TOM TOM APRIL 2022
Sahalee Country Clubb
STAFF
THE SAHALEE TEAM
MARCUS KING GENERAL MANAGER MARCUS@SAHALEE.COM BRYAN NICHOLSON DIRECTOR OF GOLF BRYAN@SAHALEE.COM CHARLIE SCHAUWECKER GOLF COURSE SUPERINTENDENT CHARLIE.SAHALEE@GMAIL.COM JUSTIN KEENER CLUBHOUSE MANAGER JUSTINK@SAHALEE.COM SIEMON SLAGTER CONTROLLER SIEMON@SAHALEE.COM BRITTIANY LATHRUP MEMBERSHIP & COMMUNICATION DIRECTOR BRITTIANY@SAHALEE.COM LAURIE COLEMAN ACCOUNTING ADMINISTRATOR LAURIE@SAHALEE.COM
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
JACOB LIPPOLD PGA HEAD GOLF PROFESSIONAL JACOB@SAHALEE.COM
SCOTT HEYDON-PRESIDENT MIKE DENTON- VICE PRESIDENT
JUSTIN STURDY PGA ASSISTANT PRO JUSTIN.STURDY@SAHALEE.COM
STEVE MOGER-TREASURER JOHN TINKHAM-SECRETARY JAY KIRSCHENMAN-SOCIAL LIAISON PAUL COOKE-LONG RANGE/BYLAW FOCUS LIAISON BILL BONNELL-MEMBERSHIP LIAISON NORMAN CHEUK-CHAMPIONSHIP LIAISON MARYLE TRACY-GREEN LIAISON
COMMITTEE CHAIRS GOLF-BRIAN SELBY GREEN-MICHELLE HOOD
LAURA KRAFT ASSISTANT PRO LAURA@SAHALEE.COM RYAN BENZEL PGA DIRECTOR OF INSTRUCTION RYAN.BENZEL@SAHALEE.COM JIM PIKE PGA GOLF PROFESSIONAL EMERITUS PIKEPGA@SAHALEE.COM
DEVIN BRIGHAM OUTSIDE SERVICES MANAGER/CADDIE MASTER DEVIN@SAHALEE.COM
FINANCE-DAWN NAYE HOUSE-BILL PHILLIPS MEMBERSHIP-HOWARD LEE HANDICAP AND RULES-JEANNE LINK JUNIOR GOLF-BEAU CLINE CHAMPIONSHIP-TYLER DION SOCIAL-LIZ PHIPPS MEN'S DIVISION-GEORGE GLAUSER WOMEN'S DIVISION-DEBBIE ACTON
Cover Photo Credit: Dan Lewis
Warm Welcomes
Cheers
Brian and Kimberly Belobradic
TO NEW MEMBERS!
