FOREST HILLS
On Course
COUNTRY CLUB
November 2020
www.foresthillscc.net
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Menu Items •
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All Items Will Be Served Family Style
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Fruit Cup • Danish • Bacon • Sausage • Home Fried Potatoes • Scrambled Eggs Take Home Decorated Sugar Cookie • Santa’s Cocoa Bar Pancakes Maple Syrup | Butter Glaze Biscuits and Gravy Baked Chorizo Burrito Queso and Salsa Verde
Reservations and Pricing Reservations Must Be Made by Calling the Club: (636) 227-5030.
Adults: $25 • Ages 6-11: $14 • 5 & Under: $6 48 Hour Cancelation Policy Applies
Event Details
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Photos: No professional photographer will be available this year; however, staff will be available to assist with taking family photos. Attire: Country Club Attire. Blue jeans are not permitted. Table Size: Table size will be limited to a maximum of (12) people per table. Club Hours: A la carte lunch service will not be available the day of all events.
Current Hours of Operation Dining
Tennis Chalet
Breakfast 10:00 am - 1:00 pm*
Sunday:
*The a la carte lunch menu will be available from 1:00-3:00 pm Tuesday: Wednesday - Sunday:
Lunch Closed 11:00 am - 3:00 pm
Wednesday - Sunday:
Dinner 5:00 - 9:00 pm
Closed for the Season Courts will be available by reservation. Private lessons are also available by contacting Kyle.
Men’s Lounge / Locker Room Phone: (636) 207-3527 Tuesday: Wed. - Sun.:
8:00 am - 4:00 pm 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
Café Closed for the Season
Fitness Center Monday: Tuesday: Tues. - Sun.:
Closed 5:00 am - 4:30 pm 5:00 am - 8:00 pm
Golf Shop Phone: (636) 227-1528 Tuesday - Sunday:
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Practice Range Tuesday - Sunday:
8:30 am - 5:00 pm
Dutch’s Hut Phone: (636) 227-1468 Friday - Sunday:
10:00 am - 4:00 pm** **Weather Dependent
Club News & Reminders A la Carte Dining Closed on Tuesdays Beginning in November Please be reminded that during the months of November 2020 - March 2021, the Club does not offer a la carte lunch service on Tuesdays. The Club always remains closed throughout the year on Tuesday evenings for dinner service.
Carryout Features Return this Month Chef Craig and the Culinary Team will be offering a carryout feature on both Thursdays and Sundays throughout the month of November. The a la carte dinner menu will also be available in addition to the feature.
Have Exciting News To Share? We encourage our members to share with us the interesting and exciting things happening in your lives! Please send your details to Ali Kaplan at alik@foresthillscc.net. We will do our very best to include your information in our upcoming newsletter. The deadline is always the 20th of the month.
Newsletter Prize Hidden within the pages of this issue and future issues, we have included a member’s number chosen at random. If you come across this number and it happens to be yours, contact Ali at alik@foresthillscc.net to redeem a $100 Gift Certificate good toward your next food and beverage purchase.
