Notes from the General Manager’s Desk. ..
August is here and I am celebrating my first five weeks at LFCC. I can’t begin to tell all of you how welcomed you have made me feel. would like to thank everyone who have gone out of their way to help me get acclimated to Champaign and the surroundings. Many of you ask about my family so I would like to give you a brief update. Jenny and the girls (Hailey, Kaitlyn & Madilyn) are still in Aurora. We are still in the process of renting or selling our home. They will be coming down during the first week of August for an extended stay. We want to start looking at housing, pre-school options for Hailey, pediatricians, dentists, etc…. They are all very excited to get down here and I will be happy to have them with me.
I couldn’t have picked a better month than July to start my new job. The Clubhuse and Golf Course were busy all month long. It was a great chance for me to see the whole Club in motion. Scott Werner and his Grounds staff have battled the rain but the course looks beautiful. Tim and the Golf team ran some great events in July (9 & Dine, Parent-Child & Sadie Hawkins) and the participation was great.
Our July started out with a very successful 4th of July Cookout. We had over 200 members and their families take advantage of a great buffet, pool games and inflatables. If you were unable to attend this years “Lobsterfest”, mark your calendar for this event next year. The food, decorations and entertainment (The Boat Drunks) were fantastic. The Social Committee, especially Rosanne Kenton and Beth Mills, did a great job planning this event and much of the success goes to all of them. Chef Chris, Thomas and I have already met and talked about how we will raise the bar for next years event.
August will bring another active golf and social calendar. On Saturday August 9th we will have are “Return to the 80’s” Adult Pool Party. Come out and join your fellow members for food, drink and live music from the Riverbottom Nightmare Band (playing the best 80’s hits). During the weekend of August 16th &17th, I would encourage everyone who is not playing to come out to support and follow the Club Championship play. On Tuesday August 19th we will honor all of the junior sports participants at our Youth Sports Award Banquet at 5:30pm. The Junior programs (golf, tennis & swim team) have had another successful year and I have been told that the participation in these programs has increased every Summer.
This years Hullabaloo is scheduled for Saturday August 23rd & Sunday August 24th. You will be receiving in the mail your official packet with all the details.
Labor Day weekend will have something for everyone. On Saturday we will have our “Movie on the Hill”. We will be showing “Alvin & the Chipmunks”. On Sunday we will have a Pizza & DJ party at the pool starting at 4:00pm. On Labor Day we will have a cookout under the tent and inflatables for the kids. We will start at 12:00pm on Monday. I hope to see you all this month at the great events we have scheduled.
With Labor Day around the corner , that means the kids will be going back to school and the start of another football season. The Illinois football team will start their season on Saturday August 30th at Missouri. During my first few weeks at LFCC I have been asked if I am an “Illini Fan”? First and foremost I am a huge college football fan. I am also under the belief that the best college football comes out of the Big Ten conference. I am an alumni of Southern Illinois so the Salukis are always near and dear to my heart. This will only be a problem when the Illini play SIU. Not a problem for this year. The real problem comes from my years of growing up with a Grandfather who is an alumni and avid supporter of the University of Iowa. I have been raised with the cheer of “Go Hawks” instilled in me from birth. As I move forward and become apart of this great community I can see myself adding more orange and blue to my wardrobe. So for the first time (forgive me Grandfather!!!) I will say: “Go Illini” and good luck this season.
In closing, I hope all of you enjoy the rest of the Summer and look forward to the Fall and all we have to offer at Lincolnshire Fields Country Club.
Sincerely,
Chris Reis
General Manager
genmgr@lincolnshirefieldscc.com.
From the Golf Course Superintendent . . .
Wow, this summer continues to fly by! It is almost August, talk of football games has begun, and the start of school is only weeks away. It has been a challenging golf season for the Grounds Department thus far. It seems that every time we almost get caught up with our workload, another heavy rainfall occurs and we are even further behind. I hope that everyone has enjoyed the golf season in between floods, and I appreciate your patience as we continue in our attempts to get back on schedule. I’m sure the weather will soon change to the other extreme, and we will then be dealing with drought issues and wondering where all of the water went. Following are a few updates of Grounds Department information:
Course Status:
The golf course has continued to suffer from frequent heavy rain events. Turf conditions have been very soft at times, and bunkers have continually been washed out and in some stage of restoration.