Social
Regular Golf
Robert and Susan Webber Hal Matthews and Noreen Sozio
HOURS OF OPERATION Driving Range Monday: 10am-7pm Tuesday: 7am-6pm Wednesday: 7am-7pm Thursday: 7am-7pm Friday: 7am-7pm Saturday: 6:30am-7pm Sunday: 6:30am-7pm Pro Shop Monday: 10am-7pm Tuesday: 7am-7pm Wednesday: 7am-7pm Thursday: 7am-7pm Friday: 7am-7pm Saturday: 7am-7pm Sunday: 7am-7pm
Restaurant Golfer's Grill MondayTuesday: 10am-5pm Honor Bar Service Starter House Daily
Breakfast Saturday-Sunday 7am-11am Lunch Wednesday-Sunday 11am-5pm
Dinner Thursday, Friday, Sunday 5pm-8:30pm
A Letter from our President Finally, Spring is here! With aerification underway, the golf course seems to be holding up well (at least the South side I played yesterday). With warmer weather Sahalee’s planned golf and social activities will kick into high gear. The first social event of 2022 was a huge success which sold out! There are a few amazing individual milestones in April I’d like to celebrate this month. First and foremost, our very own Marcus King will be inducted into the Pacific Northwest PGA Hall of Fame! Marcus has served clubs and organizations in Puget Sound for 31 years, and this recognition is well-deserved! In addition to being a wonderful human, here are some of his career accomplishments: Before joining the PGA, Marcus was a baseball catcher in the minor leagues and served in the Peace Corps as a special ed teacher and small business development professional Pacific Northwest Section President – 2013-2014 Pacific Northwest PGA Golf Professional of the Year – 2013 Pacific Northwest PGA Professional Development Award winner – 5 times Pacific Northwest PGA Bill Strausbaugh Award winner – 3 times Pacific Northwest PGA Youth Player Development Award winner – 1996 PGA governance for 16 years Served on the Board of the First Tee of Greater Seattle Special Olympics World Games Golf Commissioner 2018 and coach of Team Washington and Team USA Special Olympics Golf teams The induction ceremony will be held at Sahalee on Saturday, April 23rd at 6:00pm and I would love nothing more than to have a bunch of our members in attendance to celebrate this high honor. If you would like to attend you can register by going to PNGA Hall of Fame Induction Banquet Registration (cost is $65 per person). In another major milestone, golfing member Paul Rimlinger celebrates his 90th birthday this month. Paul still walks 18 holes weekly and has shot his age many times. Congratulations Paul -- here’s to many more rounds ahead. You are a true inspiration for all of us! Past Business At the March Board meeting we spent considerable time reviewing a proposal from the Golf Committee and Bryan Nicholson on improving access to the golf course. The team has done a deep dive into our own playing patterns (via ForeTees data), while also researching other clubs. There isn’t enough space in the Tom Tom to do justice to the depth of analysis and complexities of the issue, so we are preparing a separate, more comprehensive communication that will be published shortly. Stay tuned! Additionally, the Membership and Finance Committees reviewed Sahalee’s current initiation fee and our position among Pacific Northwest private clubs. Consistent with their recommendations, the Board of Directors decided to maintain our present initiation fee level of $50,000 and committed to monitoring the market closely over the next several months. Factoring into this decision was: Our initiation fee is in line with other ‘comparable clubs’ in the area Our progress on Regular Golf membership sales through the first 3 months (3 new Regular Golf members on a budget of 15). The busy season begins in April, with more sales expected. As of April 1, the club owns 5 memberships and our ‘For Sale’ list is currently at 34 (5-year historical average is 53). Naturally, there is a mix of reasons members as wanting to depart, but most are simply relocating out of the area or transferring to Senior Membership status.
A Letter from our President With initiation fees funding Sahalee’s capital improvements, there’s always a balance between controlling turnover yet selling just enough to fund our future. Generally, Sahalee experiences 7% to 8% of Regular Golf Membership turnover. So, our current position of 40 members on the sale list isn’t out of line. I’ve always subscribed to the “plan for the worst, hope for the best” approach. We are doing just that with the budget and year-end projections. The current state of Membership is another reason why we all have been so focused on improving the Sahalee experience. We’re also taking action to raise the awareness level of Sahalee with those who may be new to the Northwest. Of course, the best way for any private club to promote new memberships is to have current members inviting others to join. Do you have friends, family