June 2023 Tom Tom

Page 23

SAHALEE Country Club

June 2023 TOM TOM

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

SCOTT HEYDON - PRESIDENT

TYLER DION - VICE PRESIDENT

MARYLE TRACY - SECRETARY

TOM DIMECO - TREASURER

MIKE DENTON

BILL BONNELL

NORMAN CHEUK

KIM SHEK

PETER ZOBRIST

COMMITTEE CHAIRS

BRIAN SELBY - GOLF

WHITNEY FRYKMAN - GREENS

BRETT VANDENBERG - FINANCE

MARCIA MARTIN - HOUSE

JAY KIRSCHENMAN - MEMBERSHIP

JEANNE LINK - RULES AND HANDICAP

BEAU CLINE - JUNIOR GOLF

TYLER DION - CHAMPIONSHIP

DAVID LAROCQUE - LONG RANGE PLANNING

JULIANNA KIRSCHENMAN - SOCIAL

ROB JESKE - MEN'S DIVISION

MARCIA MCAFEE - WOMEN'S DIVISION

LEADERSHIP TEAM

LESLIE LUDLOW GENERAL MANAGER/COO LESLIE@SAHALEE.COM

BRYAN NICHOLSON DIRECTOR OF GOLF BRYAN@SAHALEE.COM

CHARLIE SCHAUWECKER AGRONOMY DIRECTOR CHARLIE.SAHALEE@GMAIL.COM

SIEMON SLAGTER FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING DIRECTOR SIEMON@SAHALEE.COM

DEANN ANDERSON DIRECTOR MEMBERSHIP DEANN@SAHALEE.COM

CALEB KRAUS HEAD GOLF PROFESSIONAL CALEB@SAHALEE COM

ADRIAN SIBUG CULINARY DIRECTOR/EXECUTIVE CHEF ADRIAN@SAHALEE.COM

ALEXA MENDOZA FOOD AND BEVERAGE MANAGER ALEXA@SAHALEE.COM

SARAH FRANTZ DIRECTOR OF EVENTS & COMMUNICATIONS SARAH@SAHALEE.COM

VINCENT CUCINELLI DIRECTOR OF FACILITIES VINNY@SAHALEE.COM

LAURIE COLEMAN ACCOUNTING ADMINISTRATOR LAURIE@SAHALEE.COM

June Events

June 17

June 16

June 18

June 23

June 25

June 25

June 29

President's Message from Scott

Can it get any better than Sahalee this time of year? A fantastic weather month has given us a nearperfect golf course. Service levels are high, divisional events have been well-attended, and the social events have brought rave reviews from all types of members. The team’s commitment to amazing experiences with great offerings and enthusiasm is being noticed by all. I want to sincerely thank and recognize everyone on Team Sahalee for their dedication to this club. You are greatly appreciated!

This past Friday, the club hosted the Sahalee Player’s Championship Preview event, welcoming players from UW’s men’s and women’s golf teams in a friendly competition. The course was in amazing condition – with tucked pins on firm and fast greens. As Bryan Nicholson said to me after the round “you can’t ask for more in a championship golf course.” The 50 members and UW players were impressed and excited for the upcoming tournament in September. This event has the real potential to become THE premier college event in its’ first year

The Leadership Team and Board continue to maintain focus on our evergreen priorities: member experiences and providing a vibrant membership. Early in May, the Board approved 2 new membership categories and reconfigured Sahalee’s Social Membership. These have been very well received as Sahalee welcomes a record number of members this month. We expect this excitement to continue as demand for Sahalee starts to really grow.

May Past Business

Our new membership categories were finalized, and here are the results of our first month:

- Three Junior Executives converted to Proprietary members. Welcome once again to Kim Santiago, Michael Johnson, and Kollin Malsam.

- All 30 of our newly designed Social memberships SOLD OUT. We were pleasantly surprised to see that 29 of the 30 were upgrades from our previous Social Member category. As a result, we now have a waiting list to get into this category. A requirement of the waiting list is that prospective Social Members must join as Dining Members, so that category is growing as well.

