The Creek News May 2023

CREEK

Joel Inman - General Manager/COO jinman@laurelcreek.org | (856) 291-9702

Elisha Carson - Controller ecarson@laurelcreek.org | (856) 291-9703

Patty Fagan - Director of Membership & pfagan@laurelcreek.org | (856) 291-9706

Erin Schafer - Director of Events eschafer@laurelcreek.org | (856) 291-9707

Karen Wright - Clubhouse Manager kwright@laurelcreek.org | (856) 291-9711

John Geller - Service Director jgeller@laurelcreek.org | (856) 291-9713

Nevada Groulx - Director of Communications ngroulx@laurelcreek.org | (856) 291-9715

John Slade - Director of Golf Course Operations jslade@laurelcreek.org | (856) 291-9713

Bob Hennefer, PGA - Head Golf Professional bhennefer@laurelcreek.org | (856) 291-9712

Peter Rosenblatt - Executive Chef prosenblatt@laurelcreek.org | (856) 291-9710

Carol MacLennan - Director of Tennis cmaclennan@laurelcreek.org | (856) 291-9722

Mike Holak - Pool Manager mholak@laurelcreek.org | (856) 291-9723

FRONT DESK | (856) 291-9701 PRO SHOP | (856) 291-9718

Golf Course

Tuesday to Thursday

8:00 a.m. - Sunset

Friday 8:00 a.m. - Sunset

Saturday & Sunday 8:00 a.m. - Sunset

Pro Shop

Tuesday to Friday 7:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Saturday & Sunday 7:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Dining

Tuesday thru Thursday 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Saturday & Sunday 9:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Tennis Courts are open for play

Pool & Oasis Closed for the Season

Joel Inman

There’s a song by Alanis Morrisette called “Ironic”

I’m sure some of you remember it…

” An old man turned ninety-eight

He won the lottery, and died the next day

It’s a black fly in your Chardonnay

It’s a death row pardon two minutes too late

And isn’t it ironic?

Don’t you think?

GENERAL MANAGER

Want to know the truly ironic thing about this song…none of those things are truly ironic. Either just good luck followed by bad luck or coincidences with some not so happy endings.

Speaking of coincidences, I know sometimes we all get wrapped up in our own daily lives that we sometimes forget things that normally we would not. Like coming to the club with a tee shirt on or having a shirt that isn’t tucked in, or wearing a hoodie on the main dining room floor, or wearing a hat at the pub bar. All flukes to be certain, but all also against our dress code policy. It is imperative that each and every one of you takes the time to know our dress code policy, provide it to your guests when you bring them and then adhere to this policy. I can promise you that not a single member of my team looks forward to coming to a member to tell them either they are not, or their guest is not, dressed appropriately. No one enjoys the confrontation, so please follow the policy laid out by the Board. If you don’t know the policy, a link to our dress code is included below.

Another important topic, that unfortunately is not a coincidence, is our reservation policy for large groups. I say it’s not a coincidence only because I see it happen when a group of members all want to have dinner together and they all make a reservation for 4 people. In actuality they are making a reservation for 8, 12 or 16. Once again our reservation policy that any group larger than 7 must go through management and is limited to times that we are confident that we can not only accommodate the larger group, but also all of the other members who want to dine that night. For those that do not know, when a large table orders, the entire kitchen must push that 1 check out so that everyone eats at the same time. What do you suppose happens to all of the other orders that came in behind that check? They wait. Imagine you are here with your spouse, significant other or business associates and a large table orders just ahead of you. You want your food within a certain amount of time and we want to get you your food as soon as we can. How do you suppose you would feel having to wait the better part of an hour to get your dinner? You feel fantastic! (that’s me being ironic). No, you’re upset and wonder why you can’t receive good service?

Listen, we want everyone to enjoy their night dining out with us. But I am asking you to help us, help you by adhering to the rules we have in place. It will give us the best opportunity to create a great experience for you and your guests.

Dress Code: https://www.laurelcreek.org/group/pages/dress-code2

Patty Fagan

DIRECTOR OF MEMBERSHIP

May is finally here and with all the rain the last few days of April, we’re sure to see some incredible flowers blooming this month.

We are kicking off the season with her annual spring fling on Friday, May 5. It’s only fitting to have this event themed Cinco de Mayo and tickets are still available. Please sign up on the mobile app or log onto the website to secure your reservation.

For all you dads out there—don’t forget about Mother’s Day, which is only a few weeks away. We’ve made your life easy by offering a gift basket that includes two bottles of Prosecco, a box of lovely bath bombs, scented candle, and some delicious macarons. There are only a limited number of baskets available so email me to place your order.