Ongoing Projects:
Any ongoing projects are behind schedule do to the weather conditions.
Maintenance Activities:
The frequent heavy rain events and course flooding have continually impacted mowing and maintenance schedules. The staff has done their best to work around the weather issues and keep things as much on schedule as is possible. Many of our normally scheduled maintenance procedures and projects continue to fall behind, as much labor is dedicated to restoring the course after the heavy rains and flooding.
Flower Program:
The annual flowerbeds are beginning to mature and look very nice. Debi has been very busy weeding the many beds, as our abundant rainfall has caused more weed problems than in most years. Insect problems have not been as severe as in past years, however, and it appears that the Champaign area may be spared the serious damage that we typically see from Japanese Beetles. Please don’t hesitate to stop and talk to Debi, if you see her around the course. She is always happy to discuss the flowers and answer any questions that you may have regarding the various plants that we have used.
“Pete Moss” continues to enjoy his spot near the practice green. He has found himself dressed in pink for the “rally for a cure” outings during the last month, however, and while his masculinity has suffered, he is very happy to help support a very good cause!
Course Etiquette:
As has been the case in past years, our ball mark repair and divot filling seem to have fallen off with the warmer weather. Both of these problems have been even worse than normal due to the frequent soft playing conditions after rain events, making our attention to these responsibilities even more important. Please do your best to properly repair yours and others ball marks and fill divots as you enjoy your rounds of golf. As a reminder, the proper way to repair a ball mark involves working the displaced turf back in from the edges, never lifting the turf, and finally tamping down to smooth the surface. And our divot-filling program involves tossing your divots into the rough, and filling the void that is left with divot mix, making sure to fill only up to soil level, not all the way to the surface of the turf. Over-filled divots not only slow down the healing process, but also damage our mowing equipment as the divot mix is picked up and dulls the blades. Thanks for your help with these important etiquette responsibilities.
Sincerely,
Scott Werner, CGCS
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Welcome New Members ....
Join us in weloming our newest members to LFCC:
Mr. And Dr. Charles Craddock ~ Equity
Sponsored by Mr. And Mrs. Terry Prillaman & Mr. And Mrs. Sam Banks
Mr. And Mrs. Martin Wu ~ Equity
Sponsored by Mr. And Mrs. Paul Beck & Mr. Tom Sternburg
Mr. Chris Hamelberg ~ Jr. Equity
Sponsored by Mr. And Mrs. Paul Donohue & Mr. And Mrs. John Wubbolding
Mrs. Stephanie Bond & Mr. Gabe Omo-Osagie ~ Social
Sponsored by Mr. And Mrs. Ed Wagner & Mr. And Mrs. Dave Kelton
Ms. Julie Cochrane ~ Social
Sponsored by Mr. And Mrs. Scott Cochrane & Mr. And Mrs. Michael Rubenacker
Mr. And Mrs. Ken Hauser ~ Social
Sponsored by Mr. And Mrs. Paul Wilson & Mr. And Mrs. James Shapland
Mr. Joseph Murphy & Dr. Kimberly Collins ~ Social
Sponsored by Mr. And Mrs. Bruce Murphy & Dr. And Mrs. Matthew Stringer
Mr. And Mrs. Mark Anderson ~ Dining
Sponsored by Mr. And Mrs. Dave Kelton & Mr. And Mrs. Jack Stocking
Mr. And Mrs. David Fairchild ~ Dining
Sponsored by Mr. And Mrs. Mark Czys & Mr. And Mrs. Dave Kelton
Mr. And Mrs. Tim Fairchild ~ Dining
Sponsored by Mr. And Mrs. Dave Kelton & Mr. And Mrs. Mark Czys
Mr. John Stier ~ Dining
Sponsored by Mr. And Mrs. Peter Schmidt & Mr. Dennis Lewis And Mrs. Mary McGrath
