PRESIDENT'SMESSAGE
Written by Jim Walker
Late July and August have provided some trying weeks around the club and Port Royal Plantation. In addition to the inordinate high temperatures and humidity, Debby’s visit early in August had a significant impact on our courses and courts – even though the storm was fairly mild in the grand scheme of things
Twelve-plus inches of rain left standing water over much of the area for a week or more, brought down a number of trees and branches, washed out many/most of the bunkers, and left truckloads of debris that had to be removed. Of course, we won’t even go INTO the mosquito situation – Aye yi yi!! Suffice to say that blood donations on the island have been low of late because few of us had any left to spare
Thankfully, racquet and golf play was only halted for a few days, in sharp contrast to other clubs around the island, some of which were down for over two weeks A round of applause is due to our spectacular staff and maintenance crews – a big thank you all around! Rest assured that Heritage is absorbing the full cost of the cleanup (which is expected to amount to a half million dollars or more). Those of you familiar with private “member equity” clubs will recognize that, in similar circumstances, the members wind up on the hook for these costs – typically via an assessment Thankfully, that is not the case here
Fingers crossed that the weather moderates and we have our typical spectacular Hilton Head Island fall season as we welcome our non-resident members back from their summer retreats and head into a busy September Upcoming racquet and golf events include the tennis member round-robin and grill dinner on Sept. 5 and the monthly Nine and Dine on Sept. 19 (open to all golfers) In addition, Ladies golf has several big events cued up, including the 18hole Round-Robin Match-Play Tourney, 18-hole Sadie Hawkins Day, and the first round of the Ladies 9-Hole Championship. Meanwhile, the Men’s golf schedule includes the Two-man Match Play Tournament and the start of the fall men ’ s league. September then culminates with the three-day Heritage Invitational Member-Guest Buckle up!
FYI, as part of a periodic bookkeeping reset, Heritage will require that all credit-book balances earned up to and including Oct. 31, 2024, be spent on or before December 31, 2024. Credits earned in November and December of 2024 can roll over into 2025, however
Finally, it is time to start addressing the makeup of next year ’ s PRPC Board of Governors and the nomination process has begun As per PRPC By-Laws, the Board comprises ten elected members, each serving two-year terms, with five members rotating off each year. This year ’ s nominating committee includes Guy Suchy, Linda Gorski, and Jim Stauffer, who are currently working to put together a slate of candidates for election to the PRPC Board with terms beginning January 1, 2025
Note that the PRPC By-Laws also stipulate that any member can directly nominate a person or persons for election to the Board by submitting a petition with at least five signatures from members in good standing That petition must be provided to the nominating committee by Sunday, September 15, 2024. Should you wish to directly nominate one or more people, please deliver the signed petition to Guy Suchy, 4 Viscount Ct , HHI, SC 29928
The final slate of candidates will be announced in the October 2024 edition of Around the Clubhouse, which will also include a voting ballot and directions for casting your vote. The new board members will then be announced at the Annual Meeting, to be held on Nov 12
FUN Written
We will not have a “big event” planned for September due to the Heritage Invitational MemberGuest golf event; however, mark your calendar for Monday, September 9th for our Monthly Member Social. These monthly events continue to be very well attended and priced at $10 per person You can’t go wrong The Monthly Member Social was never designed to be a full meal It has always been meant to be appetizers and light bites We have occasionally been spoiled by the generous offerings, but please don’t expect that every month. This is a social event, not a themed meal event Happy hour bar pricing is in place
Please remember to register through our portal so we know you will be there and we have enough appetizers Please note the date change to 9/9/24
RSVP HERE
The monthly NINE AND DINE will be held on Thursday, September 19 at 4:00 PM with a shotgun start Play nine holes of golf and then join us for dinner Registration is in the Sports Shop and your $25 (golf members) fee includes nine holes of golf, your cart, and dinner. Non-golf members pay $35 If you are a new member of the club, we will be happy to pair you up with another golfing couple so please don’t hesitate to sign up
SIGN UP in the Sports Shop
Coming up…Get ready for some spooky Halloween fun on October 21st. We will be holding a Halloween Party complete with costumes, contests, and prizes More to come on what promises to be a spooktacular club event at the great price of $30 per person
RSVP HERE
Stay frosty and see you AROUND THE CLUB!
