December Newsletter by hillcrestgolfcountryclub

HILLCREST NEWSLETTER

THE

TEAM

Kirk Williams, General Manager

Pete Peterson, Director of Golf

Stephen Gage, Head Golf Pro

Kathy Vick, Head Tennis Pro

BUISNESS HOURS

PRO SHOP

Monday- Sunday- 7am-5pm

DINING HOURS

Tuesday- 11am-2pm

Wednesday-Saturday- 11am-8:30pm

Sunday 10:30am-2:00pm

MIXED GRILL

Tuesday-Thursday- 10:30am-8:30pm Friday-Saturday- 7:30am-8:30pm Sunday-7:30am-7:00pm

OFFICE HOURS

Administration: Monday-Friday 9am-4pm Kirk Williams: kwilliams@hillcrestcc.com

FOR EVENT INQUIRES, please email events @hillcrestcc com

**closing time is dependent on weather and customer volume**

Kirk’s Letter

Stephen’s Letter

Pete’s Letter

Pro Shop Party

Kathy’s Letter

Book Christmas Events

Steak Night

Brunch Menus

Calendar

Brunch with Santa Family Night

Holiday Shuttle

Drinks of the Month

2 for $22 Burgers

Accounting

Gil’s Letter

Wine & Wrap Bridge Winners

Seems that December is a month that tends to look backwards at what we got completed and what things we failed at during the past year. I feel encouraged by the staff and members that have been affirming all that we have tried to accomplish with the changes the past year. In 2025 we will focus on more of the course's continued improvements since a lot of the "past deferred maintenance" and replacement of worn out things (equipment carpet,paint colors,etc) have slowly been accomplished My goal as the General Manager is to take the golf course ( for the members enjoyment) to even the next level for 2025 and 2026 I continue to believe that Hillcrest Country Club is the best value for any country club in Lubbock with great golf, great food and great people. I hope all the members will support the future updates into 2025 with enthusiasm and support as they have in 2024. May all of you have a wonderful Christmas and great memories during this month with friends and family.

Christmas parties and events

We've booked many parties for several companies and organizations but still have room for more in case your family wants a private room or still one of those last minute planners for staff and parties. Just contact Chance at crose@hillcrestcc.com, to schedule your event, and he will make accommodations that can fit anywhere from 15 to 200, within our dining and event facilities. Chef Abe has many menus to fit the evening whether fine dining or casual. Please also be aware that our normal monthly even nights could be influenced with some of the large parties we've booked so pay careful attention to the email flyers that are being sent out during the week

Sunday Brunch Shake-up

Two weeks ago we tried our first "plated entree" brunch and it seemed to be a resounding hit. The premise is we still have the omelette bar, the salad bar, the dessert bar, and even chicken tenders and waffles, but then you choose one of 4 entrees as your main plated dish. That week specifically had a choice of the following entrees : 1) pot roast served with fingerling potatoes topped with asparagus, Cordon Bleu served with vegetables and potatoes, or Chicken Fried Steak served with 2 sides The ability to serve 40-50 customers without waste or leftovers was a hit Watch for the menus in December as we will be doing similar dates as well with this format

Accounting and Year End items to consider

As we wrap up the year, please let Rob, or myself know if we need to prepare any final statement or recap for the year related to your invoicing etc. I know that this is also the time that the club offers the "pay in advance" dues for the entire year of 2025 and save a months dues If you are considering this program please get with Stephen and Pete in the pro shop so that they can receive payment and format the computer to make sure we don't continue charging a monthly current dues This program is also available for social members and even golf cart fees, so check with everyone if you want to know more about this offer. We still have our "winter initiation fees special" going on right now but it will go back up in March-so bring a friend, or family member in for sign up if they have been considering joining us.

A special thanks to some of the staff and my wife as well for helping get the club decorated last year and this year as well It's a lot of effort to get so many trees decorated and the wreaths and decorations placed around the club, so if you see them hanging around the club or installing please give them that note of affirmation

Merry Christmas to everyone and your families from our family and the staff at Hillcrest Country Club, we definitely appreciate you all as members of Hillcrest Country Club.

The Lord is Infinitely Faithful, Merciful and Good, may you have joy during these days we recognize the birth of Christ and the meaning of His sacrifice for all

Sincerely

Kirk Williams

GOLF COURSE NOTICE

Please be aware that as we go through the winter months we will be doing patch and repairs on some fairways like #3, #4 and # 6, where we will be working on some low spots to level them, fill them with proper soil as well as getting them ready for sod in early March to alleviate those areas that have been bad for at least 6 or 7 years. We need everyone's cooperation to leave the ropes and protected areas "alone", meaning not moving the stakes or dropping the ropes for a mere convenience of driving or walking another 20 yards or so. This course has been neglected for several years in some of these areas and we need total cooperation for it to get some of these badly neglected areas in better shape. I hope all members will look at this from a perspective of pride in their course and maintenance team trying to do their job and attempting to make the course the very best it can be. It might surprise many members that the UIL and other groups consider this one of the best challenges for their tournaments and we believe it can be additionally improved in 2025. We will have a handicapped flag program implemented in the next month or so for those of you that can not physically observe the 90 degree rule or going through medical reasons for having to drive closer to the ball but you must have this on the cart whenever playing to avoid staff from asking you to move to proper cart path or distances from greens or marked areas. We saw a great improvement in 2024 on hole #1 just by it being roped off for a short period of time in the summer and now we intend to protect it and other areas during the winter months as well.

