Wexford Club Times | August/September 2023

In This Issue

Message from the GM, 2 Letter from the Board President, 3

Foundation News, 4

Nominating Committee, 5

September 11 Tribute, 5

Employee News, 6

Clubhouse Corner, 7-9

Golf, 10-11

Harbour/Yacht Club, 12-13

Tennis & Pickleball, 14-15

Clubs, 16-17

Croquet, 17

Wexford’s History, 18-19

Member Photo Gallery, 20-21

Calendar, 22-24

Wexford Briefly

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Officers:

President:

Stephen Carter

Vice President:

Terry Ramey

Treasurer:

Keith Poisson

Secretary:

Lynn Looby

Directors:

Mary Boland

Michael Fajgenbaum

Harry Mellon

John Presley

Chris Wycoff

ADMINISTRATION

OFFICE:

Monday – Friday 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

843-686-6950

Dear Members,

I hear vinyl is making a comeback?

This past year my daughter and I took a stroll down memory lane and decided to satisfy my nostalgic urges. I purchased a “New,” old time record player. You know what I’m talking about that thing with a needle that you place on a black disc and as it spins around it plays music through an amplified speaker. This was mostly my daughter’s idea, but I found it fascinating that an eleven-year-old was interested in vinyl. There isn’t much nostalgia listening to Taylor Swift but it’s vinyl nonetheless. It took all but a couple of hours for my daughter to realize that her new exciting toy was nothing special and that it really didn’t compare to the quality and convenience of what she plays her music on in her room.

Is our club a Victrola?

Patrick McGuire General Manager

clubhouse interior looks just fine. The record is still spinning and “Old Blue Eyes” sounds as good as ever. (That’s Frank Sinatra for you whippersnappers). But to the new generations, they are asking where that skipping and cracking noise is coming from as the needle reveals every physical flaw on the vinyl disk. You see — or should I say, you hear — that in order to appreciate tradition and nostalgia you need to have a familiar reference point. It’s hard to be retro without familiarity. Our next generation of members listens and sees things from a different perspective –their perspective.

Do you remember the day the music died?

Please do not misunderstand me; it is important to advance our club’s traditions and history. When I was at Dorset Field Club in Vermont, I witnessed the Flaming Maple, an annual golf tournament traditionally hosted in the fall when the foliage was at its peak of color. The tree dated as far back as the late 1800s and was recently taken down due to disease, but the tournament continues.

After getting over the lack of enthusiasm that she displayed, I couldn’t help but reflect on how the different generations of our membership view our club. Wexford, like most clubs, is the same in the fact that the older members tend to entrench their views a little more firmly than the younger incoming members. This passion of preservation also gets applied to events as we host golf tournaments or dinners for whatever the occasion. Tournaments get traditionalized, events become stale; furniture becomes fixtures and very little ever gets archived. Just like a record; it just goes around and around, playing the same old tune.

Many new members who come from Generation “X” and Generation “Y” are filing through our doors. Do they have the same emotional attachment to our club that our older members possess? Sure, they will see the immediate tradition / nostalgia of the clubhouse, but just like my daughter with the record player, it’s pretty cool for the first couple of visits, then it becomes old and stale in a hurry.

To our older established members our

Not for a moment do I suggest that we should end our timeless traditions or alter our history. It’s like that old pair of slippers that fit just right that you can’t bear to replace. It is familiarity, the known commodity. As they say, “you know what you know.”

What I am suggesting is that as a club community we need to ensure that our surroundings represent the make-up of our membership and that we review our environment so that we may start new traditions that our younger members will be able to identify. In other words, add a little Drake (ask our kids) to our music mix. The value proposition will shift, and we have to create and adopt elements real time. But at the same time, we must maintain the honor of our established members and resist taking away what makes them most comfortable. It’s a difficult juggling act but one that must be done in order to keep our club relevant.

When do we know it’s time to turn the record over?

It’s important to be a visionary!

Hello Neighbors,

The Fourth of July is firmly in the rearview mirror, our house is emptied of guests and we are more than halfway through the year. Summertime living is easy in Wexford, and I marvel at all of the positive things that Wexford currently offers along with the promise of additional amenities in the future.

with exceptional experiences,” I am excited that we had two excellent finalists and expect to extend an offer in a matter of days.