members or colleagues who would make great new members and enjoy the complete Sahalee experience? Bring them by the club and introduce them to Brittiany! Lastly, the House Committee submitted a first draft of the Clubhouse Master Plan for feedback from the Board. Like the Golf Course Master Plan, the Clubhouse Master Plan forms the foundational part of Sahalee’s development roadmap. Over the year, the House Committee will be engaging members to collect feedback, ensuring we see the future from the eyes of many, and coordinating this plan with the updated strategic plan. New Business With much of the foundation for 2022 now established (leadership priorities, Board and committee priorities, and golf and social calendars) we are shifting from a ‘planning phase’ to a ‘working the plan’ phase. In April we will receive our Q1 financial results, which we’ll share with you in next month’s Tom Tom. Also, in support of a more robust financial planning process, the Finance Committee is working with Marcus and his leadership team to implement a more regular forecasting process. This will enable the collective team to stay on top of new financial information coming to light while making necessary adjustments. Lastly for April, I expect the Board of Directors and committees to begin a comprehensive investigation into “refundability” for departing Regular members. At Sahalee’s annual meeting last November, I committed to revisiting the decision on refundability and sharing the Board’s thinking with the membership. Unfortunately, I was not able to be at the club this past Sunday to meet with members. But I will be at the club next Sunday April 10th watching the Masters. If you want to connect, come see me there or drop me a note at sheydon203+SCC@gmail.com. Warmly, Scott Heydon Club President
Golf Calendar MARCH APRIL
MAY
2 0 2 2
JUNE
JULY
AUGUST
SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER
19 SMD OPENING DAY 24 SOCIAL GOLF: NINE HOLE WELCOME MIXER 26 SWD OPENING DAY 30 SMD CHAPMAN 2 14 17 20 21
PNWPGA WESTERN WA PRO-AM (PRIVATE) SMD & SWD PRESIDENT'S CUPS SEATTLE WOMEN'S SWEEPS TWILIGHT GOLF SMD PGA CHAMPIONSHIP
5 SOCIAL GOLF: "GUEST DAY" 7 SWD SPRING FIELD DAY 13 BRIDGE OF PROMISE (PRIVATE) 18 PARENT / CHILD TOURNAMENT 22 TWILIGHT GOLF 26 SOCIAL GOLF: PUTTING CHAMPIONSHIP 30 SEATTLE WOMEN'S TEAM PLAY 7-8 WOMEN'S INVITATIONAL 11 AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY (PRIVATE) 15 TWILIGHT GOLF 18 KPMG EVENT (PRIVATE) 21-22 SWD MEMBER-MEMBER 28-30 MEN'S INVITATIONAL 8 12-13 19-21 22 23
JPW EVENT (PRIVATE) SMD MEMBER-MEMBER CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS (MENS/LADIES/JUNIOR) COSTCO (PRIVATE) BUNKER RENOVATION BEGINS
2-3 SENIOR CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS 9 SWD FALL FIELD DAY 26 EVANS CUP EVENT (PRIVATE) 27 SWD GUEST DAY 1 SMD STABLEFORD 9 SOCIAL GOLF: FALL FLING EVENT 10 WA GOLF ASSOCIATION PLAY DAY (PRIVATE) 14 SMD MEN'S AWARDS NIGHT 29 SMD FOUR BALL SCRAMBLE
Committee Spotlight: Strategic Planning Committee I feel it’s important to help all Sahalee members understand how our oversight and governance operates. And so, each month I’m inviting a different Committee Chair to introduce their committee purpose and approach. This month, David LaRocque (long-time member, past President, past Finance Committee Chair, and current Strategic Planning Chair) is sharing his approach to the 2022 Strategic Planning Committee’s work.- Scott Heydon, 2022 Club President
Private club strategic plans generally take a five-to-seven-year outlook and have the purpose of providing a roadmap for how an organization will achieve its overall goals or visions. Sahalee completed its last full strategic plan in 2013 which was updated in 2016. The process for both was accomplished wholly between the Board of Directors and Sahalee’s management team. An official Strategic Planning Committee has been formed in 2022 with the primary purpose of updating Sahalee’s strategic plan for today’s competitive market and monitoring Sahalee’s strategic position going forward. Committee members include: David LaRocque – Chairperson Kent Martin Chris Falco Paul Cooke – Board Liaison Scott Heydon – Sahalee President Jim Pike – Head Professional Emeritus Marcus King – General Manager The Committee was established under Article 10, Section 1 of the club bylaws. Officially we are the Endowment Committee and have a dual mandate that includes the strategic planning function and exploring the potential of creating a Sahalee endowment. Under our mandate, our first order of business was to establish a formal charter for inclusion in Sahalee’s Operations and Procedures manual. Key items in our charter include: Advise the Board of Directors and management on strategic planning issues. Coordinate the process of creating and updating Sahalee’s strategic