Loading...
HomeMy Public PortalAboutGolf Commission Packet 04.27.21MEETING NOTICE TOWN OF BREWSTER GOLF COMMISSION Location: Remote Participation Only Date: April 27, 2021 Time: 4:00 PM -""mg1111lnlWu.... REw • r Jay Packett This meeting will be conducted by remote participation pursuant to Governor Baker's March Director of Operations 2020 orders suspending certain Open Meeting Law provisions and imposing limits on public gatherings. No Colin Walsh in-person meeting attendance will be permitted. If the Town is unable to live broadcast this meeting, a Course Superintendent record of the proceedings will be provided on the Town website as soon as possible. The meeting may be viewed by: Live broadcast (Brewster Government TV Channel 18), Livestream (livestream.brewster- ma.eov), or Video recording (tv.brewster-ma. ov). Golf Commission Anne O'Connell Meetings may be joined by: Chair 1. Phone: Call (929) 436-2866 or (301) 715-8592. Webinar ID: 8814407 8985 Passcode: 049087 Andrea Johnson To request to speak: Press *9 and wait to be recognized. 2. Zoom Webinar: Vice Chair htt s://us02web.zoom.us/'/88144078985? wd=MO5K nNsRIR T2FzZE - kSFZD Carl Blanchard WLJVOZz09 John Kissida Passcode: 049087 Wyn Morton To request to speak: Tap Zoom "Raise Hand" button, then wait to be recognized. Jeff Odell AGENDA David Valcourt • Call to Order The Captains Golf Course 1000 Freemans Way • Impact of growth in membership in 2021 on golf course operations including but not Brewster, MA 02631 limited to FY22 budget, tee time allocation, association block times, staffing, 2022 rates, (508)896-1716 number of members www.CaptainsGolfrourse.com • Other course operations questions and concerns • Public Comment (Only if time permits) • Topics the Chair did not reasonably anticipate • Future Agenda Items and Meetings (5/11, 5/18) • Adjourn Date Posted: Received by Town Clerk: Date Revised: TEE TIMES Currently, Annual Fee Players (AFPs) have access to 50% of the tee times on one course, and approximately 12% of the tee times on the other course unless a special function is scheduled. The Golf Commission may adjust the ratio of AFP tee times to DFP tee times after the number of AFPs is known and the amount of revenue that has been collected is known. At no time shall the percentage of AFP tee times be lower than the AFP revenue divided by the budgeted golf course expenses. Remaining tee times are for Daily Fee Players (DFPs/guests). The courses rotate weekly. A Brief History of Tee Time Allocations Rob Harris April 2021 The first 18 holes were built in 1985. The second eighteen holes in 1999 doubled the number of tee times available. The tee times are allocated with a larger percentage on the member course, and a smaller percentage on the non-member course. The member course alternates between Port and Starboard each week of the year. My direct knowledge of tee times began in 2007 when the member course had allocated 50% to members and the non-member course allocated 20% to members. The 50% allocation was every other tee time all day. The 20% allocation was every other tee time until the quota was reached. The 20% tee times were changed around 2009 to be one out of every five tee times to equally distribute member tee times throughout the day. In September of 2010, The Golf Commission voted unanimously to request approval for adding the following language to the Golf Commission Policy Handbook. The Select Board voted 4-1 to approve this addition on 09/27/2010. The following was included in the Select Board's packet that day: C. Tee Times and Reservations 1. AFP Tee Times: m) The Golf Commission may adjust the ratio of AFP tee times to DFP tee times after the number of AFPs is known and the amount of revenue that has been collected is known. At no time shall the percentage of AFP tee times be lower than the AFP revenue divided by the budgeted golf course expenses. Currently, the AFPs receive 50% of the tee times on one course and 20% of the tee times on the other course. Although the number of AFPs has been in general decline for the last few years, and the relative revenue contribution of AFPs has declined, the number of tee times dedicated to AFPs have remained constant. This policy change is not meant to punish the membership, but rather attempts to recognize that number of tee times needed depends on the number of members. It is impossible to set this ratio in advance of the golf season since the Commission cannot know how many members will sign up in the following year. This system protects the golf course from having to give a constant number of tee times when facing a declining membership. However, the members deserve to know that they will have access to the course before paying their fees. This ratio method protects