TriviaNight Thursday,April3rd
SeasonOpeningCocktailParty Thursday,April10th
BunnyBrunch Saturday,April12th
EasterBrunch Saturday,April12th
Making Progress Inside and Out
Welcome to the spring edition of ChipShots. For those who spent the winter here in chilly Philly, I’m sure you’re as happy as I am to see the first signs of spring! The tee sheets are coming back to life, the Phillies are in spring training, and the crocuses and daffodils are popping up as the weather warms. You will see some new faces, and many familiar ones as we welcome back our returning staff. There are a couple of items I’d like to call to your attention as we kick off another year.
First and foremost, the loss of Jim Mack has been a tremendous blow to me personally and to all of us who knew and loved him. Thanks to everyone for the outpouring of support and condolences to his family – I know your thoughts and well-wishes meant a lot to Jim.
One enduring element of Jim’s legacy will be our new golf course. We made tremendous progress on the project this winter with some of the green expansion work, which puts the project on a solid path for the main work that will begin in earnest this summer. As a reminder, the last weekend for golf will be June 28 - 29. There is a lot of exciting programming planned for the shortened year, and we have received great support from area clubs for reciprocity options during the closure period.
The annual member meeting took place March 12th. We heard from our committee heads about the state of the club and placed our new board members, secretary, and executive committee members. I was honored and humbled to be asked
to serve as President, and I gladly accepted this responsibility and will do my best to be a steward of the Club and our members.
We started listening sessions on plans to update the clubhouse interior, and received great feedback in our first set of focus groups, which were filled to capacity. You may click here to watch a recording of our March 4th virtual gathering. There will be a dedicated town hall session on April 8th with the designer Barbara Balongue. You can ask her questions and get all the details on the preliminary designs and scope. Once we complete all these listening sessions and the town hall, we will iterate the proposal based on member feedback, and ultimately conduct a vote (likely in May) on the clubhouse project. I encourage everyone to participate in the listening sessions and town hall – these are our opportunities to shape the plan.
I’m excited to see us making progress on these important areas as we continue to execute our long-term strategic plan. As I mentioned in our fall meeting, the best part about St. David’s is our membership and community. We are in this together!
Advance it forward, stay the course.
John Beisty President
Meet the New Faces in the Golf Shop
Welcome to the 2025 golf season at St. Davids! While it may not be an “official” season until April 1st, it’s been great to see so many members make their first trip back to the Club in recent weeks. As you prepare for the season ahead, we’d like to introduce you to two new team members in the Golf Shop and provide you with a reminder on upcoming event dates. Please be sure to reference the calendar and tee sheet on the St. Davids website for the latest information on tournaments and golf course availability.
Wesley Calderone joins us after a five-year stretch as the First Assistant at White Manor Country Club. Wesley was raised in Havertown, PA where he graduated from La Salle College High School and later attended Elon University. Upon graduating from Elon in 2011, Wesley started his career in golf by caddying at Applebrook Golf Club in Malvern. After five seasons at Applebrook, he focused on his club fitting and repair skills at Golf Galaxy before starting at White Manor in 2019.
Wesley will serve as the staff lead for the Women’s 18-Holer program this season in addition to teaching, club fitting and general tournament operations. Welcome to St. Davids Wesley!
Drew Quirk comes to St. Davids as our new
Assistant Professional after serving the same role at Leatherstocking Golf Course in Cooperstown, New York. Drew was born and raised in Longmeadow, Massachusetts where he began his golf career as a caddie at Longmeadow Country Club. Drew would later attend Rhode Island College where he served as captain of both the golf and ice hockey teams. Prior to his time in Cooperstown, Drew worked at Whirlwind Golf Club in Chandler, Arizona where he was promoted to the tournament coordinator role before moving back to the east coast.
Drew will be the staff lead for the Women’s 9Holer program, he will also assist with our instructional programs throughout the season. Welcome to the team Drew!
Of course, I am happy to report our existing staff will be joining us for another season! That includes Assistant Golf Professional Harry Casl--
First Assistant Golf Professional Wes Calderone
Assistant Golf Professional Drew Quirk
owitz, Caddie Master Greg Myers, and Teaching Professional Mark Anderson.
