Members Newsletter ~ March 2003

President's Column

by Ron Tweiten

Here I am at the half-way mark of my term as President so I thought I would reflect on the major accomplishments of the last six months and the primary challenge for the next six months. As the current board began its term there were three major challenges to be met: financial stability, management succession, and increasing demand for Club memberships.

As previously reported there has been excellent progress with the finances of the Club with a limited dues increase, profitability of our restaurant and bar operation, and a substantial capital budget for maintenance and improvement to our club. The financial and planning model in place should serve to insure that the Club continues to remain financially strong.

Management succession was completed with Nick West starting February 1st as our new general manager. In the 17 days up to the point of my writing this column, Nick has demonstrated that the selection committee has made an excellent choice. He is actively involved in all the committees, has met with all the staff, along with myself met with each department manager to discuss 2002 performance and goals for 2003, and is transitioning the taking of responsibility for the capital projects. I am very pleased that the challenge of management succession has been successfully met and the committee chairs can return to a normal retirement life. Every member should thank Francis Testoni, By Warinner, and Mary Williams for the many hours that they have devoted to the Club over the last six months. Through their efforts we have been able to run the club without a general manager with minimal disruption to members, and, in fact, continue to add programs and improvements to the facilities and grounds. Let me be the first in thanking them for their dedication to the Club and their hard work.

I talked a little about marketing in the last newsletter and the efforts of Nadine and Ben Benson this last year and asked for volunteers to work on the marketing of memberships. I am pleased to announce that Lori Sweningson has taken on the responsibility of chair of the marketing committee and that she has been successful in recruiting several members to serve on the committee. If you have any interest in this committee, there is always room for another helping hand. The need for a pipeline of new member applicants is the most significant challenge facing the Club in 2003 so I encourage all members to look for opportunities with their friends and neighbors to interest them in a Club membership.

We are also making progress with the revision of the by laws project. The Executive committee has reviewed a first draft and the Board will review a draft at the February meeting. I hope to have a draft of the new by laws approved by the Board at the March Board meeting. It is our intention that the draft will be available soon after that meeting for the membership's review and that a feedback session will be scheduled early in April for member comment. The final draft to the members for a vote must be mailed one month ahead of the annual meeting May 19th. This is an ambitious undertaking but the executive committee is working to arrive at a consensus of all the Board members, staff, and committee members in time for a vote at the annual meeting.

Manager's Memos

by Nick West

This being my first manager's column at Wing Point, I would like to take this moment to thank the Search Committee and the Board of Trustees for their confidence in me and giving me this opportunity.

My wife Terry and I are delighted to be here and become part of this wonderful area and club.

Some of my first impressions of Wing Point are that there are many great people here who have a passion for their club, some more activity is needed to make the club work a little better, and there is some fine tuning to do if we are to have a smooth, effective club operation.

In the activity area, it is my goal to have more guest activities and more opportunities for the community to access our great facilities, without impacting our regular play in a significant way. I will be working with the Golf Committee, Golf Professional, all the groups of regular golfers, and the Board of Trustees in an effort to make this happen in a positive way.

This program will be advantageous to the membership in that they will have more opportunities to bring people to the club for a day of golf and great food at a reasonable price, hopefully introducing the club to prospective members along the way.

We have a great product at Wing Point and we should actively solicit new members on a regular basis. One measure of our future success will be to have a reasonable amount of turnover each year, and to have a continual influx of younger members. The resulting initiation fees are the fuel for our capital improvement program and an easy way to avoid assessments for that purpose. If every member of Wing Point brought in only one new member every ten years, we would have a steady flow of income for capital improvements, and a very successful club. Have you contacted a prospective member within the last few months?

Regarding fine tuning, I believe in a continual pattern of small changes rather than large, major surgeries that tend to cause havoc. This long-term approach will be apparent as time goes by. As I absorb the details of the way things are being done, I will be able to "tweak" the operation. I ask for your patience and your feedback during this process.

I look forward to meeting all of you, and developing an understanding of what you want from your club experience. That is what will help me be successful in this new adventure. Thank you again for the opportunity to be your club's general manager.

See you at the club!

Wrinklies News

by Andy Roby

We did not have any Wrinklie to celebrate at our January meeting, we did have a full table of Wrinklies in attendance to celebrate the beginning of a new golf season.