- Based on market feedback, we decided to reduce the entry fee for National Memberships for Sahalee Alumni The BOD authorized a small number of these reduced fee memberships for former Sahalee members We will continue to evaluate this pricing going forward

New Sahalee tee markers made their debut to rave reviews. Did you know it took 200 man hours each year to repair and maintain the old markers? Not only do we get a signature look for our tee boxes, we save time compared to keeping the old ones. Time that can be used for higher-value activities. These new markers will last longer, too! My thanks to the Greens Committee and Chair Whitney Pigott for driving this change.

The BOD held three “mini-forums” with Senior, Junior Executive and Social members to work through the finer points of the new membership categories I believe most appreciated the opportunity for the two-way sharing of information

We approved the House Committee's request to begin design work on three projects slated for 2024. We will be looking at:

- A sorely needed refresh for the bathrooms outside the Acton Bar.

- An enhanced trophy display option in anticipation of adding the missing major championship replicas (U.S. Senior Open and WPGA Championship).

- A year-round covered hitting area on the right end of the driving range. This will provide some privacy for lessons and facilitate quality fittings through any weather condition.

Future Business

Looking forward, the Board remains focused on improving member experiences and attracting and welcoming new members to our Sahalee family. This month, the Board approved and welcomed 9 new members to the Sahalee Family. Welcome to all!

• One new Proprietary and Spousal Member (plus 3 upgrades from Jr. Executive): Dan & MaryMargaret Welch

• A new Jr Executive and Spousal Member: Wilson Yang & Sinan Li

• A new Social Member (plus 29 conversions): Scott Lerch

• 6 new Dining Members (plus 4 conversions): Joshua Dahmen, Lawrence Kostal, Loreen Leo, Donald Meservey, Gary Smothermon, and Scott Tewel

In the first week of June, Sahalee also hosted 50 realtors for a special event. This event was designed to help them gain a fuller appreciation of all Sahalee has to offer so they can better represent the club to their clients. Our hope is that we can raise the awareness of Sahalee to those that are moving into the area. It is one of many programs Leslie and Deann have put into place to help raise awareness for prospective new members.

Lastly, I look forward to joining our Executive Team at the this year’s KPMG WPGA Championship to gain important learnings. Seven of us are traveling to Baltusrol to shadow and experience the event firsthand so we can learn as much as possible heading into 2024. We are 55 weeks from hosting this premier event!

I hope to see you all at the club soon. If you’re not around, trust me, you are missing out!

Sincerely,

The Sahalee family warmly welcomes our new

Golf Members!

JUNIOR EXECUTIVE

WILSON YANG & SINAN LI DAN AND MARYMARGARET WELCH KIM SANTIAGO AND CHRIS LAFRENIERE MIKE JOHNSON KOLLIN MALSAM
PROPRIETARY PROPRIETARY PROPRIETARY PROPRIETARY

The Sahalee family warmly welcomes our new Dining Members!

GABE AND ERICA FROST LAWRENCE AND WALEEN KOSTAL DONALD MESERVEY & PATRICIA MCKERRICHER GARY AND KIMBERLY SMOTHERMON
LOREEN LEO
SCOTT & MCKENZIE TEWEL CHERYL AND RONALD MONUSZKO BRADLEY HOFFMAN AND JULIA JOARZEMBOWSKI SHAWN &MICHELLE SCHOONOVER JOSH AND KAREN DAHMEN

The Sahalee family warmly welcomes our new

Social-Sport Members!

KIRI FAMILY HOVEY FAMILY LINDSEY FAMILY ORT FAMILY CARTER FAMILY REED FAMILY RUPALLI THACKER ERL THORGALSEN
DENNY FAMILY RUIVAL FAMILY CLEVELAND FAMILY MCGEARY FAMILY DOUGLASS FAMILY
SYPHER FAMILY SCHILLER FAMILY
WILSON FAMILY

BOBSON FAMILY

BERNER FAMILY

KERLEE FAMILY

WOOTLIFF FAMILY

MARTINEZ FAMILY

ALVARADO FAMILY

O'BRIEN FAMILY

STANDLEY FAMILY

HAL MATTHEWS

POHINA FAMILY MARK STRAUDINGER BRAD KLEINKNECHT SCOTT LERCH

Monthly Message from Leslie Ludlow, GM/COO

Dear Sahalee Country Club Family,

The month of May finally saw the flowers bloom and the “welcome home” of the last of our snowbirds from around the country! With incredible weather and the return of many familiar faces, we saw some fantastic activity with events in both Golf and Food & Beverage. The feedback from Mother’s Day and the Senior Invitational led the pack with rave reviews, each having received several emails in addition to incredible gratitude on the day of these events. In addition, the Sparkman Wine Dinner was a showstopper for the sold-out house in attendance!

