SEPTEMBER 2009 INDIANOLA COUNTRY CLUB NEWSLETTER

Tournament Results
Congratulations to the recent tournament winners. The winners of the Sole Survivor were: Women: Susan Westra, Senior Women: Lynn Long, Super Senior: Mark Kollasch, Senior: Randy Kraft, Open: Tim Toombs and Championship: Jeremy Johnson.  In the Husband & Wife Club Championship Trent & Tammy Petersen took first place with a 74.  For all tournament results go to http://www.indianolacountryclub.com/golftournaments.html.

Upcoming Tournaments
There is still time to sign up for the Labor Day Tournament. For many, this 2 day 4-person best shot event with 9 am shotgun starts on Sunday Sept 6th and Monday Sept 7th is the biggest tournament of the year.  There are separate men’s and women’s divisions.  The sign-up deadline is Wednesday September 2nd at noon.  Also, don’t miss the Calcutta Auction Friday September 4th at 7 pm.  Come early for Happy Hour with drink specials. Complimentary hors d’oeuvres will be served.

The Ryder Cup Tournament is on Sunday September 20th.  This will be a 27 hole event with the nines to be played Best Shot, Best Ball, and then Alternate Shot.  This event is open to club members only.  There will be a Men’s Division and a Mixed Division.  The tournament will be flighted at the completion of play.  Tee times will begin at 8:00 a.m. Sign up in the clubhouse.

The Men’s Association Flag Tournament is on Saturday September 26th.  Sign up in the clubhouse.  You must be a member of the Men’s Association.  The course remains open for regular play during this event.
The ICC 4 Man Best Shot is on Sunday October 4th with a 10 am shotgun start.  This flighted tournament is open to both members and nonmembers so sign up your team early.

Couples 2-Ball Night Glow Date Changed
The couples 2-ball night glow event is on Saturday September 19th.  This is a change from the original date in the calendar.  The 2-Ball will start at 8pm/Dusk.

Men’s Association News
Hello from the Men’s Association. We had four holes-in-one this month: Marlin Bowlin, Brian Poindexter, Tim Bryan and Rob Curtiss. Two of those were Mens Association members and received $100.00 in club bucks. The other two.......oops! The Men’s Association Flag Tournament is September 26. Check-in will begin at around 8:00 am with a steak fry and keg to follow. The fee for this year's event is $20, same as last year. The event is open to Men’s Association members only, but you can join ICCMA that morning and join in the fun. We will have some weekly golf games during September, so check in the clubhouse each week to see what is going on. The ICCMA will also be having a fall meeting so watch your emails and upcoming newsletters for date and time. If anyone is interested in joining ICCMA between now and the flag tournament, see Rob Curtiss or Ron Bright. Until next time, get out and play golf.
Thanks,
Rob

Board Member Change
Cory Drees has resigned his position on the Board due to his increased family responsibilities.  Congratulations to Laura and Cory on their triplet sons, and thanks to Cory for his service on the Board.  The Board has followed its recent practice and appointed Rob Curtiss, the next highest vote getter in the last Board election, to complete Cory’s term. Rob is the current Men’s Association President and a former member of the Board.  Welcome back to the Board Rob and thanks for being willing to serve.

Fall Cart Special
For the fall season you can rent an 18 hole cart for the 9 hole price.  This special is not available on tournament days.

Presidents “State of the Club” Message
Some of you may be concerned about how your club is doing after reading in the Des Moines Register recently about the financial troubles that Glen Oaks is having.  I want to reassure all of you that we are doing relatively well financially.  While Glen Oaks lost 90 members, our membership has been only 5-10 memberships lower than last year and 10-15 memberships lower than our highs of two years ago thanks to the hard work of the Membership Committee and the membership to recruit new members.  In addition, our debt from the course expansion is only about 10% of the amount that Glen Oaks has.  Our financial statement for the end of July shows that we are doing significantly better than last year and are well ahead of the projected budget for this year.  We are on track to finish in the black for the year.

Here are a few of the highlights from the financial statement for the year so far.  While membership dues are below budget due to the decrease in membership, the change in membership structure, and the lower dues for new members we have more than made this up in other areas.  Income from food and drink in the clubhouse is up. Thank you for supporting your club.  Income from greens fees and cart rental is also up in part due to a few excellent outings we have had at the club.  Jason, Ruth, Joe and the Board have also worked to lower expenses.  Refinancing our debt has lowered our interest costs.  Utility costs are down and we have saved money on gas by pre-buying much of our fuel for 2009 early this year at a relatively low price.  Expenses for clubhouse supplies and repairs are lower than in past years.  These and other factors give us a good bottom line for the year so far.