Board Chair Column by Chris Swenson
christophercswenson@gmail.com
I am excited for my first newsletter article as Chairman of the Board of Forest Hills County Club. I apologize for the delay in announcing the overwhelming vote in support of the Amended and Restated By-Laws wherein we changed the name of the position from President to Board Chair (and also changed the name of the General Manager position to Chief Operating Officer), and more importantly adopted the Club Governance Model that should benefit our members, the Board, Senior Management, and our employees. Please note that the amendment and restatement of the By-Laws was just part of this process as we have been conforming the Board Policies Manual to the new ByLaws and updating them as part of the process. Each committee chair has or is in the process of reviewing and updating their committee’s goals and objectives as well as their roles and responsibilities for review by the Board (and hopefully approval). This will be an ongoing process, as will be the review and updating of our rules and regulations. Again, I want to thank you for overwhelmingly supporting this process and for the trust you have placed in the Board and our Senior Management. I also hope our members take this opportunity to consider how they can get involved with the Club, whether as a member of a committee or a sub-committee. The Club Governance Model works best when we have committees that have diverse thoughts and views that work together with Department Chairs and ultimately the Board to develop and implement the objectives of those committees. I did want to acknowledge a scrivener’s error having been made in the Amended and Restated By-Laws that were shared with the membership for the vote. Simply stated, due to version control and document management issues Article II, Section 1B was supposed to read as follows: A Social Member shall not be a voting Member, except for capital assessments affecting him/her and other matters that may be further described in the BPM. As I discussed with several members prior to the vote, including the Social board representative, the Governance Committee sought to preserve the voting rights of Social Members consistent with how they have been, despite inconsistent language with the old By-Laws regarding the voting rights of Social Members. The language in the BPM correctly reflected this. Accordingly, in conjunction with ballots for new Board members being mailed out next year, we will be providing documentation intended to resolve this scrivener’s error. Considering this process took years but needed to be completed prior to the end of our historical fiscal year, as well as included making the lengthy BPM available to membership to read in conjunction with the Amended and Restated By-Laws, I apologize for this mistake and stand ready to timely have it corrected consistent with what was intended. As a reminder, the Club still is operating in accordance with the St. Louis County Executive Order regarding COVID-19. While our Task Force was recently disbanded, our Senior Management continues to focus on the health and safety of our members, their spouses/significant others, dependents, guests, and employees. As the weather gets colder and demand for outdoor dining lessens, the Club may have to address more challenging capacity issues. Fortunately, our senior management is already thinking about this and has addressed this by increasing the number of holiday events, specifically for Breakfast with Santa, in hopes that everyone will be able to attend one of the four available dates during the month of December. In addition, the Club will be hosting many of its other traditional holiday events, including Thanksgiving, the Family Holiday Dinner and New Year’s Eve dinner with the addition of the Polar Express Pajama Party & Movie Night, an all-new event this year. I also wanted to share that our Nominating Committee, Jeff Bierman, Tom Fascetti, John Mazzola, Scott Lambert and Fred Salerno, appointed by our immediate Past President and ex officio Board member, Eric Verhulst, has begun the important task of identifying the next slate of Board members for consideration by the Board and, once Board approved, for the vote of membership. Succession planning is a critical aspect of the Club and its governance and we are fortunate to have many qualified members who are interested in serving. As noted above regarding committee membership, it is of great help to the nominating committee for our members to have served or be serving on committees in recommending future Board members to the current Board. Also, in light of our new fiscal year and Amended and Restated By-Laws, that timing will be a little different than prior years. You can expect to receive a ballot for next year’s nominees no later than early March 2021. I also want to thank Pat Wenstrup, Golf Committee Chair in addition to John Mazzola, Charles Nance, Tiffany Durham, Michael Brown, Kirk Wiley and Al Ruggeri, who have led the search for a new head professional. Having gone through a similar search 18 months ago, we have a lot of feedback from the membership and the Committee has sought additional information from membership to help choose the next Head Professional at Forest Hills Country Club – a position that we believe to be quite attractive and for which we will have many qualified candidates. The Search Committee is prepared to move thoroughly and quickly.
