From our Club President
Erika Sheffield-Stull
President, Twin Lakes Board of Trustees
Greetings Twin Lakes!
Familiar summer sights and sounds around the club bring a smile to my face this time of year. It’s great to have the pool open, members eating on the patio, snack bar humming and the beverage cart out on the golf course. It’s a great time to be at the club, you don’t want to miss what we have coming up!
Twin Lakes is looking for volunteers! We have a couple of committees that could use a few more members, if you are thinking you’d like to get involved in planning club social activities or have a desire to help the club market itself to potential new members, please contact me at ErikaSBOT@twinlakesgolf.net.
Golf events for July are the 4th of July Couples Tournament, Member-Member Tournament, Marv and Dan’s Tournament and Women’s Guest Day. Lots of opportunities to test your competitive chops! The Event Calendar on the Twin Lakes website also has outside tournaments posted now for visibility.
The Martini and Jazz event was a huge hit! Big thanks to the Social Committee for hosting such a fun summer season event! We have the Food Truck Extravaganza with Kids Zone on July 10th and I’m personally excited to have “Where Ya At, Matt?” back with their incredible Creole food.
Proprietary members, there will be one more Town Hall to discuss the two projects being considered for an assessment on July 11th at 6:30PM in the ballroom. Project packets are available in the office for those wishing to see contractor bids – we are working on getting the information posted to the backside of the website but it will also be sent out in an email.
Our Lifetime Memberships have officially launched, and we expect to be sold out by the end of July. If you’re thinking about this awesome opportunity, don’t wait! Marketing packages are also available for members who own a business and would like to get their name out around the club. Please inquire at the office for those opportunities.
Sincerely,
Erika
2023 Board Members
Erika Sheffield-Stull
President
Denise Harrell
Trustee
Issac Henry-Cano
Trustee
Bryce Landrud
Vice President
Dan Smith
Trustee
Tim Scheuffele
Trustee
Trace Harrell
Secretary
Rich Price
Trustee
Jeff Eberle
Trustee
Welcome New Members!
Social:
Timothy & Abbey George
Lauren & Keith Watts
Tammy & Michael Dziak
Associate:
Steven Phisione
Joshua Warren
From our General Manager
DAVID HOBSON
General Manager
This year is flying by – it’s already July. You can tell a lot about a club based on how they handle the down times. The rumors about a dwindling membership are true, however, if the past has proved anything, it shows this club being resilient. We will add more members, but we need to make sure to have the infrastructure in place to handle the growth.
There are a lot of changes & upgrades coming up and I thought that my article would be a little about the history. When I arrived in 2015 – Twin Lakes was a semi-private club. A Country club with a lot of history (dating back to 1967) but was forced to go to semi-private to keep the doors open. In 2017 the decision was made to go back to private – a large hill to climb with 93 proprietary members & 48 golfing members. The club survived and grew rapidly, and we saw tremendous growth both in Proprietary Membership and Social Membership. The club was starting to get healthy and then Covid hit. Our Proprietary membership continued to grow but our social membership lost 55 members. Covid also hit the staff extremely hard, which emphasized holes in our infrastructure & the process. The continued growth in golfing members was great, but we just couldn’t keep up with the demands. Members dropped through the cracks, never got introduced and integrated into the club. This failure falls directly on my shoulders. That is why, when we start to grow back our membership, I need to make sure they are welcomed and introduced to members of the club. I want to thank the membership committee; they have done a phenomenal job filling that gap. Our membership team (Janel, Molly & I), along with the membership committee are dedicated to filling the club and to not repeating the failures of the past.
One thing that can hurt the growth of the club is rumors. You are never going to stop the rumors or gossip. I am asking all members, find a Board member or email me before believing everything you hear. The Board Members & I will be completely honest with you. You may not like what you hear, but it won’t be a false rumor.
Some rumors about the pool that need to be clarified:
- The pool breaks even or with in 1% of breaking even.
- The pool is used by all membership classes (not just summer swim)
- The swim team practices in the morning, leaving open swim from 12:30-8:00pm daily.
- To be on the swim team – they must be members of Twin Lakes Golf & Country Club.
- The swim team does have 4 swim meets a year – Those 4 swim meets bring in money into club through concessions.
