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Life & Times
Estero Country Club at The Vines
March 2015
Mission
Estero Country Club provides a welcoming environment for its members, families and guests
through exceptional golf, dining, tennis, fitness, lifestyle and social experiences.
March Events
More information on events is available in the Members Only
Section of the website under Dining Menus and Event Flyers.
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Couples Golf, 9 Hole Sponsored - Sunday, 1:00 Shotgun
Annual Meeting - Monday, 9:00am
Mah Jongg Tournament - Tuesday, 9:00am
Men’s Golf Invitational
Healing Yoga - Saturday, 8:30am, FREE
Fishing Tournament - Monday, 8:00am
Birding Tour - Monday, 8:00am
Fitness Center Orientation - Tuesday, 6:00pm FREE
New Member Mingle - Wednesday, 6:30pm
Ladies Tennis Doubles Pro Workout - Thursday, 1:00pm
TRIVIA NIGHT - Thursday, 7:00pm
Lecture Series, Is It 2016 Yet? - Friday, 10:00am
Specialty Fitness Class - Zumba Gold, Friday, 3:00pm
Oh My Guinness Tennis Mixer - Friday, 5:30pm
Fish Fry Dinner Special - Friday, 5:30-8:30pm
St. Patrick’s Day Buffet & Dance with Live Wire Band
New Member Golf Mixer - Sunday, 3:30 Shotgun
Jersey Boys at the Barbara B. Mann, Tuesday
Vines Veterans’ Association Meeting - Wednesday, 4:30pm
BINGO - Thursday, 7:00pm
Fish Fry Dinner Special - Friday, 5:30-8:30pm
Club Golf Championships
ELGA Guest Day - Tuesday, 1:00 Shotgun
Ladies Who Lunch & Quarter Auction - Thursday, 11:30am
Men’s Tennis Invitational Challenge - Friday & Saturday
Specialty Fitness Class - Bands & Tubing, Friday, 3:00pm
Fish Fry Dinner Special - Friday, 5:30-8:30pm
Jazz Trio - Friday, 6:00-9:00, Mulligans
Mixed Golf Shootout - Saturday, 2:00pm
All Community Golf & Dinner - 8:30 & 1:00 Shotguns
Sony Open Pro Tennis Bus Trip - Monday, 7:00am
Board of
Governors
Tom Rush - President
Doug Dalrymple - Vice President
Carol Berger - Secretary
Skip Loper - Treasurer
Mike Kennedy
Bob MacDougall
Joe McAvoy
John Side
Lorie Sonstein
Three new Board members
to be elected on
Monday, March 2nd.
Thank you to our term
ending Board members:
Joe McAvoy
John Side
Lorie Sonstein
President’s Message
The Board of Governors begins a new term on March 2, and we will welcome Don DiBrita, Barry Freedman and Tom Spaeth to the
Board. It has been a great experience to work with a Board and Committees as dedicated and hard working as they have been. I am
also grateful to our Management group and staff who are so committed to your satisfaction with and enjoyment of the Club.
It has been a busy year beginning with the institution of a Member Survey and development of a Strategic Plan for the operation of
the Club going forward. During this time, the Club hired a new Golf Professional and Controller.
Once the Strategic Plan was developed, the Board set out on its implementation. Following a two-day special meeting in August, the
first step was the development of Mission and Vision Statements. Next were changes to our governance process. This change to the
Nominating procedure will allow for greater participation by the membership in the selection of new Board members.
Changes were made to our Food and Beverage operations as well. These included back of the house changes to the physical part of
the kitchen and several processes as well. The Dining Room experience was also evaluated and we hope that you have noticed better
efforts at member recognition, service and menu selection. Happy Hour occurs every Thursday and the Grand Buffet has been a
success. As usual, House and Entertainment does a great job with a variety of entertainment throughout the year. None of these would
have happened without the dedication and involvement of our staff.
Membership continues to be a challenge. While we have managed to increase our total membership, golf has decreased a little and
it is a priority to continue to develop ways to attract new members and increase that membership.
Financially, we do continue to remain debt free. Our budget this year is such that we did not have to impose an overall dues increase.
However, the dues’ structure was changed for certain classes of memberships to meet competitive challenges.
The Board has approved a revision to the Long Term Capital Plan which has identified potential capital expenditures through 2025.
In addition, we are developing a Master Facilities Plan for the entire premises. As this process moves along, we will be looking
for significant input from the membership as to the future of ECC. The golf course and tennis facilities are in great shape and both
receive many compliments from visitors. However, greens and cart paths are some of the issues which we will need to address in
the future.
In addition, you may have noticed the increased use of the Clubhouse, not only for dining, but for meetings and many social
activities. The Survey identified outdoor dining as a priority as well. In short, the Clubhouse is bursting at the seams. We have to take
a look at changes to support this use and that too is part of the Master Facilities Plan.
