CLUB
LIFE
More than a Club, a Community
January/February 2026
Don’t Miss These Exciting Events! DATE NIGHT
BIG GAME TO-GO
VALENTINE’S DAY DINNER
Thursdays: 1/15, 1/29, & 2/19
Sunday, 2/8
Saturday, 2/14
CLUB DIRECTORY 301-694-8322 General Manager Mike Barrett, CGCS
ext. 105
Membership Director Trish Flora
ext. 106
Head Golf Professional Andrew Blockinger, PGA
ext. 113
Director of Instruction Craig Balsinger
ext. 114
Executive Chef Daniel Storm
HOURS ext. 109
Course & Grounds Superintendent 410-294-0406 Dan Wildeman, GCS Director of Food & Beverage Susie Yost
ext. 104
Events Manager Christine Quiambao
ext. 111
Controller Michele Poulos Marketing Manager Katherine Lukaszewicz As the holiday decorations are tucked away and the quiet calm of January settles, there is a natural desire to slow down and savor the season. After the fastpaced energy of December, the New Year offers us a chance to embrace "hygge"—the Danish concept of coziness, comfort, and contentment. There is no better way to lean into this winter spirit than with a breakfast that feels like a warm hug, turning a chilly morning into a special occasion at home. French toast is the quintessential winter comfort food, offering a beautiful balance of crisp, golden edges and a soft, custard-like center. In these early days of 2026, it serves as the perfect bridge between the indulgence of the holidays and the fresh start of a new season. Whether you are fueling up for a brisk winter walk, or enjoying a slow Sunday at home, this recipe brings a touch of "morning magic" to your kitchen table. 2
DINING
GOLF
Monday-Tuesday: Club Closed Grill Wednesday-Friday: 11am-8pm Saturday: 11am-4pm Sunday: Closed Lounge Wednesday-Friday: 4pm-9pm Saturday: 4pm-8pm Sunday: 11am-8pm
Monday-Tuesday: Club Closed Wednesday-Sunday Golf Shop 9am-5pm Tee Times, Range & Practice Facilities 9am-5pm Simulator 9am-5pm
ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES Monday-Friday: 8am-4pm
ext. 102
ext. 101
SPECIAL HOURS
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8 Club and course will be closing at 4pm.
THE ULTIMATE WINTER FRENCH TOAST: A SWEET START TO 2026
Daniel Storm, Executive Chef
INGREDIENTS 6 eggs 1 cup milk ½ cup sugar 1 T cinnamon ½ t allspice 1 loaf of thick-cut brioche or challah DIRECTIONS Mix all ingredients together until sugar is dissolved Add butter to pan over medium high heat until starting to bubble Dip bread into custard and place into the pan Flip the bread and add more butter on the sides Cook for roughly 1-2 minutes on each side Serve with your favorite syrup or fruit compote
FROM THE
GENERAL MANAGER Mike Barrett,CGCS
Dear Member, Happy New Year! 2026 has arrived, and I am excited for an amazing year ahead! 2025 was a challenging year for my family and me. It’s hard to understand how we could experience the worst and greatest moments of our lives wrapped up into one year. Losing my amazing wife Amy was the toughest thing I have ever faced but with tremendous love and support from my family and friends, I made it through and could not be broken. Megan and Katie are both doing great and continue to set the world on fire. Megan married the love of her life, Finn Schap, in May, and they bought a home in Damascus. She continues to teach for Montgomery County Public Schools and moved to a new school in Germantown, MD, where she is now teaching first grade. She loves cooking and baking and started selling her baked goods at a local farmers market in Olney. Katie continues to blow me away with her accomplishments as she completes her final year of high school. She played on the varsity golf team, was awarded the “Most Improved Player Award,” and was inducted into the multiple National Honor Societies. She recently completed three college classes at Montgomery College as a dual enrollment student and is excited to begin more classes later this month. She was also awarded scholarships from the Maryland State Golf Association and the Mid Atlantic Association of Golf Course Superintendents. Words can’t express how proud I am of my girls. They are Amy and my greatest accomplishment in life, and I know Amy is smiling down from Heaven cheering them on. Thank you to everyone who contributed to the Holly Hills Holiday Fund—your generosity made the holiday season brighter for everyone who works hard to make sure you enjoy your time at the Club. 2025 saw continued great improvements throughout the club totaling over $1.5 million dollars. The FSK Room and Golf Shop received makeovers with new paint, ceilings, carpet and light fixtures. The pool house was painted inside and out. New vanities, ceiling fans and LED lighting were installed. Golf course improvements included completing construction of the greenside bunkers and irrigation system installation on the front 9, rebuilding #6 green, and cart path repairs throughout the course. We are finalizing the 2026 capital project list and will keep you updated as projects are approved.
