Grounds

GOLF AT A GLANCE

March through May

See Golf Genius or the Golf Calendar for more information

SEASON-LONG MATCH PLAY

Open to all season golf members • Golf House to create brackets • Winners advance to next round • Handicap tournament

13th Annual Season-Long Two-Person Match Play Tournament Teams can be co-ed pairings RSVP: Golf Calendar (March 1) | Registration Opens March 1 Season-Long Individual Match Play Tournament (The Emich Cup) RSVP: Golf Calendar (March 1) Registration opens March 1 | Register individually

GENTLEMEN

Gentlemen’s Season Opener Friday, April 16 | 1:00pm Shotgun Gentlemen’s Twilight Golf League Tuesdays | May 4-June 22 | 5:30pm Shotgun President's Cup Saturday, May 15 | 9:00am Shotgun Gentlemen's Guest Day Thursday, May 20 | 1:00pm Shotgun 64th Annual Gentlemen's Member-Guest Golf Invitational There is no priority given for timeliness of entry other than meeting the March 30 deadline. Entrants will be notified of their status by April 5. A detailed informational brochure is forthcoming via mail. The information required to successfully complete your registration is as follows:

• Member Name • Member Age • Member Email • Guest Name • Guest Address • Guest Age • Guest Email • Guest Phone • Guest Club Name • Guest Handicap Index • Guest Ghin Number • Guest's Spouse/

Significant Other • Would you prefer a caddie?

Please note: Entries without profile pictures of you and your guest will not be accepted. Please have photos ready at time of submission. Incomplete entries, as well as entries of guests without an established handicap, will not be considered. Online registration is the only registration that will be considered. Phoned or mailed entries will NOT be accepted. Registration opens March 12 at 9:00am Registration closes March 30 at 5:00pm RSVP: Golf Calendar (June 17)

WOMEN

Ladies' 9 & 18-Hole Women’s Groups Interested in joining? 9-Hole: Contact Bryan Martin bmartin@bcc1898.com 18-Hole: Contact KayJay McClay at kmcclay@bcc1898.com Ladies' Twilight Golf League Thursday Evenings | April 22, 29, May 6, 13, 27

COUPLES

9 & Dine Thursday, Friday, or Saturday Evenings May 1, June 12, 25, July 23, August 27, September 10, 25, October 22

JUNIORS

Junior Golf Kickoff Night & U.S. Kids Golf Fitting Event Thursday, April 15 | 5:00pm-6:30pm Complimentary Event After School Clinics Tuesdays & Thursdays April 6, 8, 13, 20, 22, 27, 29 | 5:00pm-6:00pm Future Golfers April 17, 24 | 9:30am-10:00am

GOLF INSTRUCTION

Ladies - Lunch - Rules March 13, 31, April 15 | 11:30am-1:30pm Ladies’ Tipsy Tuesdays at TopGolf March 23, April 20, May 18 | 2:30pm-8:30pm LLAG (Ladies Learn About Golf) Wednesdays | March 24, 31, April 14, 21, 28 | 4:00pm-5:30pm Project 9 Ladies' Golf Clinics From 25 to 150 yards, learn how to minimize the strokes on your scorecard where they really count. 30-45 minutes of short game and approach shot instruction followed by 45-60 minutes of on course instruction during clinic days.