Stephen Carter President

Our Amenities and Planning Committee has been very active behind the scenes refining the plans for our Clubhouse and Harbor Centre project. They have been making themselves and the current plans available for discussion and comment this week and by the time you read this we should be well on our way to having firm costs and a proposal to put before the owners. I have to say that I am very excited by the prospect of this project. Our Finance team, management and the Finance Committee will shortly begin the budget process for 2024. It is a little tricky since they not only have to factor in the ongoing inflation effect on our costs, but also have to essentially create two budgets. One will be a BAU (Business As Usual) approach and one will reflect the effect if, as we hope, the Amenity Plan passes. Much more on that to come as plans develop fully.

As I look to the next few months I would ask you to look out for the 2023 Member Survey. We will be launching that a little earlier this year so that we may have results before our annual plan is voted on. Similarly the results of our staff engagement survey will also be available by the end of the summer. I would also like to mention again our Strategic Vision. We tried to make it a concise document and I think it articulates some very important principles that should allow for future consistency in planning. Perhaps more importantly it will set out expectations for future Boards, our employees, our current owners and potential new ones. Thank you to all of the owners that are contributing to this effort.

By the time that this letter is published I have my fingers firmly crossed that we should be in the process of welcoming our new Executive Chef. Consistent with our Strategic Vision to be “a premiere residential community providing its owners

Continued from Page 2

My definition of a visionary is one who cares about people we may never meet. Who are the people we may never meet and what will they be playing their music on?

Don’t be afraid of changing with the times. Besides, with most new inventions come convenience, simplicity and possible savings. Be as diverse as the make-up of our membership. Everyone should be able to request their favorite song.

Much has happened with our Golf course over the last few months. The weather eventually decided to get warm and with our late spring maintenance closure behind us it is starting to really look good. The hole 4 project has progressed very well and I think we are all confident that our golf-playing owners will love the finished product. At this time we are projecting that to be when we come back from the summer maintenance week at the beginning of August. Our controlled experiment to kill off the Bermuda grass intrusion on Hole 8 is also showing incredible promise, as witnessed by the large brown spots that have appeared. We will be monitoring this very carefully over the next month and hope to see our original grass reclaiming its rightful place on the fairway.

I also cannot move past the golf course without thanking Chris Neff for all of his years of dedicated service and wishing him well in his new role as a Regional USGA Agronomist. On a less positive note, I am disappointed about the disruptive/unsafe behavior at the Oasis Pool. Despite signage and a published Pool Policy, there have been a number of incidents. For those of us who were here in 2018, you may remember that the construction of the Splash Pool was premised on having two pools designated for different uses. Specifically, the Oasis Pool was constructed to allow for more serious swimming, training, therapy and classes and the Splash Pool for more fun and games and playful activity.

I truly believe that Wexford is wonderful community, but the pool issues are a good reminder that in order for all of us to enjoy all of the various Wexford amenities, we need to abide by the covenants, rules and policies that we all agreed to comply with when we elected to live here.

In closing, as many of you may know, Wexford is celebrating our 40th Anniversary in September. Patrick and his staff have a number of fun events planned so be sure to read upcoming announcements. In the meantime, enjoy the easy living and have a wonderful summer!

Sincerely,

Don’t be the Victrola! Time to flip to side “B”. I will end by saying my intention is not to put my thumb on the scale to sway your thinking one way or the other, but to invoke you to reflect and understand the nuances of an HOA.

Sincerely, Patrick

Charity Spotlight Event

On June 15th, the Wexford Foundation hosted a Charity Spotlight to highlight three non-profit organizations. The pre-happy hour event was held at the Club House and featured Sandy Gillis from Deep Well; Stephanie Brown & Craig Ostergard from Operation Patriots; and Kim Likens from the Boys & Girls Club of HHI.

“Our non-profit partners are staffed by some of the most talented and inspirational people you would ever want to meet”, said Fred Noonan, Foundation Chair. “Through small venues, such as this one, we hope our donors will be able to better understand and appreciate the impact that is being made with their generous support.”

Sandy Gillis began the evening by providing several statistics to highlight the number of Beaufort County residents that live at or below the poverty level. She discussed how Deep Well provides food and clothing as well as helping clients deal with emergency needs like rent, utility bills and home repairs.

Stephanie Brown used the very personal story of her husband’s struggle to adjust to life as a military veteran to highlight the tragic reality that more than 22 veterans commit suicide every day in our country. Craig Ostergard explained that the mission of Operation Patriots FOB was to provide a non-clinical, peaceful, recreational environment where veterans and first responders could share their peer-to-peer experiences to help each other build a brighter, more positive outlook. Since inception they have not lost an attendee to suicide.