While a lot has been accomplished, there is much more ahead of us. The Board is committed to forward thinking, yet mindful of the
financial responsibility we have to the membership. We look forward to your input as these plans move forward.
It has been a privilege to serve as President this year. Thank you to my fellow Board members, our Committees and sub-Committees
and to our Management team and staff. On behalf of the Board, thank you for your encouragement and support this year. We always
appreciate your comments and concerns and while we don’t always agree, please know that they are taken into consideration.
Tom Rush, President
Board of Governors
Tennis Shop
Tom Funk
[email protected]
Greetings,
First of all, I would like to mention Fred Hindle, our new Assistant Tennis Professional. I believe he has met most of you, but if
you haven’t met Fred, and you are by the tennis courts, stop in and say “Hello”. Fred has been doing a great job in the short time he
has been with us. He has a firm grasp of tennis skills and strategy and is showing this with those he has begun to teach. He looks
forward to getting to know all of you and your support is appreciated.
Our Tennis Teams are in the midst of a great season. Our players are having many fun and competitive matches.
Pickleball, on Sunday’s and Thursday’s, is also enjoying good times and spirited play by our members.
I would like to take a moment to encourage you to assist me in finding the best time to have our Bocce Open play. You should
have received a Monkey Survey from the Club asking for your input on Bocce play. Please take a moment to fill out the survey
and return to us. From this, we can put together a play time that will be organized to allow for fun and friendly competition
combined with some special events to maximize the experience. Thank You for your help with this activity.
Be sure to check the calendar for our March events. If you have never been to a Professional Tennis Event, you may wish to check
out our annual bus trip to the “Miami Open” on March 30th. It is one of the largest events aside from the four major professional
tournaments like Wimbledon.
Have a wonderful March and I will see you on the courts.
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Coming in April
Bocce Closing Party - Wednesday, April 1st, 5:00pm
Men’s Golf Shootout - Friday, April 3rd, 2:00pm
Fish Fry Dinner Special - Friday, April 3rd, 5:30-8:30pm
Easter Buffet - Sunday, April 5th, 11:00am-3:00pm
New Member Mingle - Wednesday, April 8th, 6:30pm
Pickleball Party - Thursday, April 9th, 1:00pm
Ladies Golf Shootout - Friday, April 10th, 2:00pm
Easter Tennis Mixer Closing Party - Friday, April 10th, 5:30pm
Season Finale Dinner Dance with Kelly & Shelly - Saturday, April 11th
Fishing Tournament - Monday, April 13th, 8:00am
Karaoke Night in Mulligans - Friday, April 17th, 7:00pm
Chef Demo & Luncheon - Saturday, April 18th, 11:30am
Wine & Canvas Painting Party - Thursday, April 23rd, 5:30pm
Golf Course Superintendent
Nathan Gingrich
[email protected]
To the left of hole 13 sits our pumphouse. The pumphouse provides water to the golf course, tennis courts, clubhouse and VCA
common grounds. The water that is used for irrigation is drawn from the lake just left of the green on 13 through a system of
filters, and eventually into the wet well, where clean water is held and pumped to any area of need. Our wet well is an original
metal pipe from 1986 and its walls have begun to break down. The project of replacing the wet well is scheduled to begin March
16, 2015. You may ask, “Why not wait until summer to do such
an extensive project?” The answer to this question is twofold.
First, ground water becomes higher in the summer and in order
to complete this project we will need to drain our irrigation lake
down to essentially nothing. Second, at the beginning of March,
our water needs are not as great as they are in April or May. While
the project is going on, we will have temporary pumps that do
not have the same capabilities our main station does. The project
will begin on March 16, 2015 and will finish April 4, 2015.
During this project, you will first notice that our irrigation lake
will be drained down to nothing so that the various contractors
can complete their work. The next thing you will notice is excess
noise in the area of 13 green. This noise will not stop for play and
will go on intermittently throughout the project. We will work our
hardest to keep this project on schedule to minimize disruption
and thank you in advance for your patience.
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with
re Band
Live Wi
ed by
Host e
ik
DJ M
Thursday,
March 12th, 2015
7:00pm
ECC NEW EVENT!!!
Free - Prizes
Saturday, March 14, 2015
Cocktails starting at 5:30pm
Buffet Seatings: 6:00, 6:30, 7:00, 7:30, 8:00pm
Dinner Music 7:00-8:00pm
Dance Music 8:00-10:00pm
Market Salad Bar with Assorted Toppings and Dressings
Irish Cheddar Ale Soup & Lamb Stew
Fruit Scones, Soda Bread and Whipped Butter
Carved Prime Rib of Beef
Corned Beef
Grilled Salmon with Pesto Cream Sauce
Chicken Pot Pie
Braised Cabbage, Baby Carrots
Parsley Red Bliss Potatoes
Make your own teams of 8 people
or make a reservation as a single/couple
and be paired with others.
