Fellow and Prospective Members,
I hope this Newsletter finds you and yours healthy and looking forward to the upcoming season at Blue Fox Run. This year will have a new look and feel to it, as our long running President, Steve Young, has stepped down, with Chris Sedgwick being elected as the new President. We also have other newly elected positions on the Executive Committee, Peter Mathes will be the Vice-President, Handicap Chairman and provide oversight to the Tournament Committee. Jim Lester will be coming on board as the new Treasurer. Barry Kleinberg will maintain his position as club Secretary. Chris, Peter, Jim and Barry have spoken at length over this winter to address concerns we have heard from Members in order to provide the best experience for all during the 2023 season. We hope you will find these changes positive!
 

OPENING DAY 2023
Our Opening Day Tournament will be on Sunday, April 2, 2023. We will have a 9am Shotgun, and all Members will receive a ticket for One Free Domestic Beer in the bar when checking in! Please contact the Pro Shop by Friday, March 31 to make a tee time for yourself or your group. Saturday, April 1, a Tee Sheet will be sent out to all players for starting holes.

TWO DAY TOURNAMENTS
On February 4th the Executive and Tournament Committees, along with Barry Wilson and Jim Becker, met for a 2nd time to discuss the 2023 Men's Club Season. We will be going back to some tournament formats the Men's Club has historically played in the past, specifically the Club Championship will be held on two consecutive days on one weekend.
 

With the camaraderie of two day tournaments, we will be also be implementing a few new formats. The Presidents Cup will be contested over two days, June 10 and 11, with Player of the Year points available for both days.
 

Additionally, the Senior Championship will be contested over two days, August 5 and
6. Eligibility will be for any Members who are over the age of 60, or will be turning 60 during the current year. During the Senior Championship, a secondary tournament for those Members 59 years old and younger will also be contested over Saturday and Sunday. Player of the Year points will be available for both tournaments, for both days.
 
NEW TEES AVAILABLE TO PLAY
Another major change for 2023, will allow certain Members to play a forward set of tees. Ifduring the 2023 Season, the ofage a Member, plus their handicap index, equals 80 or more, they will be eligible to play the white tees. The Member needs to declare this prior to their first tournament, and this designation will hold throughout the year. Playing the White tees will give the Member less handicap strokes compared to playing longer tees, and allow them to compete in Net Tournament Events.
 

TIMBERLINE TEAM EVENT
A great opportunity for the 2023 season, is a Team event that will be put on by Timberline Golf Course, in Berlin, CT. Timberline has reached out to previous NEPL Men's clubs, Blue Fox included, to see if we would be interested in fielding a Net and Gross team. Through conversations with Barry Wilson, he has committed to providing the funding for this event. Based on this, no extra fee to the Men's Club Members will be required. This tournament will be on Saturday, June 17, 2023, and Blue Fox will be sending 5 Net and 5 Gross players to this tournament. Eligibility will be based on Player of the Year Standings after the President's Cup on June 11, 2023.
 

SKINS PAYOUT UPDATE
We will be updating payouts for skins this year to increase the value of payouts. Previously, players would receive double payouts. This decreases the amount available to pay each player. To correct this, Gross skins will be payed first, then Net Skins will be payed second. A player that previously would get paid out twice, will only receive one pay out, but that payout will be higher.
 

2023 MATCH PLAY

We will be starting up the Match Play Tournament for the 2023 Season. A $25 fee for entry will need to be paid to Jim Lester, or an Executive Committee Member. Sign-ups will run from Opening Day on April 2 through April 23, 2023. A list of Sign-ups will be posted each Sunday in the Bar. On Sunday, April 23, 2023, we will divide all entries into 4 Divisions, A, B, C and D, and have a blind draw for matches for each Division. Minimum of 16 entrants needed. The winners of each division, A, B, C and D will be eligible for the Free Golf Shootout.

 

Matches ARE ALLOWED to be played on Sunday. Please remember that all putts must be holed for the weekly Men's Club tournament.
 
FREE GOLF SHOOT OUT!!
The Blue Fox Run Pro Shop will be providing the opportunity for a free membership again for the following year. Eligibility of the Free Golf Shoot Out will be based on the top 4 Net Players of the Year, the top 2 Gross Players of the year, the 4 Match Play Division Winners, and the Fall Classic Net and Gross Winners.
 

