January & February 2020
H a pp y Ne w Ye a r f ro m R o y a l O a k s C o u nt r y C lub!
Hello Fellow Members!!! I hope everyone had a great holiday season and is excited for the challenges of the New Year. It was a privilege to serve on the Board these past three years, and I appreciate the support of the Membership to be given the opportunity to serve for another term. Before moving forward and discussing plans and our vision for 2020, I think it’s important to reflect on a few of the meaningful events that occurred in 2019. First, I want to congratulate Mardo Guerra on receiving Royal Oaks Employee of the Year. Those who know Mardo appreciate the kindness and warmth that he has brought to our Club over the past 15 years, along with his passion for delivering great service. There were several others that just as easily could have won this award, and we appreciate the dedication and hard work from them all. Our staff continues to develop and strengthen as they all focus on making our membership experience awesome. We are lucky enough to have other outstanding staff members who were nationally recognized for their performance in their field of expertise. Most recently, Pam Owens was recognized in Golf Digest as one of “The 50 best Golf-Fitness Trainers in America”. We are also proud to announce that both Derek Hooper and Robert Scott were recognized by Golf Digest as being top teachers in the state. We really appreciate what all our outstanding performers bring to Royal Oaks to make our Club so special. The biggest success story for the Club and the most significant event of 2019 was the Charter Resolution. The Charter/ Non-Equity Members and the Charter sub-committee worked hard to develop an amicable agreement that resolved the timing and minimized the future payouts associated with our refund obligation. There was over $1.5 million that was 100% surrendered to the Club, with more to come upon a successful vote of a Long-Range Plan. It would have been extremely difficult to move forward with any sort of capital improvement project without the ability to reduce the Club’s refund obligation and plan for future payouts. This has greatly strengthened our capacity to face the continued challenge of Membership growth and roll out the first phase of the Long-Range Plan. We continue to make progress towards final stages. The rollout of a capital improvement plan obviously generates a certain amount of excitement and anxiety. We don’t take this lightly, and plan to take ample time discussing and informing the membership on all facets of this plan and the future vision of the Club. It is imperative that we remember that we are the “Owners” of this Club and are in charge of investing in it today and in years to come; so that Royal Oaks will prosper now and for future generations. Without any significant investment, our Club will not be able to stay relevant in the competitive market of Houston, which will continue to put a hardship on Membership growth and our existing Membership. We must all strive to be positive ambassadors of Royal Oaks and create an environment that embraces progress to avoid a “stuck in our ways” attitude. We were once the Club in Houston that everyone tried to emulate. It is time to get back in the lead with fun and innovative new ideas! I look forward to our upcoming “All Committee” meeting January 16th, and appreciate the dedication of all of the Members who have volunteered their time and expertise by serving on a Committee. I am very excited about our Club’s future and the opportunity to serve this Membership. Sincerely, Luke Drury, Club President Royal Oaks Country Club
Royal Oaks Country Club
Ladies Association Happy New Year and welcome 2020! Was your New Year’s resolution to join the ROCC Ladies’ Association? You’re already a member, you say? Sounds like the best way to start 2020! Our members keep busy with the many active pursuits offered by ROCC, whether it is golf, tennis, pickle ball, or Sports Club classes. Our Ladies’ Association offers even more! We aim to provide a variety of fun social activities, and to promote and foster friendships among our members. We offer regular games and activities to keep your mind sharp and your social calendar full. Mahjong is every Monday. Bridge is on Tuesdays and the occasional Friday. Love dominoes or want to learn to play? Mexican Train is the first Thursday of each month. How about Bunko? We have a fun group that meets the first Tuesday of each month.
If games aren’t your thing, our Royal Bookies book club meets the last Wednesday of the month. Enjoy a lively discussion with your fellow bookworms, and then head upstairs for our monthly ROCCLA Happy Hour to enjoy themed cocktails and appetizers prepared especially for our association. Wait-there’s even more! We have special events planned throughout the year! Watch for February’s field trip to the Museum of Fine Arts on February 11, and couples’ bunko in February to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Check your Royal Oaks app or call the clubhouse concierge to sign up, and make 2020 a year to strengthen old friendships and foster new ones in Royal Oaks! The Ladies in our Association ROCC
our 2020 l adie s asso c iation c hair s are re a dy to m ak e th is y e ar gre at!