plan. Gather and review internal data such as survey results and club usage information. Assist with research of external data such as industry trends and local competition. Participate in strategic planning sessions as appropriate. Regularly review strategic plan progress and recommend adjustments as necessary. Create opportunities for members to contribute funds to Sahalee through donations, estate planning or other methods. Establish procedures and rules for such donations. Based on our work so far, we are recommending the following objectives in the updating of the club’s strategic plan: Understand our current environment including internal strengths and weaknesses, competitive market, and industry trends. Evaluate Sahalee’s mission and vision. Do they meet Sahalee’s needs of today and going forward? Are they easy to understand and measurable? Establish a common set of values. Develop clear and measurable goals. Design strategic initiatives and action plans to help achieve those goals. Establish a financial strategy and realistic financial plan. As a member-owned club, input and feedback are essential to a strategic plan’s success, and as such, the Committee agreed that the updated plan should more fully engage members in its development. The first step was the member survey conducted at the end of 2021. It was a great starting point. If you haven’t reviewed the results, I recommend you do so (found under Important Documents on the Sahalee website). Clearly, the club needs to address member satisfaction and offer more value for the cost of membership. Our next step is to gather additional information to help us understand where Sahalee fits in the competitive landscape of private clubs here in the Northwest. We also plan on conducting targeted member surveys over the next two months. Each will be relatively short with just a few questions; some will ask members to select items from a list, others will request freeform answers/comments. Randomly selected groups of members may be selected for some surveys giving a representative sample without overburdening members and causing “survey fatigue.” Later, the club will conduct a full member satisfaction survey. Once the research phase is complete, a draft strategic plan will be completed between the Board of Directors, senior management and the Strategic Planning Committee. Members will then have an opportunity to comment before the plan is finalized, and we hope to have this work completed this year. Together, as committed members of Sahalee, we will end up with a strategic plan that will be our roadmap for years to come. My sincere “thank you!” to the members of my Strategic Planning Committee and to the membership for this opportunity to contribute to the building of our collective roadmap. David LaRocque Strategic Planning Chairperson
A Letter from our Director of Golf
From all the pollen that has been floating in the air, it’s safe to say that spring has officially sprung across Western Washington. While it’s my first spring at the Club, I’ve enjoyed seeing the Sahalee campus come to life, the warmer days, birds singing, spring flowers and the (fingers crossed) return of more sunshine! Spring brings energy, an opportunity to create new goals for the season, and who can forget that little annual gathering with a green jacket that is played in Augusta, Georgia? With many of the COVID restrictions thankfully behind us, activities are ramping up, and everyone is eager to come enjoy their Club!
Last month, our Men’s Division kicked off the 2022 golf calendar with their Opening Day! Featuring a four-man shamble format, the men braved the elements and dodged a little hail to complete their round. Congratulations to the foursome of Steve Brozinick, Patrick Jentz, Keith Brakebill and Dennis Wolff for taking the medalist honors. With ninety total Stableford points- the foursome finished 5 points clear of any other team and claimed bragging rights until next year!
In April and early May, our golf calendar ramps up with a flurry of activity. Our “Social Golf” events will officially start on Sunday, April 24, and I would encourage you to consider participating in these throughout the season at the Club. You do not need to have a spouse that plays golf to participate, as singles are more than welcome! These 9-hole gatherings are intended to include fun formats and be welcoming to players of all abilities. Following golf, stick around the club and share a glass of wine or your favorite drink and enjoy dinner in a lively atmosphere. Shortly after, our Sahalee Women’s Division will launch their season on Tuesday, April 26 with a 9-hole scramble, and our Men’s Division will continue their season with the playing of their Chapman tournament on Saturday, April 30. Please mark your calendars and join us for these fun times!