- The Swim Team (Penguins) have been a part of the history of this club for a very long time.
- In the HOA Covenants it does mention the swimming pool as an amenity for the associate membership. Associate membership are those that their house borders the golf course. It is mandatory membership and those membership brings in $206,000 a year in membership dues.
Some Issues with the Pool:
- The pool surface is pitted, which causes sharp edges that could cut toes.
- The pool must be filled with a hose or portable backflow system.
- The Lights in the pool need to be replaced.
- The filtration system is old and not efficient. It cannot keep up in the hot weather.
- We did purchase one new heater back in 2020 – but running with one heater is a little risky. In 2020 – heaters for commercial pools were running $7200.00 + labor for the venting system.
- The pool deck does not meet King County Health codes. The cracks are too big to be just repaired. The slope of the deck could allow surface water into the pool & the drainage for the deck is not sufficient.
- The fence is in desperate need of replacement.
I want to thank all the Board of Trustees’ members, the Committee members & staff over the last 8 years that have helped build this country club up. Without all your hard work, dedication, and vision – the growth this club has seen would not have been possible.
This club is the best value in the area, the golf course is in tremendous shape, the golf shop is full of great merchandise, and I have heard more compliments in the food & service than I have in 8 years. The club and I are extremely fortunate to have such hard-working volunteers & staff.
On a closing note – I am asking the members to stay positive, to see the future not just the present and to understand that this club is special. To be a member at a club that does everything it can to keep the history and reasons why people join a country club at the forefront of every decision, is something that you rarely experience in this industry.
I am excited about our new Lifetime Membership Opportunity – LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP OPPORTUNITY (only 2 left)
Upcoming Events:
MEMBER – MEMBER – Saturday & Sunday – June 8th & 9th
Penguins Swim Meets – Thursday – July 6th & 13th
Food Truck Extravaganza – Monday – July 10th
Marv & Dan’s exciting tournament – Saturday – July 22nd
Ladies Guest Day – Friday – July 28th
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
Molly Lemaota -Sales – mlemaota@twinlakesgolf.net
David Milligan – Greens Superintendent – david_milligan@comcast.net
David Hobson
PGA Certified Member –
CMAA Member
General Manager
MEMBERSHIP CONNECT
We want to celebrate you each month in the Sandblaster! Email your name and birth month, or your Anniversary month to Janel!
July Birthdays &
Anniversaries
Birthdays
- Lisa Dillon
- Rene’ Ewing
- Cristine Orr
- Erika Sheffield-Stull
Anniversaries
- James Jelasic & Jon Lackey
From our Head Golf Professional
KATHY WAKE
HEAD GOLF PROFESSIONAL
Happy July Everyone!
We are halfway thru 2023 and it looks like we are able to finally continue with our sunshine and warmth for our awhile.
Our PGA Jr League started with clinics at the end of May. The month of June was filled with team matches at Glen Acres, North Shore, and Auburn GC. The team has done very well playing through the hottest days of the month. They are troopers, as well as their parents, having a great time getting to know each other and working together in the scramble formats. July finishes up our program with Twin Lakes hosting a match on the 30th. The front 9 will be closed starting at 2:30pm as the juniors will be teeing off #1.
We will be starting of junior camps on Monday, July 10. These junior camps will start at 8am with three hours of instruction followed by play on the front 9 (the older group will play the back 9 at 10am). The golf course will be open to the membership starting at 1pm on the back 9. Our hope is that the front 9 will be open at 3pm when you make the turn. We want to thank you in advance for your patience as we work around this schedule. There may be a possibility that the first few member groups may have to play the back 9 twice but we won’t know until that day.
By the time you receive this newsletter, we would have already had our July 2nd Couples alternate scramble. Congratulations to our Low Gross Winners: Marv Osterhout/Jill McBroom/Jenn Dzubay/ Ramon Dzubay/ Kenny Haskins/ Julie Haskins with their gross score of 67. Our Low Net Winners with a 56 were Randy Russell/Erika Russell/Brandon McCann/Michelle McCann/Janet Sage/Ron Sage. Our next couple’s event is Thursday, July 13th at 5:30pm. Sign up as a couple (man/woman) and the computer will pair the 4-somes up. This will be a true mixer. Think of this as a meet & greet mixer where you are able to play and get to know members that you have seen around the club but hadn’t had the chance to play with.