The last speaker, Kim Likens, shared the story of how the Boys & Girls Club has grown from its humble beginnings to a well-rounded center with the mission of developing young

people to reach their full potential. She thanked the Wexford Foundation for supporting a variety of programs from tutorial services to computer studies and entrepreneurship. The speakers spent time afterwards talking with attendees during Wexford’s Happy Hour. Their transformational programs are inspiring, and great examples of the good works happening right outside of our gates.

The Boys & Girls Club of HHI: creating a pathway for our youth to reach their full potential.

TOP: Stephanie Brown from Operation Patriots FOB sharing their purpose.

ABOVE: Sandy Gillis discussing the DeepWell Project’s work.

Candidates sought for Board of Directors

The Nominating Committee is soliciting candidates for the 2024 Board of Directors. If you have a career or volunteer skills, private or charitable board or committee experience, or just want to serve your community in a leadership capacity, please let us know by contacting any member of the Nominating Committee. Any Wexford member who is currently in good standing is eligible to run for the Board.

If you are interested in running for the Board, or would like to know more about the process, please contact a Nominating Committee member for more information.

September

11th

Please join us on Monday, September 11th at 8:30 AM to commemorate the 22nd Anniversary of 9/11. We will gather at the pool deck for memorable music, readings, and a moment of silence to show respect for all those who lost their lives. The flag will be lowered to half-staff and we will culminate the memorial tribute by tossing flowers into the water in honor of the victims of 9/11. This year’s commemoration will feature the First Responders of 9/11 with a tribute to all First Responders and the vital role they play in our lives. For additional information call Susan or Peter Halsey at 843-422-6272.

NOMINATING COMMITTEE

Jim Hicks – jim.hicks@logicalmanagement.net

John Cunningham – jctransmat@aol.com

Laura Levine – lauralevine93@gmail.com

Lesley Green – Lngreen1@aol.com

Darlene Marlowe – darlenemarlowe@gmail.com

David Jackson – davjak001@gmail.com

Tribute: 22nd Anniversary

Welcome, Megan Bailey!

Megan recently joined the Wexford team as the new Member Services & Events Coordinator. Megan is a South Carolina native, being born & raised in Lake Wylie, South Carolina. She is a recent graduate from the University of South Carolina-Beaufort with a BS in Hospitality Management. Make sure to stop by the Clubhouse to say hello!

Billy Dearman has been promoted to Wexford’s Director of Greens & Grounds. He has been with Wexford since 2014, most recently holding the position of Golf Course Superintendent. Please join us in congratulating Billy as he continues to grow in his role here at Wexford.

Hoppy 40th Anniversary

To celebrate Wexford’s 40th anniversary, we have partnered with Lincoln & South Brewing Company to make a custom brew – “Hoppy 40th.” Hoppy 40th is a Citra IPA that greets you with an aromatic, hoppy hello of orange and peach.

Lincoln & South is a Vermont-inspired brewery rooted in the Hilton Head Island community, and their team of local craft beer enthusiasts stays engaged in producing the best beer possible.

Make sure to stop by Waves to try it for yourself or take home a 4-pack so you always have a piece of Wexford’s 40th anniversary.

Saturday, October 28th

3:00pm – 5:00pm: Trick or Treat 5:00pm – 8:00pm: Goblin & Ghouls Buffet

Please email memberservices@wexfordhiltonhead.com by Saturday, October 21st, to have your house marked on our Treat Map. After haunting the streets, all goblins and ghouls are invited to join us on the lawn of the Clubhouse for games and entertainment. Prizes will be awarded to those with the most fa-boo-lous costumes.