December was a very busy month at the Club, and hopefully you and your family had an opportunity to join us to enjoy some of the great events. We hosted numerous events including Gingerbread House Decorating, Kids Movie Night, Wine Pairing, Holiday Sip & Shop, Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest, Sunday Football Specials and two Santa Brunches. We have a great calendar of events scheduled for 2026, and we are excited to spend lots of time with your family and friends at the Club this year. Congratulations to Team Susie Yost, the Food & Beverage Team, for winning the Gingerbread Decorating Competition this year! The Course & Grounds, Golf Shop, Kitchen, and Administration Teams decorated gingerbread houses for the second annual competition that were on display for judging during the Santa Brunches last month. Members voted on which house they liked the most and also guessed which team built each house. With over 136 votes cast this year, Team F&B brought home the victory and will celebrate with a pizza party at New York J&P Pizza! The competition is becoming fiercer, and I can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with next year. A special thanks to all of our Champions of Growth in 2025. A strong membership is the key to our success, and 25 members referred friends and family to join Holly Hills last year. If you know anyone interested in membership, our Champions of Growth Referral Program is a great way to introduce them to the Club. Rewards include guest passes, an invitation to the year-end grand celebration and the opportunity to win six-months free dues in the year-end raffle. As you see new faces around the Club, please be sure to welcome them to the Holly Hills family. Please reach out to our Membership Director, Trish Flora for additional information at tflora@hollyhillsgolf.com.
Mike Barrett, CGCS General Manager RESTAURANT GOLF COURSE MENUS BLOG
RULES & CUSTOMS
CLUB EVENTS
3
FOOD & BEVERAGE NEWS Susie Yost
Director, Food & Beverage
UPCOMING EVENTS JANUARY 1/8 Live Music 1/11 Sports Jersey Bingo Night
J
1/15 Date Night 1/23 Adult Trivia Night 1/29 Date Night
FEBRUARY 2/8 Big Game To Go 2/14 Valentine’s Day Dinner 2/19 Date Night 2/20 Fresh Catch Friday 2/22 Interactive Movie Night 2/27 Fresh Catch Friday
4 pm - 6 pm
2/28 Live Music at the Club 2/28 Oyster Night
Help Us Elevate Your Dining Experience by Taking Our Short Survey We are committed to ensuring that your experience at our dining venues is exceptional. To help us understand your preferences, we are conducting a brief survey. Your feedback is invaluable and will directly influence future enhancements to our club's dining program. Scan QR code to the right to take the survey. The survey should take no more than five minutes to complete, and your responses will be kept confidential. Thank you for your time and insight. 4
SUPERINTENDENT’S UPDATE
Dan Wildeman, GCS
Course & Grounds Superintendent
WINTER COURSE MAINTENANCE The past few years in Maryland we have grown accustomed to having some nice golfing weather in the month of December. This year is different, as winter has arrived in full force and put the golf course to sleep with some very cold temperatures and even a little snow cover. With our new weather station at the golf maintenance facility, we can now give you more statistics about our weather specific to our property. In the 21-day period between November 27 and December 17, the high temperature did not reach 50 degrees. Eight of those days did not reach 40 degrees, four of those days did not reach 35 degrees, and one of those days the high temperature for the day was only 25 degrees. We also had 6 days where the low temperature did not reach 20 degrees, with the lowest temperature recorded being eight degrees! I am hopeful that we will have at least one or two warmer stretches over the next couple months to allow for some winter golf. This time of year, things like raking bunkers and changing cups become impossible, as the greens and the bunkers are frozen solid on most of these cold days. However, we have been able to start our fairway aeration process. Using 1-inch diameter solid tines on our tractor mounted aerator, we can penetrate even frozen ground to a depth of about 3 inches. This process will help to loosen the soil and allow for more root growth. The process is somewhat time-consuming, as we typically can’t get started until the sun comes up and burns the frost off of the fairways. Winter is a great time for our department to plan and prepare our equipment and our minds for the busy golf season ahead. Our team will be working on tree trimming, equipment maintenance, and refurbishing our golf course accessories such as tee markers, trash cans and water cooler stations. Our irrigation system has been drained and winterized and will remain that way until sometime in March 2026. During this time, we will be doing some pipe repairs on the old part of the system to fix some leaks that were observed towards the end of the season. Our managers will be attending multiple continuing education seminars including The Maryland Turfgrass Council and the Mid-Atlantic Golf Course Superintendents Association.