2023 GHIN (HANDICAP) FEE
Previously, to maintain a handicap through GHIN, managed by the USGA and passed along to the CSGA, the cost per member was $26. This is included in the Men's Club Dues for all Member's in good standing with the club. However, the USGA will be increasing this fee to $32 for this next year. Despite this increase, the Men's Club WILL NOT be increasing our dues for the 2023 season.
 

COURSE CONDITIONS UPDATE
During the winter meetings we also discussed course related topics. There has been more attention to the greens through this past year, which we hope all Members have noticed. At the end of the season, all tee boxes were vertical cut and over seeded to establish more uniform tee boxes. An increase in the budget for crabgrass removal has been put into place. Attention to bunkers will be made, adding more sand and clearing bunker faces of weeds will also be implemented. We have seen progress over the past few years, and now have the right Course Superintendent to continue this process.
 

THE19™ HOLE
The Bar and Restaurant will again be run by the Blue Fox Run Management this year. We anticipate seeing some new faces, hopefully some friends from the past will also return. There will also be beer and other beverages available in the Pro Shop.
 
The following slate of officers was elected at our annual meeting after the Fall Classic last year:

 

EXECUTIVE BOARD
President - Chris Sedgwick
VP & Handicap Chairman - Peter Mathes

Treasurer - Jim Lester
Secretary - Barry Kleinberg

2023 SEASON PASSSES AND MEN'S CLUB GREENS FEES
Barry Wilson has advised us that Greens Fees for Men's Club Events in 2023 will be
$40 for walkers and $55 with a cart. This is a significant discount from the $64 that the public pays on the weekends. *Course Memberships are also available at the following pricing:

• $2000 - 7 days a week with cart

• $1500 - weekdays only with cart

• $1000 - 7 days a week, no cart

• $ 695 - weekdays only, no cart

*Please note that Men's Club dues are NOT included in the price of this membership so please be sure to send your application and check to the address listed on the website.
 

TEE TIMES
In 2023 the Men's Club will continue to have tee times on Sunday between 8:00am-1 0:00am for our events. The agreement keeping the Front Nine empty ahead of us until 8:00am will remain and will enable the maintenance crew a better window to work on the course without interference. Those who need to play outside of this guaranteed time slot can still do so, but they will need to make a tee time separately with the Pro Shop. There will be open slots on the Sunday signup sheet if Members will need to make times outside of the 8am- 10am slot so a Men's Club Card can be created and available. When a time outside of the 8am-10am Men's Club Time is made, then the Players are subject to playing with public.

Also, a tee sheet will be sent out every Monday, based on sign ups on Sunday. This will allow Members to review openings, make changes and request sign ups in a timely fashion. Please send tee time changes or additions to BFRMCMAIL@GMAIL.COM by each Friday. Saturday morning, a tee sheet will be sent out for play on Sunday. Open times on the Men's Club Tee Sheet by Saturday morning will be condensed for play starting at 8am.

 

 

WEBSITE UPDATES
We have made many updates to the Blue Fox Run Men's Club Website, located here: https://bluefoxrungc.wixsite.com/mensleague to update our Tournament Formats, create an application that can be downloaded, filled in and emailed back, in addition to other updates. Please check back on the website weekly for Tournament Results, Player of the Year Standings, and Major Tournament Updates.
 

WEEKLY PAYOUTS

We will be having a Gross and Net Payout for every tournament. Gross and Net payout will paid for every tournament, paying out 25% of the field. When there is a Black Tee Event, then Black Tee players are only eligible for Gross payout.
 

MEMBER BENEFITS

All members in good standing have exclusive access to the following:

• Guaranteed Sunday Morning Tee Times\

• Certified USGA Handicap

• Entry into all of the Weekly Men's Club Tournaments -August - October

• Gross and Net Payouts

• Points toward BFRMC Gross and Net Player of the Year award

• Eligible for entry into the BFRMC Match Play Championship with a chance for entry into the  BFRMC Free Golf Shootout

• Hole in One Insurance (first premium)-Membership dues include $5.00 to cover up to $175 of a bar tab per H-1-O in a Men's club event. If the fund is exhausted during the season a notice will be sent to all members to alert them to the need to make a supplement payment to extend their protection of coverage.

Lastly, on behalf of the Executive Board and Tournament Committee, I'd like to thank each of you for supporting the Men's Club and allowing us to manage its affairs. We encourage you to reach out to us with your thoughts, suggestions, and ideas and look forward to seeing you this year.

Chris Sedgwick - President