As we look forward in Food & Beverage, we are thrilled to inform you that we have engaged a prestigious national search firm, GSI Executive Search, to assist us in finding a world-class leader for our food and beverage department. The intention is to get the “Bryan Nicholson of Golf” and “Charlie Schauwecker of Agronomy” to complete our all-star team Our goal is to elevate Sahalee's culinary offerings to new heights, and we are confident that with their expertise, we will identify the perfect candidate to enhance our dining experiences Over the course of the past month and until this position is filled, we are incredibly grateful to so many team members that have stepped up to help assist with the various duties that were previously carried by Justin. Special thanks to Alexa, Adrian, Siemon, Sarah, Vinny and Laurie for your help during this time!

Continuing with a beverage adjacent topic, in our ongoing commitment to sustainability, we have installed new water fill stations throughout the course. These stations are designed to encourage the use of reusable water bottles, reducing single-use plastic waste. We encourage all members to bring their reusable bottles and take advantage of this eco-friendly initiative. You will find these three newly installed additions at the comfort stations on each of the nines.

On the membership front, we are excited to announce that our membership push in May was a tremendous success. The all new Social Sport Memberhsip sold out in the month and we currently have a waiting list for this membership indicating the growing interest and enthusiasm among individuals looking to experience Sahalee's world-class facilities and camaraderie Our newly introduced dining memberships have also received an overwhelmingly positive response from the Sahalee community In May we welcomed 10 new Dining members, and we anticipate in the month of June a possibility of seeing 20+ new memberships in this category! We extend a warm welcome to our new members and look forward to creating memorable moments together.

As a part of our ongoing membership drive, we are hard at work with our prospective outreach program. Many of you might have seen this in action earlier this week at our Sips at Sahalee event whereby Deann, Sarah and Karishma Kiri were able to thrill and amaze over 70 local realtors. The purpose of this event was to drive awareness with those who are directly connected to new residents moving into to the Sammamish area. Behind the gates, you may have also seen Club information in the latest SMA newsletter to introduce the community to Sahalee’s New Dining Membership. Finally, don't forget about our member referral program, where you have the chance to qualify for FREE DUES for a year. Contact Deann for all the details of this great new program! It's a fantastic way to enjoy the club and its amenities while also expanding our Sahalee family.

Finally, as we are starting to experience the incredible Seattle Summer weather, we are seeing more members enjoying dining al fresco on the patio. With these beautiful evenings and increased activity, there have been a few instances where concerns were raised regarding children's behavior at the club. We would like to gently remind everyone that Sahalee Country Club is meant to be enjoyed by all members and their families We kindly request that parents and guardians supervise their children and ensure their behavior aligns with the club's standards Together, we can maintain a welcoming and enjoyable environment for everyone while also protecting our incredible grounds

If May has been any indication as to what the balance of the summer might look like, we are looking forward to a fantastic 2023 season!

Cheers,

Letter From Bryan Nicholson, PGA Director of Golf

Spring has certainly been the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in our weather department. After one of the coolest April’s on record for the Puget Sound, we managed to finish the month of May as the second warmest in history. With the calendar flipping to June, this earlier than expected start to “summer” has been quite pleasant and the golf course has certainly been the benefactor of such fantastic conditions. Around our campus, the agronomy team has done a marvelous job getting the golf course into peak playing condition. We recently hosted the Sahalee Players Championship preview event featuring members from both the University of Washington Men’s and Women’s Golf Programs, and the compliments were plentiful by the players concerning our golf course.

Our events at the Club have been a tremendous success, highlighted by the inaugural Senior Men’s Invitational that was played in the middle of the month. A total of 78 players (39 teams) participated, with nearly half of the field playing in a Pro-Am prior to the start of the tournament. In the end, Bob Burkhardt and David Feeney ran away with the overall title by an incredible 10 points over two teams which included Mike Denton and Jim Hayes and Mark Andrews and Phil Brown Well played, Mr Burkhardt, and we hope you will come back in ’24 to defend the title!

