swim for our league and are heading off to college in the fall.

Thank you, swimmers, parents, and volunteers for making history in our club.

Check out a video from this year’s team below!

Safety First: Your kid’s swim suit color matters. The brighter the better! Swim suits that are super colorful are easy to spot!

Raintree Water Aerobics! Join Kim Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9:00AM

A reminder to all members and guests of members: No food deliveries may be made to the pool.

Pool Hours of Operation:

Monday 12pm to 6pm (Opens at 10:00AM for Labor Day)

Tuesday 10am to 7pm (Adult only swim 9am to 10am)

Wednesday 10am to 7pm (Adult only swim 9am to 10am)

Thursday 10am to 7pm (Adult only swim 9am to 10am)

Friday 10am to 8pm (Adult only swim 9am to 10am)

Saturday 10am to 8pm (Adult only swim 9am to 10am)

Sunday 10am to 6pm (Adult only swim 9am to 10am)

Normal Hours through August 27th

September Schedule

September 2 | 10AM - 8PM

September 3 | 10AM - 6PM

September 4 (Labor Day) | 10AM - 6PM

September 9 | 10AM - 8PM

September 10 | 10AM - 6PM

September 16 | 10AM - 8PM

September 17 | 10AM - 6PM

Thank you all for a great Pool Season!

Fun at the Kid’s Pool Party July 20

MARY SALEM GREGORY PARAMORE SCHOLARSHIP

Congratulations to Krysten Delgadillo, Barak and Hassin Mulamusa, Ishoma Peter, Nathaniel Bryant, John Banza, Zoe and Tegan Brown. They are the recipients of the Third Annual Mary Salem Gregory Paramore Scholarship. The funding provides non-member kids the opportunity to attend the Raintree Country Club Summer Camp program.

The Summer Camp is an all-day sports camp that focuses on tennis golf swimming and fun!! A big thank you to the Raintree Master Par 3 participants and the White Tee Group for their support of this great scholarship!!!

JUNIOR TEAM TAKES HOME CHAMPIONSHIPS!

The 2023 Junior Team Tennis State Championships were represented by two Raintree Country Club teams who competed in Greenville, NC. Both our 14U Beginner and 18U Beginner won State Championships and competed at a very high level while maintaining excellent sportsmanship on the court. These boys and girls that represented Raintree have been working hard for several years to achieve this monumental accomplishment. We are so proud of everyone on the team!

If you would like to sign up for the 2023 Fall Junior Team Tennis Team, we will have registration and practice on August 19th from 2:00-4:00PM. For more information, please email Peter Maxwell at peter.maxwell@raintreecc.net

14U Beginner State Champion Team: Elliott Martin, Zach Rohrman, Weldon Taylor, Logan Pritchett, Coach Peter Maxwell. Not Pictured: Kahmini Krishnan, Carlton Huitt, Jack Fiddes, Drew Causey

18U Beginner State Champion Team: Keaton McKinstry, Billy Brannon, Charlie Brannon – team mascot, Hudson Quick, Evan Eshlemen, Coach Peter Maxwell. Not Pictured: Katherine Quirk, Caroline Quirk, Margaret Biggers, Tess Lewis

FALL JR CLINIC SCHEDULE

(STARTING AUGUST 28)

Monday/Wednesday 5:00-6:30PM

(Ages 12-18)

Tuesday/Thursday 5:00-6:00PM

(Ages 5-11)

FALL ADULT CLINICS WITH PETER:

Thursday 2.5-3.0 Clinic 10:00-11:00

Friday Beginner Clinic 10:00-11:00

Saturday Beginner Clinic 10:00-11:00

HAVE YOUR TRIED PICKLEBALL?

Interest in Pickleball is soaring! Saturdays in July had over 25 players came to the Beginners/Casual Play group! As you can see, even the heat wave isn’t slowing us down.

We love to have new players and are prepared to supply paddles and instruction to get you started. Beginners meet on Saturday mornings. Please contact Roger Littell at 8littrll@gmail.com or 704-737-2573 if you are interested.

If you already play the game but are new to Raintree, contact Roger at the information above. Open play with various skill levels is available, and Roger will assist you in finding competitive play opportunities.

All events & specials are subject to change or cancellation