Membership Director Meghan Smith msmith@royaloakscc.com
Dear Royal Oaks Members, Coming off our 20th Anniversary year and entering a new decade, we are so excited about the Club’s future! The team has really come together, and we have a united goal of 'WOW’ing our Members, every day, in all that we do. After all, our main job is to be the best hosts we can be for you while managing a healthy club. We can’t do our jobs without your engagement and we hope to share many great memories with you in 2020. It was last January that I received the life changing news that I had Stage III Invasive Ductal Carcinoma breast cancer. Talk about a curve ball! Through the support of my ROCC team and you members, I was able to beat it by November. Coming to work each day was a huge blessing to my healing journey. It gave me purpose and brought me joy. Now that I have my energy back and a whole new lease on life… LOOK OUT!! We are going to have a lot of fun this year. I have always said that your Club is what you make it. We have plans in 2020 to update the website, streamline communication and host more “New” Membership engagement events to ensure everyone in the family is getting the most of your membership. We want you to be proud of your club and share the luxury country club experience with your friends and colleagues. If you have a question; please ask us. If you have a suggestion; we are open to your feedback. If you have a concern, please share directly with a member of your executive team so we can look into it. We are only as good as what we are communicated and that is up to each of you. We can’t promise we can make it all happen, but we can promise to listen and be completely transparent. Thank you for all you do in creating a positive, fun and friendly community here at Royal Oaks Country Club. If we have not had a chance to meet, I hope you are able to stop by to make an introduction the next time you’re here. Cheers to 2020 and the bright future of Royal Oaks Country Club! Many Blessings to you and yours, Meghan Smith Membership Director
November and December Dan and Anna Alexander Vic and Claudia Seekman Arnil and Rajshree Swani Daryl and Jenny Selzer Bennett and Beatriz Goodman Worth and NiNi Hale Carol and Bob Swiech Mark Yunovich and Jill Lynch Itamar and Liz Levy
Communications Update Hello Members! With a wrap on the holiday season and 2020 upon us, I'm sure resolutions for the new year have been at the forefront of your thoughts and plans! What do you want to achieve this year? Are you hoping to improve your golf game? Get more active and healthy? Maybe spending more time together will be a focus for your family. Communications Manager Sylvia Morgese smorgese@royaloakscc.com
@ R o ya l Oa k s h t x
Everything you need to start 2020 off right is here at the Club! We've got a new Golf Instruction Program launching, a free Know Your Numbers event at the Sports Club, and several opportunities for a family affair coming up on the calendar. More information on all of these awesome opportunities can be found throughout the issue! While we are on the topic of visions and goals, one of my ambitions for this year is to ensure the Royal Oaks app and website are easy to navigate and up-to-date. If you have any suggestions or feedback regarding the current app or website, please let me know. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram @RoyalOaksHTX for pictures, videos, updates and more -I look forward to sharing your tags and stories in the new year! Sylvia Morgese Communications Manager
Follow us on I n s ta g r a m a n d Facebook for feature s, specials, update s and more!
Catering and Events Director Allyson Brown abrown@royaloakscc.com
Be Sure to Save the Date and RSVP for Upcoming Events! Saturday, January 18:
Couples Dance Class Thursday, January 30:
Asian Themed Dine Around for Chinese New Year Sunday, February 2:
Super Bowl Tailgate Party Friday, February 14:
Sweetheart Dinner
Will 2020 Be Your Best Golf Year Ever? Director of Instruction, Derek Hooper | dhooper@royaloakscc.com As you look back on your 2019 golf year, I hope it is one full of memorable rounds, with fun people, on amazing courses and many rounds of low scores. If that is not your recollection of 2019 and you are looking for bigger and better things from your golf game this year, now is your chance to make decisions and design a plan that will give you the best opportunity to make 2020 your best year of golf ever. Robert Scott and myself will be attending the PGA Show in Orlando in January. During that week, we will be attending several educational seminars with the express purpose to learn the newest developments in coaching and ways we can help you to play better golf this year. With that in mind, we are excited to be launching a new Coaching program in February. Based around helping players shoot lower scores without making changes to their swing, we know this will be a very popular program for the membership. Please see the details below. Derek Hooper Director of Instruction
New golf Instruction Program the scoring system: registration now open! You want to shoot lower scores, beat your playing partners and maybe compete in some of the Club events, but your golf swing has been with you for many years, and the thought of taking golf lessons to make swing changes just doesn’t sound that appealing. You have a busy life. Work, family and other commitments draw on your time leaving precious little time to get to the range and work on your game. But for all your efforts you are not seeing lower scores when you play your weekly game. The practice you are doing just doesn’t seem to be yielding the results it should for the effort you are investing. You love working on your game and are able to invest several hours per week. On the range you hit the ball great. On the putting green you make putts from everywhere. Yet when you get on the golf course, all those skills disappear and you play nowhere near the potential you demonstrate during practice. From years of research, study and experience we have designed a program specifically to help players learn a simple way to maximize their practice time, allowing them to develop improved skills that will transfer to the golf course, all without making technical changes to their golf swing.
Another Exciting Season Ahead Head Golf Professional, James D. Brown | jbrown@royaloakscc.com
2020 Winter Operation 36 Program Registration December 2019. With 2019 in the booksOpens and another joyous holiday 1,Mark your calendars now for the multi-vendor Demo season behind us, it is time to start preparing for 2020. At this point, most golfers have heard that there is a new World Handicap System that will be used worldwide to consolidate and simplify the handicapping process. The Professional Staff has been working diligently to clarify and adjust how these changes will be implemented here at Royal Oaks. Please stay tuned for updates and communication regarding the implementation of the new system in our weekly emails.