The Men’s Division also hosted an annual “homage” to the anniversary of Sahalee’s hosting of the PGA Championship, now 25 years ago in 1998. Featuring the Sunday hole locations from the ’98 PGA on the course, many players found the challenge to be quite the test of golf. Ben Minyard outlasted the field of 80 players with a gross 74, while 6 golfers tied for the low net round of the day. Featuring a 6-man playoff, two players Kollin Malsam and Jeff Ratzlaff, advanced after the first hole (9 North) with net birdies. On the second playoff hole (1 North), Malsam outlasted Ratzlaff, after the approach by Ratzlaff found the penalty area. Congratulations to both of our SMD PGA Champions!

Our Women’s Division hosted a spring “mixer” earlier in the month, with a total of 44 ladies participating on a beautiful sunny morning. Playing a rotating format every 6 holes, most everyone enjoyed the opportunity to meet new friends and enjoyed the spirited competition. The SWD will be back in action with two events including their annual Spring Field Day on Friday, June 9, and their Presidents Cup on Tuesday, June 27

May was capped by our first annual Goose and Gander, “Mixed” Championship that was played over Memorial Day weekend! A total of 24 teams took on the modified chapman format, and I am happy to report that all teams were speaking to one another after the round! A hearty congratulations to Kim Shek and Norman Cheuk on their two-stroke victory firing a net 66 to edge Tomoko and Jeff Ratzlaff who shot a solid round of net 68.

The golf events at Sahalee are just heating up – and we have so much for you to look forward to later this month. The Pro’s Exhibition on Friday, June 16 at 4:30 PM will be an event you won’t want to miss. This one-hour show will be filled with fun, education, and instructional information. Following the clinic, the golf professional staff will offer a complimentary 5-minute swing analysis to anyone attending. There is no charge, and complimentary beverages (beer and wine) will be available. We’d love to have a large audience to see the Sahalee Professionals in action!

Also in June, we have our annual Parent-Child golf tournament on Saturday, June 17 over Father’s Day weekend Last year, we had over 50 families join us on the course for a special day with their parent, grandparent, aunt, or uncle We hope that you will consider joining us for this fun golf tournament with multiple age divisions including Adult/Adult, 14-17, 11-13, and 10 & Under Divisions.

Pivoting a bit, you may have heard about our Sahalee VIP Guest Program. This is your opportunity to offer your guests the very best and memorable golf experience in the Northwest. Our team is delighted to offer a “white glove” type of guest experience that is easy for you to arrange. Simply notify the golf professional team through our Sahalee App or Website, (or drop in to let us know) and you can access options for you to customize their visit to the Club. We offer services such as customized guest locker tags, pre-arranged food and beverage before/during or after the round, bag tags, golf shop merchandise, and caddie services. There is no cost for this enhanced service, other than the applicable food and beverage or caddie fees. To access the program through the Sahalee App – just click on GOLF>GUESTS>VIP GUEST PROGRAM. From there, you will complete a short form. We look forward to serving you and your guests during an upcoming visit with us at the High Heavenly Ground.

This month, we welcome a new face to our Golf Team as our newest Assistant Professional in Training, Cody Oakes Cody is a recent graduate of Western Washington University, as is a native of Washington. Graduating from Arlington High School, Cody finished this past season as an allconference selection and Captain of his golf team. The Vikings qualified for NCAA Division II Nationals this past season, and Cody finished his collegiate golf career with a 15th place finish. We are excited for Cody to join our fabulous team, and we look forward to his contributions as part of our team!

For this month’s instructional corner, I thought I would pass along some golden nuggets related to tee shot placement After studying results from golfers nationally (through Arccos Golf) – it is reasonable to conclude:

1. If there is trouble on one side of the hole, and not on the other side, do not be afraid to shift your target WELL away from the trouble. While your fairway hit percentage will drop, the percent of shots you hit into trouble will drop significantly, which will have a massive impact on your scores.

2. If you are not trying to shift away from penalty strokes and just trying to play up one side of the fairway for a better angle, you need to stop doing this. The marginal increase in ending up on a side of the fairway will be more than offset by how much more you will miss the fairway.

