CREEK
STAFF DIRECTORY & CLUB HOURS
Joel Inman - General Manager/COO jinman@laurelcreek.org
Elisha Carson - Controller ecarson@laurelcreek.org
Patty Fagan - Director of Membership pfagan@laurelcreek.org
Erin Schafer - Director of Events eschafer@laurelcreek.org
Karen Wright - Clubhouse Manager kwright@laurelcreek.org
Ryan Reeves - Director of Food & Beverage rreeves@laurelcreek.org
John Geller - Service Director jgeller@laurelcreek.org
Nevada Groulx - Director of Communications ngroulx@laurelcreek.org
John Slade - Director of Golf Course Operations jslade@laurelcreek.org
Bob Hennefer, PGA - Director of Golf bhennefer@laurelcreek.org
Brett Fernandes, PGA - Head Golf Professional bfernandes@laurelcreek.org
Peter Rosenblatt - Executive Chef prosenblatt@laurelcreek.org
Carol MacLennan - Director of Tennis cmaclennan@laurelcreek.org
Mike Holak - Pool Manager mholak@laurelcreek.org
Golf Course
Tuesday to Thursday 8:00 a.m. - Sunset
Friday 7:30 a.m. - Sunset
Saturday & Sunday
7:00 a.m. - Sunset
Pro Shop
Tuesday to Friday 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Saturday & Sunday 6:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Tennis
Courts are open for play
Dining
Pub & Bistro: Tuesday thru Thursday 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Saturday & Sunday 9:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Blu
Friday & Saturday evenings 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Pool & Oasis
Open 7 Days a week
Monday: 11 am to 9 pm
Tuesday: 10 am to 9 pm
Wednesday: 10 am to 9 pm
Thursday: 11 am to 9 pm
Friday: 10 am to 9 pm
Saturday: 10 am to 9 pm
Sunday: 10 am to 9 pm
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Joel Inman GENERAL MANAGER
Michael Hughey President
Dean Kramer
VicePresident
John Venne Treasurer
Erich Herkloz Secretary
Scott Duman
Sean Fox
Kiel Gilliland
John Higgins
Thomas Koerner
Greg Markus
Chris Noyes
Tyler Prime
Watch Joel’s July/August Newsletter via the link below:
https://vimeo.com/988531177
Reading a hard copy? Scan the QR code below:
Patty Fagan
DIRECTOR OF MEMBERSHIP
We are always looking for ways to enhance your member experience. One way we do this is by ensuring we can recognize you and your family when you are at the club. The Laurel Creek app allows you to upload a photo to your profile, which is visible internally and can also be seen by other members on the apps Member Roster unless you choose to make it private in your preferences. For security reasons, we do not allow your children to be visible under your account in the mobile app; only members and spouses are listed under the member roster. However, we still want to recognize your kids by adding photos to their individual profiles. These photos will be strictly used for internal purposes, allowing our staff to better recognize and serve each individual member of your family. We assure you that these photos will not be made public or shared outside of our internal systems. Whether you are dining in the bistro, checking in at the Pro Shop or entering the pool, knowing you and your children by name is important to us. Please help us better serve you by emailing me photos of each of your family members at pfagan@laurelcreek.org.
Referrals are the highest compliment we can receive at Laurel Creek Country Club, and this is especially true in 2024. This year, we proudly welcomed 66 new members. Of these, 65% were referred by existing members, 30% were newcomers to the area or not acquainted with current members, and the remaining were previous members who rejoined our community.
It’s important to note that we experience an 8% annual loss in membership due to resignations, which aligns with the national average for private clubs. These resignations are often due to factors beyond our control, such as relocation, health issues, or financial hardships. Replacing these members is crucial, not only for the vitality of our club but also for maintaining financial stability and minimizing dues increases.
Thank you for being an integral part of our community and for your continued support. Your referrals help us maintain the vibrant and thriving atmosphere that defines Laurel Creek Country Club. Together, we ensure that our club remains a welcoming and enjoyable place for all members, both old and new. Enjoy the summer and as always, if you know someone who would be a great addition to our club, please refer them to me. It would be the greatest compliment you could give.
NEW MEMBERS
The Gandi Family
The Higgins FamilyThe Orton FamilyThe Vyas Family
The Huergo FamilyErica Carestio & Chris Colasurdo
The Long Family
The WitherellFamily
Bob Hennefer
DIRECTOR OF GOLF
Congratulations to our Men’s Club Champion Greg Markus and our Women’s Club Champion Katherine Liu!
In today’s 36 hole final match, Greg Markus defeated Andrew Gallagher, our runner up! In the Women’s Club Championship Katherine Liu fired a second round 72 to defeat Lauren Patullo by one shot!
A special congratulations to all of our flight winners listed below as well!
Men’s Palmer Flight Winner - Henry Chou
Men’s Arnie Flight Winner - Steve DiPascale
Men’s Medal Flight Winner - Scott Duman
Women’s Mickey Wright Flight Winner - Eileen Burke
All of our Champions have earned their place at our Champions Dinner at the end of the season, Congrats!
LCWGA
June has been a busy month for ladies’ tournament play at Laurel Creek WGAP, Jersey Girls, Women’s Trenton District Golf Association, Wednesday Tournaments, Nine Hole Match Play League, 9-Hole Invitationals, first round of President’s and Secretary’s Cup but the Directors’ Award goes to Susan Kaufman and Stephanie Moccia for PLAYGOLF, the Member-Member Tournament produced over two weeks. Opening Day was played on Wednesday June 5th and the final curtain was on Wednesday June 12th ending in Blu with cocktails, a yummy lunch and the presentation of awards.
