A spectacular view awaits golfers on a new tee presently under construction on the 7th hole at the Roscoe Twin Village Golf Course. The existing blue tee can be seen some 10-yard below.
One of the proposed changes in sand traps at the Roscoe Twin Village Golf Course is eliminating the bunker in front of hole No. 2 and expanding the two side traps. Twin Village GC Shows It Can Be Done
The economy, finances and making sure the budget stays in the black are more and more major management topics among owners and operators of nine-hole golf courses in the Tri-County area and intelligent fiscal management and a lot of volunteer cooperation and work is keeping the Roscoe Twin Village Golf Course out of the red.
Proposals made several years ago by Ithaca College Business Management Major Troy J. Kirchner have also helped the course develop new strategies.
Financial conditions at Twin Village this year has required the club to keep only one full time greens keeper and so Kirchner this year is taking on dual responsibilities at the course by working half time as a greens keeper and half time in the clubhouse.
Twin Village previously employed two full time green keepers but as costs for supplies kept going up and with membership declining and revenue not keep up with increased operating expenses the Board of Governors had to make difficult decisions.
The board, under the leadership of president Ron Schulte, vice president Ralph Kirchner, treasurer Chuck Husson, secretary Bill Knipscher and directors Mary Austin, Dan Baldo, Chuck Husson Jr., Frank McGreevy and Sally Shea have worked very hard to keep the course in great playing condition and financially in the black.
The board acknowledges that a lot of volunteer work by members has greatly helped this club erase deficits. Schulte in the 2010 "Dues Newsletter" remarked. "early in 2009 we found ourselves with a deficit caused mainly by a decline in membership," but, "we were able to erase this deficit through careful budget planning," and "at times volunteers worked on the course and club house and sat in the club house collecting greens fees."
A successful Party fundraiser in the fall of 2009 also helped.
Changes made out on the course include starting their fairways about 50 yards in front of the tee boxes instead of having them go right up to the tee box. The course installed 9 new tee signs that have the TVGC logo, hole #, par, distances to holes from red, white, and blue, and the layout of the hole so people can visually see it on the sign. Some nine local businesses have also sponsored a hole for the next 5 years, so the expenses of the signs were covered.
A new TVGC logo was put on all nine tee signs and also on the new sign on Rockland Road. The new logo was also put on the shirts in the "pro shop", on all the golf carts, on all letter heads, on all nine flags and other random places throughout the course.
Another improvement included adding blue tee boxes and now every hole will have its own red tee box as well. There is not one hole where there is a joint tee box with red and white, or white and blue like in the past.
The nine-hole 2,045-yard par 32 TVGC course has made several changes the past few years including adding some narrow fairways and adding rough where open fairways use to be. Cutting of the greens, fairways and rough and adding of a 90-degree cart policy also added to the beauty of the fairways and a better playing surface for all golfers.
Proposed changes to traps and bunkers at the course are on the agenda this year. Course member Terry Knickerbocker proposed the changes last year and noted he would do the work. The board of directors approved the changes as long as it did not involve additional costs to the club. The changes which most likely will not be made until the fall would include moving the trap in front of the seventh hole and making a new larger trap to the right of the hole. On the second hole the front bunker would be removed and the side bunkers extended. On the ninth hole the front bunker would be removed and a larger bunker built on the right side of the green.
The proposed traps and bunker changes has created some opposition by club members so it will be interesting to see how this plays out.
Another change in the making is the development of a new tee on the seventh hole. The blue tee when completed will be about 10 yards higher and further back from the present tee. This will make for a challenging and interesting seventh hole. Play from this tee might be available later this season or early in the 2011 season.
The course features five par fours and four par threes. The longest hole on this course is the 349-yard par 4 ninth hole, where golfers have to remain accurate and stay away from hooking shots into a brook on the left side of the fairway. If the tees are set way back on the ninth, this also presents a very narrow entrance and tee-shot onto the fairway. A pond on the right and the small brook with soft wet marsh on the left presents a "don't make a mistake and you better hit a straight shot" from the fairway to the green.
A trap in front of the ninth green prevents the chip, bump and run shot. The need for accurate wedge shots to the green can help when going for the par 4.
One of the more difficult par 3 holes on the course is the 210-yard third hole. Again, the golfer must keep center or right to avoid going left out-of-bounds into the cornfield. There is a long trap in front of the green and if you shoot for the green on any shot, you better not go over the green or you will have a wet ball since it will lane in the small brook immediately behind the green.