Be sure to shop our new arrivals in the Golf Shop! The spring collection features Peter Millar, Hoderness and Bourne, Zero Restriction, and new this season, RLX by Ralph Lauren.
The PGA Tour returns to the Philadelphia region as Philadelphia Cricket Club preps to host the world’s best golfers for the 2025 Truist Championship! St. Dvaids members have been given the opportunity to marshal the 15th hole! Event dates are May 5th11th. This opportunity is flexible to fit your availability – no need to volunteer every day! Should you be interested, please email Tyler Santacroce at tyler@stdavidsgc.com.
Tyler Santacroce
Head Golf Professional
Upcoming Events & Important Dates
Tuesday, April 1st – Women’s 18-Holer Opening Day
Wednesday, April 2nd – Women’s 9-Holer Opening Day
Thursday, April 3rd – Men’s Senior Opening Day
Saturday, April 5th – Men’s Opening Day
Saturday, May 3rd – Men’s Senior Club Championship
Thursday, May 8th – Nancy Wilbur
Friday & Saturday, May 16th & 17th – Men’s Two-Day Invitational
Saturday, May 24th – Super Senior Club Championship
Project Prep Continues headed into Spring
It has certainly been a long, cold winter, which seems to b i h hil d l hi area. Reg Departm the shop our time course a benches, presenta When th was min course to work, cle necessar The St. have suc the Mast focused recaptur Donald R detailed bring the Golf Cou expansio necessar coverage Tyler Ra map out based off will notice that some greens were very close to
the original shape, needing very little adjustment, whereas others required more attention. These new green shapes will offer more flag stick locations and present a variety of new shots. Please keep in mind that while the new green shapes have been completed, the remaining work in the surrounds that tie it all together, has not. Please refer to the Master Plan booklet to see how the features on each hole will change and correlate to the new green shapes -
Donald Ross sketch of hole four
Expanding putting surface of hole four
and adjusted fairway lines.
We will start the golf season with 18 open holes and no disruption to play. Further, there will be no restrictions on the twelve greens that were expanded this off season. As soon as the weather permits, the Green Department will continue working down the height of cut on the newly sodded areas so that they play similar to the existing putting greens and the edges of the greens become more prominent. This process will take some time, but we expect to provide consistent putting surfaces by the official start of the golf season.
No more renovation work will take place until June 30th, when the golf course officially closes. We would like to thank you for your patience and support during the first phase of the Master Plan restoration work. We look forward to rolling the momentum into this season and executing a successful project.
Looking ahead, we are excited get back out on the golf course and start preparing for the 2025 golf season. Being a shortened season, we will not perform any aeration practices this spring to present the best possible playing conditions right of the gate. We will be utilizing the course closure on June 30th to take care of all necessary aeration to our playing surfaces. Please keep in mind that the putting greens have some remaining holes from our fall aeration, but we will be working to get them healed in as quick as possible, with a little help from mother nature.
The start of the season also brings the return of our seasonal staff. We are currently operating with 12 full-time employees but plan to bring back the rest of the team in mid-March, depending on the weather. We are very pleased to inform you that we are expecting all seasonal staff to return, making this the third consecutive year with no turn over in our department.
Meet the Team
Please welcome one new addition to the team, Assistant Golf Course Superintendent Wyatt Yashura. Wyatt is a graduate of the Delaware Valley University Turf Program and has held leadership roles at Aronimink Golf Club and most recently,
Congressional Country Club. Being local to the area, he saw this as a great opportunity to learn and build his resume, while also getting closer to home. His passion for the industry, attention to detail, and leadership skills will make him a valuable asset to the team and we are very excited to have him. If you see Wyatt, please stop and say hello. We look forward to seeing you out on the golf course!
Collin Harley Golf Course Superintendent
Welcome, New Members!
St. Davids Golf Club would like to welcome our new members to the Club. We look forward to seeing you and your family on the course and around the clubhouse.
John Brignola
Wayne, PA
House waiting for Certificate
Doug Campbell
Bryn Mawr, PA
Intermediate
Paulo & Anna Costa
Wayne, PA
House
Aaron & Erica Repucci
Wayne, PA
House waiting for Certificate
Share your Good News
Celebrating an engagement, wedding, or new baby?