the members by guaranteeing a minimum ratio of tee times. After this formula was adopted, the Golf Commission lowered the 2011 member allocation to 31.25% of all tee times. This was accomplished by allocating 50% of tee times on the member course (every other tee time), and 12.5% on the non-member course (one out of every 8 tee times). The member course has remained at 50%, and the non-member course ratio has been adjusted by the Commission over the years. Currently, the non-member course is 20% M -F, and 12.5% on Sat/Sun. The key formula is Member Tee Time Ratio >= Member Revenue - Budgeted Golf Expenses This year has seen 117 new members through the end of March 2021. Member revenue will likely increase this year as a result of current economic and health factors. Budgeted Golf Expenseshas also increased to $3,561,235 (FY22) from $3,370,221 (FY21). Note that this does not include capital expenses or debt service which are intended to be paid for out of profits or retained earnings. Calendar Year Member Revenue Budgeted Expenses Minimum Member Tee Time Ratio 2020 (FY21) $1,061,649 $3,370,221 31.5% 2021 (FY22) r $1,047,175 $3,561,235 r 29.4% IN Revenue as of April 22, 2021, but it is too early to predict the member revenue for the calculation. This calculation gives the Golf Commission a minimum number of tee times that must be allocated to the members. It would be within current policy to allocate more than this minimum number of tee times to members. What is a tee time worth? It has been the working assumption of the golf operations that the golf season on Cape Cod consists of approximately 100 days of peak golf revenue generating days. This is everyday in July and August, plus Friday through Sunday in May, September, October. The morning daily fee rate in July/August is $74 ($77 earlier) plus $23 for a cart comes to about $100. A foursome of cart -riding golfers is worth $400. A single early morning tee time can generate approximately $40,000 over that 100 -day season. Rainy days limit the ability to achieve this amount, but likewise, members don't want rainy tee times either. Golf rates are lower later in the day, but the majority (-80%) of members have paid for morning tee times. How many tee times are allocated to members? The distribution of tee times on the member course varies based on the day of the week. On Saturday and Sunday, the first 2 hours of tee times are reserved for members (6:00am - 8:00am), followed by two hours of guest times (8:00am - 10:00am), then alternating after 10:00am. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the Women's 18 -Hole Association and the Men's Golf Association have the first 2 hours of tee times (6:30am-8:30am), followed by two hours of daily fee times, then alternating after 10:30am. On Thursday mornings, the Women's 9 -Hole Association has all of the back -nine tee times on both courses. On Monday, Thursday, and Friday, tee times on the member course alternate throughout the day to achieve the 50% allocation. Tee times start from 6:30am weekdays (6:OOam on weekends) with 9 minute intervals. There are 2'h hours of tee times before 9:OOam. These tee times can only be used by members with the "Early" memberships. With 50%/20% allocation on Mon/Thu/Fri, there are 14 tee times prior to 9am each day, and 18 tee times on Tue/Wed, and 16 times on Sat/Sun. This supplies tee times to 440 golfers before 9pm each week. In 2020, we had 537 members with access to these 440 slots, so an early member should get a "before 9am" tee time approximately once every 8.5 days. There are only 55 tee times for an entire 6am-6pm day in the summer allocated to members of all categories. Let's do the math... 55 tee times x 4 golfers x 7 days = 1540 member tee times each week. There were 1063 members last year, so a member should get a tee time approximately once every 5 days on average. Some of our members play many more rounds, therefore some of our members play many fewer rounds. Tiered Membership Categories Today, we have a tiered membership model — Early (before 9am), Morning & Back 9 (after 9am), Twilight. When the tee time allocation formula was adopted in 2010, there was only a single membership category and all members could book into any available tee time. Roughly, 20% of all members are in the Morning category, and 20% of are Twilight Members. Morning members can play after 9am. There are 275 member tee times each week after 9am which is enough supply for 1100 golfers. In 2020, there were 220 Morning members plus the 537 Early members could play in these slots as well (although 63 of them will play before 9am on average). After more math, we get that a Morning member can expect to get a tee time approximately once out of every 5 days. Twilight members