La Vie May & June 2021
Spend Your Summer Here At The Club!
A Message from the President Hello Fellow Members! I hope everyone has been enjoying the wonderful weather we’ve been having lately and has been able to get active and engaged here at the Club! Whether you’re playing a round of golf, joining one of the many events happening, or heading out to the Tennis courts – we encourage you to take advantage of the weather and all the Club has to offer. This time of year is also a great time to invite your friends and family out to the Club to join in on the activities and to show off the Club. Now that Spring has officially sprung, we just launched a new Membership Program initiative, that all our Members should be sure to take a look into. This program was built with the future of the Club in mind and we think this will bring in a variety of new faces. There is also a great incentive for referring Members where you and the one you referred will both receive a complimentary gift certificate between $500 and $1,000 to use on goods and services here at the Club! I’d like to encourage all of our Members to take advantage of such a great opportunity to recruit and help grow our Club. If you have any questions about the program, please reach out to our Membership Director, Meghan Smith at msmith@royaloakscc.com. With a lot going on around the Club, our Capital Project Sub-Committee has also been hard at work meeting regularly to discuss and plan our future efforts. We have a great committee put together and I know that the Membership can be fully confident in all the decisions being made amongst this great group. We will continue to keep our Membership updated as things continue to progress. As we look forward to the remainder of the year, I think we can all be extremely hopeful and excited in life both here at the Club and outside of the Club. We have so many great opportunities and activities that the whole family can look forward to and we hope all our Members are excited for all that is to come! I look forward to seeing you all around the Club! Sincerely, Dave McMahon Board of Directors, President
SHHHHH... LADIES ONLY Almost halfway through the year and we are for sure enjoying spring and the beautiful weather. Life is slowly moving towards normality and Royal Oaks Country Club Ladies Association has enjoyed and scheduled many fun activities.
Spring Wine & Unwind/Couples Yoga is on Tuesday, May 4. It will take place at 6:30 on the croquet lawn. After yoga, we will enjoy a wine flight and charcuterie at the Palm Grille and watch the sun go down.
We are also incredibly happy that games such as Mah In March ladies enjoyed a very popular walking tour Jongg, Bridge, Mexican train dominoes, and Bunko to Westmoreland. We learned about the histories of have started again. Book club also meets in person the beautiful houses and early Houston history. After every last Wednesday of the month. the tour, we enjoyed a delicious lunch at Postino in Montrose. If you would like to find out more about our group, check out the ROCC app or website. WGA and ROCCLA hosted a joint happy hour on the last day of March. It was great fun with golf games Your membership in Royal Oaks Country Club qualifies and delicious small bites. you for membership in the ROCCLA. The annual fee is 50 dollars, this is money well spent on lots of fun. Our monthly Lunch Bunch has so far been a great success. It takes place on the third Monday every Call the club concierge and request to join today! month. May Lunch Bunch is on Monday, May 17, at Thai Gourmet. Sign up on the website or the app. Don’t miss getting together with your Royal Oaks friends for a nice and tasty lunch. Bingo evenings are always great fun! Don’t miss our May 11 Bingo. Every last Wednesday of the month is our wonderful and well-attended monthly Ladies Happy Hour! Enjoy a specialty cocktail created especially for us, wonderful food, and meeting with your ROCCLA friends. Make sure to put the last Wednesday in your calendar and don’t miss getting together with your ROCCLA girls for Ladies Happy Hour.