The Wrinklies for the February 28th Pie Party are Jim Young, Walt Guyman, and Bill Gillingham. At this writing, it is not certain who will attend the "Pie Party".

Our March 28th monthly Wrinklies "Pie Party" has two honorees, Jim Piper and Richard Buchanan to sing happy birthday and share apple pie with ice cream.

Our Wrinklies "Bingo-Bang-Bongo" tournaments start in May with our "May Day Celebration", so if some of you Club Members that are over 70 years of age and would like to play; come join us for fun golf!

TENNIS SHORTS

By Joan Saxton

We include with this newsletter the registration form for the 2003 Wing Point Women's Tennis Program. Please respond as soon a possible so that we can devise a schedule that is acceptable to all.

If you have concerns or questions, please call Joan Saxton at 206-323-6113. We look forward to another smashing season.

The Centennial Membership Drive

by Nadine Benson

There are at least 100 reasons to sponsor a new Wing Point member during our Centennial Year. How about this one-a $100 dining certificate for being the primary sponsor of a Proprietary Member!

And if you are a Primary sponsor of a Social or House member, you will be rewarded with a special Centennial commemorative gift.

With your help, we can get our next 100 years off to a fabulous start!

Seeing is Believing

We truly believe Wing Point represents an exceptional value. It starts with our incomparable golf course, but it goes much further than that.

So you are encouraged to invite your friends, family and colleagues to experience the Club. Invite them to meet Nick West, take a tour, and play a complimentary round of golf, try out the tennis courts or use the pool. We think that once they experience the club, they will want to join. Just register your potential member with Nick or the office so they can follow up with a membership kit and application.

There are many Centennial events in the works that will provide a perfect forum for introducing potential members to the Club. We have a very special Club and it is always rewarding to be reminded of this by newcomers who are seeing everything for the first time and from a fresh perspective.

Centennial Membership Firsts

In January, Francis and Claire Gace became the first Proprietary members in our Centennial Year. Their sponsor, Ian Havill, is the first recipient of a $100 dining certificate, Way to go, Ian.

Hope to see your name listed as a primary sponsor in the next newsletter.

Wing Point Centennial Update

By Steve & Harriet Davis

During the 1950s the Wing Point Golf Club continued as an unincorporated organization under the auspices of Wing Point Community. Club Officers and Men's and Women's Golf captains were elected, and the schedule of tournaments and social events that were held every year didn't look that much different than it does today.

Tournaments were usually held on "Opening Day", Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, Labor Day, and there was an annual Turkey Shoot as well as "Benedict" and "Tombstone" tournaments, and Men's and Women's Field Days. In addition, the men held competitions on Saturdays, women on Thursdays (this switched to Tuesdays sometime before 1955), and there were annual club championships for boys and girls as well as "peewees" (age nine or under).

A mailing list dated July 26, 1954, listed 127 members (most of whom were couples, so maybe 70 families) of "The Wing Point Golf Club", plus 5 junior members. Family memberships in 1951 cost $42.00 per year, of which $7.00 was paid out in tax. Single memberships were $30.00 per year. The Bainbridge Review ran the following ad April 19, 1951:

Greens Fees Only $1 All Day

Wing Point Golf Club

Jimmy Rose, Club Professional

Phone Port Blakely 567

It was during the mid-1950s that the members began talking about a "new" club. A May 1956 letter from Membership Chairman, Dick Lenington, extolled the virtues of the Club and it's plans for the future. Family memberships were offered during "the month of May only" for $60 per year. The letter noted that Vernon McCann of Victoria, "the foremost golf architect on the Pacific Coast," had been engaged to redesign the course. McCann's sketch for a redesigned course does exist, but this plan was never implemented.

The July 1, 1954, issue of the Bainbridge Review displayed a drawing of a proposed new club house which was to be built on an "elevated site between the sixth and seventh greens."

Momentum for a "new" club picked up-in 1957 a Planning Committee was appointed, with Dale Fox as Chair. In February 1959 the Committee sent a letter to all members enclosing a descriptive brochure and advising that the committee had concluded that the "building and maintenance of a well-rounded family golf and social club was feasible." This eventually led to the Club we all belong to today.

Art at Wing Point

by Mary Williams

Our artist this month is a neighbor of mine. We met walking our dogs. When I realized I knew her dog's name (Lily) and not hers, I, of course, inquired and instantly recognized the name Barbara Kowalski as she is well know as an accomplished artist on Bainbridge.