GOLFREPORT
Written by Bud Henry
The invitations are out for the Heritage Invitational Member - Guest Golf tournament If you have not seen the invitation and are interested in joining the fun, please reach out to myself (budmanh3@gmail.com) or Mary Grace (mtabb@heritagegolfgroup.com), and we will get you set up.
Registration stands at 20 groups so far and we are hoping to get at least 4 more, but preferably 30 total to fill out 6 flights The Australian-themed event should be a lot of fun and will follow the format of the recent Member-Guest events There will be 5 matches, against the other teams in the flight, with top teams vying in a shootout Saturday afternoon
With the days getting shorter and shorter, the Sanctioned Tee Time committee met to review adjusting starting times and to review the usage of the groups that have sanctioned tee times
The committee decided to defer the review of usage until later in the fall, based on the recent heat wave, Hurricane Debby closing a course for a week, and many members traveling. The Early Birds (currently teeing off a few minutes after sunrise) will move to a starting time of 7:56 am on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday To keep open tee times between sanctioned groups, the 18 Hole Ladies will move one slot to 9:00 am on Tuesdays and the 9 Hole Ladies will move back 2 slots to 9:00 am on Thursdays. The other groups will maintain their current starting times These changes will be implemented in September and should remain through the shift to daylight savings time in November, and adjust back sometime in the spring As noted above, usage will be reviewed in October, and changes may occur after that review.
Until next month, wishing you many pars and birdies!!
LADIES GOLF COMMITTEE
Written by Linda Gorski
Just back in town and at my desk after 4,010 miles and 28 days on the road! Missed most of the August heat, all of Hurricane Debby, and (hopefully) mosquito infestations Happy to be back – I think
As most of you know, the Wonder Woman’s Tournament scheduled for August 16th was canceled due to lack of participation attributed to intense heat, epic bugs, and folks traveling out of town. We will try to reschedule the event, but our next Wonder Woman’s Day is already scheduled for Friday, October 18th Watch for updates
John Strasburger sent me the minutes from the Men’s Golf Committee meeting that was held earlier in August and included some important course information for lady golfers including updates from Jay Rusch on course conditions following Tropical Storm Debby
Jay reported that the Primary focus and grounds-related work has been, and will continue to be, clean up and restoration from the storm which dropped 12 ” to 15” of rain over a 3-4 day period
Arbor Nature has been contracted to assist with tree removal Most of the fallen trees, limbs, and debris have been removed; however, there are many broken limbs on both courses which are dangling in the tree canopies Tree pruning will continue until mid-September
Cart path repair has been completed in several areas: namely, the driving range parking area, RR # 18, as well as inside and above the tunnel
Many bunkers have been washed out Sand must be replaced to build these bunkers back up Fungicides are being applied to eradicate the mole crickets and armyworms.
Mowing & rolling of greens has returned to the normal schedule
The annual Car show is scheduled for Nov 1-3 The first day this year will be at the airport and the second and third days at Port Royal Golf will be open for members, however closed for public/resort play (The driving range and practice area will be closed)
Bill Whalen and Jay Rusch are working on scheduling a rules seminar for all golfers. Watch for updates
Finally, watch for announcements from your ladies’ groups on when they will return to later morning tee times as the days grow shorter The 18-hole ladies have already announced that they will go back to a 9:00 am shotgun start beginning Tuesday, September 3rd
Hit ‘ em straight! Please let me know if you have any questions about Ladies Golf at Port Royal!
Linda Gorski lindagorski@cscom
713-557-1496
18 HOLE LADIES GOLF
Written by Gay Halleman
CONGRATULATIONS to LIZ BAILEY
HOLE-IN-ONE on Robbers Row Par 3, Number 15 on Tuesday, August 20th
The group had lots of fun at lunch following golf and generous drinks provided by our hole-in-one star Liz's shot was directly at the pin and quickly disappeared into the cup Way to go Liz!