3. Know where the center of your shot pattern is. Especially if you are a mid or high index player, and set-up and play it accordingly!

We can help you with managing your game or working on your technique to play better golf! See you on the tee!

Bryan

2023 Golf Calendar

JUNE 6/2 HUSKY DAY (MEN'S & WOMEN'S)-SPC PREVIEW 6/8 LINKS & DRINKS-TWILIGHT SOCIAL GOLF 6/9 SWD SPRING FIELD DAY 6/17 PARENT CHILD GOLF TOURNAMENT 6/24 SMD PRESIDENT'S CUP 6/25 LINKS & DRINKS-TWILIGHT GOLF 6/27 SWD PRESIDENT'S CUP JULY 7/1 MEN'S CHAPMAN 7/6 LINKS&DRINKS-TWILIGHT SOCIAL GOLF 7/7-8 SENIOR CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP (MEN'S & WOMEN'S) 7/9 JUNIOR MEMBER-GUEST 7/13-14 SWD INVITATIONAL 7/23 LINKS & DRINKS-TWILIGHT 7/26-29 SMD INVITATIONAL AUGUST 8/3-4 SWD MEMBER-MEMBER 8/11-13 CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK (MEN'S AND WOMEN'S) 8/25-26 SMD MEMBER-MEMBER 8/29 SWD FALL FIELD DAY 8/31 LINKS & DRINKS-TWILIGHT SOCIAL GOLF SEPTEMBER 9/7-8 SPC PRACTICE ROUNDS 9/9-10 SAHALEE PLAYER'S CHAMPIONSHIP 9/26 SWD GUEST DAY 9/27 SMD GUEST DAY OCTOBER 10/11 SMD AWARDS DAY 10/15 SOCIAL GOLF FALL FLING 10/28 SMD TURKEY SHOOT

SAHALEE SAHALEE

FITTING DAYS

FITTING DAYS

2023 2023

Companyfittingtechniciansgiveyoutheopportunity

Wednesday,May10th-1to5

Wednesday,July5th-1to5

Wednesday,Aug.9th-1to5

Saturday,May13th-11to4

Friday,June23rd-1to5

Friday,July21st-1to5

Saturday,Aug.19th-11to4

Saturday,April22nd-12to4

Friday,June2nd-1to5

Wednesday,Aug.2nd-1to5

Wednesday,June14th-1to5

Saturday,Aug.5th-11to3

Wednesday,April19th-1to5

Friday,May26th-1to5

Saturday,July8th-11to4

tobe“CustomFit”justlikeaTourPro!

SPC 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 The 2023 field includes Arizona, Arizona State, Duke, Illinois, Oklahoma State, Pepperdine, Stanford, Texas, USC, Wake Forest, Texas Tech, and Washington Tournament Update – Countdown to September 2023

With the SPC is 3 months away, here are some key updates:

1. PGA Tour Event exemption to the Individual winner of the 2023 SPC. Through Sahalee’s partnership with Fortinet, the Individual winner of our tournament on Sunday will pack their bags on Monday the 12th of September and head to Napa to compete with the greatest players in the world at the Fortinet Championship. This is a MASSIVE deal for the SPC and Sahalee and solidifies our event as one of, if not THE top event in college golf!

2. Schedule - The exact dates are September 8th – 10th, 2023. MARK YOUR CALENDARS. The 8th (Friday) will be the official practice round for the teams and the day will conclude with an entertaining and casual event for teams, contestants, volunteers, and members. The 9th (Saturday) will be a 36-hole competition day, and the 10th (Sunday) will be the final 18-hole competition day

3 Sponsorship Update – There are sponsorship opportunities available for the SPC, that include logo promotion, golf experience with the SPC players, private hospitality suites, and a private golf outing at Sahalee. This is a great way to amplify and promote your business to a great demographic, or host a networking event for your team, partners, or customers. These Sponsorship opportunities are limited, so please inquire ASAP. If you or your company (or any company you know) are interested in Sponsorship opportunities with the SPC - please contact Chris Grusz, Kevin White, or Bryan Nicholson.

4. Volunteers –We will need: Walking Scorers, Standard Bearers, ForeCaddies, and hosts, as well as select opportunities for host housing. For general Volunteer questions or interest, please contact Kim Shek, and for Housing questions, please contact Jeannine Gibson.

