Hello Members,
April is here, warmer weather is on the way and like Mother Nature, Twin Lakes is starting to get busy. We have hired a new assistant in the Pro Shop, new servers have started, we have a full grounds crew, a new handyman and Molly is going to be taking more of a leadership role in the front office. We are gearing up for a fantastic 2023 golf season!
Even with the late March rain we’ve had, the course is playing beautifully. There are a lot of great golf events coming up in April, starting with the Master’s Par 3 Challenge and Weekend, the kickoff of the Men’s League Season and the return of Couples Golf. If you haven’t had a chance to meet our new Assistant Pro, Ben Bergner, he’s been on board for a few weeks and is already booking lessons. There are lots of club fitting opportunities in April and the pro shop is full of new merchandise, check it out when you can.
I’m looking forward to seeing a lot of members at Easter Brunch on the 9th, I find the egg hunt particularly entertaining. Spring menu changes are coming, and new month-end buffets have featured some wonderfully creative menus. It’s nice to mix up our offering and Prime Rib will still feature at the end of the quarter.
Did you see there’s a photo contest? What a fun opportunity for our member shutterbugs to find the best light and angle and capture our beautiful golf course. The contest is open to all members and their families – Associate, Social and Proprietary. I can’t wait to see what the House Committee chooses as the winner.
Club improvement projects are in full swing, the Pro Shop and Pool Buildings will both be painted soon, be mindful of where you park your carts. Unfortunately, we will need to replace the lounge doors since one shattered in a windstorm last week. Please use the front doors until further notice. Completing the renovation of the bathroom on 15 is a top priority and course improvements are underway – note the new tree planted at the corner of the #7 White Tees, it looks great.
As Twin Lakes collectively looks toward the future, we must continue to make investments in the Club to not only stay a functioning golf and country club but to continue to attract new members. Twin Lakes has two large projects that need to be completed within a year, the pool and irrigation pumps. Proprietary Members will be sent a Constant Contact email with more detail outlining our current finances and rough project costs. We don’t yet have project packets to share but they are in progress and should help to answer many of your questions.
The replacement of the golf course irrigation system is another project that requires investment, this will be tackled separately as the work won’t be completed until 2025 at the earliest. The Pool and Irrigation Subcommittees, Long Range Plan and Finance Committees have dedicated volunteers working on these projects who are investing their personal time and effort to ensure the success of Twin Lakes. Together, and over the course of many months, we have come up with a plan that we are moving forward with. I’d like to say thanks to all of them for their continued efforts.
Warm Regards,
Erika Sheffield-Stull
Club President
It might be April – but the weather feels more like January. Hopefully, some warmer weather will be here soon. I have a favor to ask – there is a lot of information on the website along with the weekly constant contact emails. I encourage you to check out the website and see all the updates and information about upcoming events.
Golf tournament season is coming up – we are less than 2 months away from the Women’s invite & the Men’s Invite right after that. These events always bring a lot of energy to the club. We have an added attraction to the Women’s Invite – Tuesday (May 23rd) we will have wine & champagne tasting. The cost for this event is $25 and it includes 6 drink tickets and a large Charcuterie board. This event is open to members & guests.
The next Social event is the Kentucky Derby – Saturday May 6th. This event is always a fun event – with lots of contests, parimutuel betting, raffles & much more.
Projects: If you haven’t been around the club for a while – a lot of projects will be wrapping up within the next month.
Upcoming Events:
2023 Management Staff Contacts
David Hobson – General Manager – dhobson@twinlakesgolf.net
Kathy Wake – Head Golf Professional – kwake@twinlakesgolf.net
Alexis Parrish – Accounting – aparrish@twinlakesgolf.net
David Milligan – Greens Superintendent – david_milligan@comcast.net
It seems as though the golf gods are playing Peek a Boo with our sunshine these days. Wednesday of this week looks like the best day to get out there and thank goodness it is the start of Master’s Weekend with our Par 3 Challenge at 5:30pm. If you haven’t signed up, call or stop by the golf shop with your group. Singles will be put together.
