January, 2006 - The First Tee - The GCC Newsletter

New Director Elected - Roger LaPierre is a new director joining Chuck Audet, Ralph Brungard, Ray Fournier, Bob Garofalo, Gib Gerber, Nelson Lawrence, Jeff Stowell and Ted Totten to complete the board. The officers remain the same with Janice Lutz-President; Dan Caruso-Vice President; Heather MacKinnon-Secretary and Jim Girard-Treasurer. The chair of each committee is the first name listed in the brochure which was mailed with the newsletter. In addition, the brochure outlines all dues and fees.

Membership and Time Payment Plan- For those returning members, your perk for early payment by May 1, 2006 will be your choice of two free guest passes or a $20 gift certificate redeemable in the Pro Shop or Restaurant. For those who wish to pay over a three-month period we are introducing the following time payment plan. Pay 50% of your membership dues by May 1st. Make a 25% payment with a $5 service charge by June 1st. Make the final 25% payment with a $5 service charge by July 1st.

Introductory Memberships - To attract new members, we once again are offering Introductory Memberships for the 2006 season (Family- $325; Husband/Wife - $300; Single $225). This is an excellent opportunity to introduce friends or neighbors to Gouverneur Country Club. This privilege can only be used once in a lifetime and is open to anyone who was not a member in 2004 and 2005.

Private Carts will be grand fathered - After this golf season, we will not be approving any new requests for private cart privileges. Members who are cart owners as of 10-1-06 will be allowed to retain the private cart privilege as long as they maintain their membership. This follows the direction of most other courses in the area that have either eliminated private carts or are in the process of doing so.

Unlimited Cart Usage - Consider our attractive low-cost alternative to owning your own cart. You can eliminate the headache of private ownership -gas, maintenance and storage charges. For the yearly fee of $325 (Single) or $400 (Family) you have unlimited use of the Club's carts anytime for the entire 2006 season. Five (5) additional carts have been added to our fleet to help insure that carts are available.

Opening Party - Saturday May 6th - Come join us for a fabulous evening. Connie and Jeff Stowell invite everyone to celebrate "Cinco De Mayo", a Mexican feast. Your admission fee will be to bring your favorite dish, the Club will provide the OJ, the bar will be open and the amount of fun will be up to you. Everyone is invited including guests. It's a great way to begin the season.

Ladies League changes to Wednesday Night - Responding to numerous requests, the Ladies Monday Night League will move to Wednesday. This will avoid conflicts with the Monday holidays and provide more days of play. This will also allow the greens crew to concentrate on getting the course back in shape after the weekend. In addition, they will be able to start and complete major projects at the beginning of the week without interfering with the leagues.

Coed moves to Friday - Hopefully this change will allow more couples to participate in the golf and social aspect of this "golf for fun" event. We will continue some of the more popular competitions (?) and will be introducing "the birdie barrel". Any couple scoring a birdie or eagle, will have their names put into the "birdie barrel" for prize drawings that night as well as subsequent nights with a grand drawing at the end of the season. In addition, we will blend Coed with Friday Night Frolic, a social evening of carefree golf, light fare and beverages to celebrate the end of the workweek. Whether you want to play with the group, play individually or if you don't play golf, it can be a great time to gather with friends or soon to be friends for a relaxing kickback time in the restaurant.

Other leagues schedules and openings - The Tuesday morning Ladies, the Tuesday afternoon Harrisville and Thursday afternoon men's league will remain the same. The leagues always have opening for golfers and/or substitutes. Contact the Pro Shop to sign up.

Work Day - Saturday May 6th - 8:30 to 12:30PM - Many hands make light work! We were able to complete a great number of projects last year both on the course and in the clubhouse and had a lot of fun doing it: Come join us. Ray Fournier and Ralph Brungard will be handing out the projects. If you have any suggestions of projects that could be completed in this time frame let them know and then show up to participate. Those participating will have lunch on us.

Flower Power Club - As you may have noticed over the past couple of years at the Club, our president, Janice Lutz, (and several helpers!) has taken quite an interest in the beautification of the course. This coming spring, Janice and Dianne Girard would like to start a "Flower Power" Club to help with these projects! Anyone interested in helping out by donating plants, time, or materials, please sign in at the Pro Shop on the bulletin board, and we will contact you when we have the first meeting.

Booster Club Tickets - We need you!! This fundraiser is our most important revenue source for financing club improvements. Purchase tickets for family or friends - at $20 each, they make great gifts. For your convenience, payment can be sent along with your dues payment. Tickets will be returned to you along with your membership cards. The drawings will take place on Friday evenings following Co­Ed golf. There are ten drawings with 3 winners ($75, $50, $25) each drawing.

Junior Golf - A clinic is tentatively scheduled for April 10/11/12 weather permitting and will be taught by Al Douglass. This occurs during the spring break and should be a great time for our young people to get started on the right foot with technique and etiquette. The clinic is open to all juniors (high school age or younger) - $20 for members and $30 for non-members. Contact the Pro Shop for more information.

Discount in greens fees at other courses - We currently have reciprocal agreements with the following courses: Carlowden, Massena, Malone, Partridge Run, Potsdam, Prescott, St. Lawrence and Watertown. To take advantage of this agreement, you should call ahead for tee times (phone numbers are available in our pro shop) and present your membership card when signing in. The typical rate is $25 for cart and golf. We will-continue to establish this relationship with other courses. Check the pro shop for any updates.

Benefit Tournaments -Lion Club July 15th and Hospital Tournament July 29th - Once again, we will be hosting these very popular tournaments. Put together your team for these Captain and Crew tournaments. Plenty of prizes, great food and they support great causes. Everyone is a winner.

Qualifying for 6 Person Teams - Saturday and Sunday -July 8/9 - The men and women will qualify on the same weekend. Look for other special events that day for everyone to participate in.

Sustaining Memberships - Looking for a 20% discount on your dues? . Invest $2,000 in a fully refundable certificate - may be paid in four one-year installments. You then become a voting member with an active voice in the future direction of the club. Because of the foresight of the original developers of this concept, our financial position has been the envy of most member owned clubs in the area while still enabling us to provide a classic golfing venue at reasonable prices for our members. You can be a part of it today. Contact Dan Caruso or Jim Girard for details on becoming a sustaining member.

Stay informed by email - Connie Stowell started "information alert" last year by publishing a weekly update of events. You can be part of this by printing you e-mail address on your dues statement or e­mailing Connie at cmstowell@verizon.net.

Continue to check our Outdoor Calendar and Inside Announcement Boards for the schedule of events, changes, etc. Here's hoping that 2006, will be the best yet. Enjoy the golf, enjoy the facilities, perhaps introduce a friend to Gouverneur Country Club and most of all keep it in the short grass!