Click here to share your good news!
Congratulations!
The Booz Family is thrilled to introduce the newest and cutest addition to the family, Avery Ann Hunt.
Avery was born on February 1, 2025 in York, PA to parents Amanda and Austin, who celebrated their wedding at St. Davids in October of 2021.
Joseph & Mary Eileen Manion
Bryn Mawr, PA
House waiting for Certificate
Proud grandparents Steve and Theresa Booz and Aunt Emily are elated!
Rafael Alvarado
Rafael is a jack of all trades. You name it, he can do it. While he typically does general maintenance around the Club, he also sets up and breaks down events, cleans, and has even traded in his screwdrivers for spatulas to assist in the kitchen.
Rafael’s day starts before the sun comes up; he’s the first to arrive and opens the clubhouse each morning. Rafael has worked at St. Davids for about 10 years. The 43-yearold lives in Linfield, PA with his wife and their four children.
Originally from Mexico, Rafael came to the United States when he was 17 years old. Last year, he officially became a US Citizen after living in the states as a Permanent Resident. But Rafael says his work isn’t finished...
When he’s not at work or taking his kids to their volleyball or soccer games, he and his wife are in school taking English classes.
“I want to improve myself and have good conversations with members and coworkers. I love my job, but if I ever want to grow, I need to learn better English,” said Rafael.
Rafael is also in a plumbing and electrical trade program at Montgomery County Community College. He is eager to learn more and become the best version of himself.
Without hesitation, the office staff unanimously nominated Rafael as Staff Spotlight. His hard work does not go unnoticed; St. Davids is lucky to have him!
Welcome Back to St. Davids!
The Food and Beverage Team is ready to welcome back membership in the dining room. We had a wonderful opening Friday night happy hour and continue to see familiar faces throughout the clubhouse.
During the January closure, our front of house team worked on deep cleaning projects in both member-facing and back-of-house areas. We also had the opportunity to host a food & beverage boot camp on February 18th, where staff had the opportunity to grow as a team and dive deeper into the meaning of club-style service. It was a wonderful experience to have a
February 18th:
We hope you have enjoyed the new menu. Check out our new zero proof section on the cocktail menu, with non-alcoholic cocktails like the Pom 75, Lyre’s Paloma, and Guinness 0! Our spring menu will launch the third week of April, so please come in and try our winter menu while it’s still here!
Our F&B Management Team has expanded. Meet our team and learn about us!
Angela Hummel: Food & Beverage Director
Angela celebrated her two-year anniversary at St. Davids on February 14th. She has been in the service industry for 12 years and hopes to continue to grow at St. Davids as well as the club industry through Club Ma America. Her favorite out skating; indoors you will find Angela baking her weekly sourdough loafs (pictured to your right). During the closure, Angela took a weeklong wine class through Wine, Spirits, & Education Trust (WSET), and was awarded with a level II certification in wine knowledge.
Hours of Operation
Tuesday 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Wednesday – Sunday 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM
The service team participated in a food and beverage boot camp hosted by RCS Hospitality Group
Emily Turnwald: Events Coordinator
Emily has been in the service industry for 24 years and will celebrate her first anniversary at St. Davids in May. In her primary years she grew up in Michigan then moved around to places like the Woodlands, Texas, Reno, Nevada, and Big Sky, Montana. Now she has landed in Philadelphia!
Emily has also worked with celebrity chefs: Ming Tsai (pictured left), Curtis Stone, and Jean Georges. During her downtime, she enjoys gardening and painting. She looks forward to camping this summer and exploring the East Coast.
Ebbie Brummitt: Food & Beverage Supervisor Ebbie is celebrating her 5th anniversary at St. Davids, however, her first job ever was an “All Purpose Employee” (according to her stepfather), which taught her how to pick up live crabs and put them in steamers. Ebbie is enjoying her new role working alongside
Pandora and looks forward to developing her professionalism at the Club! Outside of the Club, you will find Ebbie watching football and hockey and her favorite activity is crocheting.