Unfortunately for Liz, it was my birthday so there were more ladies at lunch to provide "spirits" for Sorry about your Club bill, Jerry
Below is the birthday group before eating the yummy and beautiful cake. Missing were Polly and Carole who had to leave before the singing began
From the left, Mary Zych, Hiltrud Gabler, Sophie Burger, Cheryl Moore, Heather Stevens, and Carol Duffin Sitting beside birthday girl
Gay is our big star of the day, Liz Bailey. Many thanks to Sheila for the cake slicing and taking the pictures, which also allowed Carol Duffin to be in the photo
Sophie and Gay
9 HOLE LADIES GOLF
Written by Karen Simpson
The Dog Days of Summer seem to be never ending
On August 2nd, eleven gals braved the heat and played Robbers Row. We were playing “Throw out the two worst holes. “ (If there are a bunch how do you know which ones to pick?)
Jackie Darling came in 1st with a net score of 20 There was a tie for 2nd with a net score of 21 by both Tess Hegedus and Nancy Simpson with the tie going to Nancy Simpson, as her gross score was lower. Carroll Lindseth had the lowest gross score of 34, way to go Carroll and all the other winners!
On August 8th, the courses had many branches down and water on them due to a hurricane named Debby Barony took the brunt of the damage and they were able to get Robbers Row open by noon. We all stayed home and cleaned up our properties.
On August 15th we had 9 brave souls who weathered t bugs, along with mosquitos even biting through our clothes. The game was “flick or fling”. Some of the grou embraced it fully, while others did not With that being said, congratulations to Arlene Jenkinson who had the lowest gross and net score, way to go Arlene Jenkinson Congrats also to Jackie Darling for coming in second an Karen Simpson for coming in third.
One of our gals was celebrating a milestone birthday so Jackie Darling arranged for all of us to sign the birthda banner before it was hung on the birthday girl’s house
Thank you to everyone who came to the club for our tee-time dinner with the guys It was great fun to see everyone Hope you all had a good time Good drinks, dinner, and outstanding company made for a great evening at Port Royal Golf and Tennis
Did you know that on August 18th, 1920, women got the right to vote? We all got a FREE mulligan for anyone who dressed in a women ’ s suffrage color.
Here is the meaning of the colors:
Purple is the color of loyalty, constancy to purpose, and unswerving steadfastness to a cause. White is the emblem of purity, symbolizing the quality of our purpose
Gold is the color of light and life, as the torch that guides our purpose, pure and unswerving.
On August 22nd, it was a beautiful morning to play the back 9 of Barony Some of the ladies had never played holes 10-18 before. Everyone seemed to have a good time. Drumroll please, Rhonda Heuple came in first with a score of 50 and a net score of 32, and Mary Beth Strasburger came in second with a score of 59 and a net score of 35 Congratulations Rhonda Heuple and Mary Beth Strasburger!
Thank you to Sarah Fanjul, for being our Director of the Month (DOM) and the brave soul that had a month with 5 Thursdays
Our 3rd quarter meeting will be on Sept 11 at the Beach House with details to follow soon. Please always post your scores after every round, think about the pace of play, and remember to hit them straight.
MEN'SGOLF
Written by John Strasburger
Only one men ’ s golf event to report on for August; Super Men’s Day on Wednesday, August 14th We had a strong turnout of 36 players (9 teams)
Given the heat index August is known for, we pulled our fastest pace-of-play format from our SMD playbook– “Step Aside Scramble.”
Thepaceofplaywasverygoodandwell-appreciated Allteamscompletedtheirroundswithin3½to4hours. Tospicethingsup,weaddedagreenteeandagoldtee onthefront&backnineofRobbersRow Teamswere freetopickwhichholestoplaytheirgreenandgold tees.Inanefforttodrivethegreenafewteamspicked hole#1toplayfromthegreenteemarkers)–Ithinkit wascloseforseveralteams-butnocigar
PicturedfromlefttorightisthewinningteamofJohn Dreyer,LannyBailey,PresidentJimWalker,and dapperNigelJoneswithanetscoreof57.Mostofthe remainingteamswerechasingtheseguyswithnet scoresrangingfrom60to64
Nigel Jones captained his team to a net 57 (15 under par) These guys came out of the gate really well, scoring multiple birdies and a net eagle, going 5 under par after 6 holes. Afterward, Dottie Pepper caught up with Capt Jones Dottie tipped her hat to his team’s play on the Par 5 hole #14; Lanny Bailey became the de facto step-aside player when Walker’s drive, Jones’ approach shot, and Dreyer’s putt carded a natural eagle. When asked why Bailey was kept out of the hole, Nigel responded well it was extremely hot out there today and somebody had to keep the beer cold
Next up:
Men’s 2-Man Match Play Major
Round 1, to be played on or before Friday, September 6th
Round 2, to be played on or before Friday, September 13th
Final Round and Consolation Matches
to be played on or before Thursday, September 19th
Heritage Invitational Member-Guest:
Practice Round: Wednesday, September 25th
Tournament Match Play: September 26-28th
RACQUET'S UP!