Hours of Operation

CLUBHOUSE DINING

Monday Closed Tuesday 11:30am – 2:30pm Lunch Only (*Bar service until 5pm)

Wednesday 11:30am – 2:30pm Lunch Only (*Bar Service until 5pm)

Thursday 11:30am – 2:30pm Lunch; 5:00pm – 8:30pm Dinner

Friday 11:30am – 2:30pm Lunch; 5:00pm – 8:30pm Dinner

Saturday 11:30am – 2:30pm Lunch; 5:00pm – 8:30pm Dinner

Sunday 11:00am – 2:30pm Brunch; 5:00pm – 8:30pm Dinner

TO GO HOURS

To find out the Daily Specials or to place To Go orders, call 843-715-0912 during the listed Clubhouse hours

CLUBHOUSE BAR

Monday Closed Tuesday-Wednesday 11:00am - 5:00pm

Thursday 11:00am - Close

Friday-Sunday 11:00am - 4:00pm; 5:00pm - Close

WAVES

Monday - Tuesday Closed

Wednesday - Thursday 11:00am – 8:00pm

Friday & Saturday 11:00am – 9:00pm (Food service will end at 8:00pm)

Sunday 11:00am – 8:00pm

BOBBY’S BASICS

Summer practice advice for the Lowcountry

With these hot days and more to come, we hope everyone is being safe during their rounds and practice sessions. Please remember to drink plenty of water/ electrolytes during practice and take intermittent breaks. Try to limit full-swing practice to 30 minutes and mix in some short game to end your session. During work on the full swing, bring four or five clubs to the hitting area. Hit about 10 balls with each club before moving on to the next one. Not only will this limit your energy exertion, but you can focus on the

quality of swings you are making versus the number of swings you take. On the putting green, seek out the shaded areas (if possible) and take some short breaks in the shade to hydrate.

Pro Tip: Bunkers are usually the hottest spots during these summer months. Try to work on bunker play early in the morning or early evening when the temperature is not at its peak. These practices will keep your game sharp and ready for the Fall season!

New Women’s Course Record

Congrats to Ali Green, head coach for the Dayton Women’s Golf Team. She recently shot a 6 under (66) on the Wexford Golf Course from the white tees. This is a new women’s course record!

Congratulations to the winners of the WWGA Spring Closing Day “Luau on the Links” — Mary Reed, Joanne Staffa, Nancy Noonan & Susan Halsey!

LADIES SPRING CLOSER

LABOR DAY: COURSE OPEN

The golf course will be open on Labor Day, Monday, September 4th.

Congrats, Bobby!

Congratulations to Bobby and Tiffani Blanken who welcomed their first child, a healthy baby boy. Bennett Charles Blanken arrived on Friday, July 21st weighing 8 lbs., and all are doing well.

Carolinas Section Championship

Congratulations to Scott Hunter and Hunter Miller for their performances in the Carolinas Section Championship in Murrells Inlet. Scott shot rounds of 71-73-65 to finish 2nd and qualify for Nationals. Hunter shot rounds of 74-71-74 to finish 26th.

COURSE CLOSED: AERIFICATION

The golf course will be closed for aerification through August 7th. The practice facilities will remain open during this time. The Golf Shop will remain open 9:00am – 3:00pm and closed on Mondays.

Wexford members, along with Scott Hunter and Bobby Blanken, traveled to Ireland in June to play a variety of courses. The group is pictured here at the Cliffs of Mohrer.

4th of July Round-up

A huge turnout for the annual Kid’s Fishing Tournament kicked off our 4th of July Nautical holiday events, and the Nautical/PatrioticTheme Scavenger Hunt created great family fun! We had 14 teams participate to complete 21 “missions” in 90 minutes, while braving brutally hot conditions! Smiles all around though! The teams competing in the hunt, found items around Wexford, answered questions regarding US history and nautical lore, and did sometimes-silly performances! Great fun for the whole family, check it out next year!

The winning teams were:

1 — “Nova” with 6170 points

2 — “We Thought This Was Bingo” with 5980

3 — “SeaCasa” with 5745

Team Nova (the Tokarski family) gets the name-on-the-trophy 1st prize! The Sewells and Hallorans (Team We Thought This Was Bingo) came at #2 were very creative, and SeaCasa (the Casagrande family) came in third, just missing a 3-peat performance, having won the past two years!

Special shout-out to Commodore Steve Duvall for creating all the content for the hunt!

Scavenger Hunt organizer Andy Wilson (left) and Vice Commodore Amy Presley (right) with the winning team “Nova” — Kellen Tokarski, Cass Tokarski, Cade Tokarski and Matthew Spille.

SAVANNAH YACHT CLUB EXCURSION

Happy Wexford boaters at the Savannah Yacht Club! The group docked here overnight and enjoyed the Club’s amenities before heading to Jekyll Island for a twonight stay.

Bohicket Weekend Excursion

Six stalwart boats (and crews) braved stormy skies, rain showers, and strong tides to make their way to Bohicket Marina, a “3-hour tour” up the Intracoastal Waterway to near Kiawah Island (OK, the sun came out too...). Their adventurism was rewarded with great camaraderie, delicious food and copious shopping in a really neat out-of-the-way place!