In fact, this brook also runs in back of the 168-yard par 3 sixth hole and the 180-yard par 3 eighth hole, making the smart golfer lay up in front of the front edge of these greens.
The smaller size greens and pin placements add to difficult chip shots and the need for an accurate short game to score well on this course.
For all tournament or TVGC information or tee times call 607-498-5829, e-mail tvgc@yahoo.com or go to their Web site at http://roscoegolf.com/
The Golf Tip.
By Robert Menges
Use your putter. When deciding to put or not from just off the green, the first thing to remember is that anytime you can putt, do it.
Keeping the ball on the ground and using the most reliable club in your bag---the putter--is a logical and smart choice. A good putt will always get you closer to the hole than a good running shot with one of your irons.
The biggest factor is determining whether to putt or not is what lies between you and the hole. Most important is the grass surface. If the path is clear, the ground relatively smooth and the grass is short, choosing your putter is an easy choice.
Another factor to look closely at is how the ball is sitting. Remember, if the conditions are good, we want to putt the ball.
When making these putts from off the green, it is very important to keep our concentration and use good putting fundamentals.
Robert Menges is the head golf professional at the Swan Lake Golf & Country Club, Mt. Hope Road, Swan Lake. He is available for private lessons and if you have a question or subject you would like covered, he can be reached by phone at 292-0323 or via e-mail at menges@hughes.net
Ed's Outlook
Several early tournament announcements we want to let you know about includes the Billy Moran Memorial Golf Outing August 15 at the Villa Roma, for information call 887-5097, the regional qualifier for the IKE Championship on June 2 at Grossingers, the 8th Annual Jake Classic Golf Outing June 12 at Tarry Brae, for information call 796-6480 and the Occupations Inc. Pro-Am Tournament June 18 at The Golf Club at Mansion Ridge, for information call 692-4454, ext. 101.
This column is written by Ed Townsend, a consultant to the amateur and professional sport of golf and to several golf writers associations. If you have a topic that you believe would make good reading or have league standings and tournament information, please call Ed at 845-439-8177, vie e-mail at edwardctownsend@hotmail.com or by fax at 845-230-8674. For a much more expanded version of this golf column, please visit our Web site http://bght.blogspot.com/
The economy, finances and making sure the budget stays in the black are more and more major management topics among owners and operators of nine-hole golf courses in the Tri-County area and intelligent fiscal management and a lot of volunteer cooperation and work is keeping the Roscoe Twin Village Golf Course out of the red.
Proposals made several years ago by Ithaca College Business Management Major Troy J. Kirchner have also helped the course develop new strategies.
Financial conditions at Twin Village this year has required the club to keep only one full time greens keeper and so Kirchner this year is taking on dual responsibilities at the course by working half time as a greens keeper and half time in the clubhouse.
Twin Village previously employed two full time green keepers but as costs for supplies kept going up and with membership declining and revenue not keep up with increased operating expenses the Board of Governors had to make difficult decisions.
The board, under the leadership of president Ron Schulte, vice president Ralph Kirchner, treasurer Chuck Husson, secretary Bill Knipscher and directors Mary Austin, Dan Baldo, Chuck Husson Jr., Frank McGreevy and Sally Shea have worked very hard to keep the course in great playing condition and financially in the black.
The board acknowledges that a lot of volunteer work by members has greatly helped this club erase deficits. Schulte in the 2010 "Dues Newsletter" remarked. "early in 2009 we found ourselves with a deficit caused mainly by a decline in membership," but, "we were able to erase this deficit through careful budget planning," and "at times volunteers worked on the course and club house and sat in the club house collecting greens fees."
A successful Party fundraiser in the fall of 2009 also helped.
Changes made out on the course include starting their fairways about 50 yards in front of the tee boxes instead of having them go right up to the tee box. The course installed 9 new tee signs that have the TVGC logo, hole #, par, distances to holes from red, white, and blue, and the layout of the hole so people can visually see it on the sign. Some nine local businesses have also sponsored a hole for the next 5 years, so the expenses of the signs were covered.
A new TVGC logo was put on all nine tee signs and also on the new sign on Rockland Road. The new logo was also put on the shirts in the "pro shop", on all the golf carts, on all letter heads, on all nine flags and other random places throughout the course.