We are also in a relatively good cash position.  Our accounts used for everyday operations have just over $100,000, slightly higher than last year.  The Board has done an excellent job of setting aside funds for clubhouse improvements and new equipment for the course with about $20,000 in each of those savings accounts. The Board has also been putting the savings from our loan refinancing into the capital improvement fund along with the monthly member fees and that account has around $40,000 which will be used to repair our crossings.  While we all hope the worst of this down economy is over, the Board has taken the conservative step of putting just over $2,000 a month into a “rainy day fund” starting this July.  The money for this fund comes equally from the refinancing savings and the normal contributions made to the clubhouse and equipment savings accounts.  In short, good planning by the board has us in good financial condition.

We are currently doing well, but challenges are ahead.  The membership will need to continue to work with the Membership Committee to maintain and increase our membership numbers.  There will be a fall new member special again to help with this.  There is also costly work to be done to repair our creek crossings and improve the deteriorating cart paths on the east nine over the next few years.  I’m confident that the Board, along with the membership is up to the task of meeting these and other challenges and improving the club in the years ahead.

If you have any questions about the club finances you can contact President Werner Kolln, Finance Chair, Kevin Halterman, or any Board member.

From the Greens Committee
In response to member requests, we will be including this feature in the newsletter to keep members informed about issues on the golf course during the season.

Here is a list of projects that have been completed or are underway this season:

• Bridge assessment and repair on the west nine (on-going)

This is in addition to the normal routines in preparing and maintaining the golf course for play as well as dealing with issues brought about by the large amounts of rain again this season. 
Because golf events at the club do affect the maintenance schedule, it is important that members realize how many events are in the golf schedule.  Events held since the beginning of June include 8 tournaments, 4 outings (plus Open Golf Week) and 6 couple’s 2-ball events.  Still on the calendar are 5 more tournaments (including the Men’s Association Flag Tournament), one more outing and 2 more 2-balls.  In addition to all of these events the IHS Boy’s and Simpson Men’s 2009 Fall Golf seasons are underway.

We continue to research replacement structures for the creek crossings on the west nine.  We are talking with water management engineers to find the most practical design for bridges or water crossings that will result in fewer problems when the creeks leave their banks.  It is the hope of the Greens Committee to make a recommendation to the full board no later than the September Board of Directors Meeting.  At this time it appears that we may be able to replace two crossings rather than only one this Fall.  The goal is to complete this work in the off-season.  Whether we can, will depend on the preferred solution and the company hired to complete it.  The remaining crossings will be kept in useable condition until funds are available to replace or more permanently upgrade them.

We have been approached by many members regarding concerns over issues with the golf course, and we encourage this type of dialogue.  Talking with Joe Burke or Jason Kaiser, a member of the Greens Committee, a board member or Jason Marvelli is an effective way to address your concern.  Please do not address these issues with the maintenance staff.  These employees are working under Joe’s direction and may not have the full information required to properly address your concern. They should not and will not change what they are doing based on a comment or request directly from a member.  If you feel they are doing something wrong from an etiquette standpoint, Joe, Jason, Jason and the Greens Committee want to know and then we will address the problem.

Fall Trial Memberships
The Membership Committee has decided to try something new and different this fall to try to attract new members: a Fall Trial Membership.  The committee feels that if prospective members have a chance to experience what we have to offer they will join.  The trial membership includes golf from September 1st thru the end of the 2009 golf season and a reduce rental cart rate (pay the 9 hole rate for an 18 hole cart.)  The cost of a trial membership for both single and family is $160 starting September 1st, $120 starting Sept 15th and only $80 starting October 1st.  Trial members who decide to join by December 1st will receive a ‘stimulus package” that includes reduced dues for 2 years similar to the current new member special.  Details are on the website at http://www.indianolacountryclub.com/prospectivemembers.html. If you know of anyone who is a potential member, let them know about this low cost opportunity to give the club a try.  Just let Jason know their name and address or email, and he will send them the information.

Membership Changes
We have received resignations from Larry & Mary White, Matt & Joanna Carson and Chad & Kristina Koch.  Welcome new trial golf members Ron & Denise Bily and Neil & Elizabeth Reuter. We now have 322 golf, two trial golf and 19 social memberships. We had 331 golf and 15 social memberships at this time last year and 337 golf memberships 2 years ago.