CLUB CONTACTS General Questions/Club Reservations: Concierge 281-899-3200 | concierge@royaloakscc.com
Membership:
Membership Director - Meghan Smith 281-899-3207 | msmith@royaloakscc.com Membership Assistant - Lizz Barber 281-272-6665 | lbarber@royaloakscc.com Member Statement/Accounts Receivable 281-899-3253 | ar@royaloakscc.com
Dining:
Assistant Manager - Gregory Constantinou gconstantinou@royaloakscc.com Pick-Up/To-Go Orders The Bistro: 281-899-3230 The Turn: 281-899-3227
Events:
Catering & Events Director - Allyson Brown 281-899-3293 | abrown@royaloakscc.com Catering Coordinator - Lauren Davis 281-899-3290 | ldavis@royaloakscc.com
Sports Club:
Front Desk 281-899-3250 | sportsclub@royaloakscc.com Fitness Director - Pam Owens 281-899-3236 | powens@royaloakscc.com Tennis Director - Peter Farrell 281-899-3219 | pfarrell@royaloakscc.com
Golf:
Golf Shop 281-899-3270 Head Golf Professional - James Brown 281-899-3205 | jbrown@royaloakscc.com Director of Instruction - Derek Hooper 281-899-3217 | dhooper@royaloakscc.com
Welcome New Members March & April Stephen Dabney Folkert Ruiter & Matchteld DeHaan Dr. Billy & Sarah Cheong Victoria Peck Dennis & Kristina Kelleher Craig & Alicita Collins Jim & Allee Crosby Charles Jeong & Amber Cho Jeffrey & Felisa Torres Brian & Janelle Fitch Brett & Maegan Vinson Craig & Leanne Gilchrist Dr. Matthew & Victoria Smith Steven & Sandi Wolf Nsima & Ese Ekere Jason & Rebecca Kaniss Nick Pecoraro Joe & Liz Ivers Reid & Savannah Reinmuth Dillon & Chelsea Larson Sue Machamer George & Christine Arzymanow Jason & Stephanie Woodell Vivian Li & Jack Chen David & Viktoria Copley Javier & Tanya Ortega Rodney & Glenna Vickers Jordan & Laura Russell
@RoyalOaksHTX
www.royaloakscc.com
A MESSAGE FROM MEMBERSHIP Dearest Members, I hope you and your families have been enjoying the beautiful warm weather before it starts really heating up! Now that Spring has officially sprung, we are so excited to extend our latest Membership program to you! As a current Member by referring new Members to join the Club, there are huge incentives available for both you and your family member or friend so be sure to take advantage before it’s too late!
We are extremely excited about this new program that is being offered and believe that it will bring in lots of fresh new faces to become a part of the Royal Oaks family. This new program is available through September 2021. If you have any questions, please contact Meghan Smith, Director of Membership, at (281) 899-3207 or msmith@royaloakscc.com.
The next plan will have the following changes: • Preview memberships will be available for Golf, Executive, Sports, and Young Professional memberships. • Each referring Member will receive a $500 $1,000 complimentary gift certificate to use here at the Club on goods and services! Membership Director - Meghan Smith msmith@royaloakscc.com
WHAT’S NEW IN FOOD Dear Members, Thank you for attending our Easter weekend celebration. The team worked hard for long hours in preparation for Easter weekend. I hope you had a great time at the club. We were happy to be here to help you celebrate with your family and friends. We hope to see you on Mother’s Day as well! We are getting closer to the summertime. Palm Grille doors will open in May on Saturdays and Sundays. I have drafted a menu for the Palm Grille with the goal of satisfying your appetite while enjoying your time at the pool with family and friends. The Bistro menu is featuring new dishes. The Fried Shrimp with sweet chili sauce is now on the menu per many members requests. On the healthier side, we are now offering a turkey burger as well as the option to substitute the regular burger and turkey burger for a veggie burger. Tofu is now on the menu as a wonderful vegetarian entrée. The dessert menu now features a housemade brownie a la mode and bread pudding with caramel sauce. Stop by the Bistro and check out the rest of the new items on the menu available for lunch and dinner. We continue to feature daily specials. These specials are created by the culinary lead team and inspired by members requests. Remember to ask your server for the Crème Brulee flavor of the week!