The “stage” was set and competition fierce but performances by the following teams were victorious: Nine Hole Overall First Place was won by Susan Studley and Mary Heselton (they also received the Artistic Director award for the beautiful tables) from the cast of Funny Girl; Overall Second Place went to Joanne Seltzer and Rita Gordon from the cast of Wicked. Susan Kaufman and Stephanie Moccia from the cast of Dreamgirls took Overall First Place for the Eighteen Holers with Christine Blessing and Kelly Redkay from Bye, Bye, Birdie winning Overall Second Place.
Best Choreography went to Mary-Ann Stack and Lorraine Filimon from the cast of MJ:The Musical who surprised golfers with a performance right before lunch. Their Moonwalk had the audience cheering for more! Finally, the Legally Blonde cast of Rachel Licausi and Jennifer Kramer received the Best Costume Award with Jennifer Halfpenny and Heidi Bourke from Waitress receiving Honorable Mention! Congratulations to all the winners and participants and a shout out to our terrific Pros for organizing a fun tournament.
This year’s Ladies Member Guest will be held on Wednesday September 25th. Please be on the lookout for an email this month with the official invitation which includes all the details. This event is open to all Laurel Creek ladies with full golfing privileges. Reach out to Kelly Redkay or Eile Burke with any questions. Always a fun day!
See you on the course!
Ryan Reeves
DIRECTOR OF FOOD & BEVERAGE
I don’t know about everyone else, but this summer has been flying by for me! In this summer heat, I can’t help but look forward to the cooler months approaching. We have a lot of great member events that are coming up in the fall that will be a great kickoff to the cooler season.
First up, we have the Labor Day pool party and carnival on Monday, Sept. 2nd. This is going to be a great event to wrap up the summer festivities. I do not think we will need it, but the pool heater will have us covered with a great water temperature at the pool. We will have our usual kid fan favorites with the water slide and bounce house set up and ready for fun! We will also have carnival games and prizes available. For our adult members we will have axe throwing, pie eating contest, BBQ specials, and DJ bumping summer tunes.
On September 8th, we have our character brunch. I have yet to see a character brunch in my time here at Laurel Creek, but what I have heard is this is a really great event for the kids. Having their favorite costume characters here to hang out and take photos with will be a treat. I love how family friendly our club is, and I think that goes to show how much we care about our membership and their loved ones.
I know Patty Fagan and I are really excited about our Dinner en Blanc on September 26th. This is a luxurious white themed ball that is a pop-up all over the world. It usually has the mystery of the location being announced the day of in a major city and everyone shows up in their best white attire with their own tables and dining set up for their friends. Don’t worry we are not expecting you to bring all your own accoutrement to dine with us!
The location of the event will be a surprise the day of though! Somewhere on the grounds of the club, we will have an extravagant white dinner set up for you with a chamber orchestra playing elegant music. We will also have tickets available for a raffle with some great prizes.
On October 5th we will have our annual family friendly Octoberfest. October is my favorite time of the year with cool weather, all the changing colors, and Halloween. Beer will be flowing with local vendors offering samples of their products. This year we will have a petting zoo with all your usual small farm animals as well as miniature horses and ponies that I think the kids are going to get a great kick out of.
All these events are on the app with more details and tickets to follow. Please reach out to me or any of the F&B team for questions about these upcoming events.
BILLY CLEWELL
Erin Schafer
DIRECTOR OF EVENTS
Watch Erin’s July/August Newsletter via the link below:
https://vimeo.com/988546505
Reading a hard copy? Use the QR Code below:
ATTENDANT
Carol MacLennan
DIRECTOR OF TENNIS
CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS – Time to register for Tennis Club Championships at Laurel Creek. Members may play in up to 3 tennis or pickleball events. Entries close on August 1st. Draws will be made the first week in August. Events include Tennis and Pickleball Men’s and Women’s Singles, Men’s and Women’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles. This year we are adding a Parent/Child category. Age limit for the child in this event is 16. Winners of the Singles events will earn the privilege of a personalized parking spot at the tennis courts. To register, go to Tennis in the app and click on Tournaments. Select Men’s, Women’s, Mixed or Junior Event and Register using your name. Once you confirm your reservation, a box will come up where you can enter the events you are playing and your partner’s name.
LADIES MEMBER GUEST – Everyone had a great time celebrating Flag Day while playing in the Ladies Member Guest Tennis event on June 14th. All the players sported red, white and blue tennis attire in honor of flag day. Congratulations to the winning duo of Chris Zajac and her guest Clare Verdon who defeated Sue Williams and her guest Lynda Tobin. Great Tennis, ladies!
JUNIOR SUMMER TENNIS CAMP – Tennis camp is going strong, despite the heat wave!!! These kids are tennis animals! Camp runs until August 23rd. Save the Date: Monday, August 26th is Junior Club Championships. Check with Carol for more details.
USED TENNIS BALLS – FREE FOR THE ASKING! Contact Carol at cmaclennan@laurelcreek.org
Questions about Tennis? Contact Carol at cmaclennan@laurelcreek.org
John Slade
DIRECTOR OF GOLF COURSE OPERATIONS
Without trying to attribute a cause, it certainly appears that things are heating up. In the short term we can point to June, which had an average high temperature of 87.7 degrees--this is hotter than the month of July typically is.
Abnormal temperatures for a single month or two might be considered an anomaly, however a look at the USDA plant hardiness map shows New Jersey having shifted from 1990 to 2015:
While we aren’t ready to start farming bananas and pineapples quite yet, evidence of these changes can easily be seen on the golf course. Two examples of this are “warm-season” grasses which now call Laurel Creek home, and are shown growing in approaches:
DallisgrassBermudagrass
Ten years ago, it was rare to find these on the course. Today, they are widespread, and it’s a battle to keep them from encroaching into the close cut turf.
Upcoming Events JULY