These seminars are very beneficial, as they provide information on new research and resources that aim to assist turf managers in improving their properties. The seminars also fulfill our pesticide and fertilizer license renewal requirements for the state of Maryland each year.
Topdressing new fairway sod on #5
Winter fairway aeration
Happy New Year 2026!
Dan Wildeman, GCS Course & Grounds Superintendent
Scan to follow the Golf Course Blog online. 5
MEMBERSHIP SPOTLIGHT Trish Flora, Membership Director
CELEBRATING OUR CHAMPIONS OF GROWTH As we look back on a wonderful year of community, connection, and growth, I’d like to take a moment to spotlight some very special members—our Champions of Growth. These are the individuals and families who shared their love of the Club and referred friends, colleagues, and neighbors to join our community this past year. Their enthusiasm has played a meaningful role in shaping the vibrant, welcoming membership experience we’re so proud of today.
Welcome
Each new member doesn’t just add a name to our roster, it brings new energy to our fairways, new families to our social events, and new friendships throughout the Club. Our Champions of Growth help us strengthen the spirit of Holly Hills in the most authentic way: through personal connection.
Welcome TO OUR NEWEST MEMBERS Brent & Monica Stewart Jonathan & Rachel Aceto Christopher Clemons & Alyssa Kaszmetskie Bryan Moseley & Liz Simons Nick & Alicia Lupi Grant & Kate Gotlinger Joseph & Alexandra Rice Hunter & Holly King
To each of you who made a referral this year, thank you. Your support is invaluable, and we’re truly grateful for your trust in sharing the Holly Hills experience with others. We look forward to celebrating all of our Champions of Growth in February with a special evening of elevated culinary features, exciting prizes, and our Grand Prize drawing for Six Months of Complimentary Dues.
2025
2025
CHAMPIONS OF GROWTH
Cheers, Trish Flora
Kash & Darla McClure Billy & Nadia Biddle Mark & Lauren Westcott Kevin & Sandra Carl Chris & Angela Chase Rich & Jade Derby Bruce Watson Peter & Danielle Benjamin Joshua & Stephanie Ware Ryan & Kristen Pollard Andrew & Krista Wickliffe Mark Seiss & Megan Horner Jeff & Carolyn Williford
For more information, please contact Trish Flora, Membership Director at tflora@hollyhillsgolf.com.
VIEW CLUB DRESS CODE
6
VIEW CHAMPIONS OF GROWTH BROCHURE
6
Kevin O’Connor Darrell & Kris Guyton Tim Stolz Michael & Ashly Wright Greg & Kelly Waddell Blaine Butler & Michael Goff Carey Tubbs Chris & Meredith Smith Andrew & Grace Lyle Marty & Christine Hawk Chase & Michelle Hudson
GOLF UPDATE Andrew Blockinger, PGA Head Golf Professional
Dear Member, Happy New Year from the Golf Professional Team at Holly Hills Country Club! As we turn the page into 2026, we want to thank all of our members for an outstanding 2025 season. Your support, participation, and enthusiasm for the game truly make our golf community special, and we’re grateful for the energy you bring to the course, our events, and the Club. This time of year is always a great opportunity to reflect on the past season while looking ahead to what’s next. Our team is already hard at work preparing the 2026 golf calendar, including member tournaments, league play, instructional programs, and social golf opportunities for players of all levels. We’re excited to continue building on the momentum from 2025 and look forward to sharing full details with you soon.
PGA JUNIOR LEAGUE
We are building our programming for next season and wanted to share our current PGA Junior League Plans for 2026. The away match dates and start times will vary and be dependent upon the other clubs’ availability. I will provide the dates to away matches as soon as I have them. Links for our program and PGAJLG are below. Program overview: click here Program registration: click here (Code HH26). 2026 schedule: click here
New This Season
There will be clear designated goals and objectives, individualized for each student, focusing on progression and skill retention. Craig Balsinger, the Assistant Professionals, and I will be involved in conducting the program, ensuring a 6 to 1 student to teacher ratio. For this upcoming season, we have changed our dates to allow for more flexibility in schedules with school and other obligations throughout the week. All practices this season will be on Saturdays from 1:00pm-2:30pm. The half hour increase is to provide more information and promote growth for all our students. Our in house matches and home matches against other clubs will be on Sunday evenings starting at 4:00pm. A detailed practice schedule with goals and objectives for the day, each focusing on a specific skill or objective, will be released when the roster is established. We will also introduce skill showcase days and focus more on getting out on the golf course than in previous years, allowing the juniors to develop and practice their skills while also playing more and enjoying golf more rather than just another range or short game session.