Clinic Days

Tuesdays, Wednesdays, & Thursdays

April 6, 7, 13, 21, 29, May 4, 5, 11, 13, 19, 27

Test Days

Thursday, May 6 & Tuesday, May 25 Men’s Scoring Clinics (Handicap 15+) Wednesdays | April 7, 14, 21, 28, May 5, 12, 19 | 5:30pm-6:30pm Ladies’ Golf Schools Golf schools aimed specifically at different handicap groups, focusing on either short game, full swing, or navigating trouble situations (rough, bunkers, and uneven lies). See the Golf Calendar or the Golf Instruction portion of the website Sips & Tips Ladies’ golf instruction and social series. Enjoy a cocktail over a different topic each session Wednesday, May 19 | 5:30pm-7:00pm (Irons & Hybrids) Golden Girls Series Senior-specific four-week class focusing on mobility and balance while using extra ‘lever systems’ to get more out of your swing. Thursdays | May 13, 20, 27 | 10:30am-11:30am Reluctant Ladies' Golf Clinics 90 minutes of Practice Facility and on course instruction Tuesdays | April 6, 13, 20, May 4, 11, 18, 25 Wednesdays | April 14, 28, May 12, 26 Thursdays | April 8, May 6, 13, 27 Fridays | April 16, May 7, 21 Non-golf members encouraged and welcome

4 WAYS

TO START THE GOLF SEASON SUCCESSFULLY

by Pat Coyner, Lead Instructor For many of us, March signals the end of hibernation and the start of another much-anticipated golf season. We put away the skis and break out the clubs as soon as the thermometer climbs above 50 degrees. Early spring is an exciting time at BCC! Here are four suggestions on how to enjoy the beginning of the golf season. ◆

1 2

CREATE REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS

Golf is not like riding a bike. The first few rounds are probably going to give you a little bit of everything. You will experience some great shots, followed by some miserable shots with seemingly no rhyme or reason. Your timing will not be sharp, and your swing speed will be slower, so patience will be a key ingredient to your success. Realize it’s okay not to keep score or only to play nine holes until your body, mind, and skills are ready to be put to the test.

ESTABLISH YOUR FEELS

Oddly enough, a player’s full swing doesn’t deteriorate as much over long breaks as their “feel” shots do (short game). Be sure to start small in your first few practice sessions, spending most of your time on putting, chipping, pitching, and partial wedges. These are the areas of the game that require touch and feel, so start close to the hole, then work your way back.

3

SETTING GOALS

Many of us have goals, but very few of us actually achieve them. Instead of saying, “I want to get my handicap from a 12 to an eight,” take some time to assess your game honestly. If you can identify your current weaknesses, you’re on your way to improvement. Instead of focusing on tangible results, make it a goal to improve how you achieve those results. Become a better bunker player, improve your course management and strategic skills, and take a green reading course to help eliminate three putts. Try this approach—I think you will love the outcome!

4

ENJOY YOURSELF

I know, it’s much easier said than done. Golf can be extremely stressful, especially when you care deeply about it and dedicate your time to becoming better. At the risk of sounding cliché, golf should be one of the most enjoyable things we do. We play at a beautiful Club with some of our closest friends, and even get to pass along this great game to younger generations. Enjoy the complexity, the difficulty, the excitement, and the ever-changing nature of the game. Golf requires patience and humility, but it also provides joy and happiness-so enjoy it all!

by Tim Kennelly, CGCS, Head Greenkeeper In the December issue, we discussed the work we were doing on the East Course Long-Term Maintenance Plan, developed in 2018 with implementation starting in 2019. Our team finished the drainage on the lower #11 fairway and roughs (between the tee and creek) and the installation of a forward tee on this hole. We will also be extending fairways closer to the tee boxes on holes #7, #10, and #16, and transplanting a large willow oak in the left rough on #7. These improvements are scheduled to be complete by the beginning of the 2021 golf season. To date, 2.2 miles of the 15+ miles of pipe have been installed as part of our Drainage Master Plan. We continue to make progress and are confident we can maximize the collection and transportation of drainage water and provide a consistently well-drained soil profile, healthy playing surfaces that can withstand the summer stress periods, and firm playing surfaces.

What Keeps the Golf & Grounds Maintenance Team Busy in Winter?

The most significant golf course improvements are made during the offseason. In November 2020, we began with our East Course Enhancement and then continued with select removal of small trees and underbrush on areas of the West Course (right #12 fairway and #15 green). This work will improve growing conditions and playability. These types of projects take a significant amount of time and labor to complete. Our Golf & Grounds Maintenance Team prioritizes daily play and Club events, leaving limited time for course improvements, especially during the 2020 season, with record rounds of play on both courses. Even though our staff is reduced by over 50%, the real gains are achieved when man-hours are available, and work can be performed without interfering with play.