Stephen Gage Members,

I want to start by thanking each of our members that has walked through the pro shop door, played a round of golf, participated in an event, brought us goodies and or came and talked with Pete, Skyler, Paul or myself. You are the reason this place is so great, and we enjoy our jobs so much!

Thank you for everything you do for Hillcrest CC! 2024 is almost over and 2025 is just around the corner. We are excited for the new year, but we still have some unfinished business to attend to!

Here is a little schedule of events coming up:

12/1 - Tee Times starting at 9:00am

12/8 - Pro Shop Christmas Party 2:00pm-6:00pm

12/8 – Last Day for special orders if using Credit Book *No

Exceptions*

12/24 - Christmas Eve (Pro Shop hours: 8:00-2:00pm)

12/25 – Christmas Day (Club Closed)

12/31 – Last day to spend credit book

1/1 – New Year’s Day (Pro Shop hours: *TBD*)

Skyler and I have been working hard on the 2025 Hillcrest Tournament Schedule in Golf Genius. We are utilizing new Golf Genius features that I believe will make it easier and more enjoyable for everyone to use. You will be able to see all events and sign up for most events including Men’s, Women’s, and Junior’s. We hope to roll this out at the beginning of 2025! Please feel free to reach out if you need anything!

stevegage@pga.com

DIRECTOR OF GOLF

SLOW PLAY!!!! SLOW PLAY!!!! SLOW PLAY!!!!

Slow play can be a problem during busy times here at the club I would like to give you a few suggestions to help identify it, as well as some tips for relieving the pressure and tension that come with it Remember, do not want any 18 hole rounds taking longer than 4 hours and 20 minutes If you think your group is starting to fall behind the normal pace of play, take these steps to get back in position and catch up with the group in front of you

Pete Peterson

1. Play ready golf. (no honors, give putts inside the leather, max score of triple bogey)

2 Keep an eye on the time (13 minutes on par 3’s and 4’s, 15 minutes on par 5’s)

3. Stay within sight of the group in front of you. (If you cannot see them, you are behind)

4 If steps 1-3 do not yield any resolution, and you do end up falling behind, especially on weekends, please do not let groups play through. On a busy weekend the groups will just keep coming one after another, and you will spend more time waiting for groups to play through than you will playing. The best thing to do is to pick your balls up and go catch the group directly in front of you

If you are in a group that is behind a group that has lost their position on the golf course, DO NOT try to resolve this amongst yourselves and the other group Please call the Golf Shop. If needed, we will assess and remedy the slow play issue.

WINTER HOURS

Starting December 1st, our first available tee time will be 9:00 A.M. This will give our maintenance staff adequate time to prepare the golf course after colder temperatures resulting in frost delays The Maintenance Staff will need a little head start to do their normal prep, mow greens and change cups. In the event of frost delays due to freezing temperatures, we will not open course until 11:30 A.M. and start groups off #1 and #10 if needed. This will help us get more players on the golf course in a shorter amount of time.

TAKING CARE OF THE GOLF COURSE

You may have noticed that we have roped off areas on the golf course. If we can take better care of these areas during the winter months, they will be in much better shape going into the spring Please keep carts out of roped off areas, away from the greens and tee boxes, and on the cart path only on par 3’s. Lastly, I cannot stress the importance of fixing divots on the greens and fairways Just because your approach shot misses the green, does not mean it did not land on the putting surface. Always check to make sure there is not a divot where your ball may have landed We implore every player to not only sand and fix their own divots, but too also sand and fix divots that may have been missed by those in front of you As always, if there are any questions, feel free to call the golf shop

Tennis letter Kathy

Hi Tennis Players,

Most of our member enjoy a good game of doubles so this month’s article focuses on the return of serve when playing doubles. First, one must consider their stance in relationship to the baseline. If you stand further back, you give your opponents an opportunity to seize control of the point on your return. By taking a stance closer to the baseline, you give the server less time to get in the court if he is serving and volleying It ensures him hitting your return from a deeper, more defensive part of the court. The net player will also have less of an opportunity to poach the return if you hit the return sooner. Secondly, as a receiver, you should have your mind set as to what you will actually do with the return. The two best options are getting the ball down at the opponents feet, crosscourt being ideal Another good choice is to lob down the line over the net player A third choice would be to try to hit the return in the alley down the line in an attempt to pass the net player. It is not a high percentage play as the night is at it’s height on that shot and there is very little room to work with. However, the third choice is good on occasion, to keep the net person “honest” (from feeling they can poach all day as you as the receiver only aim crosscourt on returns)

Finally, if you the receiver are not being successful in that you are not putting pressure on the server with your return or the net player is able to poach often, you and your partner can go to an alternative starting position. The receiver and partner can both start on the baseline rather than the traditional one up, one back formation to give yourselves more time to get into the point Also, it is sometimes just helpful to have the opponent try to adjust to something different.