Membership News by Ryan Schaben, CMP
ryans@foresthillscc.net
Manager’s Report by Kevin Donovan
kevind@foresthillscc.net
Dear Forest Hills Members, We hope this finds you all safe and well. Fall is here in full force as the leaves are in full color! The holiday season is quickly approaching, and the staff continues to look for ways to keep our holiday activities alive while maintaining our focus on safety and security regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. The “Haunted Halloween Trail” looked great and we thank Gina, Lori and Nicole along with all of our staff who worked through the rain to help set this up for our kiddos! Our team continues to work on the details that will allow us to safely offer Thanksgiving, Breakfast with Santa and New Year’s Eve for our members. I am extremely proud of the entire staff for all their continued focus on adjusting our operations to allow for activities to move forward. The Club is still under restrictions and members can only host events for 50 people or less, but it appears that we are getting a few holiday events booked in December so if you have any plans you may want to contact Gina Parisi, our Director of Events. Chef Craig has finally been able to hire some staff and we have some great additions to the team in our Culinary Department. Now that Chef has some staff, he has increased the number of offerings on the menu and thus far it has been very well received. We have heard comments about Chef’s wings being the best in West County! On the golf course, Scott has made his first application of poa-cure. The product is supposed to eradicate the poa infestation within our greens. Scott and his team continue to provide great playing surfaces and this application can only help make the greens roll even better. On the golf course we are starting to work on the much-needed repairs to the creeks. Currently we are working on the creek bottom on the creek that crosses #7 fairway. As the course continues to experience heavy runoff from torrential rain events, the creek bottom in this area has started to deteriorate as well as causing damage to a portion of the stacked rock walls. This work has come at a cost of about $85K but is much needed. The Long-range Planning Committee continues to work with Midwest Testing and Stock and Associates to revise the creek renovation and restoration plan. We are hopeful that by early spring we will have a very comprehensive plan that will allow us to project costs so that we can build a financial strategy to continue with renovations and restoration. The House Committee is also working in conjunction with the Long-Range Planning Committee to identify future needs for upkeep of the physical plant and to ensure we are forecasting appropriately for future capital needs so that our facility continues to improve. Our Facilities Manager, Dale, has accomplished a lot over the last couple of years regarding upkeep and repair of the building.
Thanksgiving Take Out Will Also Be Available!
Starting in November, on Mondays and Tuesdays as we are closed on those days, we will be working on the main Foyer of the Clubhouse. We recently added new front doors and now we will be removing the old wallpaper and painting the entire area all the way to the top of the atrium. Our hope is to have this completed before Thanksgiving and with minimal disruption to our members. The House Committee has also conducted a thorough examination of our interior of the facility and we are devising plans to help upgrade many areas of the Club. The plan is to start planning and scheduling updates and upgrades to: ● Replace and repair all main-level ceiling tiles The Men’s Banquet Restrooms ● The Pre-function Bar ● Repair, upgrade or replace all exterior doors / hardware The Foyer ● The Club Room We will also be working on updating our comprehensive funding plan that will project our 3-5 year capital needs along with a financial plan to ensure positive cash flow. ● ●
We also want to report to you that on Wednesday, October 28th, Forest Hills appeared before the Clarkson Valley Planning and Zoning Commission. We were successful in getting a recommendation to the Board of Alderman from the Planning and Zoning Commission for a special use permit that would allow us the ability to install a sound wall that will mitigate sound while playing pickleball. We will be appearing in front of the Board of Alderman on Tuesday, November 3 rd to try to finalize the permitting process and hopefully get our permit to build the new pickleball courts. If we are successful, we will be starting the project fairly quickly. Our contractor is waiting in the wing for us to give them the go ahead, again, if we are successful. We want to thank everyone who has given their time and support during this process and we will make an announcement of the outcome next Wednesday. Regarding our Head Golf Professional search, the Committee is meeting candidates and hopefully we will have a new Head Golf Professional sometime soon. We will keep the membership posted on this progress. We continue to remain full in both golf and social memberships, with golf being on a waitlist. The Club also remains financially strong even in the face of a historic pandemic. We want to thank each of you for your continued support of Forest Hills Country Club and we look forward to the day when Covid-19 is a distant memory. We wish all of our families a safe and Happy Holiday season and we hope to see you at the Club very soon.