Barbara and Lily live in a charming home, full of art and surrounded by lovely yard. Her studio is beautifully lit, carefully planned and obviously a very important part of her. As a matter of fact, when the extended family gets together, making art always has a place, and not just for the kids. The tin walls of her kitchen, with design pricked in the metal, were a holiday project for the family. There is no doubt that art is an integral part of her life.

In 1952, Barbara received her bachelor's degree in Art Education from the University of Colorado in Boulder and then, a quarter-century later, earned a master of fine arts degree in Studio Painting from the university of Denver. Her professional art involvement has spanned 40 years and included both teaching and exhibiting. She conducted workshops, exhibited in juried shows in the U.S. as well as Mexico and Italy, and, at one time, co-curated at a gallery in Denver. Abstraction is Barbara's primary mode of expression. Later work combines diverse materials, such as "found objects" and handmade paper.

Barbara has six children, four of whom live on the island and ten grandchildren, four on the island. (Her son, Todd Kowalski, is a very creative photographer.) Besides her family, her interests include gardening, civic and political activism and volunteering at Yes! Magazine.

Please join me in welcoming Barbara Kowalski to Wing Point.

Turf Talk

by Bill Schilling

We are well on our way with the bunker project. By the time you get this mailing we'll have finished bunkers on holes 3, 10, 16, 17, and part of 9 and of 12. The weather and persistent work has allowed us to be so aggressive with the project. There is a poster board in the clubhouse showing the procedures and some of the items we have run in to. It might be quite interesting for you to look at. Overall the project is going quite well and I am very proud of it. The weather in the spring is very conducive toward fusarium disease on the greens. We try to look for evidence of the disease early and make a fungicide application when necessary. With the scouting technique and a quick response we are able to utilize less chemicals and be very efficient. At times the disease does break through however we utilize a management program to accept a little disease and minimize the environmental impact. Cultural practices are take into consideration as well and this includes aerification. Don't forget we will be aerifying the greens the week of April 14th. Look for the new stairs we built on the sixth tee. We will be building more on fifteen and when we rebuild 7 red and gold tee we will be upgrading those too. We are continually trying to improve the course, with guidance from the green committee. We set up priorities as heard from the membership and go from there. I hope you like what you see, we continue to strive to give you the best value for your dollar. Enjoy the course.

Women's Golf

By Caroline Clucas

Well, the world has turned around so many times so quickly in the past five months that it is suddenly March again. This year, I'm certain that there are lots of women ready for the new season. They're the ones we've seen all winter in boots and gloves and, occasionally, rain hats, who came out week after week to test themselves by finding muddy balls, cleaning clumps of grass from their clubs and their hair-and generally having a great old winter time on the course.

It was a grand turn out for the Cold Ducks competitions. Mary Ann Diridon ordered generally good weather for almost every Tuesday. I wonder how she did that? Anyway, she has been a great leader. She was always ably assisted by Keiki McCombs. Thanks.

The final awards luncheon was held on February 18th with good cheer, lots of laughter and honored winners graciously accepting their accolades.

The highest award-the COLD DUCKS TROPHY-was given to Barbara Woodman, who played faithfully, won 1st place 4 times, and also kept her putter unblemished with the fewest total putts. Congratulations!

Lonnie Henderson claimed the 2nd place, always important DAISY VON DUCKESS prize. Fantastic!

Mary Ann Diridon modestly accepted the prized ICE QUEEN AWARD. Barbara Tweiten walked away with 4th place using stamina and determination-and some good golf-to earn her public acclaim.

We'll try to have photos of the awards ceremony for all of you snowbirds, plus some more details in next month's news.

Marilyn Sickler has taken over the reins of the WSGA/PNGA representation job for the women at Wing Point this year. She is representing us well in meetings with the many other club appointees. This year Wing Point has accepted the responsibility for hosting the Pacific Northwest Junior Girls' Championship tournament to be held August 5-8. Although the PNGA will do all of the organizing, Marilyn says they will be calling on us to find housing for some of the 60-70 girls who will play, and they will need volunteers to do course spotting and other jobs. Please mark your calendars now, and plan to help.

An important change for you to note on your summer schedule. The Wing Point Breast Cancer Tournament date has been changed since our last newsletter. Lori Sweningson reports that it will be held on July 31st. The Golf Committee approved of the change so that we might have better weather and a chance for more players to be involved. Lori says that plans now are for an all day event, with a 9-hole tournament, an 18-hole tournament, plus a proposed auction and evening event. We'll keep you posted on the exciting plans as they develop.