Written by Angelo Verde
“Summer
Breeze Makes Me Feel Fine”!
If you remember the old Seals and Croft tune we had a cool breeze blowing for some of the early morning sessions this month Can the cooler fall temperatures be on their way? Well, it’s a little early, but we can always hope
Cookout
by the Court- Member Round Robin Thursday, September 5th
We will start play at 5:30 as the grill gets going. At 7 pm we will enjoy burgers, hot dogs, sides, and fixings with a beverage. If you haven’t signed up yet please email Dale at DBOWN@HERITAGEGOLFGROUP.COM. You don’t have to play to enjoy the cookout and nonplaying spouses are welcome SEE YOU THERE!
Have you thought about how to improve your pickleball play? The following is taken from an article by The “Dink Media Team” which talks about 5 shots that may be hurting your game
Your fifth shot from the mid-court. A controlled balanced approach toward the kitchen is the only way to survive. Too often players are caught moving forward and make a mistake on their fifth shot. Over The Net.
2
1. Making your opponent’s third ball more difficult comes at the cost of your chance to play a great fourth ball then the trade-off isn’t worth it
3
Your slice dinks down the line Save the slice dink for the cross-court exchange where there is more space to work with and more room for error
4
Your cross-court attack The attack is all about removing time for your opponent to react. When you attack cross-court you give your opponent more time to react than with an attack straight ahead.
You just get it in serve. You’re losing a chance to put pressure on your opponent by just getting your serve to land in. Practice hitting a deep and effective serve to give your team a better chance to win the point
5. Reminder with the weather becoming warmer court time will be at a premium for early morning times Most days there is group play, clinics, and lessons all happening between 8 am and 1 pm
Court Maintenance
I would like to give a big shout-out to Dale and the maintenance team for getting us back up and running very quickly after “Debby” visited our island Great job guys! Outstanding items are the rehab of tennis benches and continued monitoring of the court five playing surface. If you see an issue that needs to be addressed please let Dale know.
Other committee news:
The committee is working hard with Dale and Jim Henington to come up with a great program and Friday night dinner for the Member-Guest Tournament October 18-19 It’s not too early to confirm your guest selection and get travel or practice time scheduled Monday afternoon round robin has been dropped due to lack of participation but Wednesday afternoon from 3 pm to 5 pm will still be offered
Please use the recycle container for used tennis balls outside the Sports Shop near court #1
Key Dates remaining for 2024:
Member Round Robin September 5th Thursday evening October 18-19th Member/Guest tournamentNovember 13th - Closing Dinner – Beach House
Dale’s Corner
Trouble with volleys?
If you feel like many of your volleys are going into the net, try moving forward more as you hit, and make sure you don’t use your wrist More forward momentum from your legs and less wrist action will help your volleys stay firm
Don’t forget to sign yourself and visiting guests up for Dale’s weekly clinics and round-robin play. Check the site and the pro shop for dates and times.
Follow Dale on Instagram and Facebook @tenniswith dale
The warm temperatures continue! Remember to dress appropriately for summer play Lather on the sunscreen, bring plenty of appropriate hydration drinks, add a cool towel and rosin bag to your tennis bag, and stretch and warm up properly As always we hope your racquet play is improving, your member experience is at a high level and you are enjoying your time with friends and or the competitive play!
Above all HAVE FUN!
Terry Herron in Concert
Nine & Dine
TaylorMade Fitting Event
Halloween Costume Party