We are looking forward to another exciting year of golf Tournaments and Social events in 2020. The WGA has their Annual Meeting scheduled for Wednesday, January 8th, following the 9-hole Scramble, and the MGA will kick off its Season on Saturday, January 11th with the One-Man Scramble. We hope everyone will attend! We are glad to see several Members on the Golf Genius app for information and live scoring. We plan to continue utilizing the Live Scoring feature for those participating in events, as well as providing information to those not playing so they can follow the action. It will not be long until Spring is here, and we will be ready to take advantage of warmer weather on-course.
Day scheduled for Saturday, March 28th, from 11a – 3p, Titleist, Ping, PXG, Callaway, Cleveland/Srixon/ XXIO and Taylor Made are all scheduled to be here. Derek and Robert have scheduled another instructional semester of Operation 36.This program is sure to prepare those golfers wanting to take up the game of golf from the ground up and help you become comfortable with the golf operation all the way to those golfers wanting to take your game to the next level. It’s not too late contact Derek to sign up now for the 2020 Operation 36 schedule as classes are filling-up quickly. Also, do not let your golf game go into hibernation during the cooler months, keep your game in top shape. Contact the Instructional Staff to help you improve your golf games, find more fairways, hit more greens and make more putts…book your lesson today. Please remember to visit the website for the upcoming events around the Club and upcoming MGA and WGA tournaments.
James D. Brown PGA, Head Golf Professional
Congratulations
Derek Hooper and Robert Scott!
Derek Hooper and Robert Scott were named two of the Golf Digest Best Teachers in State list: TEXAS 27.) Derek Hooper, Royal Oaks CC, Houston 35.) Robert Scott, Royal Oaks CC, Houston Derek Hooper was awarded the Player Development Award of the Southern Texas PGA for 2019. Derek Hooper was recognized as a Top 50 Operation 36 Coach, out of the registered 695 coaches worldwide. We are proud to have this amazing talent and dedication on our instruction staff!
Slow Start to Winter
Golf Course Superintendent, Cody Alexander | calexander@royaloakscc.com
Winter is a little slower to get started this year than last. We have had terrific weather the last couple of months and it has kept the turf growing and actually allowed it time to recover from the frost we received in early November. This has of course kept us busy with regular mowing practices continuing later than in year’s past. We will again be focused on winter projects as the New Year arrives and many of these projects will be similar to last year. Some focus will again be given to drainage improvements but attention will also be directed toward landscape bed enhancements, continued tree trimming and removal of collar dams around the greens. We have a busy winter in store for the golf course maintenance team and it’s all in preparation for the coming growing season. This time of year is crucial for our success as a facility when we are able to reallocate our resources to the projects that ultimately improve the conditions of the course versus the regular maintenance routine. On behalf of the Royal Oaks Maintenance Team we hope that you had a terrific holiday and we look forward to seeing you out on the course in 2020. Enjoy your round! Cody Alexander Golf Course Superintendent
Sports Club News Fitness Director, Pam Owens | powens@royaloakscc.com
Member Spotlight: Vivian Tastard "As a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation physician, I truly believe in preventing disease and aging well with fitness and health. Starting 5 years ago, I slowly introduced more healthy habits in my life that extended to my family too. I began training on a regular basis with Johnny Reyes at the club and made sure my meals are composed of healthy organic foods with limited processing, plus manage the portion size. My sessions with Johnny have allowed me to improve my health and fitness and I look forward to the training each week. In the Sports Club, besides working out with Johnny I love running on the Woodway treadmill because it is easy on my knees. Also, I recently joined the ladies tennis league and take drills and lessons from Peter Farrell, Tennis Director. It is a great new social skill that challenges my brain. I do all this for me. I realized I had focused so much on my kids activities but now I realize how much I need to take care of myself too! "
Heart Healthy Workout: Make these intervals part of your workout routine in the new year!
Sue Donahoe Shares: Pilates and Fall Prevention There have been numerous studies regarding the effectiveness of Pilates and balance. In just one study out of California State University, the data analysis showed participating in Pilates Reformer classes just once a week for 10 weeks, showed reduced fall risks, significant improvement in static and dynamic balance, functional mobility, balance self-efficacy, and lower-extremity active range of motion. If balance is of concern to you, contact Sportsclub@royaloakscc.com to schedule a Pilates session with Sue Donahoe on the Reformer.
Upcoming Programs For Men Get on Track in the New Year with these Coaching and Nutrition Opportunities!
Holiday Season at ROCC
Calendar At-A-Glance
Calendar details subject to change. Please refer to the online calendar for details and most updated version.
Calendar At-A-Glance
Mission Statement: Royal Oaks Country Club provides an environment of enjoyment to all Members and their families by offering exceptional golf, fitness, recreational sports, social and dining experiences. Vision Statement: To be recognized as the private club of choice for Houston families by offering a convenient and relaxed lifestyle with superior amenities and facilities. Values: Members • Members are our most important asset • Membership is a privilege through a thoughtful selection process Amenities • First class golf and recreational sports experience • Remarkable social experiences promoted by members Employees • Attract staff who are high performers and outstanding in their field • Uphold fiscal responsibility through effective Club governance Community • Promote fellowship in a welcoming social environment • Adhere to the Golden Rule…treat others as you want to be treated
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