can play after 3pm in the summer months. I'll skip the details, but there are 98 tee times after 3pm each week which is enough for 392 golfers. In 2020, there were 231 twilight members. If every twilight member requested a tee time everyday they should expect to get a tee time once every 4 days. However, all membership categories are able to book into these twilight times so there is additional competition for these times. The Golf Commission's recent decision to assign '/2 Chelsea points to back -9 and twilight play will provide equitable access for twilight members so that a few twilight members do not monopolize all of the tee times. This has been shown to provide equity within the Early and Morning categories. Comparison to Private Golf Course Membership Levels Captains is not a private golf course. A typical private golf course limits its membership to 300 members per 18 -holes. The private member pays for their share of the golf expenses in exchange for privileges at the course. Every member of a private course could in theory play every day. The cost per member would be around $6000 based on our expense levels. Based on our tee time allocation and the number of members, it would be like a private course having 1700 members instead of 300. Chelsea Points System The points system ensures equity in tee time assignments for members. Members who play infrequently are able to get their desired tee times, while high volume players get tee times when excess availability exists. Prior to 2020, there were a substantial number of unused tee times. The avid golfer was able to access these unused times at 8pm the night before. This kept everyone happy. Then a global pandemic created unprecedented demand for golf as a "safe activity". The pool of unused tee times dried up and the avid golfer lost their ability to get great tee times. If this demand continues remains to be seen as we transition to a "new normal' in a post -vaccine world. Balancing Act The Golf Commission will have to weigh the member tee time demands against the need to generate sufficient revenue to cover all expenses. Hopefully you will find this information helpful in your process. Current Membership Totals Resident Early 304 (27 New) Resident Morning 188 (9 New) Resident Twilight 89 (4 New) Resident Collegiate 17 (2 New) Resident Junior 12 (5 New) Non -Resident Early 255 (50 New) Non -Resident Twilight 94 (18 New) Non -Resident Collegiate 4 (1 New) Non -Resident Junior 4 (1 New) Charter 5 Total Members 972 (117 New) FY 2022 Projections - rev. 04/01/21 FY 2019 FY 2020 FY 2021 FY 2021 FY 2022 REVENUES: Actual Actual Budget Rev. Proj. Projection Season Passes $ 986,785 $ 1,293,344 $ 821,000 $ 1,064,497 $ 1,086,906 Green Fees $ 1,691,233 $ 1,519,109 $ 1,763,000 $ 2,099,475 $ 1,800,000 Cart Fees $ 631,559 $ 535,807 $ 648,000 $ 777,382 $ 688,000 Driving Range $ 131,768 $ 111,033 $ 128,000 $ 165,140 $ 132,000 Pro Shop Revenues $ 277,232 $ 203,224 $ 243,000 $ 277,436 $ 300,000 Restaurant Rent $ 37,452 $ 28,202 $ 38,000 $ 20,000 $ 42,000 Solar Canopy Lease $ - $ - $ - $ - $ 22,000 Miscellaneous $ 3,045 $ - $ - $ - $ - TOTAL REVENUES $ 3,759,073 $ 3,690,719 $ 3,641,000 $ 4,403,930 $ 4,070,906 EXPENSES: Wages $ 1,366,011 $ 1,284,723 $ 1,483,423 $ 1,453,057 $ 1,478,468 Operating Expenses $ 857,360 $ 704,727 $ 887,220 $ 918,409 $ 940,482 Pro Shop Purchases $ 204,440 $ 163,795 $ 200,000 $ 244,573 $ 230,000 Fringe Benefits $ 528,183 $ 543,203 $ 599,598 $ 546,233 $ 628,598 Liability & Property Insurance $ 72,019 $ - $ 91,080 $ 83,266 $ 78,834 OPEB $ - $ - $ 17,277 $ 17,277 $ 21,000 Indirect Costs $ - $ - $ 114,967 $ 114,967 $ 129,324 Contractual Obligations $ - $ - $ - $ - $ 39,529 Compensated Absences $ - $ - $ - $ - $ 15,000 Debt Service Interest $ 61,637 $ 31,837 $ - $ - $ - Debt Service Principal $ 775,000 $ 810,000 $ - $ - $ - Capital $ 52,617 $ 88,708 $ 110,000 $ 110,000 $ 100,000 Prior Year Encumbrences $ 15,222 $ - _ $ - $ - $ - TOTAL EXPENSES $ 3,932,489 $ 3,626,993 $ 3,503,565 $ 3,487,782 $ 3,661,235 Retained Earnings $ (173,416) $ 63,726 $ 137,435 $ 916,148 $ 409,671 Sent: Tuesday, November 17, 2020 1:56 PM To: Golf Commission Subject: Revision of Reserved Member Tee Times for 2021 Hello All, First off, I want to say that the past season golfing experience at Captains has been great and that Mark and Jay and the rest of the staff have been wonderful stewards of the course in these trying times! I am writing today on behalf of a lot of members and especially those like myself who are primarily "Early Member" weekend golfers who only get to play Friday -Sunday or perhaps Monday morning. Before this year, I generally was able to request and get tee times between 6 and 9 am with just about any 3 other golfers of my choice. That was one