We have quite a bit going on the golf side of the house, and I thought I would just run through some highlights and tidbits with you: Hole-In-One Club – We will officially begin our new hole-in-one procedures at the Club on Friday, April 15. Our Sahalee team is extremely excited about this new program! Any holes-in -one recorded at the club up until mid-April, will fall under the previous Divisional rules. If you would like to opt out of the HIO Club, please see the weekly update for the link, or call the golf shop and we will be glad to remove you from the program. Sahalee Golf Guide & Junior Ravens Program Documents – Last month, we sent PDF copies of both important documents that are a comprehensive guide to everything that is ongoing at the Club. Printed copies of both documents are available in the locker room and the golf shop, so please pick them up, or simply download from the link included with the weekly update. Check-In with Golf Shop – You have read in our weekly communication, but it bears restating again. Please, please come through the golf shop to check-in for your round. With Gregg’s departure and many newer faces on the “hill,” my golf professional team needs to assist our starter with knowing who is present for their round of golf. Gregg’s institutional knowledge and familiarity of the Sahalee community made him such a tremendous asset to our operation. We will build that same familiarity once again, but we need great teamwork to make it happen! Personalized Golf Ball and Glove Program – I am delighted to announce a new personalized program for golf balls and gloves exclusively for Sahalee members. With the lowest prices anywhere, this program is designed to invite you to purchase these items through the Club. If you have not seen the details, they are included in this month’s newsletter! We hope you’ll consider joining the program and taking advantage of these great savings. Yeti Cooler Stands & Coming Soon – Waste/Recycle Enclosures – Last month, we installed several new Yeti cooler stands on the golf course that will contain cold bottled water. In the coming days, we will also be receiving new matching waste and recycling containers that will be installed on the course. Our intent is for members to deposit the recyclable containers and bottles in the appropriate slot, and to help us to reduce our waste. We are currently working on refillable water stations, and I intend to share more on this topic very soon with the membership. Cap Patrol – We have received many positive responses to this new initiative by the membership. Recently, Cap Patrol and GolfHITS (the leading two golf handicap management tools) merged, and now offer golf handicap analytics to over 700 total clubs throughout the United States. Our Sahalee Rules and Handicap Committee will meet in mid-April to review the reports, and any necessary adjustments will be communicated shortly thereafter.
A Letter from our Director of Golf Golf Instruction– Beginning in April and continuing monthly throughout the season, Jacob and I will be hosting a “short game” school monthly on Saturday afternoons. Everyone needs to sharpen their skills from 100 yards and in, and we can help! Also in April, Laura has the “need for speed” and she wants to share her training through Speed Sticks to help you add more distance to your swing! In May, we will introduce our “Golfer 101” program, designed to help new golfers begin their journey into the game. If you or your spouse is a newer golfer, or would like to learn to play, this is a great onboarding into the world of golf. Also – if you are looking to add to your bag or changeout a Club – our Trackman technology can help you determine what is best for you! Junior Ravens Activities - Jacob is hosting a fun “Spring Break” challenge for junior golfers that are going to be spending it at home. I would encourage you to look if you are seeking a fun activity for your junior golfer in early April. Speaking of Junior Golf – our PGA Junior League practices and competition will soon be here. Sahalee will be hosting the first competitive event on Sunday, April 24. Also – our Summer 2022 junior golf camp registration is coming soon! Golf Shop Retail - Send us your fun travel pictures wearing your Sahalee gear, as we want to make you a star! Our “Where’s the Raven” is designed to show our membership where you are traveling, and we love to keep tabs on our Sahalee community throughout the globe! Also, in April – following March Madness sales, we will have a fun way to “clean out” your closet and help the community while getting a new piece of apparel from the golf shop. I am also delighted to share that we will very soon have Lululemon products in the shop. We will offer special introductory pricing to get everyone excited about this great brand. I have many more exciting things to share as we move closer to the “official start” of our 2022 golf season, but I will not spoil all the news. I do want to leave you with some spring food for thought: From shotlink on the PGA Tour – From 30 feet, 38% of putts are short of the hole. From 40 feet, it’s 46%, and from 50 feet it’s nearly 60%. For most amateur golfers, that number is much higher. The further you’re from the hole, focus on speed!! Lastly this month, I am saddened to announce that Assistant Golf Professional Wallace Small has announced that he will be leaving our team. Wallace accepted a similar position at Aldarra Golf Club, and his final day at Sahalee is scheduled for Thursday, April 7. Wallace brought a lot of energy and passion to our golf family over his 13 months at the Club. He even taught us all a new skill in grip repair! Thank you for being part of our team, Wallace, and we wish you and your family the absolute best with your new chapter! See you at the Club! Bryan
Fond Farewell to Wallace! We will miss you!