Next on the agenda is the Master’s Friday night silent auction for your professional partner for the weekend. There will be bid sheets for each professional golfer that makes the cut set up in the lobby starting at 5pm. The entry fee for this event is the auction price you pay for your tour player. You can buy as many players as you want. The competition is the tour player’s 2-day score over the weekend at combined with your net score from Saturday round at Twin Lakes. If you are unable to make the auction on Friday night, you can buy a player the next morning by paying $10 more than the previous bid, provided the player has not teed off for their round at the tournament. Remember, The Masters is played on the east coast so make sure you get the player you want before they tee off. There are no assigned tee times for this event. Make a tee time with someone who is also playing in the competition. Last tee time on Saturday will be 1pm for the competition.
Men’s League will be starting Wednesday, April 12th and running throughout the summer. We will have the Men’s Wednesday evening competitions along with the Fri/Sat/Sun weekend comps. They play a variety of fun competitions. There is no prior sign-up necessary. Wednesdays start at 5:30 (shotgun) and the weekend game is on your own tee times. There is a $10 buy-in each for both events.
We have the Couples anniversary tournament on the 23rd of April. This is a two-person chapman format for couples. We play this in groups of three couples (six-some) and you can choose the other two couples for your playing partners. The sign-up is available in the pro shop.
The next golf event after that will be the Spring 2 Man, a 54-hole competition, which actually takes place the first part of May. The dates are May 6th and 7th. We play 18 holes on Saturday and 36 holes on Sunday. We use three different formats for each 18 holes. Starting with a Better Ball format on Saturday followed by a scramble on Sunday morning and finishing the event with a Chapman Sunday afternoon. Find a partner and sign-up in the pro shop.
We have set up a nice variety of Vendor Fitting Days for 2023. We started these in February and into March. The weather has cooperated somewhat for these to be successful and what to thank those of you that have come out to take advantage of viewing the new line of equipment.
APRIL DEMO DAYS
April 5 Cleveland Fitting Day (12-4)
April 12 Cobra Fitting Day (12-4)
April 22 Cobra Fitting Day (12-4)
COUPLES MIXERS
April 5 Master’s Par 3 Challenge (5:30 Shotgun)
April 13 Couples Golf Mixer (5:30 Shotgun)
April 16 Couples Golf Mixer (10:30 – 11:30 tee times)
April 23 Twin Lakes Anniversary Event (1pm Shotgun)
April 27 Couples Golf Mixer (10:30 – 11:30 tee times)
New face to the golf shop is Ben Bergner. Ben comes with a history of golf experience which includes 10+ years with the Seattle First Tee and most recently, Puetz Golf Stores. Many of you already know Ben but for those of you that haven’t been out to play or have stopped by the golf shop, please come by and introduce yourself to Ben as we welcome him into the Twin Lakes family with open arms.
I am excited to report that progress is being made on the interim plan for holes 6 and 7. The directional tree for the #7 tee box has been planted. Additionally the other two trees to be planted as part of the interim have been delivered and will be planted in the near future at the plan progresses.
If you have been playing these last couple of weeks you will know that the greens have been aerated and sanded. Dave Milligan and his team have been working hard to get them back in great shape. As of this writing the greens have really improved and are starting to roll great. Along with the aerification, the fairways and tee boxes were sanded as well. Of course, all of this will help to keep the golf course healthy and in top condition for the coming months.
Finally, the greens crew received a new front loader this last month. The existing front loader had engine issues that may or may not be fixable. Several of the ongoing projects have been impacted by not having a front loader. Now that we have one in good working order, we are looking forward to making progress on these projects.
As a reminder, utilize the sand bottles and fill your divots and remember to fix your ball marks on the green. This is your course and it helps with maintenance. Additionally, it is courteous to your fellow members. On another note, it is also important to follow the cart path rules of the day and stay on the cart paths when asked to do so by the pro shop. Enjoy yourselves out there, the course is in fantastic condition.