Right after that, we have the Member Member Event on the 8th & 9th. This event is open to both men and women. You can make up men teams, women teams, or mixed teams. There is a handicap difference of 10 strokes. If the stroke difference is over the allotment, the higher handicap player will be adjusted. Senior men are able to play from the green tees, all other men will play the white and women will play the gold. The team entry is $200 ($100 per player) which includes golf, competition purse, and awards banquet/presentation. Sign-up sheet is in the golf shop or you can call the golf shop directly with you pairing.
The 2023 President’s Cup event starts this week. The pods have been emailed out to the players as well as posted on the golf shop window the Men’s League golf genius portal. GGID tlml23 Best of luck to all 32 players that have signed up this year. A reminder to all players that you all players have until Aug 5 to complete their pod matches. We ask that you keep on track to get these done on time as we move into our Knockout Round format with the winners of each pod.
We are hosting the 4-Club Senior Exchange on the 13th with Fairwood, Kitsap, and Alderbrook. 48 players will shotgun at 9:30 and have lunch afterwards. We have 20 players this year in the senior quad exchange team.
From what I have listed above, you can see that we have a lot of golf events in July. To help with this communication and the notification of golf course availability and closure, we have provided the list of golf events as well as course availability/closure below so you can plan accordingly. Please don’t hesitate to call the golf shop with any questions that you may have. We will be doing our best to get the course open for play as soon as possible to the rest of the membership during these days.
Lastly, regarding the use of golf carts, please note that with the heat and amount of play on the fantastic sunny days, those members using the driving range only, please be aware that there may not be a cart available to use to go to the driving range. For members with tee times, carts will be issued according to your tee time and given out 20 minutes prior to your tee time. In addition, carts are to be returned to the golf shop by 8pm.
We have a few additions to the golf operations staff for the summer. Please help us welcome them to the Twin Lakes family the next time you are on property. Most of you already know Aaron, Gabriel, Mikey, Joe and Kaleb. The new faces around the golf shop that you have seen last month but may not know names are Taryn and Van.
Golf Course Availability/Closure on the following days/times:
Sat/Sun July 8&9 The Member Member weekend event. 12:00pm Shotguns. Sign-up sheet is on the golf shop window as well as you can call the golf shop and let us know that you would like to participate.
Monday July 10, 17, 24 – Golf Course open at 1pm for tee times off #10 (Junior Camp on front 9 til 3pm)
Thursday, July 13th course closed – 9:00 Shotgun – (Senior Exchange – call golf shop after July 7th for tee time availability) 5:30pm – Couples Shotgun on the Back 9. Thursday Night League 5pm starting times on the Front 9. This will be a true mixer as we will mix all of the players up in foursomes for this evening.
Saturday, July 15 PXG Demo Day 12-4pm on the Driving Range
Sunday, July 16 Couples Mixer from 10:30 – 11:30.
Thursday, July 20th course closed all day – (outside event)
Saturday, July 22 Course closed for Dan & Marv’s Pre Celebration Memorial tournament. If you have played in the past, you know how FUN & EXCITING this event is for Dan and Marv. If you haven’t gathered up your group, time to start working on it. The sign-up sheet is in the golf shop.
Thursday, July 27th course closed all day – (PNWPGA Pro-Am)
Friday, July 28th course closed 3pm – (Women’s Guest Day)
Sunday, July 30th course closed 2:00pm – (hosting PGA junior league – tee times off #1)
Greens Committee
The weather is heating up. The golf course is firming up. The course is still in great shape. It is starting to brown up a bit. Amazing how much more roll is available this time of year.
For all you walkers, we have added two new walking paths off the tee on numbers 14 & 15. Again, they are not as green as the surrounding areas yet, but will be as they get used to being cut shorter. Thanks David. Us walkers love the new paths.
Do be careful on the railroad ties that are in place around the course. Many are rotten and can be trip hazards. The committee is working plans to remove or replace them with landscape blocks at some point. Be sure to avoid them if they’re wet.