New Yeti Coolers
Lessons with Ryan Practice Tee Training Aids Explanation We have added training aids on the practice tee this season for member use in warm-up and practice. Learn how these aids can be used by clicking on this file. New Instruction Video Ryan’s latest instruction video is a helpful drill to improve your pitching/chipping contact. Watch the video here.
DIRECTOR OF INSTRUCTION
LESSON RATES Single Lesson: $100 Series of 3: $285 Series of 5: $450 Playing Lesson: $225 Junior Lesson: $75 Available Tuesday - Saturday 206-683-0025 cell ryan.benzel@sahalee.com 2016 Western WA Chapter PGA Teacher of the Year 2021 GRAA Top 100 Growth of the Game Teaching Professional
Subscribe and follow Ryan on his YouTube Channel !
KRAFTY CORNER One of the most common things amongst golfers is chronic back pain. Regardless of how efficient your golf swing is, there’s no denying that repeated swings can apply a lot of torque to your back. Based on research done at TPI, with a sample size of over 31,000 golfers, 28.1% of them dealt with lower back pain after every round of golf. More often than not, lower back pain is caused by other insufficient areas of our body such as hips, ankles, thoracic spine, and shoulders. So how can we combat this? One way is creating a more efficient swing pattern; in particular, reducing S-Posture and Reverse Spine Angle. S-Posture occurs when a player addresses the ball with too much inward curvature of the spine. This is often identified by looking like your rear end prominently sticks out at address. Reverse Spine Angle is when a player leans forward with their upper body at the top of their backswing. This position is highly volatile to back health, and should be tended to immediately. You may be asking yourself, do I have these characteristics in my swing? Lucky for all of us here at Sahalee, we have a team of fantastic Golf Professionals that can help you find out! Additionally, you can see the example photos with this article.
Another way to prevent back pain is having a proper warm-up before your round. Check out our Facebook and Instagram pages for a video with some simple stretches you can do before the round. If your pain persists or worsens with time, it’s likely you should see your TPI professional to get a full body screen and pinpoint the trouble areas or see a medical professional to find the root of the problem and seek help. Laura Kraft
HOLE IN ONE! 3/5/2022 Patrick Tracy 8E, 170 yd, 6 iron
Social Golf Welcome Mixer All members of Sahalee are encouraged to sign up! Register Here!
New Golfer Clinic All members of Sahalee are encouraged to sign up! Email the Golf Shop today!
Scoring Clinic Series All members of Sahalee are encouraged to sign up! Register here today!