We’ve had a steady flow of new applicants for membership in April. Please join me in welcoming our newest additions to the Laurel Creek family:

Patrick & Cara Duffner

David & Kathie Leney

Eric & Dana Marshall

Although golf memberships are by wait list only, there are House and Social memberships available for 2023. If you have a friend or colleague that would be a great addition to our club, please send them my way. I’d love to meet them!

Happy May to all of you and looking forward to a great spring at Laurel Creek Country Club.

NEW MEMBERS

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

The Duffner Family

Dana and Eric Marshall

Daniel Bianco President

Scott Duman Vice President

John Venne Treasurer

Michael Hughey Secretary

Sean Fox

Kiel Gilliland

Erich Herkloz

Dean Kramer

John Higgins

Greg Markus

Chris Noyes

Bob Hennefer

HEAD GOLF PROFESSIONAL

INSTRUCTION TIP OF THE MONTH FROM TEACHING PROFESSIONAL JOHN APPLEGET

I want to talk about the shot off the ground. Nothing more frustrating for a teaching professional than watching players hit behind the ball. “Fat Shots”.

As we look at Colin Morikawa hit an iron off the ground, you can see he will

1. Make the club move in a circle around his body by turning his hips and shoulders

2. Strike the ball on the down side of the circle to contact the ball before the ground.

Simple thoughts that take some practice and fine tuning.

1. Weight transfer to the front foot. Notice how Colin really pushes his left knee past his left ankle and gets “Pressure” into the ground under his left foot as he starts his downswing.

2. Next look at the “Downloading” of his wrist angles as he starts the downswing. His extended arms with soft wrists help get a sharper wrist angle during the transition of the backswing to downswing.

3. “Extension” of the arms at impact and follow through. “TURN” your body to keep the handle of the club extended away from your spine. Straighter arms post impact will help keep the circle past the ball.

4. “Blending” the pressure, downloading, extension and body turn is so critical. Contact and ball curvature will be determined by how you blend it all together. Different sequences help promote certain ball patterns.

Remember, PRESSURE and DOWNLOADING to start the downswing. Then BLENDING arm “EXTENSION “with your body “TURNING” to finish the job.

OVERNIGHT BAG STORAGE

Beginning this month we will also be charging a nightly fee of $20 per night for any golf bags that are left overnight, but do not have bag storage purchased. This will be enforced daily. We understand golf bags can be accidentally left overnight, and members may be playing the next day and may want to leave their bags for convenience. We have 180 members that pay an annual fee for bag storage and to retain fairness, we will be instituting the fee to those that do not have annual bag storage. Accidentally, leave your bag and pick it up, and are not playing the following day? No problem, the fee will be removed. This will help ensure that bag storage does not get abused, and we maintain accountability for our members golf bags overnight.

Sunny skies, the sound of bagpipes in the air, and a golfcart caravan across the bridge could only mean one thing…LCWGA Opening Day! Thank you to Eileen Kennedy and Marybeth Taras for organizing a wonderful kickoff to the 2023 golf season. Cooler than normal temps and windy conditions obviously weren’t a challenge for our 1st place team. Congratulations to Eileen Kennedy (winning must have been on her event planning agenda), Linda Angstreich, Tinamarie LaVan and Jen Broering. Great job ladies! We also want to congratulate Jen Broering for winning longest drive (2 big wins on her first day playing with us), Christine Blessing for closest to the pin on hole 3, Linda Angstreich for closest to the pin on hole 7, and to Noelle Noyes for straightest drive.

In addition to our big winner of the day Jen Broering, we would like to welcome our other new members: Donna McHugh, Molly Mills and Susan Odegard-Schaming. We’re excited to have you all with us this season!

April was full of exciting events for our group. In addition to our annual Kickoff Cocktail Party, we had our first LCWGA Sip N Shop. Both evenings seemed to prove that besides golfing our favorite pastimes include sipping and shopping. It was fun catching up with friends we may not have seen since last season, and meeting potential future LCWGA members. Thank you to the Pro Shop for providing some great sales at the Sip N Shop so we could all make sure we are looking our best on the course this season.

Also in April our 9 Holer Match Play team, The Laurel Legends, kicked off their first season. The team of Mary Heselton, Julie Knowles, Rita Gordon, Sue Studley and Joanne Seltzer showed Riverton on April 14th that nobody was going to come into our house and leave victorious. The Legends won 3 matches and tied 1. Not bad for match play newbies! The second match, which was away on April 18th, proved to be a bit more challenging against the Ramblewood team. Unfamiliar terrain and fierce winds slowed the Legends down a bit. The team of Rita Gordon, Sue Studley, Dana Phipps. Julie Knowles and Joanne Seltzer won 1 match and tied 2. Regardless of scores, The Laurel Legends reported that play was relaxing and fun, and they are looking forward to their next match at the Moorestown Field Club on May 18th. Good luck ladies!