This month, once again we’re giving out a Friends of the Golf Course award, Sandie. For best performance sanding, pitch mark repair and raking during competition play, the Sandie goes to Frankie Stephens. Frankie was nominated for service above and beyond during a recent round. Please congratulate Frankie on her award when you see her. Kathy has the award in the Proshop.
Reminder, when you see members that you’d like to nominate for a future award, send their name and a brief description to our receptionist as noted below and the committee will determine winners.
Reminder #2, we have a vote coming up in July to replace the pumps that we use to pump water around the course to keep it in great shape during the dry season. We’re currently operating on one original pump. We normally have 2, one broke earlier and was not repairable. Last time the good one broke, we had to have a new part machined to repair it. No parts are now available for that pump. Things dry out quickly if it breaks in the summer. We really need 2 functioning pumps for complete coverage. Plus the new pumps are more controllable and gentle on old fragile irrigation pipes.
Let’s remember our power cart etiquette. We’d like to see power carts back on the cart paths 30 yards from the greens. Repair those divots in the fairways and pitch marks on the greens. If you are new to golf, check with Kathy in the shop to get some pointers on repair techniques.
Remember if you have any issues or questions. You may email our receptionist, using receptionist@twinlakesgolf.net. She will forward the email on to the committee.
See you out there.
Women’s Division
June had lots of golf events. Weekly competition, Grandmothers Tournament, City Championship, and the Northwest Women’s Open.
Results for the 18 Hole Ladies on June 6th. The competition was Low Net/ACE Day. The Ace for June was Hisayo Masada with a net 68. Congrats Hisayo! In the 1st Flight Hisayo Masada was 1st, Frankie Stephens was 2nd, and Kim Crahan was 3rd. In the 2nd Flight MiChong Kim was 1st, Chong Sena was 2nd, and Sherry Butz, Joomi Shou, and Hui Suk So tied for 3rd. In the 3rd Flight Carolyn Hartman was 1st, Minhee Chung was 2nd, and Janet Sage was 3rd.
Results for the 9 Hole Ladies on June 6th. Competition was Low Net. In the 1st Flight Ilima was 1st, Maribel was 2nd and Becky was 3rd. In the 2nd Flight Anne G. Was 1st, Kathy R. Was 2nd, and Nori was 3rd.
Results for the 18 Hole Ladies on June 13th. The competition was Alternate Country. In the 1st Flight Chong Sena was 1st, and Frankie Stevens and Sung Chang tied for 2nd. In the 3rd Flight Anna UH Lee and June McNeese tied for 1st, and Janet Sage and Sue Hebert tied for 3rd.
Results for the 9 Hole Ladies on June 13th. The competition was Net Plus Putts. In the 1st Flight Ilima B. Was 1st, and Maribel H, and Karey W. Tied for 2nd. In the 2nd Flight Nori N was 1st, Myrna R was 2nd, and Linda E was 3rd.
Results for the 18 Hole Ladies on June 20th. In the 1st Flight MiChong Kim was 1st, Kim Crahan was 2nd and Sung Chang was 3rd. In the 2nd Flight Minhee Chug was 1st, Chong Sena was 2nd and Sally Irvine was 3rd.
Results for the 9 Hole Ladies. The competition was Lone Ranger and the net lowest net. In 1st place was the Team of Kelley Beebe, Ilima Brainard, Terri Larock-Stewart, and Erika Sheffield. In 2nd place was the Team of Kim Crahan, Anne Gintz, Maribel Harrell and Terri LaRock Stewart (blind draw).
Results for the 18 Hole Ladies on June 27th. The competition was Maids Quarters. In the 1st Flight Kim Crahan was 1st, MiChong Kim and Sue Sohn tied for 2nd. In the 2nd Flight June McNeese was 1st, Sue Stevens was 2nd, and Jen Glasgow was 3rd.
Results for the 9 Hole Ladies on June 27th. The competition was Maids Quarters. In the 1st Flight Kelley B. Was 1st, and Erika S and Laurie C. Tied for 2nd. In the 2nd Flight Kathy R was 1st, Terri S was 2nd and Teri J was 3rd.
The Captain’s Cup is still ongoing. The 18 Hole Ladies Club Championship is August 1st, 4th, and 8th. Ladies Guest Day is July 28th, so sign up with a Guest. Great time to show of Twin Lakes G&CC.
