Letter From Bryan Nicholson, PGA Director of Golf

As the adage goes, April showers bring us May flowers, and maybe (just maybe) this time Mother Nature seems to be living up to her end of the bargain. After one of the coldest starts to April in the history of the Puget Sound region (2nd coldest through the 24th), a few sunny and 80degree days to close out the month makes all those cold and rainy golf days a distant memory The golf course is turning into peak condition thanks to the hard work of our agronomy team We are all eagerly looking forward to an exciting May of golf activity with several events ongoing at the Club.

As the adage goes, April showers bring us May flowers, and maybe (just maybe) this time Mother Nature seems to be living up to her end of the bargain. After one of the coldest starts to April in the history of the Puget Sound region (2nd coldest through the 24th), a few sunny and 80-degree days to close out the month makes all those cold and rainy golf days a distant memory. The golf course is turning into peak condition thanks to the hard work of our agronomy team. We are all eagerly looking forward to an exciting May of golf activity with several events ongoing at the Club.

Our Sahalee Women’s Division kicked off their 2023 season officially in late April, and it was great to see several of our ladies return home after the offseason I can share that there is a fabulous enthusiasm throughout our SWD this year thanks to the hard work of Captain Marcia McAfee Participation in the Captain’s Cup has never been higher, and the complimentary clinics my team has been providing were sold out in just a couple of hours. Our Sahalee Women’s Team is off to a strong start once again, leading the way in both the gross and net Divisions. We are eagerly planning a fun Member-Guest in July with Juli Reed, and there are a couple of other exciting events in between.

The Men’s Division had a glorious Saturday to play their Stableford event, and a total of 96 gentlemen came out to join us. Scoring two best net balls of the group, the team of Kevin White, Dax Woolston, Jason Gudmundson, and Andy Alcorn blitzed the field by 5 total points with a 93-point total. Congratulations, gentlemen and well played! The Men’s Division will be hosting our inaugural Men’s Senior Invitational May 17 – 19, followed by the PGA Championship on Saturday, May 20. Our Senior Invitational has enjoyed a tremendous response with 42 teams registered.

Coming up later this month are three other notable events, which include an exclusive Peter Millar Trunk Show on Saturday, May 13, our Putting Championship on Thursday afternoon, May 25 and the inaugural Couples Club Championship on Sunday, May 28 Come join us on the Runyan Room patio on Saturday, May 13 for an exclusive look into the #1 apparel brand in golf – Peter Millar! If you spend over $200, save an additional 10% by attending the trunk show! Later in the month, The Putting Championship features both Individual and Team competitions! Teams can be mixed, or man/man, lady/lady. The putting course will comprise three total greens for 27 holes and will take about 2 hours to complete. The entry includes an open bar, and a dinner buffet following the event. We are also excited to launch the “Goose and Gander” couples’ event on Sunday, May 28. Teams should be mixed, but do not have to be spousal to participate. Upon registration, you will request a starting time, and you may play any time throughout Sunday. Later that evening at 6:00 pm, we will have a cocktail reception and dinner to recognize our winning couple!

Pivoting a bit, last month I highlighted some of the new aspects to our operation this season, and I am thrilled to share a couple other upcoming changes to look forward to at the Club: conjunction with the Men’s and Women’s Division, and with support of the Golf Committee, created a new combo course to provide variety and interest to members seeking a golf experience that is different than our regular tees. The goal was to target a distance that was the direct mid-point in length between our regular tees, and I think we successfully accomplished this! I am including this month a preview of the new combo card, and I encourage you to try this out for a different golf experience when at the Club.

New Combo Course Option - Over the offseason, my team in Family Golf – NEW for Saturday Afternoons – Last month the Sahalee Golf Committee unanimously supported an initiative to provide a window of time for our novice level golfers or members with junior golfer’s access to play the course during a designated time that is stress-free. From 3:00 – 5:30 PM, tee times will be available on one side (designated in color inside Foretees) with 15-minute intervals. The purpose of this designation is to declare that one of our sides will be used for Family Golf During this time, there are no pace of play requirements, and groups playing should not expect to “play through” other groups The purpose of this block is to allow our juniors and newer golfers a window to access the course without feeling pressured to keep up with the group in front of them, and instead focus on learning the game. We hope that our Sahalee families and newer golfers will take advantage of this program!

VIP Guest Program - As part of our mission to be the “Best of the Northwest” we are furthering our goal to delineate the Sahalee brand. I am very excited to offer a “white glove” type of guest experience for your family and invited guests to the Club. Soon, you will receive some additional communication on how to access this service, which is no cost to our membership. Simply notify the golf professional team through the Sahalee App or Website, and we will provide options for you to provide your guests with customized guest locker tags, food and beverage, bag tags, golf shop merchandise, and caddie services. Give your guests the very best and most memorable experience while playing at the Club!

Electric Walking Cart Storage – As outlined in our Sahalee Weekly Update, we have recently added some limited storage for the electric walking carts that members are using on the course. Unfortunately, we don’t yet have a permanent solution to answer broader capacity, but we are excited to begin offering a limited storage program Our goal is to continue seeking a permanent option for our membership through a strategic Clubhouse Master Plan In the interim, if you are interested in storing your electric walking cart, there is a fee of ($795) which includes your bag storage at the Club. To get started with this program, simply call the golf shop and we will register you for the lottery drawing on May 14.

Caddies Services - Over the past few weeks, my team has conducted a few caddie training exercises with juniors from The First Tee of Seattle, and the surrounding Plateau area. We are excited to build on our program from last year, and we will be using many caddies with our guest groups, and with some of our events this upcoming summer. Many of our juniors that are part of our program are eligible for the Evans Scholar program, and the opportunity for their success to obtain a scholarship is dependent upon utilization. I hope you will consider playing golf with a caddie at the Club, it truly is the best way to enjoy the game. Caddie reservations may be made through Foretees or by notifying our Caddie Manager, Devin Brigham, at devin@sahalee.com

Also this month, you will see a copy of the communication that went out regarding The Sahalee Player’s Championship. I hope you will take a moment to read and review the fabulous news on our partnership with Fortinet and the PGA Tour exemption that accompanies the winner of our tournament.

Lastly, for our Sahalee families, The Sahalee Ravens junior golf program is up and running with Assistant Golf Professional Kyle McPherson at the helm! Please click HERE to access our summer programming!

As you can see from last month, and again this month, my team is working very hard at providing the top golf experience for our membership, and we appreciate all your support! If we can do anything to enhance your summer of fun at Sahalee, please don’t hesitate to let me know what we can do.

Fairways and Greens,

Bryan Nicholson, PGA Director of Golf