Be sure to check out our June newsletter to find out how our WGAP and Jersey Girls teams are doing. As a reminder, it’s not too late to join the LCWGA. All ladies with full golfing privileges are eligible. We play Wednesday mornings through October, and you can play as little or as often as you like, no weekly commitment. If you have any questions, or would like a membership application, please reach out to Kelly Redcay at kellyanneredcay@hotmail.com.

Karen Wright

CLUBHOUSE MANAGER

It’s really hard to believe that it’s May and in four weeks it will be Memorial Day weekend and you know what that means…..The Oasis officially opens. But there is plenty of stuff going on at Laurel Creek until then!

Cinco de Mayo

Happy Hour Special

May 2nd – May 4th

4:00 – 6:00 p.m.

Street Corn Dip, Chicken Tinga Tacos & Shrimp Ceviche

Spring Fling

“Cinco de Mayo” Celebration

Friday, May 5th

Spots still available Don’t miss out on a Great Night!

Kentucky Derby Specials

Saturday, May 6th Pub Bar

Drink Specials 4-6 pm

Prize for Best Hat

Mark your Calendar!

Cake Bread Wine Tasting Dinner

Wednesday, May 24th 6:30 p.m.

More info. to follow

Why not try something new off the Cocktail Menu?

Creek Water

The Melon Mule

The Oasis

Watermelon Basil Martini

Resting Spritz Face

Pete Rosenblatt

EXECUTIVE CHEF

GUACAMOLE 4-6 SERVINGS

3 RIPE AVOCADOS, MASHED

2 PLUM TOMATOES, SEEDED AND DICED

1 LARGE LIME, JUICED

¼ CUP RED ONION, DICED

3 TBSP CILANTRO, CHOPPED

1 SMALL JALAPENO, MINCED

SALT TO TASTE

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Season to taste.

Enjoy with tortilla chips and a margarita!

*Can be made up to 8 hours in advance. Cover the surface tightly with plastic wrap to avoid discoloring.

DALTON STILTS GROUNDS

Thank

you, Dalton for all that you do!

Carol MacLennan

DIRECTOR OF TENNIS

Welcome Spring and hooray for outdoor tennis! The har-tru courts are playing beautifully and the pickleball courts are popping with activity.

Here’s what’s happening at the courts. All of these events are open for registration in the app. For the Ladies…Tuesday and Thursday daytime clinics. These clinics focus on stroke production followed by strategy and point play. Great for preparing for team matches

For the Men…Tuesday evening Advanced Men’s Doubles Round Robin. This is an opportunity to play high level, competitive doubles

For the Pickleball Players…Wednesday Beginner and Intermediate Pickleball clinics

For everyone…Wednesday evening Mixed Tennis Drill

More Pickleball…Thursday evening Show up and Play Pickleball (no registration necessary)

For everyone…Saturday morning Advanced Drill and Intermediate Drill

For the kids…A.S.K. After School Kids’ Tennis Every Tuesday and Thursday from 4 to 5:30 and for the 5-7 year olds – RED BALL TENNIS Every Thursday from 4 to 5:30.

Heard about Pickleball but don’t know how to play? Register for the Beginner Pickleball Clinic on Wednesdays at 5 pm. We’ll show you how to hit, where to stand (and NOT stand) and teach you the confounding scoring system.

Always wanted to play Tennis but never learned? Or maybe you played as a kid but haven’t picked up a racquet in years? Join in the fun at the Beginner Tennis Clinic on Wednesdays at 5 p.m.

Have you noticed the new Easy on – Easy off LED lights at the courts? Just a reminder to turn them on as needed and turn them off when leaving.

Thank you for using the app to register for events. And now it’s easy to add guests to your court reservation.

UPCOMING EVENTS AT THE COURTS

Pickleball Pyramid Tournament – Thursday, May 25th at 6 pm. Sign up with a partner or we will find a partner for you.

Ladies Tennis Member Guest – Friday, June 2nd at 9 am – Tennis Round Robin followed by lunch

John Slade

DIRECTOR OF GOLF COURSE OPERATIONS

It would be hard to recall a more upside down weather month than this April, with a very warm first half, and a chilly end to the month. The April showers sure did arrive, but again, primarily in the second half of the month. Unfortunately, much of this rainfall occurred around weekends, putting a damper on golf and other outdoor activities.

With the flooding rains to closeout April, we more than doubled the average precipitation. However, despite the chilly weather during the last week of the month, the earlier handful of days in the 80s still had us at close to six degrees above average.

As we often say, when we close the book on this year it might actually be close to average from a precipitation and temperature perspective, but it was definitely a crazy rollercoaster ride to get there.