Bohicket sits on a lovely creek off of the Edisto River, and includes Fresh Fields Village that has shops and restaurants. There are also condos, inns and houses to rent, some of which were used by Wexford members who either rode along on one of the boats going up or drove there. True to the Wexford Yacht Club mantra: You don’t need a boat to participate in your Yacht Club’s activities!

The six boats were:

To The Max (John and Amy Presley)

Worth The Wait (Marty and Cheryl Hahn)

Run A Muck (Kevin and Carol Franklin)

Now and Zen (Graham and Carolyn Dillaway)

Hattrick (Mark and Jean Garrell)

Dynamite III (Joe and Nancy Walsh)

Grant and Peggy Saunders, Andy and Whitney Wilson and John and Kathy Patterson hitched a ride on a boat, while Mark and Midge Crist drove up to meet the flotilla at the dock. Paul and Karen Klasing drove up as well.

Those not staying on boats had great accommodations at The Andell Inn in Fresh Fields Village. Sunday evening was the highlight of the trip with dinner at the 48 Wine Bar & Kitchen, which took great care of the WYC!

(See photos on Page 20)

UPCOMING EVENTS

Navigating our Local Waters Seminar

Tuesday, August 15th | 5:00pm – 7:00pm

To all those people who have been navigating our Lowcountry waters and to the newbies as well, this seminar will deal with local knowledge and how to figure out if you can get to that fishing spot and when is the best time to get there. Not only that but we will give you some vital information about areas to avoid and some places you may not have even thought of to visit. If you attend one seminar this year, this should be it. (well not exactly true, the next one on weather will be a good one as well).

Space is limited. Please register with the Harbour Center if you plan on attending.

King Mackerel Fishing Tournament

September 1st – September 3rd

Fisherman, mark your calendars! This year we will try harder to actually catch some King Mackerels, by holding the King Mackerel Tournament over three days, September 1-3. Biggest fish wins. Captains’ meeting will be held August 31st at 4:00 PM in the Harbour Center.

Hilton Head Circumnavigation

Wednesday, September 20th

Join us for a flotilla around the island (yes, out in the ocean!), then a return to Wexford Harbor for a dockside gathering with BYO hors d’oeuvres and drinks.

Inshore Fishing Tournament

Saturday, September 30th

Heaviest aggregate of 2 fish of the target species of flounder, redfish, or trout, wins the big prize, which is you get to tell all your pals that you won. That’s it, that’s the prize. Oh, and your name on a trophy which is hidden away somewhere in the Harbour Center.

The Captains’ meeting will take place on Friday, September 29th at 4:00pm in the Harbour Center.

Patrick Mason Director of Tennis

(843) 686-8816, ext. 150

pmason@wexfordhiltonhead.com

Tennis & Pickleball

Tennis News

Mike Pollard Head Tennis Professional

(843) 686-8816, ext. 152

mpollard@wexfordhiltonhead.com

There won’t be any more arguing with line judges over calls at tennis tournaments on the ATP men’s tour as of 2025 — because there won’t be any more line judges at those events by then!

The ATP announced that it will use Electronic Line Calling

Live — known as ELC Live — for all “out” calls in all matches beginning in 2025. Every match will still be overseen by a chair umpire, but the line judges who make in/out calls will no longer be present on court.

4TH OF JULY ROUND ROBIN

Thank you to all who came out to play in our annual festive 4th of July Tennis & Pickleball Round Robin Tournament!

UPCOMING EVENTS

Ladies Boot Camp

Saturday, August 12th | 8:30am-11:00am

This action-packed drill clinic day is designed to get our ladies ready for USTA and Interclub. We will work on doubles drills and strategy. $50/Player

Wexford’s 40th Anniversary Round Robin

Thursday, September 14th | 4:00pm

Come celebrate with us and play pickleball and tennis in a round robin format. We will have drinks and appetizers after play. $20/Player.

Wexford Hosts Sea Pines Country Club

Friday, September 15th | 3:00pm

Stop by to make some new friends and enjoy refreshments and appetizers after play. $20/Player.

Kick-Off Classic College Football Tennis and Pickleball Round

Robin

Friday, September 22nd | 4:00pm - 6:00pm

Wear your favorite team’s colors and join us for a fun tennis and pickleball round robin. Drinks and appetizers will be served. $20/Player.