Work completed this past winter includes:

• Serviced equipment and preventive maintenance to all golf and grounds equipment • Painted and refurbished course and grounds accessories utilized during the 2020 season • Landscape cleanup and pruning (including the apple orchards on the East Course) • Irrigation improvements and repairs • Pumpstation repairs and maintenance • Green, tee, and fairway aeration and topdressing • Split firewood for clubhouse and firepit use • Staff training in turfgrass and landscape management • Sod projects including the Adirondack area and high traffic areas around greens, tees, and cart paths • Staff recruiting for the 2021 season

Course Openings & Closings

Weather permitting, The East Course is scheduled to open for the season on Friday, March 26. We are excited for you to see the results of our team’s hard work. When the East Course opens, you may still see a few aeration holes from work completed this past winter. Cold temperatures did not allow the holes to completely heal over the winter season. The West Course will close March 29 through March 31 for green aeration and topdressing, along with solid tine fairway aeration. Regarding the West fairways, they continue to mature and have come through the winter with no issues. Recovery from green aeration will take approximately three weeks since this work is being completed when soil and surface temperatures will still be cold. Green aeration on the East Course will take place May 4 through May 6. Think spring! ◆

#11 Forward Tee

Let's Get GARDENING

by Cathy Wagner, CPH, Director of Horticulture March is always a welcome month for gardeners, as it signals the end of winter and the coming of spring. The Horticulture Team took advantage of mild winter weather by completing dormant pruning, transplanting shrubs, adjusting bedlines, planning annual displays, procuring plants, and even laying sod throughout January! We also brought in a crew to prune the apple trees in our orchard to maintain them at a manageable size for harvest and thin the interior branches to allow for better airflow and ease of harvest. We do this biennially and it takes about one week to complete.

As the weather warms and you are ready to tackle some garden tasks at home, remember that late winter and early spring is a great time for pruning, planting, and transplanting. Though it is not a good time to prune spring bloomers (like Azaleas and Lilacs), it is a great time to reduce the size and control the shape of summerflowering shrubs like Hydrangea, Elderberry, Roses, and Butterfly Bushes. Always start with thinning cuts (cuts that remove branches down to their base) to remove dead wood and any limbs that are crossing or rubbing. Then you can proceed to make heading cuts (cuts that shorten the length of each branch). Now is also a great time to cut back and divide perennials. Many of us took gardening to a whole new level last year amid the pandemic, and division is a great way to create free plants to fuel a new found love of gardening. Most plants can be divided after a few years in the ground, by digging up the whole clump and separating (into pieces with three to five shoots) with pruning shears or a garden knife. Plant right away into the garden or pot them up to share with a friend! If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me at cwagner@bcc1898.com. I’m always happy to help. Happy gardening! ◆

Divide groundcovers, like this native Chrysogonum (Goldenstar), by digging clumps from an established swath and transplanting to a new location. Backfill holes with soil and the groundcover will fill back in within a few weeks

Email Director of Racquets Jarrett Chirico at jchirico@bcc1898.com to register today!

Roland Park Five Farms 4712 Club Road 11500 Mays Chapel Road Baltimore, MD 21210 Lutherville, MD 21093 www.bcc1898.com | 410.889.4400

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MAIN NUMBERS

Fitness Center

RP 410.554.8001 x1307 FF 410.554.8017 Golf House: 410.561.3381 Tennis House: 410.889.4474 Racquets Pro Shop: 410.467.1208

DINING HOURS

Lunch: 11:00am-3:00pm Dinner: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, & Sunday: 5:00pm-9:00pm Friday & Saturday: 5:00pm-9:30pm

RESERVATIONS

For all reservations please visit www.bcc1898.com, download our mobile app via the Apple Store or Google Play Store, call 410.889.4400, or email reservations@bcc1898.com.

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