Tips from the Tee by Ryan Martin, PGA
ryanm@foresthillscc.net
Help with Hilly Lies Many people wonder why they hit the ball so well on the range, but have trouble striking solid shots on the golf course. One reason is due to the different types of lies and stances you must play from on the course. The driving range is stress free, allowing you to place the ball on a very good lie, and have a pretty level stance. Here are some tips for approaching the different hilly lies you may encounter during a round of golf at Forest Hills. With an uneven lie, use a wider stance to help maintain better balance. For an uphill lie, align your shoulders to match the slope (back shoulder lower than front). Move the ball slightly ahead of your normal position. Remember, the slope of the hill adds loft to your golf club, so take at least one extra club, and use a shorter swing. Downhill lies are just the opposite of an uphill shot. You will again benefit from a wider stance and aligning your shoulders to match the slope (front shoulder lower than back). Move the ball slightly back from your normal position. Finish the swing with a lower, shorter follow-through to avoid trying to help the ball up in the air. The slope of the hill de -lofts your golf club so the ball will fly lower. Side hill lies require you to adjust your posture more than your shoulders. When the ball is above your feet, move your hands down the grip and get taller with your posture. Try to make your swing slightly flatter, or more around you. Make sure to stay in your posture and not dip down to the ball. Your ball flight will tend to be a draw or a slight pull due to the hill. When the ball is below your feet, use a wider stance and flex your knees to get closer to the ball. The hill can easily push you off balance, so make a shorter swing than normal. The ball flight will tend to be a fade or push because of this slope. Balance is very important to strike the ball solid from a hilly lie. It is also tough to fight gravity with uphill and downhill shots, so do the best you can with your weight shift. Therefore, I recommend making a smaller or smoother swing to hit the ball when you have a difficult stance on the golf course.
Men’s Senior Golf Association by Jim Harf
jharf80@gmail.com
The Senior Men concluded their season with two events in October. In the weekly regular play on October 7, Ron Miles won the gross division with a winning score of 76 and Charles Nance took the net division with a score of 69. The closing shambles event on October 14 under great weather concluded our season. The winning team was composed of Jim Moffit, Ed Mayuga and Tony Ruggeri.
Congratulations to Charles Nance Our Mens Senior Golf Association Season Champion Charles’ season-long points total placed him ahead of second-place winner, Jeff Watson. John Sherman and Terry Schad tied for third place in the year-long competition. This past season posed a difficult challenge to our Association as the virus pandemic played havoc with our schedule. Nevertheless, a significant number of senior men faced the challenge head-on and contended throughout the season, enjoying the competition and competing as vigorously as ever. Our deep thanks go out to Charles Nance for his tireless efforts on behalf of the Association over the past several years, including his top leadership role for the past year and a half. Jim Harf takes over as President of the Men’s Senior Association for the 2021 season. John de Greck will serve as Vice-President for the upcoming year. The new leadership team welcomes the opportunity to help continue the Association’s strong presence at FHCC. The team is cognizant of the challenges confronting senior men, including those posed by the virus pandemic and turnover in the Golf Shop leadership. It invites all seniors to share their ideas about how to make the Association an even better home for all men ages 55 and over, including helping to creating a weekly schedule that leads to exciting types of competition for larger participating fields. The new leadership team is eager to begin its work to help ensure another successful season for the Men’s Senior Association in 2021.
Catering Corner by Gina Parisi
ginap@foresthillscc.net
In addition to finding creative ways to host this year’s annual fall and winter events, I look forward to assisting you in planning your private holiday gatherings as well. Family traditions are important, and we hope you consider FHCC this holiday season! At this time, we are functioning at 50% capacity in all of our private event spaces. We also must keep event sizes to 50 or less. Below are the updated capacities for each respective room: • •
Crystal Ballroom: 50 guests Terrace Room: 18 guests
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Club Room: 14 guests Living Room: 16 guests
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The Grill: 44 guests Lower Patio: 50 guests
Book Your
Holiday Event at Forest Hills Family Gatherings, Corporate Parties and More! •
Private event spaces that accommodate groups up to 50 people.
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Seasonal menus catered to your specific event prepared by Chef Craig and his culinary staff.
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Professional event coordination.
