Rancho Bernardo Inn Men’s Golf Club

Minutes of the Meeting of the RBIMGC Board of Directors

June 16, 2022

The meeting was held in the RBI Veranda bar. In attendance were Norm Blades, Jerry Canning, Tom Dubuque, Tom Smith, Roger Smith, Gregg Gattuso, Spencer Davis, John Kersey, Joe Walkington, Tom Christopher and Johnny Goebel. All Board members were present.

The meeting was called to order at 8:01 AM by President Tom Dubuque.

Secretary’s Report – Tom Smith:

Tom noted that the minutes of the May 19, 2022, Board of Directors meeting had been circulated for comment, revised and posted on the website. Tom asked for a motion to approve the minutes.  MSUA.

Treasurer’s Report – John Kersey:

John discussed the Treasurer’s report for the month.  As of June 15, 2022, the Club has an operating cash balance of $25,139.45 and estimated available cash of $15,030.65.

Spencer Davis suggested that the Treasurer put unused funds in CDs to earn a higher interest rate.

Membership Report –Jerry Canning:

The Club has added 1 new member since the last Board meeting. There have been 10 membership renewals since the last meeting and 0 non-renewals. One member has passed away. 6 Full members will come up for renewal by our next Board meeting.

There are 3 new applicants in the pipeline. Total membership now is at 193, comprised of 187 Full Members and 6 Comped members.

The need for the Associate Membership category was discussed. This was originally used by someone to establish a GHIN number and have their index maintained by the SCGA, often with little or no interest in playing with our Club. With the creation of generic SCGA memberships handled directly with the SCGA, this is no longer necessary. The general sentiment of the Board is to do away with this category of membership. Tom Dubuque will investigate what is required. If the category is in our Bylaws, it will require a vote by the general membership.

Handicap Chairman – Norm Blades:

The Club still has 3 members who have not posted scores from 10 rounds of golf, so they are not eligible to win prizes for their play in Club tournaments. There was a discussion if this was too high a requirement. Norm Blades will investigate and make a recommendation at the next Board meeting.

Tournament Chairman – Joe Walkington:

See Open Discussion, below.

Rules Committee – Joe Walkington:

The TD for Monday, Tom Smith, will clarify the Lift, Clean and Place rule thru the Green by adding that a player may move the ball in the fairway or rough to the nearest point of relief, no closer to the hole. There is no club length requirement.

Web site –Tom Christopher:

Some changes to WordPress require the expertise of Tom Christopher. Tom should be contacted if changes cannot be easily accomplished.

Director of Golf’s Report – Evan Biundo and Jamie Lemon

Evan said it’s been about a month since the Inn completed their over-seeding with hybrid Bermuda grass. There is some germination but it is not as robust as expected. The Inn does not have a date in mind for the release of Cart Path Only (CPO). Their Monday to Thursday golf business is down because of it. The heavy seed watering will continue for another 2 or 3 weeks.

Jamie said that the germination is not as robust as they would like, but seems to be progressing slowly. By the end of the month they will decide whether or not to allow driving in the rough for all players. After the next four weeks they should be much better able to predict the end of CPO. The hybrid Bermuda grass is resilient to many southern California diseases and is intended to be playable both summer and winter. It goes dormant in the winter but does not die. The Inn should not need to seed with winter rye.

The three bunkers on Hole #1 have had their sand replaced with new sand down thru the liners. After the work is complete and evaluated, they will move on to the other 50 bunkers on the course. They would welcome feedback from the Men’s Club on the bunker work. Because of the fresh sand, players can expect a lot of plugged golf balls in these bunkers initially.

Open Discussion:

The Member/Guest tournament, managed by Gregg Gattuso, was considered by everyone to be a huge success in all aspects. Cart Path Only reduced the attendance compared to previous years. It was decided at last month’s Board meeting that members participating in the Member/Guest tournament will receive 2 Participation Points.

Tom Dubuque brought the Board up-to-date on progress with the memorial bench. The membership has very generously contributed approximately $1000 toward its purchase. Tom presented some bench options. Issues to be resolved are who to buy from, the bench design and material of construction. Costs of benches explored by Tom range from $600 to $900. A committee was formed to resolve the outstanding issues with the bench. Committee members are John Kersey, Gregg Gattuso and Tom Christopher. Funds collected have been given to Treasurer John Kersey.

This year’s President’s Cup has low enrollment compared to previous years. The Cart Path Only requirement was thought to be one factor. Many of those who did not sign up to play this year did so because of scheduling conflicts with vacations, etc. Ideas for next year are to move the event to a time less competitive with vacations and reduce the number of finalists from 12 to 8, eliminating one playoff round. The adoption of any changes or ideas to improve the level of participation in the President’s Cup will be left to next year’s Board of Directors.

Tom Dubuque will talk to Evan regarding the number of free rounds we are awarded based on attendance.

Johnny Goebel is planning a Men’s Club tournament for July 11 at St. Mark.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:40 AM.

Respectfully submitted,

Tom Smith, Secretary