Damian Patterson: Executive Sous Chef Damian grew up in the Manayunk area of Philadelphia. He has worked in the food industry for 20 years and went to the Walnut Hill College of Philadelphia for Culinary Arts. In the past, Damian used to be in a band called Vitamin Cheese where he was the bassist and sang. If he could choose a different career, he would be a veterinarian, as he loves taking care of animals. His favorite cuisine to make is Japanese, most specifically, Sushi!
Victoria Giurbino: Head Executive Chef
Victoria has been in the food industry for 15 years. She went to the Walnut Hill College of Philadelphia for Culinary Arts and Food Science. She grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and is a first-generation American citizen; her father came from Sicily with his family. During
Victoria’s free time, you will find her reading science fiction. Her favorite cuisine is Italian, and she loves making fresh pasta. Victoria is looking forward to bringing modern food & tastes to our menus and getting to know the membership.
Angela Hummel Director of Food & Beverage
Fun at
FAMILY BINGO NIGHT and DISNEY BRUNCH
Wrapping up the Paddle Season
We have completed our MAPTA league matches having fielded three teams in each of the men’s and women’s leagues. Under the steady leadership of Mike Rinehart, our top St. Davids men’s team will be advancing a division next year. Our other two men’s teams and our three women’s teams tried hard and had fun. Special shout out to Matt Torchiana who finished his season undefeated.
Although our MAPTA men’s and women’s paddle seasons are over, we have a month full of upcoming paddle activity.
St. Davids hosted early rounds of the American Platform Tennis Association Nationals on March 6th and 7th. Lydia Kennedy served as our Paddle Hut Commander. Please contact her for more information at kennedyla@comcast.net.
The women's program finishes with their annual 5-week-long Battle of the Paddles Wednesday mornings (February 26 - March 26). This is an intra-club event ran by Lea Perretta and Carolyn Masciantonio, in which all interested players are divided into two teams and players are partnered with a different teammate for each match.
Our Mixed Club Championship was held on March 13th, congratulations to Barb Herzlich and Neal Colligan on their victory! The Men’s Club Championship is scheduled for March 20th. Please contact Andrew Schmucker at baschmucker@comcast.net for more information.
Thank you to Amy Brown who planned and coordinated our mixed paddle socials.
Lastly, we had a wee bit of drama at the end of the season when strong winds buckled the western side of court 2 three days before our top men's team's final must win match. Dean Kandle coordinated with a contractor to complete the repair of the courts just a few hours before match time. Thank you, Dean!
Andy Schmucker Paddle Chair
Matt Torchiana celebrates an undefeated season with his Division 5 teammates: (left to right) Mike Rinehart, Chris Rinehart, Matt Torchiana, John George, Tyler Vandegrift, James Kelley, and Dennis Martin
March 13th: Neal Colligan and Barb Herzlich defeat Linda and Andy Schmucker in the Mixed Club Champs
The Grandfather Clock in SDGC’s Hallway
The grandfather clock in the main hallway of the clubhouse was assembled from a kit and donated to the Club by one of its members, David B. Brinton.
Dave Brinton’s ancestor William Brinton, and his wife Ann, arrived in the United States from England in 1684. The Brinton’s were Quakers and moved to the USA for freedom of religion. They settled on a 400 acre plot of land granted to them by William Penn, in what is now Birmingham Township, Chester County. A home Brinton’s son built for his family in 1704 is open to visitors on specified days.
There is a Brinton Lake near Concordville and the Concord Country Club was Brinton Lake Club when it first opened in 1927.
At some point a family member became involved in the textile business with a factory in Philadelphia. In 1921 Dave Brinton’s father invented a machine that improved the manufacturing of stockings and socks. Brinton’s father later moved the company’s home office to New York. Dave graduated from Drexel and went to work in the family business.
On weekdays Dave Brinton commuted to New York by train with a man named Cal Foulke, who worked for the RCA Corporation. On arriving in New York, Foulke would be met
by a chauffeured limousine. Foulke would have the limo driver drop Brinton off at his office each day, before the driver drove him to his office.
Brinton retired in 1981 and Foulke retired about the same time; they joined SDGC. On Tuesdays and Thursdays they played golf and had lunch.
About 1990 Dave Brinton assembled a grandfather clock from a kit he had purchased, which he then put into a wood cabinet he made. Then he gifted the clock to SDGC.
Peter Trenham Club Historian