Golf Genius The Professional Staff has made it a priority during the offseason to make Golf Genius more user friendly for the membership. We now have multiple ways to register for events, look at past results and more. Sahalee now has four unique directories that make it easy to navigate all the events within that directory. The four directories are listed below along with links to each, or can be found on the Sahalee website: Men’s Division: https://www.golfgenius.com/ggid/sahalee%20men Women’s Division: https://www.golfgenius.com/ggid/sahalee%20women Junior Division: https://www.golfgenius.com/ggid/sahalee%20junior Social Golf: https://www.golfgenius.com/ggid/sahalee%20social Another option to find these directories is to use the Golf Genius mobile app. Sahalee members will NOT need to create a username or password, instead they will be able to use the following GGID’s to log in via the mobile app: Men’s Division: SAHALEE MEN Women’s Division: SAHALEE WOMEN Junior Division: SAHALEE JUNIOR Social Golf: SAHALEE SOCIAL We hope this will help with any challenges anyone has faced with event registration. If you still need help, please stop in the Golf Shop and we will be happy to assist you! Note: The Men’s Opening Day Results are viewable via the Men’s Division directory listed above!
A Note from our Women's Division Captain For those Women's Division members who have not signed up for Captains Cup and Opening day, please do that right away. They are both great events for all levels and we hope to see as many participants as possible. As we head into spring and working to get our game in shape, look for the many opportunities the professional staff is providing for clinics, private lessons, and conditioning. We have a great staff that can help with short game, full swing, or whatever you might need. I would like to remind everyone to post scores as they finish their round or shortly after. If you forget to post that day it is still OK to record your score the next day but please do your best to post on the same day. Since the season is just starting I thought it would be a good time to remind everyone of the importance of pace of play. During the winter months the course is not crowded and we don't get a lot of pressure to move things along but now that the busy season is quickly upon us we need to be sure to keep up the pace. Sahalee is considered to be a great walking course and a round should be completed in 4 hours. Now is a great time to start thinking about your pace of play and working toward finishing a round 4 hours. I will highlight a few tips each Tom Tom to help everyone play a little faster while still having a good time. The first thing every player should be aware of is their own pace of play. We often look to everyone else in our group as the cause of slow play but we all play a part. Hope to see everyone on April 26th for our opening event! Debbie Acton
We Want Your Photo!
Did you know that if you upload a photo on your member profile online that it will sync to our restaurant and golf shop point of sale system? This would be so helpful for our staff and it is nice to have your photo on the member roster. Please upload in Member Central on your Club Profile or email Brittiany your photo today!
Contact the Golf Staff for more details!
Sahalee Players Championship Update The Sahalee Players Championship (SPC) is the Men’s College event that Sahalee will be hosting on an annual basis starting in September 2023. Co-Hosted by UW Men’s Golf, and Sahalee, the SPC will be one of the best fields in College Golf, showcasing the beauty and pure golf course that Sahalee is. The expected field includes: Arizona, Arizona State, Duke, Florida, Illinois, Oklahoma State, Pepperdine, Stanford, Texas, USC, Wake Forest, and Washington. Tournament Update The Pac-12 Championships will be held at Aldarra GC just down the road in Sammamish on April 25th to 27th. This event will be open to the public for those who wish to spectate. There will be 5 teams playing at that tournament who will also be at the 2023 SPC – Arizona, Arizona State, Stanford, USC, and Washington. The out-of-town teams will be flying into Seattle the Saturday before the tournament in April and will get a sneak peek at Sahalee, so if you are around the club on Saturday, April 23rd in the afternoon – expect to see some collegiate golf bags and some nice golf swings! Sahalee / UW Golf event in the Fall Bryan and the SPC team are working on an event this fall that will bring together the golf teams from UW and the membership of Sahalee. This will be open to all members and is meant to be a fun, casual golf day to provide a nice connection between Sahalee and UW golf. Look for more details to come