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Stunning holiday décor and festive table settings. For More Information Contact: Gina Parisi, Director of Events (636) 207-3528 • ginap@foresthillscc.net
Dining News & Events
Taco Menu Crispy Duck Confit Flash Fried Brussels, Pickled Cucumber, Mango Chutney, Scallion Radish Slaw
Carne Asada Grilled Flank Steak, Cotija Cheese, Cilantro, Salsa Verde
Pork Belly Shaved Cabbage, Candied Jalapenos, Cilantro, Sweet and Sour Braising Jus
Blackened Shrimp Cucumber Salad, Reggiano Remoulade, Fried Green Tomato
Carnitas Cotija Cheese, Pickled Red Onion, Avocado, Shaved Cabbage, Pico de Gallo
Honey Glazed Crispy Chicken Avocado Corn Relish, Watercress
Dipping Sauces 568
Honey Roasted Jalapeno Fire Grilled Tomato Charred Scallion and Lime Mango Tomatillo Sweet Chile Citrus
Evening Book Club
by Connie Hawley
hawleyc1@hotmail.com
The 2020 Forest Hills Evening Book Club is coming to an end. It’s all over but the shouting. Well, actually it’s all over except the Christmas Dinner Party! Our plan is to have a lovely Chef prepared dinner, drinks and fellowship. We will also raise a little donation to help our community during this particularly difficult time. Always sad for the end of the Evening Book Club meetings, but I am not sorry to say goodbye to 2020! Really looking forward to 2021. If you have enjoyed the Evening Book Club in the past or if you would like to meet the amazing women who come to the Evening Book Club, join us in December:
Evening Book Club Christmas Dinner Party Wednesday Evening, December 9th ● 6:00 PM Everyone is welcome to the Evening Book Club. Please RSVP by calling the Club or by signing up on ForeTees. We start our evening together with “social “ time at 6:30 pm. We enjoy a drink or two paired with dinner of your choice. If you have any questions, please feel free to call me at 636-536-2622.
Morning Book Club by Bettina Esser Next Meeting:
bettinaesser@earthlink.net
Wednesday, November 11th ● 10:30 am
The Morning Book Club had a fabulous meeting and lunch on October 14th to discuss the bestseller, The Only Woman in the Room, by Marie Benedict. We will meet on Wednesday, November 11th to review This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger and on Wednesday, December 9th for our last meeting of the year, to discuss Wishin’ and Hopin’ by Wally Lamb.
Our meeting on December 9th will include a discussion on Wishin’ and Hopin’ by Wally Lamb. We will then take a break in January and not meet until February 10th, where we will review Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. We would love for you to join us and, if you like, discussions questions can be sent in advance to your e-mail. Just contact me at bettinaesser@earthlink.net.
18 Hole Ladies Golf News by Christy Ehrenreich
christyehren@gmail.com
Congratulations– we made it through a golf season while dealing with COVID! I hope everyone is continuing to stay healthy! We had a wonderful day for our final round of the season for 18 hole women. High in the 80’s and sunny it was really hot! Our year end report of winners is below. Due to COVID, this year only 16 women turned in their ringer cards. Players were divided into two groups, silver tees and red tees. We had 35 birdies this year! We can’t wait to return in 2021. Look for the email to announce our opening meeting in March.
2020 Ringer Awards Silver Tees Championship Flight:
Cathy Moffit
A Division:
Pam Atteberry
Red Tees A Flight: B Flight:
Gina Russon & Sally Sprowls Tina Vierling
Birdies Silver Tees:
Cathy Moffit
Red Tees:
Maureen Niemeyer
Chip Ins Maureen Niemeyer, Tina Vierling, & Gina Russon
Upcoming Events
Wines Bonotto Prosecco Brut, N-V La Spinona Chardonnay, 2018 Bric Cenciurio Barbera d’Alba, 2018
Forest Hills Wine Society
Corsignano Chianti Classico, 2016 Col di Bacche Campo Amarene Super Tuscan, 2016
Wine Tasting A TOUR OF ITALY Friday, November 27th 4:00 pm Dinner Reservations Following the Event Recommended
Aldegheri Ripasso Della Valpolicella, 2017 Rivetto Macarini Barbaresco, 2017 Bric Cenciurio Pittatore Barolo, 2015
Hors d ‘oeuvres Charcuterie Plate
$45 per person* *Wine Society Members will receive 20% off this price.
Family Holiday Dinner -SAVE THE DATESunday, December 20th Reservations from 5:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Cigar Club Holiday Party Thursday, December 3rd
Featuring an Elegant Family-Friendly Dinner Experience at the Club.
