March 29, 2021
Members of the Pines Country Club,
At long last, Spring has arrived and our 2021 golfing and club fun have started. The Board is pleased to report that our pond liner project was completed on time and on budget. For the first time in decades, our pond no longer leaks and is looking better than ever. Most importantly, we finally have a pond that actually holds water and will provide a much greater probability of providing the water we need during dry periods to keep our course healthy and beautiful for decades to come.
We are also pleased to report that our current membership numbers are the best they have ever been this early in the season. We have 420 golfing members, and we are now limiting additional memberships to inactive shareholders who wish to become active and to those who wish to join The Pines as shareholders. This provides solid financial well-being for the club.
Our good membership numbers also present challenges to pace of play for our golfing members. As many of you know, last year more than 24,000 rounds of golf were played at The Pines. Given that number, it is not surprising that our single most frequent complaint from our golfing members was “slow play”. Therefore, to address pace of play problems, your Board has enacted the following changes, commencing April 10, 2021.
- Walking is restricted on Saturdays and Sundays to no earlier than 12:00pm. If there are not enough carts for use on those days before 12:00pm, exceptions to this restriction may be made by the Pro Shop as needed.
- Golfers will be required to play the front 9 in one hour, fifty-five minutes and the back 9 in two hours, ten minutes. Total 18-hole playing time will be a maximum of four hours, five minutes. On “cart path only” days, total 18-hole playing time will be extended ten minutes to a maximum playing time of four hours, fifteen minutes.
- Your Board has directed the Pro Shop to require that all golfers tee off at their designated tee time. That means not before or after the assigned tee time. Starting tee times will be a matter of record in the Pro Shop and enforced and recorded by the Starter as well. In addition, when a golfing group walks off the 18th green, the finishing time for that group will recorded. It is our hope that the data will enable us to identify chronic “slow play” golfers. If a group is unable to conform to the above stated pace of play, restricted tee times may be imposed on players in that group.
Finally, the Board wants to provide some information and a reminder to all our golfers. Last year and already this year, we have had golfers, some of whom are members and some of whom were trespassing walk-on’s, teeing off without checking in with the Pro Shop and using carts for which they had not paid. The Pines Board of Directors considers this to be theft of goods and services and henceforth appropriate action will be taken against those engaging in such conduct. We ask all our members to report such behavior when you observe it to the Pro Shop and / or a member of your Board. Reporting will be kept confidential.
As this season gets underway, we ask all of you to take a few minutes to familiarize yourselves with our Rules and Regulations, concerning, among other things, our dress code, on-course behavior, and use of closed practice facilities. If you do not have a copy of The Pines Rules and Regulations, they can be found on The Pines website https://www.thepinescc.com/ or you can ask the Business Office for a free paper copy.
Thanks to all of you for your interest in making The Pines experience the best it can be and for your membership.
Regards,
The Board of Directors of The Pines Country Club
Steve LaCagnin, President
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