reason why I thought that the extra fee for an "early" membership was well worth the premium (and, by the way, I personally would pay a higher premium for more of a guarantee of securing these early tee times, although I know that most of my compatriots do not necessarily share this view). But this year has been different, I suspect because there has rarely been times when unfilled guest slots were available be switched the night before to member slots. As a result, since about June 15, 1 have been shut out of weekend 18 -hole tee time requests about as many times or more than those requests were fulfilled. On those days, I have either had to settle for back nine play or try to get in as a single late the night before. I don't think that this is fair to the many early members and I am requesting a full review of the tee time allocation for next year, with the goal of substantially increasing the number of slots reserved for member tee times before 9 AM. I would like to see this change for every day of the week, but I would especially request a modification for at least Fridays -Sundays. I feel that a small reduction of guest tee times will not hurt revenues significantly as I believe that most guests will still choose to play after 9 AM. And members often reserve their times with up to two guests in many cases. (And perhaps the restriction to two guests per member tee time could be increased to 3 guests going forward). I have a few specific proposals that I would put forward for consideration by the Commission, up to and including one that reserves all tee times before 9 for early members until the Chelsea system requests are filled two days in advance. I realize that such a big change might be considered too "radical" and potentially too harmful to greens fee revenue, but I would argue that right now is the perfect time to try this idea out as we are coming off a banner revenue year and the long term bond is now paid off. We need to think about the member's sustaining support of the course and try a strategy of "sharing the wealth" to see what impacts such a proposal will produce. I would be happy to discuss these and other ideas for a more equitable tee time allocation process at a future meeting of the Commission if there is interest in such a discussion. Thanks again for all your work and support on behalf of the Captains Golf Course. John Attanucci Sent: Saturday, April 17, 20217:53 PM To: Golf Commission Subject: Allocation of tee times Golf commission It is my understanding that the commission is considering changes to the allocation of member tee times. Last fall I wrote the commission with my thoughts and they have not changed. They are: 100% allocation of the members course tee times, members sign up one week in advance, any open tee time after the sign up period can be sold to the public. Increase membership fees (not done in 2021) Limit new members (not done in 2021) Obviously Covid has given raise to the increased popularity of golf and Captains should take advantage of this and it has as membership continue to increase. Now you need to satisfy your customers. Thank you Tom Magner Sent: Monday, March 08, 20219:32 AM To: Golf Commission Subject: Lack of member tee times Hello, I am e -mailing you due to concern over the lack of tee times that are available for Brewster residents that are members of the Captains Golf Course. I am a weekend player and last year there was a lot of difficulty on getting tee times for members and this year is looking to be worse. Many new members have joined the course since the pandemic and the percent of tee times available for member has stayed the same making it difficult to get tee times. The Captains course was built for the residents of Brewster and that has not been the case with only 20% of the tee times available for members, this needs to be increased. Can you tell me if the percentage of tee times available will be increased this yea r. Thanks, Bill MacLeod Sent: Monday, April 19, 20219:44 AM To: Golf Commission Subject: Tee Times Golf Commissioner, I understand that there is a meeting on April 27th and the projected lack of tee times will be discussed based on last year and the influx of new memberships. Based on last year I am sure the members will be blocked out many times this year on a regular basis, I am a weekend player for the most part and it is discouraging to get blocked out of a tee time for a course that I am a member of as a town resident. The course was built for the residents of Brewster and I think that this is being lost. I have a few ideas that I would like to suggest: * Make one course 100 % for members and the tee times have to be requested 5 days in advance. 