5. Team Hosts - Each team participating in the tournament will be assigned a Team Host. This is not necessarily a Host for housing, but more like a single point of contact for coaches and players to interact with directly about anything to do with Sahalee, the tournament, or the area. Kent Martin is heading up this team, so please contact Kent if you are interested in being a Team Host

6 2024 Update– Success for the SPC is driven by the quality of field that we attract to play at the tournament. For future success, we must really succeed in 2023, but given the busy schedules and rapid development of the college golf game, we must start our recruiting of teams for 2024 already! We are off to a great start in this endeavor, as we have already received commitments from NATIONAL CHAMPION - Florida, North Carolina, and USC. We expect more to come in the next few weeks as dates for other events in 2024 start to firm up.

SPC Update

UW Men’s and NCAA Golf Update

The golf season ended for the Huskies at the completion of Regional Qualifying for the NCAA Championships a few weeks ago, with the Dawgs failing to advance to the NCAA Finals. I am sure that coach and the players will tell you they are disappointed not to make the finals, but there was some very stellar play and results this year, with several of their players earning All-Pac-12 and regional honors. The “offseason” begins with the coaching staff holding many official visits with recruits, and recruiting to identify the best talent. The Huskies are a very international team, with 5 of 10 players being from outside the US, so international recruiting has taken a very important role for the program. The individual players will complete their spring quarter studies next week and embark on their elite amateur tournament schedules for the summer. Expect to see several players playing and practicing at Sahalee over the summer.

The Men’s NCAA Championship tournament just concluded on May 31st at Grayhawk in Scottsdale, AZ. This tournament truly identifies the best in the sport, and verifies the quality of field that is lined up for the 2023 and 2024 versions of the SPC. 30 teams play 72 holes of Stroke Play and to identify an individual winner, and team qualifiers for the match play portion of the tournament. The field of 30 teams in stroke play included 7 teams who will be teeing it up at Sahalee in September (Illinois, Pepperdine, Arizona State, Stanford, Texas Tech, Texas, and Duke) Of those 7 teams, 3 teams (Illinois, Pepperdine, and ASU) advanced to the match play portion of the tournament Joining the 3 2023 SPC teams in the Match Play portion were Florida, and North Carolina, which will be in the SPC in 2024. When the dust settled, Florida won the championship in dramatic fashion turning late deficits into victories in their matches to take home the trophy. Florida visited Sahalee 2 years ago when they were in town for their Regional Qualifying tournament and were hosted by Tyler Dion and Erik Hanson. Coach JC Deacon still talks about how amazing his teams experience was at Sahalee and how much he enjoys the course. We can’t wait to see them back here!

In short – the SPC is going to bring the best amateurs in the world to Sahalee the next few years, and these players will be PGA Tour stars of the future!

Thanks for reading and hope to see you all spectating or volunteering with the SPC.

Sincerely,

Lessons with Ryan Benzel

Hello everyone, most of our Sahalee members are true golfers…it is why you all have joined Sahalee to play golf on our High Heavenly Ground. While your enjoyment of the game and Sahalee is high, have you ever wished you could play just a bit better more often? Back this summer are my On-Course Coaching sessions! These sessions take a group of 4 golfers and we go out and play 9-holes of golf. Throughout this round, I will be tracking each members play to give everyone a “baseline” of stats as to how they play golf. This baseline is very helpful in determining on-course strategy, club selection, shot selection, and potential for success. During the round we will also discuss anything necessary from putting tips, bunker shots, trouble shots, and anything else you ask about.

SIGN UP TODAY BY CLICKING THE ON THE FLYER AND FILL OUT THE SIGN UP FORM. I HOPE TO SEE SOME OF YOU ON THE TEE THIS SUMMER!

Seiji Yamamoto shot his age 66! Aces, Eagles and Great Shots

On June 2nd Brett Lowry got a hole in one on 8 East at 157 yards with his 7 iron!