Take CONTROL of your serve!

When you step up to the line with the ball in your hand, you’re in complete control. A well-placed serve will put you in command of the point against someone of an equal level, so you’ve really got to focus on developing it as a weapon.

With your serve, you can start every point attacking your opponent’s weakness. Make sure you focus on where you are standing when you serve. Is it the best angle for where you are aiming? Remember the importance list for serving:

1: Consistency: You want to be around 80% success or higher on 1st serves.

2: Accuracy: Place the serve on the weaker side of your opponent as much as possible!

3: Depth: Aim for the back 3 feet of the service box to place the returner in a more neutral position.

4: Spin: Adding spin to the serve makes the returner have to move to hit the ball.

5: Power: The least important because it usually lowers consistency, but good for keeping the returner from standing too close.

PICKLEBALL TIP Nine essential skills for doubles play

These are the top 9 pickleball skills you need specifically for doubles in order to be a force on the court:

#1 – Dinking and Dink Volleys.

#2 – Attacking from the non-volley zone line.

#3 – Resetting & Blocking from the non-volley zone line & mid-court.

#4 – Baseline Skills which include groundstrokes such as flat drives, topspin dipping drives and underspin (also referred to as slicing) and of course also dropping.

#5 – Transition Zone skills which include drop volleys, drop half volleys, driving volleys as well as driving, dropping and rolling approach groundstrokes.

#6 – Serving

#7 – Returning

#8 – Lobs

#9 – Overheads

Wexford Clubs

Events and Travel Club (ETC)

Highlands Trip

By Kathy Adair

For almost 16 years, ETC members have journeyed to many locations in the South, across our nation, and Europe. Also, the member-board social committee has created a multitude of fun social experiences here at home. This year, 24 members visited Highlands, NC. The weather was fantastic allowing the group to go each day for unique opportunities.

Our first evening included a group cocktail party at the wonderful Hummingbird Lounge at the Old Edwards Inn. Then, dinner was just steps away at the renowned Wild Thyme. For our other evenings, we split up and dined around at many top restaurants.

We certainly did more than dining. Many enjoyed an excursion in the Nantahala rainforest including breathtaking waterfalls. One fall, named Dry Falls, was anything but dry. We walked down many steps to enjoy the pathway around and behind the falls. Definitely a great photo op.

Others braved it with a well-trained

falcon and hawk. We were stunned as we watched Pete, the Falconer, call the birds and direct them to accomplish incredible maneuvers. Four tough ETC’ers got in on the action as they each held one or both of the birds. Of course, their right hand and arm was covered with a thick glove. This was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

The highlight of our trip was connecting with Wexford members Ken and Tracy Asbury at their unique mountain house. All I need to say to have you understand how special this was, is to mention that the house sits over a waterfall… — not kidding. Our hosts provided us with such hospitality when we arrived — …unlimited wine and spirits along with a spread of delicious hors d’oeuvres from cheeses to sweets and on.

I did not forget about shopping! Highlands is a wonderful town with many delightful shops.

Don’t miss out on ETC events to come!

Arts Center Outing

ETC members enjoying a reception and behind-thescenes tour of the Arts Center and the production of the Jersey Boys. On July 30th we returned to enjoy the show!

ECO Tour

Our ETC members enjoyed a 2-hour educational ECO tour with Amber on a beautiful day in May.

Book Club

Find more books you’ll love with the Wexford Book Club! Meetings are held the second Tuesday of each month at 1:00pm in the Waterford Room. For more information, contact Andi Purple at andipurple990@gmail.com

September 12th

The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel

October 10th

West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge

Croquet

Red, White & Wickets

Wexford Croquet players came out in their red, white and blue to celebrate the 4th of July. Thank you to Craig, Robert and Patrick for setting up and providing refreshments.

Aerification

The croquet court will be closed from Tuesday, August 1st through Monday, August 7th for aerification.

November 14th

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

December 12th

The Dog Who Came To Christmas edited by Callie Smith Grant

The Planner’s Perspective Wexford’s History

by Ken Skodacek

Marathon, Byrd, and the Hilton Head Company

In what now seems like “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away,” many diverse and otherwise unconnected elements came together to form what was to become Wexford. In 1980, my then employer Willard C. Byrd and Associates in Atlanta, Georgia, was retained by Marathon Oil Company of Findlay, Ohio, to research the current state of the various existing developments, as well as to analyze the development potential of the undeveloped properties of The Hilton Head Company. Marathon was contemplating the purchase of The Hilton Head Company from Oxford First Corporation of Philadelphia.