3 days before the tee time any tee times that have not been taken by members will be open to non members. Non members would have 100% of the non member course and what is left on the member course. This can go both ways with any tee times not taken on the non member course can be take by members 2 days before the tee time. * If more tee times are made available for members assuring members that they will not get blocked out of tee times, it would not be unreasonable to increase the cost of memberships. I would rather pay more for a membership and be assured a tee time than pay less and get blocked out on a regular basis. * The way things are done now are to cater to the non members and this is wrong. With the supply and demand for tee times it would also not be unreasonable to increase the non member fee's. Thanks, Bill MacLeod Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 20211:32 PM To: Golf Commission Subject: Concern over tee time allocation I have been a member of the Captains Course for over 20 years. I have enjoyed my membership over the years and believe that the Captains Course makes Brewster another reason to live here. Given the increase in membership and the current split of tee times between members and non members the chance of getting a tee time is about 1 in 3. for members. Over the last couple of years the case of getting shut out has increased noticeably. I would hope that the Commission would increase the allocation from 12% to 25% on the smaller split and set a limit to the membership level. Perhaps current members could be polled to define proposed solutions. If tee times availability becomes a bigger problem I fear that long time members will become less loyal to the Captains Course and begin seeking alternative golf opportunities Bob Mumford Sent: Wednesday, April 21, 202110:30 AM To: Golf Commission Subject: Membership I think we should put a cap on new memberships. I also think we should increase the percentage of teetimes available to members. I think members would rather pay a little more and have more access. For those of us who live in Brewster, the beauty of Captains and the convenience and availability are A treasured port of living here. Thanks for all you do. Bob Cohen -- member number 2960 April 22, 2021 To the Golf Commission: Thank you for taking the time to consider my thoughts regard the increase play we have seen at the Captains which I suspect will be with us for some time into the future. First let me say that as a member I am very pleased with the selection of Jay Packett as Director of Operations. Jay is working hard at creating a presence while providing excellent communications to the membership. This is critical skillset that Jay exhibits every day. And likewise the selection of Colin Walsh as Golf Course Superintendent is already paying dividends. The work of Colin and his team can be seen every time I play. And now with the growing season finally here I know we will have 2 of the best courses the Cape has to offer. And now my thoughts regard the number of members and the increase demand for public play. I apologize in advance if my thoughts are not well organized but I thought it was more important to get them on paper. My opening statement is that I would like to suggest we place an immediate moratorium or freeze on accepting new memberships. Especially nonresident membership. I feel the demand for tee times cannot be met with the increased demand for play (member and public). This was evident all last summer when the tee sheets were full from early morning till 6 pm 7 days a week. It has already began again this year when a rumored 3600 rounds were played in March and members could not get times. If we haven't done so I would think we should survey our membership and find out who they are. I don't think we are strictly a retirement community any longer. With many people working remotely I think the population/membership is changing and this will not be a short term bleep. I think with Covid still being the danger it is and golf being one of the safest activities available this will also be reflected in who is playing, when they want to play, and how often they do play. Please fact check any numbers I reference as they are based on my memory and I think they are close to accurate but might be off a little. Within a few years of the Captains opening we had approximately 1200. In the bylaws the nonresident membership was restricted to 100 members. I believe this restriction included a line about nonresidents only from towns that did not have a town owned course. I do not recall the initial fee a nonresident was charged but I believe that when the 2nd course open the fee was increased to $1500 and eventually got to $2000. The feeling was we had a premium product (which we do). Tee sheets were full