6:00 pm Enjoy socializing in the Men’s Lounge with snacks and a select premium cigar.
Upcoming Events
Pajama Party & Movie Night Saturday, November 28th • 6:00 - 9:30 pm
Includes: plated dinner, donuts, hot chocolate, popcorn & soft drinks. Candy available by signature. Attire: Kids are encouraged to come to the event dressed in their favorite holiday pajamas! Things to Bring: Bring your blankets and/or sleeping bags for comfortable seating while viewing the film.
(Included in admission price) Breakfast Plate: Buttermilk Pancakes Scrambled Eggs | Bacon Hot Chocolate & Fresh Fried Donut Bar Chocolate Glazed Traditional Glazed Cinnamon Sugar Assorted Toppings
Parents are encouraged to join us for dinner while their child(ren) attend the movie night, and must stay on Club premises for the duration of the event. Sign Up on ForeTees Limited to the first 50 people to sign up. 48 Hour Cancelation Policy applies.
TICKETS: Ages 5 & Up: $20 [Ages 5 & under welcome if accompanied by an adult]
Forest Hills Country Club 36 Forest Club Drive Chesterfield, MO 63005 If the electronic copy of On Course fails to meet your family’s needs and you would like to opt-in to receiving a physical mailing, please notify Ali at (636) 207-3512 or alik@foresthillscc.net. Copies are also available in the Clubhouse lobby.
We would love to hear your ideas, suggestions, feedback, or positive comments in regards to any and all things related to our Club. To submit, email hospitality@foresthillscc.net
Club Contacts BOARD OF DIRECTORS Christopher C. Swenson President
Nicholas A. Licavoli
Kevin Donovan
Clubhouse (636) 227-5030
General Manager 636.207.3515 ● kevind@foresthillscc.net
Office Fax (636) 227-2540
Craig Peterson Executive Chef 636.207.3518 ● craigp@foresthillscc.net
Golf Shop (636) 227-1528 www.foresthillscc.net
Treasurer / Finance Chair
Scott Reynolds, GCS
Monica Knudtson
Patrick Wenstrup
Grounds Superintendent 636.227.5044 ● scotts@foresthillscc.net
Office Manager 636.207.3514 ● monicak@foresthillscc.net
Golf Chair
Julie Kennedy
Ali Kaplan
Director
Controller 636.207.3513 ● juliek@foresthillscc.net
Member Communications / Marketing 636.207.3512 ● alik@foresthillscc.net
Alan M. Ruggeri
Ryan Schaben, CMP
Gina Parisi
Membership Director 636.207.3545 ● ryans@foresthillscc.net
Director of Events 636.207.3528 ● ginap@foresthillscc.net
House Chair
Emma Gore
Lori Kalapinski
Peter J. Arman
Assistant General Manager 636.230.2507 ● emmag@foresthillscc.net
Events Manager 636.207.3535 ● lorik@foresthillscc.net
Robert R. Kimes
Director
Robert S. Wachter
Vice President / Long Range Planning Chair
Lawrence R. Giglio Membership Chair
Bryan Arntz
Nicole Walen
Food and Beverage Director 636.207.3555 ● bryana@foresthillscc.net
Special Events Coordinator 636.207.3535 ● nicolew@foresthillscc.net
Matthew J. Ott
Chris Ballard
Kyle O’Leary
Grounds Chair
Dining Room Manager 636.207.3532 ● chrisb@foresthillscc.net
Director of Racquet Sports 636.628.1387 ● kyleo@foresthillscc.net
David A. Linenbroker Secretary / Privilege Chair
Zachary G. Smith Swim & Tennis Chair
Lawrence A. Thayer Governance Chair
Matt Dillman
Dale Davis
Assistant Golf Professional 636.227.1528 ● mattd@foresthillscc
Facilities Manager 636.207.3533 ● daled@foresthillscc.net
Matt Swanson
Erin Kramarczyk
Assistant Golf Professional 636.227.1528 ● matts@foresthillscc
Concierge 636.227.5030 ● erink@foresthillscc.net