Another improvement included adding blue tee boxes and now every hole will have its own red tee box as well. There is not one hole where there is a joint tee box with red and white, or white and blue like in the past.
The nine-hole 2,045-yard par 32 TVGC course has made several changes the past few years including adding some narrow fairways and adding rough where open fairways use to be. Cutting of the greens, fairways and rough and adding of a 90-degree cart policy also added to the beauty of the fairways and a better playing surface for all golfers.
Proposed changes to traps and bunkers at the course are on the agenda this year. Course member Terry Knickerbocker proposed the changes last year and noted he would do the work. The board of directors approved the changes as long as it did not involve additional costs to the club. The changes which most likely will not be made until the fall would include moving the trap in front of the seventh hole and making a new larger trap to the right of the hole. On the second hole the front bunker would be removed and the side bunkers extended. On the ninth hole the front bunker would be removed and a larger bunker built on the right side of the green.
The proposed traps and bunker changes has created some opposition by club members so it will be interesting to see how this plays out.
Another change in the making is the development of a new tee on the seventh hole. The blue tee when completed will be about 10 yards higher and further back from the present tee. This will make for a challenging and interesting seventh hole. Play from this tee might be available later this season or early in the 2011 season.
The course features five par fours and four par threes. The longest hole on this course is the 349-yard par 4 ninth hole, where golfers have to remain accurate and stay away from hooking shots into a brook on the left side of the fairway. If the tees are set way back on the ninth, this also presents a very narrow entrance and tee-shot onto the fairway. A pond on the right and the small brook with soft wet marsh on the left presents a "don't make a mistake and you better hit a straight shot" from the fairway to the green.
A trap in front of the ninth green prevents the chip, bump and run shot. The need for accurate wedge shots to the green can help when going for the par 4.
One of the more difficult par 3 holes on the course is the 210-yard third hole. Again, the golfer must keep center or right to avoid going left out-of-bounds into the cornfield. There is a long trap in front of the green and if you shoot for the green on any shot, you better not go over the green or you will have a wet ball since it will lane in the small brook immediately behind the green.
In fact, this brook also runs in back of the 168-yard par 3 sixth hole and the 180-yard par 3 eighth hole, making the smart golfer lay up in front of the front edge of these greens.
The smaller size greens and pin placements add to difficult chip shots and the need for an accurate short game to score well on this course.
For all tournament or TVGC information or tee times call 607-498-5829, e-mail tvgc@yahoo.com or go to their Web site at http://roscoegolf.com/
The Golf Tip.
By Robert Menges
Use your putter. When deciding to put or not from just off the green, the first thing to remember is that anytime you can putt, do it.
Keeping the ball on the ground and using the most reliable club in your bag---the putter--is a logical and smart choice. A good putt will always get you closer to the hole than a good running shot with one of your irons.
The biggest factor is determining whether to putt or not is what lies between you and the hole. Most important is the grass surface. If the path is clear, the ground relatively smooth and the grass is short, choosing your putter is an easy choice.
Another factor to look closely at is how the ball is sitting. Remember, if the conditions are good, we want to putt the ball.
When making these putts from off the green, it is very important to keep our concentration and use good putting fundamentals.
Robert Menges is the head golf professional at the Swan Lake Golf & Country Club, Mt. Hope Road, Swan Lake. He is available for private lessons and if you have a question or subject you would like covered, he can be reached by phone at 292-0323 or via e-mail at menges@hughes.net
Ed's Outlook
Several early tournament announcements we want to let you know about includes the Billy Moran Memorial Golf Outing August 15 at the Villa Roma, for information call 887-5097, the regional qualifier for the IKE Championship on June 2 at Grossingers, the 8th Annual Jake Classic Golf Outing June 12 at Tarry Brae, for information call 796-6480 and the Occupations Inc. Pro-Am Tournament June 18 at The Golf Club at Mansion Ridge, for information call 692-4454, ext. 101.
This column is written by Ed Townsend, a consultant to the amateur and professional sport of golf and to several golf writers associations. If you have a topic that you believe would make good reading or have league standings and tournament information, please call Ed at 845-439-8177, vie e-mail at edwardctownsend@hotmail.com or by fax at 845-230-8674. For a much more expanded version of this golf column, please visit our Web site http://bght.blogspot.com/
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