Executive Chef - Eva Barrios, CEC ebarrios@royaloakscc.com
www.royaloakscc.com
Tempura Mahi Mahi Tacos
Fried Shrimp
Cinnamon Sugar Beignets
Pan Seared Tofu
SOCIAL LIFE IN 2021 While we continue to settle back into a normal state of life, one thing that is definitely coming back in a big way is social life! Event inquiries are flowing in, and I know everyone is itching for social interaction and being able to celebrate the special moments in life. With graduation coming up and summer shortly after, we have a full calendar in our future – which is so exciting! I would like to take this time to remind you to call as early as possible to secure your date for your private event, because spaces and prime dates are filling quickly. If you have a graduate you want to celebrate or a summer birthday coming up, now is the time to book!
Catering & Events Director - Allyson Brown abrown@royaloakscc.com
Club social events are coming back as well, and we have already had several successful events this spring, including bingo nights, concerts, wine tastings, kid’s events, and our first annual crawfish cookoff ! Thank you to all the members that came out to support these events and we look forward to many more! As always, your early reservation is very helpful to us in planning and making sure we have enough time to prepare for a great event. Also, we are starting to send event surveys again following our larger events and we appreciate your feedback on these as it helps us to make the events better every time. The surveys are very short and easy to complete, so please take a minute of your time to let us know your feedback. These emails will also include photos from the event, which you can save for your own keeping. Thank you again for your continued support and here’s to a bright and eventful future!
www.royaloakscc.com
Save The Dates... Nine, Wine & Dine May 7th
Family Yoga On The Lawn May 8th
Mother’s Day Brunch May 9th
May 14th
Family Croquet
May 25th
Pizza Drive-Thru
May 31st
Memorial Day Pool Party
June 4th
Family Fun Night At The Pool
June 9th
Family Bingo By The Pool
June 14th
Cooking With Chef Eva
June 18th
Family Fun Night At The Pool
June 20th
Father’s Day Brunch
June 23rd
Family Bingo By The Pool
July 4th details coming soon...
UPCOMING EVENTS...
YOUTH PROGRAMS
Speed Up Your Recovery So You Can Play More Golf
With rest, these negative effects will likely eventually subside but with some post-golf stretching movements you can speed up recovery. Stretching and contracting How do you feel after golf and how long does it along key “lines” through the body along with deep take you to recover? Golf, like many other sports, is breathing releases tension to create a better flow of physically demanding and requires some recovery oxygen, hormones, and nutrients throughout your time. Traditionally, we believed resting would do the body. trick but unfortunately resting alone may actually increase recovery time. Today we cover an effective To know where you need to stretch, it is helpful to view stretch to perform before you rest that can speed up various golf movements along their lines through the body. While there are no true lines inside the body your recovery. we can view movement lines along with the ways we In addition to replenishing your body with water and contract and stretch throughout the swing. These golf good food, strategic stretches can make a big difference movements are typically one-way or one-sided due to in not only speeding up recovery but setting you up the nature of the golf swing. You might understand for better movement the next time you play. Using fully how it feels when you experience tightness in a more active recovery approach with breathing and one side of your back, in one shoulder or one knee for stretching movements provides a better chance of example. “undoing” the harsh effects of golf. Do you experience… Tight, stiff, or achy areas on one or both sides? Inflamed joints from long duration on the course? Exhausted muscles from repetitive movements?
In the RECOVERY STRETCH CLINIC, I’ll teach you 4 active stretches that open up your front diagonal line which goes from one arm across the front of the body to the opposite hip down to the foot, your posterior diagonal line, lateral and rotational lines that are required for a great golf swing. RSVP to powens@royaloakscc.com to attend one of the free clinics on Monday, JUNE 14 at 6 am or 1 pm.
Fitness Director - Pam Owens powens@royaloakscc.com
www.royaloakscc.com
BE A BETTER YOU! Customize A Personal Training Plan Today! Personal Trainer
Pilates Instructor & Personal Trainer
Personal Trainer
Johnny Reyes
Sue Donahoe
Cathy Staerker
Pilates Instructor & Personal Trainer
Personal Trainer
Personal Trainer
Sarah Hannegan
Angie Zoboroski
Curtis Long
LMT
Private Yoga Instructor
Nutrition Coach & Personal Trainer
Gladys Saravia
Jiji Oh
Pam Owens
WHAT’S UP IN TENNIS?