New This Season (continued)
We are in a new league for 2026! We were welcomed into the PGAJLG of North MOCO. Our new league will consist of the following teams. Lakewood Country Club Argyle Country Club Norbeck County Club Montgomery Country Club University of Maryland Golf Course We understand that these clubs are a little further away from the previous years, however, by changing leagues, we have more opportunities to play away matches, almost doubling the total (5 potential away matches instead of 3). The courses we are playing will also provide a nicer overall experience and will get our students the opportunity to play at other nice country clubs and potentially meet some friends that belong to a club. All participants will still get gear before the season starts (golf balls and gloves) and will get their team kits (jerseys, bag tags, drawstring bags) before the first official match of the season. Coaches will provide snacks and beverages for home and away matches. (Please let me know if your child has any allergies or dietary restrictions) At the end of the season we will have an End of Year Party/Banquet to celebrate the season.
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. We hope you and your junior join us for another fun and improved year of PGAJLG!
AFTER SCHOOL PLAYER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS
For the juniors that want to progress and improve their golfing skills. Registration details will be released very soon, so mark your calendars, and we hope you are able to join us! Click here for the schedule.
PGA JR League Registration
Youth Player Development Schedule
7
From the
HOLLY HILLS PHOTO ALBUM
Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest
8
Gingerbread House Decorating
New Year’s Eve Kids’ Countdown
Mixology Night
Santa Brunch
DIY Swag Night
Holly Hills Santa Brunch Team
RSVP
RSVP
JOIN THE PGA JR LEAGUE!
Follow us on Instagram
CLUB CALENDAR JANUARY SUNDAY
Photo: DIY Swag Night
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY 1
4
11
Club Closed Happy Hour
5
Club Closed
12
6
Club Closed
13
Sports Jersey Bingo Night 18
7
Club Closed
Club Closed
8
2
Club Closed
9
Happy Hour
16
Happy Hour
23
Happy Hour
SATURDAY 3
Club Closed
10 Happy Hour
Live Music
14
15
Kids Eat Free
Date Night
17 Happy Hour
Wine Wednesday
Happy Hour 19
20
21
22
Kids Eat Free
26
27
24
Happy Hour
Adult Trivia Night
Wine Wednesday 25 Happy Hour
FRIDAY
28
29
Kids Eat Free
Date Night
30 Happy Hour
31 Happy Hour
Wine Wednesday
Click HERE or scan code to RSVP FOR AN EVENT
FEBRUARY SUNDAY 1
MONDAY 2
TUESDAY 3
WEDNESDAY 4
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
5
6
12
13 Happy Hour
Happy Hour
SATURDAY 7
Happy Hour
Kids Eat Free Wine Wednesday 8
Happy Hour
9
10
11
Kids Eat Free
Big Game To-Go
Valentine’s Day Dinner
Wine Wednesday
15 Happy Hour
16
17
18
19
20 Happy Hour
Kids Eat Free
Date Night
Fresh Catch Friday
26
27 Happy Hour
28 Happy Hour
Fresh Catch Friday
Live Music Oyster Night
Wine Wednesday 22
Happy Hour
23
24
Kids Movie Night
30
25
Kids Eat Free
Wine Wednesday
31
14 Happy Hour
21 Happy Hour
11
Holly Hills
Your Premier Destination for Unforgettable Events
Corporate Retreats | Anniversary Celebrations | Showers Celebrations of Life | Sports Banquets | Holiday Parties
Enjoy our gorgeous, newly renovated ballroom, convenient location with incredible views, customizable menus, and dedicated team who will assist you in creating an amazing event. From brunches and luncheons, to dinner and dancing, big or small, our experts will work to plan an event to exceed your expectations. Members receive complimentary room rental. —GUEST EVENTS ARE WELCOME— SCAN CODE TO START PLANNING YOUR EVENT
Christine Quiambao, Events Manager
(301) 694-8322 ext. 111 | cquiambao@hollyhillsgolf.com