General knowledge questions:
History, Music, General Trivia
Join us for dinner prior to Trivia.
Reservations available at 5:00, 5:30 or 6:00.
Casual Attire
Guests Welcome - 72 Hour Cancellation Policy
Reservations starting
Tuesday, February 10th, 2015, 9:00 am
Bailey’s Irish Cream Cheesecake
Crème De Menthe-Chocolate Parfait
Guinness Bread Pudding with Caramel Cream
Ice Cream Sundae Bar
$28++
Reservations starting
Monday, February 16th, 9:00am
72 Hour Cancellation Policy
Guests Welcome
“Ladies Who Lunch” &
Quarter Auction
Thursday, March 19, 2015
Reservations Available
5:00, 5:30 & 6:00pm
Bingo at 7:00pm
New
Vendors
Added
Make your dinner reservations in
A la Carte Menu & Chef’s Features
Chicken Picatta
with Whipped Potatoes and Vegetable du Jour
$14++
11:00am - 3:00pm Shopping
Lunch 12:00pm Auction 12:45pm
Quarter Auction - Bring a roll or two of quarters
A game where bidders play for prizes valued at typically $12 to $50 or even higher!
15-20 Vendors to give door prizes for Auction
ForeTees in the Dining/Events tab.
(Bingo Only Reservations not needed)
Thursday, March 26, 2015
$19++
Proceeds from Auction paddle sales ($3 each) &
50/50 Raffle to benefit the Susan G. Komen Foundation
(Bring extra cash for shopping and 50/50)
Guests Welcome - 72 Hour Cancellation Policy Applies
Make Reservations in Dining/Events on ForeTees.
starting Tuesday, February 24, 2015.
(Dietary restrictions required 24 hours in advance)
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Season Finale
“Magical Memories”
Saturday, April 11th
with Kelly & Shelly
Dinner Music 7:30-8:00
Dance Music 8:00-10:30
6:00 Cocktails-6:30 Dinner Stations
Members Only - Tables of 8 (limited tables of 10)
Reservations Starting Wednesday, March 11th at 9:00am
Casual Attire (No Denim) - 72 Hour Cancellation Policy
Easter Buffet
Sunday, April 5
11:00am - 3:00pm
Reservations starting
Thursday,
March 5th, 9:00am
72 Hour Cancellation Policy
Guests Welcome
Casual Attire
BUFFET
Fresh Fruit Display
Norwegian Smoked Salmon Display with Mosaic of Accompaniments
Assorted Fruit Bread, Mini Muffins, Danishes
Apple Waldorf Salad
Greek Artichoke and Kalamata Salad
Tomato, Chick Pea and Cucumber Salad
Market Fresh Salad Bar with Assorted Toppings and Dressings
Omelet Station
French Toast with Fruit Topping, Warm Maple Syrup
Applewood Smoked Bacon and Breakfast Sausage
Chef Carved Ham with Honey Dijon Apple-Pear Chutney
Chef Carved Leg of Lamb with Demi Glace and Mint Jelly
Chicken Veronique with Tarragon, Red Grapes and Cream
Gulf Snapper Provençale with Green Olives, Slivered Garlic and Basil
Potato Casserole, Baby Vegetable Medley
Chef ’s Selection of Delectable Desserts
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Membership News
Colleen Sowerby
Membership Sales Director
[email protected]
It was a lovely night for 33 new members to see the beautiful Naples sunset, on our “Thank you Cruise”.
We had a very successful turn-out (44,) for our New Member Mixer Golf Event on January 31st. The team of Ruderman and
Robinson were our scramble winners! Our next Golf Mixer is February 28th, and the final one for the season is Sunday, March
15th. Save the Date for the March 11th New Member Mingle (clinic on the golf range and refreshments) at 6:00pm – call me
with your RSVP for Mingle, and sign-up on ForeTees for the New Member Golf Mixer under the events tab!