KNOW YOUR YARDAGES I love seeing so many of the membership using our practice facilities to work on their game. Regardless of the time of year, or how hot or cold it is, dedicated players are on the range working hard so they can play a little better on the golf course. When I talk to players we regularly have conversations about the direction in which the ball is traveling, but not often enough do I hear players talk about how far the ball finished from target due to it being long, or more regularly short. I see similar issues when I go on the course with players. We will discuss targets and where the trouble is that needs to be avoided on a particular shot, but rarely will the player offer thoughts on avoiding trouble long or short. When we analyze shot dispersions for any player the general pattern is an oval around the designated target. The oval may favor the right side if the player fades the ball for example, but the shape is still an oval, with shots missing the target left and right, but just as importantly long and more often short. When I ask players how far they hit a particular club they usually quote me the farthest distance that they have ever hit that club. They rarely consider that it is extremely rare for them to strike the ball absolutely perfectly and that in fact, their average distance with that club is yards shorter.
Director of Instruction - Derek Hooper dhooper@royaloakscc.com
So how can you determine how far you hit each club? We are very fortunate to have Trackman technology at the Club. This little orange box that you may have seen the Instruction and Club Fitting teams using, measures a variety of data, one of which is how far you carry the ball. It is very easy to set up a time with one of the instruction team and in about an hour you can leave with a report that clearly shows your average carry with each club in your bag. Armed with this information you can make smarter course management decisions by choosing more appropriate targets, resulting in fewer penalties, more hit greens, and lower scores. Doesn’t that sound like fun?
The ability to know how far you average with each club and its dispersion is critical to making good decisions on the golf course. This would allow you to stay out of trouble and thus avoid big numbers but also hit more shots on the green and close to the hole. It is also the easiest way to shoot lower scores as it doesn’t require a swing change or any additional practice time.
www.royaloakscc.com
RECENT GOLF HAPPENINGS I hope everyone has enjoyed the Spring weather through the months of March and April, (let’s not discuss the freeze, Feb. 14th – 21st). As you can expect the Golf Department remains very busy as we continue the reopening of the Club and see great things ahead of this pandemic. As most everyone is aware we have a bunker renovation project scheduled to begin Monday, June 7th. In preparing for this project below is the upcoming schedule of events. • • • • • •
Senior Club Championship, May 1st & 2nd MGA/WGA Cinco de Mayo Margarita Mixer, May 5th 9/Wine/Dine, May 7th The Invitational Men’s Member/Guest, May 13th – 15th WGA Member/Member, May 18th & 19th Men’s Club Championship, June 5th & 6th
The course recently went through its Spring Maintenance in April. In order to present the course in better conditions for extended periods of time, the next scheduled maintenance will be in July, there will not be a June maintenance performed. The dates will be July 12th – 29th. The range will undergo additional maintenance during the bunker renovation and will be closed from July 27th – August 6th. We apologize for these closures and appreciate your patience and understanding as we undergo the projects. Please remember to visit the website for upcoming events around the Club and upcoming MGA and WGA tournaments.
Head Golf Professional - James D. Brown jbrown@royaloakscc.com
Mr. Gene Williams & His Recent Hole-In-One!
Scene Around the Club @RoyalOaksHTX
APRIL SHOWERS BRING MAY FLOWERS This spring definitely has a different feel to it than in years past. The extreme cold temperatures we experienced in mid-February have made a dramatic impact on the overall aesthetics of the club. The warmer weather we have been enjoying the last few weeks has allowed much of the landscape to bound back to life and the golf course turf is quickly responding to its spring fertilizer. This is typically one of my favorite times of the year as Mother Nature really comes in and sheds some light on the dreary winter months. This year is no exception. By the time you read this, we will have completed our first greens aerification of the growing season. In this first aerification we used small diameter hollow tines to speed recovery and resume peak playability as quickly as possible. Aerification is an important part of golf course maintenance and should never be overlooked. As the course ages, the maintenance practices must adapt to the changing conditions. Thatch accumulation builds over time along with organic matter. Both of these items have a negative impact on air pores and water infiltration in the soil. Aerification helps to relieve compaction and increase pore space to allow better infiltration of water and air by removing excess thatch and organic matter. Be sure to mark your calendars for the upcoming summer aerification of July 12-29. In addition to the traditional core aerification of the greens and other playable areas, we will be carrying out multiple other cultural practices at these times to improve the overall health and playability of the course.