Turf Talk with Charlie

After a cool and wet spring on the golf course(s), Mother Nature flipped the switch in May bringing an early start to summer at Sahalee In May, our on-site weather station recorded only 1.07” of precipitation compared to a whopping 5.50” in 2022 making this the driest May since 2018! With this dramatic shift in weather patterns, conditions on the golf course(s) are exceeding expectations with drier and firmer playing surfaces than normal for this time of year. This great early season weather and conditioning provided an outstanding venue for events throughout the month including the Women’s Swing Day Mixer, the inaugural Senior Men’s Invitational, our PGA Championship, the Goose and Gander co-ed championship, and culminating in a beautiful Memorial Day. We’ve received great feedback on the golf course(s) all month long and appreciate our members’ support entering another great golf season at Sahalee!

Redesigned Tee Markers

One of the early topics of discussion in the 2023 Greens Committee was the condition and maintenance of our tee markers on the golf course(s). The existing tee markers were badly chipped and required excessive off-season labor to maintain their appearance, and because of this the Greens Committee chose to evaluate replacement options After reviewing several tee marker styles, the Committee selected an iron marker unique to Sahalee for its durability, ease of setup for the agronomy team, and reduced maintenance inputs.

In addition to the tee marker redesign, the color indicating our forward set of tees will be changed from silver to green to make it more easily distinguishable from the white markers. This color change is represented in the recently updated Sahalee scorecard. We’re excited to roll out these redesigned tee markers in early June and for the aesthetic improvement they provide to our on-course accessories.

Water Bottle Fill Station Now On-Course

Providing members and guests with accessible drinking water throughout the golf course(s) is a top priority and an alternative to single-use bottles was a must-have for our 2023 season. We now offer chilled and filtered bottle fill stations at each of our three on-course rest areas and encourage our members to refill their plastic bottles, pick up a reusable bottle from the golf shop or bring a bottle from home!

Greens Maintenance

With members returning to Sahalee for the summer and play increasing on the course(s), a frequent question recently has been on our greens maintenance program as it relates to green speeds. A wide range of factors impact green speeds, smoothness and firmness including mowing height and frequency, rolling practices, plant growth rate management, soil water content management, sand topdressing and cultivation practices. Careful consideration is taken when adjusting our management programs affecting green speeds, as these adjustments also affect turfgrass health and stress tolerance. Our daily goal is to provide the truest surfaces possible with exceptional consistency from green to green and to adjust green conditions accordingly for tournament performance and viability through climatic stresses

A detailed guide on our greens maintenance practices can be found in our 2022 updated Golf Course Maintenance Standards, a document establishing benchmarks and guidelines for maintenance of all golf course areas. We use these standards to strike a balance between turfgrass health and surface performance throughout the year and always strive to provide the best possible playing experience for all Sahalee members and guests.

See you on the course, Charlie Schauwecker

A Note from our SWD Captain

The Women’s Division is off to a terrific start! With 6 weeks of competitions and 2 big events completed, we’re setting participation records. Emerging from Covid, it’s clear we ladies are eager to reunite with friends, take group and private lessons, clinics, seminars, practice, play and enjoy our group of 108 ladies. I’ve noticed ladies introducing themselves to new members, unfamiliar faces or “I know her face, but can’t remember her name”. Having food service available on both Tuesdays and Fridays has elevated our club experience.

Our match play Captain’s Cup is well underway, as one of our easiest and most flexible tournaments which spans our 5-month golf season We have set a record in recent years with 50% of our members participating and that’s worth celebrating!

The Pro Shop has been a terrific, enthusiastic team who offered SWD members 4 complimentary clinics to improve our skills and drills to practice, bolstering our confidence on the course. With practice, we might even lower our handicaps! The clinics were so popular, all 15 spots were filled within 2 hours.I have a hunch they’ll be in popular demand for next year.

Laura Kraft and Colin Campbell continue to be among our biggest supporters who have enough enthusiasm to match our ladies! We enjoy their new, innovative ideas and competitions on a weekly basis as well as our major events. Kudos to Sally Wallace to determines the winners of our Tuesday & Friday/Saturday games.

Right around the corner is “Spooky Spring Field Day” on June 9th and we’re already breaking the participant record! Last year we had 60 players and 39 in the famed Horserace. Registration isn’t closed yet and we have 62 players and 55 in the Horserace This will be an event to celebrate! This year we’re continuing our traditional games since there are SO many ways to win:you could have a high score but still win “putts” Following 18 holes, we’ll top it off with the Horserace, a highlight for all who play as well as the spectators and betters. The chefs are sure to deliver a delicious dinner.