So---for now---MUSHY MARCH IS HERE! This is the grand month for team play. Those of us who couldn't quite make it to the winner's circle in Cold Ducks by ourselves have an exciting opportunity to win BIG on a team! Every Tuesday we'll sign in by 9:00, David will sort us into teams of mixed 9 and 18-holers, and send us out into the world of mushy golf to challenge ourselves as a team, playing scrambles or some other interesting combination that will test our group skills.

Mushy March play is a wonderful way for new women's golf members to meet new people and have a good time, too. Everyone……….come out and play!!

Pro's Notes

by David Tunkkari

Would you like to reward your employees, promote your company, and leave your customers with a lasting impression? Try your company logo on a Callaway golf product. Callaway offers a great corporate logo discount on their golf products. You can do a small volume (a dozen golf balls) or go full out with an odyssey putter or golf bag. Each product will be packaged in an attractive gift box. The packaging and artwork come with no extra charges. The best news is the low price. We will sell you all custom logo products at 10% above our cost. This will allow you to cash in on some of these great prices.

Callaway CBI golf balls $20 doz

Logo baseball hat $10

Odyssey Putter $70

Callaway golf bag $65

Why shop with us?

1. Price! At Wing Point golf shop, we offer the same prices as the discount golf shops on name brand merchandise. If you find a lower price, we will do our best to match it.

2. Quality! Go to large discount golf shop and you will find the sales staff there trying to sell you their house brand, knock off golf equipment. Why? That is where they make their biggest profits. The poor quality equipment is cheap, but you usually get what you pay for. We stand by all our merchandise. If you ever have a problem with any of your purchases, we will take them back no questions asked.

3. Knowledge! We have the ability to fit clubs to your game. Having attended a three-day club fitting school at the Ping fitting school in Phoenix, I know the importance of having properly fitted clubs. We have upgraded our ability to properly fit your clubs by purchasing a state of the art swing analyzer. Best of all, we offer this service to you, free of charge with any club purchase. I will be first person to admit that there are a lot of great clubs currently available. Unfortunately, we won't be able to carry all of them in stock. We will however be happy to special order clubs for you. If we can't match or beat any price, we won't sell them to you. We have accounts with Taylor Made, Titleist, Nike, Wilson, Ping and many more. Most golf manufactures will ship within one week, so you won't have to wait long before taking your new equipment to the course. You will also have the knowledge that if you ever have any problems with your clubs, we will take care of them for you.

Volunteers needed for Junior Golf

We are currently looking for Members willing to volunteer some time to assist with the Jr. golf program. We are looking for individuals willing to sacrifice a little time to help our future golfers develop skills they can use on and off the golf course. If you would like to help, please contact the pro shop!

Men's Club

by Mark Uselis

As you slog your way around our soggy golf course, digging out your plugged ball and wiping the mud from your face after hitting a fat wedge shot, keep in mind this venerable quote: "Golf is a game invented by people who think that music is what comes out of a bagpipe."

After two torrential rainouts, the Winter Scramble was finally played on February 15 - and it only rained for half the round! Brad Maier and Dick Duncan shot a net 63 to win the "last tournament of 2002."

Starting with the next newsletter, there will be monthly updates on the Mixers points race. Six Mixers count in the contest (all except the Buick Scramble in June) and each person's four best results will be tabulated. Ten points go to each of the winning team members, eight points to the second place team, seven for third place, six for fourth place and five for fifth place. The top twelve points winners (and ties) will qualify for the year-end horse race, which will follow lunch after the August Mixer. Also qualifying will be individual gross and net winnners of each Mixer. The Men's Club Committee will come up with an outstanding prize for the horse race winners, so make sure you play in all the Mixers.

The Diehard Duo matches continue. If you haven't already heard from David, we are being strict this year about meeting deadlines. This approach will continue this summer with the Better Ball tournament. If you don't think you can make the deadline, look first to get a substitute. If you can't find one, play the match one-on-one. If neither of those works, David will flip a coin to determine the winners. Our goal is to have the winter Diehard Duo end before the NBA finals and the summer Better Ball end before the World Series.

The Chapman Championship is March 8. The winners get an automatic entry into the Eagle Cup. Find a partner and come compete against defending champions Don Kragerud and Dan Brotherton.