To coincide with the coming end of spring we will replanting our annual color to provide a bright contrast to the sea of green during the summer months. These changes will be taking place throughout the month of May so keep an eye out for any exciting new changes. I am confident you’ll be pleased with what we’ve come up with. We in Golf Course Maintenance look forward to seeing you out here with the beautiful weather of spring and are always here working to provide you with the best conditions possible for your next round of golf.
Golf Course Superintendent - Cody Alexander calexander@royaloakscc.com
www.royaloakscc.com
COME SPEND TIME AT THE CLUB THIS SUMMER! Hello Members! Summer is officially near and I couldn’t be more excited. Summer is my favorite season, not only because of the warm weather and sunshine but because it feels like this season brings everyone together. I love getting to spend time outdoors with my family and friends and find fun new ways to get active. I hope that you take full advantage of the Club this Summer and join us for our upcoming events, fitness classes, and even come out for a dip in the pool! Take full advantage of what this amazing Club has to offer and be sure to share with us your favorite parts. I want to encourage our Members to really engage with ROCC on social media this summer and share your photos and tag us when you’re here. We want to enjoy the memories you make here along with you!!
Communications Manager - Hannah Vines hvines@royaloakscc.com
SHARE YOUR MOMENTS WITH US! Share life milestone’s with us! Birth announcements, engagements, or even retirements. We want to celebrate with you! @RoyalOaksHTX
MAY & JUNE Calendar At a Glance
MAY 7TH NINE, WINE, AND DINE MAY 8TH FAMILY YOGA ON THE LAWN MAY 9TH MOTHER’S DAY MOTHER’S DAY BRUNCH MAY 13TH ROCC INVITATIONAL MAY 14TH ROCC INVITATIONAL FAMILY CROQUET MAY 15TH ROCC INVITATIONAL MAY 17TH ROCCLA LUNCH BUNCH
JUNE 1ST CLUB CLOSED MONDAY HOURS JUNE 4TH FAMILY FUN NIGHT AT THE POOL JUNE 8TH ROCCLA BINGO NIGHT JUNE 9TH FAMILY BINGO BY THE POOL JUNE 14TH FLAG DAY JUNE 18TH FAMILY FUN NIGHT AT THE POOL
MAY 25TH PIZZA DRIVE THRU
JUNE 20TH FATHER’S DAY FATHER’S DAY BRUNCH FIRST DAY OF SUMMER
MAY 26TH ROCCLA HAPPY HOUR
JUNE 21ST ROCCLA LUNCH BUNCH
MAY 31ST MEMORIAL DAY MEMORIAL DAY POOL PARTY
JUNE 23RD FAMILY BINGO BY THE POOL
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DID YOU KNOW? Royal Oaks Country Club holds a 501(c)7 non-profit status, and because of this status, we are not allowed to advertise publicly to gain Memberships. This is why we rely on our current Members for referrals! We offer a variety of Membership options and incentives that will fit your friends or family needs, so invite them in for a tour with our Membership Director, Meghan Smith today! To book a tour contact msmith@royaloakscc.com or by calling 281-899-3207!
IMPORTANT DETAILS *PLEASE NOTE: MASKS ARE RECOMMENDED WHEN NAVIGATING ALL CLUB FACILITIES. We also encourage all our members to practice social distancing and to use hand sanitizer to protect yourself and other members!
www.royaloakscc.com
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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