Right around the corner is “Spooky Spring Field Day” on June 9th and we’re already breaking the participant record! Last year we had 60 players and 39 in the famed Horserace. Registration isn’t closed yet and we have 62 players and 55 in the Horserace. This will be an event to celebrate! This year we’re continuing our traditional games since there are SO many ways to win:you could have a high score but still win “putts”. Following 18 holes, we’ll top it off with the Horserace, a highlight for all who play as well as the spectators and betters. The chefs are sure to deliver a delicious dinner.

Following Field Day is the Presidents Cup on June 27th, a one-day medal play net competition. Players are placed into flights by handicap and net prizes are awarded in each division.The low net score is the Presidents Cup Champion We already have 14 signed up and registration just recently opened This is where handicaps prove to be the “great equalizer” so everyone truly has a chance to win

Be bold and sign up for every event which fits into your schedule: remember that 75% of SWD members have a handicap of 20 or more.You DO fit in and you ARE good enough to play with us!

If you’re unsure of the rules, etc. there is plenty of help from the pro shop and SWD members, so don’t be shy – just sign up and begin making friends!

Our Invitational “Partners in Crime” is July 12-14 and registration is now open. All SWD members and any female members (for instance, a spousal member) are qualified to play with an outside guest, as long as you both have a handicap established. This is a chance to showcase Sahalee to your non-member friends and have a great time. Assistant Captain Julie Reid has some surprises in store for you!

If you’re not yet a SWD member and are thinking about it, we welcome you. Sue Ursino and Fatima Siddiqui co-chair our Hospitality/New Member committee They’d be happy to take your phone call or sit down with you to discuss how SWD works To make it easy, just call the Pro Shop or the office to get their contact information

A golfer’s diet:live on greens as much as possible.

SWD Spooky Spring Field Day

Folds of Honor Donations

Dear Sahalee Patriots,

We hope everyone had a relaxing Memorial Day weekend honoring our nation’s heroes.

Thank you to everyone that participated in our Folds of Honor fundraising efforts. Your generosity resulted in $5,765 being donated and will make a lasting impact on the spouses and children of America’s fallen, disabled military and first responders.

Sincerely,

KPMG Women’s PGA Players Spotlight

I2024 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship Player Profile!

This time next year, we will welcome the top female golfers in the world to the High Heavenly Ground of Sahalee! Follow along each month as we highlight some of the top female players in the game, and who will be walking our fairways next year!

This month, we are featuring World #21 Jennifer Kupcho! Kupcho started playing golf at the age of five, and her golf prowess led to a full scholarship at the University of Wake Forest. As a Demon Deacon, Kupcho won the inaugural 2019 Augusta National Women's Amateur on the heels of being the 2018 NCAA Individual Champion. Kupcho was decorated as the 2018 NCAA Player of the Year, while being on the Curtis Cup, World Amateur, and Palmer Cup teams for the United States.

Success for Kupcho as a member of the LPGA Tour has been equally as great for the 26-yearold.With three professional victories – including one major Championship at the Chevron, Jennifer has earned over $3.5 million in her 5 year professional career. In 2021, Kupcho was on the Solheim Cup team for the United States, a goal she has in mind for later this season in Spain!

Mother's Day Brunch 2023

Ev e nt s at A H A L E E

Looking for an event space?

Invite your colleagues, friends, and family to Sahalee!

We are excited to welcome you to Sahalee and invite you to host any kind of event here! Our facility can accommodate small meetings, corporate parties, and even large banquets in our elegantly renovated ballroom.

You and your guests can enjoy a delicious meal from our new catering menu, along with special cocktails that we have created with much care Enjoy the elegant background of our renovated interiors while hosting your events.

We’re sure you’ll make wonderful memories here at Sahalee. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or would like more information We look forward to having you with us soon!

Contact
sarah@sahalee.com

July Events

July 7 July 4

July 7 & 8

July 12 - 14

July 15

July 21

July 23

July 26-29

Ju;y 30

FOLLOW US FOR MORE INFORMATION

Instagram:

FacebookPage: @SahaleeGolfClub

@sahaleecountryclubofficial @shopsahalee

Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.