in the next few months. Field Update The programs expected to be at the 2023 SPC continue to dominate collegiate golf. The field and their respective rankings are as follows: Arizona State (2) Oklahoma State (3) Pepperdine (7) Washington (9) Texas (13) Stanford (16) Florida (17) Illinois (20) Wake Forest (21) Arizona (NR) Duke (NR) USC (NR) UW Men’s Golf Update: The Huskies continue their amazing season, after just completing one of the best road trips in program history. The team played in backto-back events last week at the Duck Invitational (hosted by Oregon), and the Goodwin (hosted by Stanford). In dominating fashion, the Huskies came away with the team title in both events! This brings their cumulative season results to 5 wins, one 2nd, one 3rd, and 8 top10 team finishes in 10 events. Arguably, UW are the hottest team in the country, as their team ranking has risen to #5 in the last team rankings. Individually, the team is still led by RJ Manke. The 5th year Senior is in serious consideration for national player of the year and holds rankings of #1 in Golfstat (collegiate ranking), #9 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (operated by the R&A), and #5 in the Velocity PGA Tour University rankings. Should RJ remain in the top 5 at year’s end in this ranking, he will receive immediate exemptions to the Korn Ferry Tour, and the final stage of Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying School, which is the single path to the PGA Tour. RJ is not the only individual making headlines: Sophomore Teddy Lin picked up his first Individual title at the Duck Invitational. This is a great accomplishment for Teddy. Teddy is from Taiwan and mentored by UW alumni and Sahalee member CT Pan. Additionally, 5th year Senior Noah Woolsey continues to play extremely well. Noah is the current California State Amateur Champion and were it not for RJ’s amazing play would be receiving far more attention. Noah is a consistent performer for UW, and currently sits in the top 100 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
Sahalee Players Championship Update SPC Alumni update Over the years, Sahalee has hosted its share of great players. Most notably is Dustin Johnson, who until this weekend had the title of the only SPC Alumni to ascend to #1 in the Official World Golf Rankings. However, after 3 wins in his last 5 events, and a victory this weekend at the Dell WGC Match Play, Scottie Scheffler has taken over as the new #1 in the world. Scottie played the SPC in 2014 as an 18-year-old right out of high school. Our family hosted Scottie that week, and I can tell you that he was and is an incredibly nice, genuine, and humble young man that still remembers how Sahalee had his number that week. Below are the SPC Alumni currently ranked in the top 100 in the World: Scottie Scheffler (1) Dustin Johnson (8) Bryson Dechambeau (14) Min Woo Lee (59) Carlos Ortiz (78) Aaron Wise (90) Cameron Davis (95) Troy Merritt (98) Joel Dahmen (100) We are now in the heart of the college golf season. There are a few collegiate tournaments that will be broadcast on Golf Channel, then Conference Championship play, followed by NCAA Regionals in May, culminating in the NCAA Championships at Grayhawk in Scottsdale in late May / early June. Look for more updates throughout the year, and if you have any questions about the SPC, please feel free to contact me directly, or stop me next time you see me at the club. Sincerely, Kevin White SPC Tournament Chair
Sahalee CC Golf Shop is on Instagram! Please follow us @shopsahalee for sneak peaks of new merchandise, ongoing golf shop promotions and stay up to date with your Golf Professional team! Our first promotion is "Where's the Raven?" Send us your favorite photo of yourself or your group with a visible Sahalee logo in the picture and you will be entered to win a free Sahalee T-shirt at the end of the month. All monthly winners will be entered into our year end drawing for your choice of any polo from the golf shop! Pictured: Kevin White with Cole Madey, 2018 Sahalee Players Champion in Arizona
Member Inspired Events and Meetups NINE AND WINE (All Female members are invited to join for a fun round of golf)
May 5th Cinco De Mayo with Margaritas! 5pm A fun and social 9 holes with dinner Contact Dana McIntosh at dmcintos@comcast.net to sign up.
Nine and Wine or Margaritas!
Future Nine and Wine Dates: May 26
June 2 and 16
MAHJONG Have you ever wanted to learn to play Mahjong? Please join us and learn one of the worlds oldest games. It’s never too late to learn something new. We start with lunch at 11:00 on Wednesdays followed by Mahjong. Contact Patricia Domine at 425-241-8506 or p_domine@hotmail.com to RSVP or for more information.