October 2019 Newsletter
LETTER FROM THE GENERAL MANAGER JIM BULTEMA
Looking Ahead
Letter from the General Manager
Fall is officially here! Beautiful colors and cooler weather can make for some great golf. Here’s to a great fall at Railside.
A quick overview of things to come:
Membership Matters
This program gives existing members the opportunity to earn 25 percent off 2020 dues by referring new members to the Club. If new members pay 25 percent of their dues now, they will be able to pay the remaining in December, January, and February. New members will also be able to golf at Railside for the remaining of the year for free. This is for golf memberships only.
Hayride
Join us for cider, donuts, an old-fashioned hayride, and trick-or-treating on October 26th. Check in is at 11:30am and the hayride begins at 12:00pm. This event is FREE and is for railside members and their families only. We hope you can join us! Email Jennifer to RSVP by Friday, October 18.
Meet the new Union Pavilion Website
We are excited to share a project we have been working on for the past couple of months. The Union Pavilion has a new website! Be sure to check it out here.
Holiday Parties at The Union Pavilion
We still have a few openings for holiday parties. We can host corporate, friends, or family holiday parties! Contact Donna today to book.
As always, thank you all for you support!
Best,
Jim Bultema
General Manager
FROM THE PRO MATT KOETS
Event Season Comes to a Close
The 2019 golf events season has ended and we would like to congratulate the following:
Ladies’ President’s Cup- Nancy Kitchen
Men’s President’s Cup- Brian Bastic
Couples’ President’s Cup- Jim and Chris Hoekwater
Ladies’ Junior-Senior Championship- Shannon Smith and Sharon Vanden Berg
Men’s Junior-Senior Championship- Dave Turcotte and Herm Johnson
Ladies’ Thistle Cup- Pink Team Captained by Sharon Vanden Berg
Men’s Gallagher Cup- Maize Team Captained by Marty Williams
2019 Aces
To date, we’ve had two hole-in-ones this season. We are planning to honor our hole-in-one recipients in December at our annual Christmas and Hole-in-One Open House; however, we wanted to offer our sincerest congratulations now as well!
Kevin Furlong- Hole #8 on May 4
Amanda Lynam- Hole #8 on July 23
Handicap Posting Season Ends
The official Michigan golf season is April 1-October 31 and our active season will end in a few short weeks. Scores from the inactive season cannot be posted. Scores from other states that are in their active season must be posted, however. Please use the GHIN app to input these scores or you may drop off the scorecards to the Golf Shop and the staff will enter them for you.
Practice Facility Hours
The practice facility will remain open, weather dependent, until the end of October. It will be open Tuesday-Sunday 8:00am-6:00pm and open on Mondays 11:00am-6:00pm.
Golf Shop Hours
During the month of October, the Golf Shop will be open Tuesday-Friday 8:00am-6:00pm. The Golf Shop will be open Saturday and Sunday 7:30am-6:00pm. The Golf Shop will be closed on Mondays.
Off-Season Travel
Your PGA Professional Staff is eager to help you plan your next golf trip this fall and winter. We are a valuable resource to recommend locations and courses throughout the country and we offer golf club shipping services through Shipsticks. Shipsticks truly is an all-inclusive golf shipping company that makes your travel easy and convenient. Many Railside members have used this service offered by Shipsticks and they’ve raved about this wonderful service. Please contact your PGA Professionals for more information matt@railsidegolf.com and avery@railsidegolf.com
Matt Koets, PGA
Head Golf Professional
FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT JEFF SMITH
Around the Course
Over the past month we have been working on numerous projects. Turf removal may be the most noticeable. The sod project is complete and aesthetically pleasing. The turf removed from the bottom right of #2 fairway will be placed in the areas grass that has struggled to grow from last years renovation. In place of the turf that was removed will now be bluegrass (rough). Greens that had problems such as #2 on the front left & #12 back right of the green has also seen some work.
Managing the weather this upcoming fall we want to assure you that our grounds staff will continue to do our best to remove leaves from areas in play to provide you with the best possible conditions. There will be days we run a blower up to 8 hours a day to stay on top of falling debris. This time of the year also brings shorter days, lower temperatures, and wet weather. The turf will be soggy for longer periods of time. With that in mind, please try to stick to cart paths or drive in high areas of the course to help prevent tracks.
Thank you for your continued support, have fun!
Jeff Smith
Golf Course Superintendent