I was initially tasked with looking at the two existing developments controlled by Oxford First (Shipyard Plantation and Port Royal Plantation) and what it would take to bring them back to “world-class” standards. Both golf clubhouses had recently been destroyed by mysterious fires, street light fixtures were leaning over at various angles, signage was in a sad state of repair and the gatehouses

were only being manned part-time. Marathon used our report in their final negotiations with Oxford First in the purchase of The Hilton Head Company, and Willard C. Byrd and Associates became the unofficial planners and golf course architects for the various developments owned

by The Hilton Head Company, both existing and proposed.

Fast forward with me almost two years. Mr. Byrd was getting ready to leave our Atlanta office for an important meeting the following day with key members of The Hilton Head Company staff on Hilton Head to discuss the development of what was to eventually become Wexford. He and I had reviewed the base map of the property, which showed the property boundaries, the access from U.S. 278, the existing powerline easement, the marsh front along Broad Creek, and the two existing drainage ways (the main drainage outfall from Shipyard Plantation and a smaller one coming from the Outdoor Resorts development). We discussed the possibility of an internal harbour

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as part of a gated community with an 18-hole golf course. Willard said he would call me when the meeting broke for lunch and go over the details of what was discussed at the upcoming meeting so I could begin the master planning process and have some basic ideas ready to go over with him upon his return to Atlanta.

The Planning & Permitting

As promised, Willard called with the following additional planning parameters: There were to be 525 homesites to be located on the 505-acre tract, with the added caveat that ALL of the homesites overlook some form of openspace amenity (the internal harbour, the golf course, internal lagoons or the marshes of Broad Creek); i.e., no two homesites could back up directly to one another. I immediately began laying out the community as I saw it, beginning with the concept of having the golf courserelated development around the outer portions of the community and planning the harbor-related homesites on whatever space was left in the interior of the overall tract. The golf course routing quickly fell into place, with the 17th and 18th holes practically siting themselves. I spent the last couple of hours of the afternoon working out the four interlocking “islands” within the internal Harbour area. Being an ardent boater and having designed several water-related developments for Arvida Corporation in the Sarasota/Longboat Key area, I knew the importance of making sure that the Harbour properties could all be accessed without having to go under a bridge.

Long story short, when Mr. Byrd came into the office the following morning, Wexford was completely laid out — the centerline of every golf hole, the centerline of every road, every lot line, the curve of every bulkhead and

even all of the boat slips in the clubhouse area. The only item that remained in a minor state of flux for the next several months was the exact siting of the clubhouse. I remember asking Mr. Byrd if he wanted me to do a color rendering for him to take back to Hilton Head for his next weekly meeting and he looked at me smiling and said that we had better keep this here for at least a month or two. It suddenly dawned on me that even in 1982 dollars, we had just completed a $100,000 land plan and he would have trouble justifying that fee if he showed up the next week with a color rendering of the finished plan.

Much did still remain to be done, however, before Wexford was to become a reality. Permitting was a major concern. Freshwater wetlands were just becoming an issue and, in the end, a part of the master plan had to be modified to clear one of the final hurdles. Wicklow was originally designed as Wicklow Circle, extending through the area between the 5th and 7th fairways, coming back into Wexford Club Drive where Oxford Drive currently ties in. Oxford Drive was to be a much shorter cul-de-sac off of Wicklow Circle. That was the final trade-off made with the permitting agencies to get their approval.

WEXFORD

WE WANT YOUR PHOTOS!

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SHELTER COVE FIREWORKS

Enjoying a trip to see the first Tuesday night fireworks at Shelter Cove.A fun way to kick off the summer!

BROAD CREEK TOUR

a wellguided tour of Broad

DOUBLE RAINBOW

Photo by Eva Ward

Alexis and puppy Bosco enjoying the sunset by Wexford’s lock.

SUNSET

BOHICKET WEEKEND EXCURSION

Photo from Connie Sewell

Olga & Mitch Rodriguez enjoyed

Creek from Alistair!

Photo by Marilyn Gammarino

Full double rainbow over Castlebridge Harbour

4TH OF JULY

MEMORIAL DAY CONCERT & PARTY

SEPTEMBER 2023