until noon maybe 1:00. Many members played only 9 holes. Many people played only Monday thru Friday. A high percentage of the membership was retired or seasonal. For this reason I suggested earlier a survey of who the membership is. In the early years members were allowed 50% of the tee times available on the member course and 20% of the tee times allowed on the nonmember course. I think it was somewhere around the year 2000 the State/Cape was saturated with golf courses and the demand declined. The Captains felt this same impact and membership declined to 600 — 700 hundred. In an effort to attract nonresidents the bylaws were changed to allow for 200 players at a fee of approximately $1500. Somewhere around this time the nonmember course percentage was changed to 12% to allow for more public play and in ordered to generate more cash to support the operation. It was probably around this time that the clause "only from towns without a town owned course" was eliminated. All this shows that the Course had to remain flexible and adapt to the changing times. That leads us to this past year and the upcoming year. Last year we saw the beginning of a new demand to play golf ... the safe, outdoor activity. I think we took in 100 plus new members both resident and nonresident. We had approximately 1100 members. This year the trend continues. I think we have added 150+ members, many of whom were nonresident and we are now exceeding 1200 members. Before we have 1200+ disgruntled members who can't get tee times I would again ask that we place a moratorium or freeze on memberships (at least nonresident) until we better understand how to deal with this problem/opportunity. Again, as we did in the past, be flexible to the changing times. I believe there was an Algorithm created some years back to help understand how much money is needed annually to support the operation of the Captains. Included in it, I assume were assumptions about how many members were needed at various price ranges to meet this need. I think this algorithm can be revisited and updated to reflect the present circumstances we are living in. I also assume this algorithm can calculate the number of member tee times needed on both courses to be fair to the membership while supporting the financial needs of the club. I do not think that 50% and 12% are valid numbers with my proposed increase in membership fees (below). I don't think the original 509/o/20% formula is valid any longer either. I just think we need to relook at it. I think we need to be biased toward resident members. I think with the changing demographic we can charge more for a membership giving percentage price breaks to seniors and juniors. I think a nonresidents should be from a town that does not have a town owned course. I think their fee should revert back to $2000. 1 think if they want early morning privileges their fee should be $2500. Although I don't want to pay more money for a membership I think we can charge more. Or we can at least structure it so that there is a premium for the number of rounds played during June, July, August, and September. I think we can charge more of a premium for early morning play for residents. I think early morning play should be for the year as opposed to only July and August. I also believe that it should be for the first 2 hours of play or all tee times on the member course prior to 9 am, whichever is greater. I think that all tee times that are not booked as of 4 pm the day prior should be made available to the membership at that time as opposed to being made available at 8 pm (people need to be able to plan). I would like it considered that when the 1st tee time becomes 6 am on the weekend that it also goes to 6 am Monday thru Friday. I know it is later during the week to allow daylight time to work on the course but perhaps Colin has some ideas on how to accomplish this. I would also like it to be discussed that during the off seasons based on demand and weather that Jay and Colin have the flexibility to open both courses at times when there is demand. And revisiting the algorithm one last time, as another option to open up more member times I would think that if it is felt the membership needs 10, 20. or however many more times they could be taken from the public and increase everyone's membership proportionately to cover this lost revenue. Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts. Sorry about being so long winded. I'm just concerned. I've been a Brewster resident for 22 years now. I retired a couple of years ago. My hobby is playing golf. And now that I have the time I sense the opportunity is slowly be taken from me. Especially during this new normal we have seen over the past year plus. Sincerely, Steve Litwinowich