[Mike_Young]

Mike,
There is no hidden agenda here with this post.  I was just wondering what clubs people here thought were good role models?  I mentioned Somerset Hills.  I have always liked that club for many reasons.  For one, I love their approach to the way they keep their golf course.  For such a great club where money is not an object, the course is kept a bit rough around the edges but it is as it should be.  You can take a caddy or walk if you want with a trolley, and no one will give you grief.  The clubhouse is old and rustic and fits perfect with the golf course.  

I think Lehigh set some good examples as well.  Back in the early 1990's it could easily have lost its identity and heritage were it not for a couragous decision by the superintendent and club management.  They had a master plan done by one of the top firms in the country that would have redesigned the course with no regard to Flynn.  Fortunately the plan was tossed out and they went forward with a much lesser know young architect named Ron Forse who had just ventured out on his own but had a passion for older designs.  He wanted nothing more than to restore Flynn.  The decision saved Lehigh as far as I am concerned.  I think that set a good example.  

I never assumed there was a hidden agenda.  I also assme that all clubs have the intention to be good role models.....some have the wherewithall others do't.....
Mike

[Mark_Fine]

Here is one of the posts Paul made above that seems to me might address the altrusim or (do what is best for golf not just what is best for my club question)"

"I think the R&A are trying to present the British Open as a role model for clubs.  They really have let the courses burn out in recent years and they have published articles on returning to less manicured, cheaper maintenance."

Paul can chime back in but the hope is that these high end clubs will continue with this practice and others will follow their lead.  They will spend less money on maintenance (even though they could afford to spend more it if they wanted to) because it sets a good example for the game of golf.  

[PThomas]

I believe Rich Harvest Farms holds a lot of tournaments for juniors, etc

[Mark_Fine]

Mike,
No problem.  Also, you are right in that any club can be a role model.  But maybe you can elaborate on what you mean by, "some have the wherewithall others don't....."  ?

[wsmorrison]

Certified juniors can bring up to three junior guests to our club's second course without incurring green fees.  This is a wonderful gesture that does quite a bit to promote junior golf.  

[Mark_Fine]

Wayne,
That is a great idea and hopefully other clubs are doing something similar.  I wish Lehigh would do more of that and I will bring up the idea at the next golf committee meeting.  We allow some access to the course for university and high school play but we need to do more to promote junior golf.  

[SL_Solow]

I'm not sure our club can take credit but in the early 70's our longtime superintendent (currently on his 47th year) wrote an article and spoke to the AGCSA on a topic entitled "Overgrooming is Overspending."  Paul Voykin argued that reducing the amount of maintained turf and sustituting natural areas would save money and add to the golfing experience by creating a more natural looking field of play.  He did not get a very positive response at the time but I think many clubs are beginning to get it.  Briarwood slowly instituted Paul's suggestion and we have several expanses of native prarie grasses.  The results were as predicted; lower costs and a very natural feel to the course.  Additionally these areas have served as a refuge for wildlife so that we have our own tiny preserve in the Chicago suburbs habitated by hawks, predatory owls, egrets, blue heron, fox and coyote along with the ordinary assortment of midwestern birds and deer.

[JESII]

SL,

No bears?


Seriously though, how large are these areas? Are there tremendous spaces within the bounds of the golf course that enables you to promote these "tiny preserves"?

[SL_Solow]

Unfortunately, all of our bears are licking their wounds after last Sunday.  Couse is 18 holes on 160 acres.  There are a few fairly sizeable areas with native bluestem and other areas in the remote rough scattered throughout the course.  If there is interest I'll take some pictures in the late spring.

[JESII]

Sl,

Thanks...I wouldn't ask you to go to that effort, I think the 18 holes on 160 acres gives me a frame of referrence. I have a pet peeve that likely evolved because of our own experiences with these "native" areas that go unmaintained. We let a few of them evolve years ago and they look terrible to me. Just a mess of unkempt grass that added zero aesthetic value to the course. The dollars and cents savings argument is very understandable, but these areas were all pretty small (maybe 10 yards X 50 - 100 yards).

[HamiltonBHearst]

Deepdale  For standing up to the village authorities trying to confiscate their golf club.

[Tommy_Naccarato]

Hammy,
I bet it's just like the time those bastards from the state tried to say that the yacht club was on state coastline You guys sure showed them didn't you!

[HamiltonBHearst]

Actually Mr. Naccarato, they are not very similar.  Club relations vis a vis local government will be more of an issue in the future (development,pesticides,trees,water,property tax rates, need for social enigineering in right to free association). certainly more important than what type of wild flowers to plant on a golf course.

[ForkaB]

This is a good question in that it is a non-question.  No club that I know (and I know more than a few) would either consider itself to be a role model or look up to some other club as a role model.

All clubs are like people--they are individuals, with their own strengths and weaknesses and their own ambitions and predilections for change and risk.  Whether they are Cypress Point or Pacific Grove....

[Tommy_Naccarato]

Hammy,
Then you have no problem with the carpet munchers and pillow biters wanting to take your slip and turning it into a public enclave for peace and harmony, just right on the shore?

[SL_Solow]

The question really turns on an individual (or club's) view of its role as a citizen.  Individuals or citizens do not, in the ordinary course, set out to become role models.  Instead they behave in a manner that they think is appropriate.  If others take notice and are inspired to emulate them, they have by action and not by aspiration become role models.

Having taken that position, it is self evident that some institutions and individuals behave in ways that provide benefits to the greater society.  While this thread has focused on golf related items (e.g. maintenance, agronomy and junior golf) there are othe ways in which clubs provide benefits which are worth replicating.  Some clubs contribute scholarships to students from local high schools to attend college.  Others have set up scholarship programs for the benefit of their employees.  Clubs have contributed their facilities at little or reduced cost for charity fundraisers.  Others have allowed clinics to allow mentally and physically handicapped individuals to become exposed to the game and enjoy its recreational benefits.

Does this make these clubs role models?  That is a question for each observer to decide.  I suspect that the clubs who act in the manner described do so because they think its the right thing to do; not because they are setting themselves up as a model for anyone else.

[Dan Herrmann]

Merion.

Obviously, the East course is among the planet's best.  But the West course is simply one of the most fun courses I've ever played.

But even better - the folks there have always been genuinely nice to me and to others.  There's not a sense of stuffiness there.

I was also very impressed at how the membership treats the club's employees.  You see a "servent" type relationship at some places, but not at Merion.

And, the history.  What history.

A final story.  I had the opportunity to meet Merion's historian.  Now, I'm trying to get a historian position going at my new club, French Creek.  The member spent a lot of time with me, was exceedingly nice, and even showed our group a number of the Club's historical artifacts.  

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As far as non-equity clubs, I think we have something special going at French Creek.  Sure - we have some areas where we fall short, but the membership is first class, genuinely care about each other, and put golf ahead of all else (at the chagrin of our ownership who sometimes give the feeling that food and beverage is their most important measure of success).  Of course, the course is for sale, so who know what the future holds...

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And Jay was right..  Bulls Bay sure seemed to have all the important stuff going for it.  What a place and what great people.

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