As always, a big thank you to Dave Milligan and his team.
Tom Brainard
Green Committee Chair
In March the weather cooperated with the Ladies Divisions for the Tuesday weekly competitions.
March 7th the competition for the 18 Hole Ladies was ACE DAY/LOW NET.
March 7th competition for the 9 Hole Ladies was LOW NET.
March 14th the competition for the 18 Hole Ladies was YOU PICK’EM.
March 14th the competition for the 9 Hole Ladies was YOU PICK’EM.
March 21st the competition for the 18 Hole Ladies was SHOTS TO THE GREEN.
March 21st the competition for the 9 Holers was SHOTS TO THE GREEN.
March 28th the competition for the 18 Hole Ladies was BEST 2 BALL 4.
March 28th the competition for the 9 Hole Ladies was the Best 2 Ball 4.
WSWGA Report
Karey Wolber 9 Hole Ladies Co-Captain. When Karey was 12 years old her Dad wanted her to golf with him, so he made up a set of left handed clubs and took her to Gig Harbor G&CC and started her golfing. Karey’s best thing about golf is coming out and playing with friends. Hole-in-One ? Nope not yet but has come very close.
Ilima Brainard 9 Hole Ladies Co-Captain. Ilima started golfing about 10 years ago at Twin Lakes G&CC. Ilima started golfing when the injuries from playing soccer for many years caught up with her. The best thing about golf is all the fun people she golfs with. She has not had a hole-in-one but it is definitely on her bucket list.
It’s time to start signing up for this year’s Women’s Invitational Golf Tournament. This Invitational is open to all women golfers who meet the handicap requirements below. Entry forms are now available in the women’s locker room.
The entry fee is $200 per person. The dates of this years Invitational are May 25-26. The field is limited to 48 teams of two, so get your team together and sign up ASAP. This is a member/guest, guest/guest or member/member Tournament. We are permitting two members to play together, although we highly encourage members to invite guests if possible. This is such a fun tournament and high participation makes it all the more successful. Maximum Handicap index allowed is 38.5 (40 Twin Lakes), with a maximum 10 stroke difference between partners. Entry fee includes practice round, range balls, 2 tournament rounds, daily payouts, horserace, 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, entry into raffle, snacks, appetizers and and a fun evening of karaoke. Carts are separate, and
the charge is $40 per person for both days.
Questions? Ask any of our committee members:
Frankie Stephens
Denise Harrell
Sally Irvine
Do you have your hat ready for The Kentucky Derby on May 6th? The social committee will be hosting our annual Kentucky Derby party from 1-4pm. Show up in your derby best with a $50 gift certificate to the first-place hat for both Men and Women.
We have many ways for you to win money and prizes, from parimutuel betting to pony races and a raffle! There will be trivia questions throughout the day, with the winner of each question getting a free raffle entry!
Post time for the race is at 3:24pm but make sure to come early enough to enjoy good food, refreshing beverages and buy your raffle tickets.
Don’t be worried if you see a chicken on the course. We will be doing 3 different chicken poop boards for your chance at more cash! The social committee will be pre-selling tickets for the Chicken Poop board on April 28th and May 5th at the Friday night raffles.
If you are looking for a way to get involved, we have openings on the social committee and would love to have you join. Reach out to Chris Witmer with any questions.
Meeting: Second Thursday – 5:30pm
Meeting: When Needed
Meeting: Third Wednesday – 5:30pm
Meeting: Every Other Month
Meeting: Third Thursday
Meeting: Second Wednesday – 6:00 pm
Meeting: First Tuesday—5:30 pm
Meeting: Wednesday – 6:00 pm
To help promote the game of golf by offering a challenging and beautiful course and other complementary facilities that are affordable, inclusive, and inviting. Provide a thriving comprehensive recreational and social venue offering its members, guests, and community partners exceptional experiences to play, relax and socialize in a tranquil and peaceful environment.