ECC NEW MEMBERS
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Golatzki (Barbara)
Social/Silver Oak
19367 Silver Oak Drive
859-630-2092 (Thomas cell)
859-250-0018 (Barbara cell)
[email protected]
[email protected]
Kentucky
Mr. and Mrs. Roy Sadler (Patricia)
Social/Vintage Trace
19847 Vintage Trace Circle
410-299-6967
[email protected]
Maryland
Mr. and Mrs. Alan Shepardson (Martha)
Social/Southwind
8461-3 Southbridge Drive
585-732-8599
[email protected]
New York
Mr. and Mrs. William Mauldin (Gail)
Silver Golf/Southwind
8411-3 Southbridge Drive
410-960-8438
[email protected]
Maryland
Mr. and Mrs. Emil Stefkovich (Sandra)
Silver/Vintage Trace
19855 Vintage Trace Circle
904-304-5154
Minnesota
UPGRADING MEMBERS
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Hoene (Cindy)
Sport Upgrade/Silver Oak
19502 Silver Oak Drive
612-227-6367
[email protected]
RENTERS
Fairway Bend
Dan and Ann Shapiro
Ken and Nancy Kerkhoff
Vintage Trace
Gunter and Gisela Roth
Southwind
Tom and Sidney Lawrence
Grand Palm
Jim and Vicky McDonald
Minnesota
Mr. Thomas Edelen and Ms. Linda Lillie
Sport/Vintage Trace
19863 Vintage Trace Circle
502-296-4768
[email protected]
[email protected]
Kentucky
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From the General Manager
Craig Rollinson, CCM, CCE
[email protected]
You have no doubt noticed the increased activity on the golf course
and the resulting pressure on the tee sheet. The increased demand
for tee times has presented days when we have had more requests
than tee times. When that eventuality occurs, someone will be left on
the outside looking in. The question that many of you have asked is,
“How do you decide who gets tee times and who gets left out?” The
answer to that question is that “we” don’t decide, ForeTees implements
a mathematical equation, based on the play history of everyone in a
request, to make that determination.
Every time you play golf, ForeTees assigns a point value to that round.
When you make a request for a tee time in the future, ForeTees looks at
your play history over the 12 days prior to the request. Each individual
then has a point value that will be used to prioritize all requests for
a given day. The system will then take the point values for each
individual and average them together to assign a group weight. Every
request, regardless of the number of players in the request, receives
a “group weight”. When there are multiple requests for the same tee
time, ForeTees awards it to the group with the lowest group weight.
The only role the Golf Shop staff plays in determining tee times is
when there are group requests that require more than the 5 tee times
ForeTees will link together. In those cases, we will act to make sure
that all times for a single group are kept together. Aside from that, the
staff has been directed by the Golf Committee to play as small a role
as possible in determining who gets which tee times.
I hope this helps foster a better understanding of your online tee time
reservation system.
Ben Pittman, PGA
Head Golf Professional
All Community Outing
Sunday, March 29
Congratulations
Barry Freedman
Ron Gahan
Honey Gemino
Larry Johns
Freeman Mast
Recently, we created additional golf cart parking
near the Snack Shop and tennis courts. The parking
spots are located on the paved road behind the water
station at the Snack Shop. This should make it easy
to visit the Snack Shop or play tennis without driving
your golf cart all around the Clubhouse. As always,
please drive safely and observe the rules of driving.
We have been off to a very successful season so far
with great social, golf and tennis events. We just
completed our Ladies Golf & Tennis Invitationals
with excellent participation, and boy, do the women
know how to have fun. The Valentine’s Dinner Dance
was a sell-out! Alter Ego Band, a seven piece dance
band, was the featured entertainment. Everyone
seemed to have a great time.
There is a plethora of events to choose from; Bocce
Ball, Pickleball, Lecture Series, Wellness Programs,
BINGO, Trivia Night, Gin, Bridge, and many more!
Please read your emails sent out from the Club and
sign-up for some fun events!
See you at the Club soon.
Golf
BBQ
Hole #14
Hole #16
Hole #12
Hole #6
Hole #2
8:30 & 1:00 Shotguns
Make Your Own Foursome
$25.18 inclusive - Golf & BBQ
You do not have to play with members of your community.
Format: Combined better ball (gross & net), the number of
combined scores will be dictated by the field size.
Special Events
Closest to the Pin - Staff Hitting Drive - Raffle
Backyard Buffet
for Everyone!
Sandy Dalrymple had a Hole-In-One,
January 29, 2015 on #13.
Nancy Scully carded a “1” on
#5 on February 11, 2015.
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Immediately Following Golf
Cost for just BBQ - $18.00++
Fresh Fruit Salad
Vegetable Quinoa Salad
Creamy Garden Pasta Salad
Fresh Market Salad Bar
Dessert
Ice Cream Novelties
Char-Grilled Hamburgers
Beer Brats with Sauerkraut
All-Beef Hotdogs
BBQ Pulled Pork
Macaroni and Cheese
Housemade Chips
Corn Cobettes
Lettuce, Tomato, Onion and Assorted
Cheeses And Condiments
2015 Men’s Invitational
25th Anniversary
Wasting Away in Margaritaville
Thursday, March 5th - Saturday, March 7th, 2015