SOCIAL COMMITTEE
Happy Summer! Thank you to everyone who came out to enjoy Martini and Jazz night. The staff had great drink specials and the music was enjoyed by all. A big shout out to the TL servers who helped make for a great night.
Remember the Food Truck Extravaganza is Monday, July 10th with fun for the entire family. Open to everyone!
While summer might be in full swing, we want to draw your attention to the End of Summer Bash on August 18th from 6-11pm. You do not want to miss out on this event, so grab your friends and come on down. Corey Wilds Band will be playing outside from 7-11pm, as well as other activities for your entertainment.
This event is a fundraiser for the Pickleball and Tennis court re-model. You can buy golf balls to participate in a KP contest on hole 3 as well as a chipping contest. There will also be a raffle for an array of gift baskets and prizes, so don’t forget to bring plenty of cash to participate! This is a kid friendly event, with a movie being played on a big screen under the patio deck. We look forward to seeing you.
Ladies Day will be on November 5th. This is a great opportunity to mingle and meet other ladies at the club, while getting some shopping done as well. We have a great line-up of vendors this year and can’t wait for you to see what they have to offer. Guests are more than welcome at this event! Stay tuned for details on registration and all that we have planned.
Committees
Members Wanted
The Membership/Marketing Committee is looking to add more members. If you can meet once per month and you have ideas on how to recruit new members to join our great club, please consider joining us. If interested, please contact Denise Harrell at DeniseHBOT@twinlakesgolf.net.
House Committee
Meeting: Second Thursday - 5:30pm
- Terri LaRock-Stewart (Chair)
- Jill McBroom
- Sue Stevens
- Beccy Scheuffele
- Coralee Owsley
- Kim Crahan
- Lori DeVore
- Ann Marie Uhlman
- Issac Cano (Board Liaison)
- David Hobson (Staff)
Golf Committee
Meeting: When Needed
- Frankie Stephens (Chair)
- Sherry Butz (Women’s Division Captain)
- Jeff Eberle (Men’s and Senior’s Golf)
- Diane Meyers (Jr. Golf)
- Ilima Brainard (Women’s Nine Hole Golf)
- Ramon Dzubay (Couple’s Golf)
- Rich Price (Men’s Handicap)
- Erika Sheffield-Stull (Women’s Handicap)
- Rich Price (Board Liaison)
- Kathy Wake (Staff)
Finance Committee
Meeting: Third Wednesday - 5:30pm
- Randy Russell (Chair)
- Erika Sheffield-Stull
- Paul Richter
- Robert Simmons
- Christina Witmer
- Dan Smith (Board Liaison)
- David Hobson (Staff)
Long Range Committee
Meeting: Every Other Month
- Paul Ishii (Chair)
- Tom Brainard
- Suzy Eberle
- Robert Simmons
- Clint Smith
- Terri LaRock-Stewart
- Sherry Butz
- Bryce Landrud (Board Liaison)
- David Hobson (Staff)
Membership/Marketing Committee
Meeting: Third Thursday
- Suzy Eberle (Chair)
- Sherry Butz
- Brandon McCann
- Andrew Johnson
- Denise Harrell (Board Liaison)
- Janel Metcalf (Staff)
- David Hobson (Staff)
Social Committee
Meeting: Second Wednesday - 6:00 pm
- Christina Witmer (Chair)
- Jennifer Tarica
- Karey Wolber
- Suzy Eberle
- Alyssa Johnson
- Nora Dornan
- Michelle McCann
- Krisie Santacruz
- Marlies Scott-Wenzel
- Tim Scheuffele (Board Liaison)
- David Hobson (Staff)
Greens Committee
Meeting: First Tuesday—5:30 pm
- Tom Brainard (Chair)
- Tyler Pac
- Bryce Landrud
- Marv Osterhout
- Eric Marshall
- Paul Richter
- Taylor Ruecking
- Karey Wolber
- Jeff Eberle (Board Liaison)
- Dave Milligan (Staff)
- Kathy Wake (Staff)
Pool Committee
Meeting: Wednesday - 6:00 pm
- Michael Gintz (Chair)
- Andrew Johnson
- Trace Harrell (Board Liaison)
- David Hobson (Staff)
Twin Lakes Vision Statement
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.
