Golf Update To Start 2021 - Philadelphia Cricket Club
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Golf Update To Start 2021
Welcome to 2021! Last year could be described with many adjectives, some good and some bad!
Now that it is behind us, our focus is on making sure your 2021 golf experience is the best it can be.
Here is some information we hope will get you excited about what is in store for golf this year:
➢ The 2021 Golf Rules, with highlighted modifications, can be viewed HERE.
➢ To review the event/activity registration/cancellation policy, please click HERE.
➢ We have expanded instruction opportunities so you can continue to improve your golf
game! All programs will be advertised individually, typically 60 days in advance of the first
session. We developed an ‘Instruction Matrix’ that summarizes all the opportunities in one
organized location – click Instruction Matrix 2021.
➢ Updated scorecards for Wissahickon and Militia Hill have been introduced. They include a
cleaner/crisper design; current course ratings/slopes; and modified hole handicaps (based on
USGA recommendations). The enhanced scorecards can be viewed HERE.
➢ The tentative 2021 Golf Calendar was released to the membership on January 2nd. As is
often the case, a few modifications have occurred since then – the most up-to-date calendar
can be viewed by clicking the link below. Updated calendars will be emailed, as necessary.
o Golf Calendar Updated 1/28/21
o Some calendar highlights:
▪ The Club is proceeding with planning assuming a return to relative
‘normalcy’; that said, if gatherings are restricted as we enter the golf season,
adjustments will be made accordingly.
▪ WGAP approved a 6th team to participate in WGAP Team Matches, making
PCC the first Club in their history to field that many teams.
▪ Given the popularity of Stag Days utilizing tee times, the Club will offer half
the dates as tee times and half using the traditional shotgun start. Like last
year, members will have an opportunity to use ‘early registration’ to ensure
participation in at least 2 Stag Days – this will be advertised separately in
February.
▪ Skins games will be offered every Saturday at St. Martins starting on May 1st
and ending October 16th. These are optional and designed to give players a
little bit of added motivation!
▪ A new program called ‘Men’s Sweeps’ is being introduced on Thursdays
from May through mid-September. It is designed to provide gentlemen with
the option of playing 9 or 18 holes while participating in an informal
competition. F&B service on Thursdays will be customized to further
enhance participants’ experience. A detailed outline of the program will be
emailed to the membership in March.
▪ Qualifiers for all three Better-Ball Championships (Men; Women; Mixed) will
take place in 2021.▪ Two ‘St. Martins Mixers’ have been scheduled – these are Friday night events
accompanied by F&B meant to help foster new relationships among
members.
▪ The Club has added more Nitelite Golf opportunities given its popularity –
two for juniors and two for adults.
▪ PCC will host the Pennsylvania Open on Wissahickon in early-August – this
will bring the best players in the State to Flourtown to be challenged by one
of Tillinghast’s best designs.
▪ A new Championship has been added – the St. Martins Gross/Net
Championship for adults. It will be played over a weekend in late-August.
▪ Two Breakfast Tournaments have been scheduled – these events will be
member-only and formatted to pair A, B, C, & D players to help foster new
relationships.
➢ The Tournament Registration Outline can be found HERE. It provides all tournament
dates, along with when registration opens for each event.
➢ Caddie Usage Guidelines for 2021 can be found HERE.
➢ Given the increase in usage at St. Martins, the Club has taken the following steps, among
others:
o Increased the budget for staffing at SM. They will be led by PGA Professional John
Esher-Hagel as he has been promoted to the position of St. Martins Head
Professional. John will work closely with Glenn Perri to help manage the staff to
best ensure your experience at SM is outstanding.
o Organized a St. Martins golf workgroup (George Schalick; Stacie Driscoll; Rick
Collier; June Irwin; John Esher-Hagel; and Glenn Perri) that reports to the Golf
Committee and who have been meeting regularly during the off-season to help shape
and improve the St. Martins golf experience.
➢ For those of you who see a benefit in separating your personal expenses from business
expenses at the club, please email me about getting an ‘x-account’. These are accounts tied
to you but designed to allow you to charge business-specific expenses – it makes it easier for
reporting and payment for many members.
➢ Information and signups for GAP & WGAP Matches will be emailed multiple times in
February.
➢ We are amid caddie recruiting efforts for 2021. We are not just targeting seasonal pros – we
are also working to secure more local all-stars as our program needs to continue to improve,
and it all starts with who we recruit to join the caddie corps. We’ll always need a mix of
terrific ‘Senior’ caddies and up-and-coming ‘Junior’ caddies, so we’ve made recruiting terrific
talent a continuing priority – if you or your children know of potential candidates, please
have them reach out to Director of Outside Services Mike Uccelletti at
muccelletti@philacricket.com. A Zoom meeting for all caddies will be held on March 20th at
7pm - any current or interested caddies should participate in the meeting and can secure the
call-in details by emailing Mike.➢ As we did in 2020, the entire range ball inventory will be replaced again in 2021 with the
same high-quality ball that was introduced last year. The turnover will take place in March
and the club is committed to an annual replacement of all range balls given how important a
quality practice experience is at PCC.
➢ We are pleased to report that virtually the entire golf staff will return intact in 2021! The
only modifications are:
o Four interns have been hired for the 2021 season:
▪ Finlay Mason (Florida Gulf Coast) will work in the golf shop from May
through November. Finlay has had several unique golf experiences,
including coaching at Nova Southeastern University, and completing
internships in both England and Scotland.
▪ Jordan Gibbs (North Carolina State) will work on the Outside Services team
from mid-May through mid-August. Jordan has interned at Biltmore Forest
CC and Champion Hills Club, both in North Carolina
▪ Robby Schimony (Coastal Carolina) will be return for his second stint on the
instruction staff as a three-month teaching intern. He did a terrific job last
year and looks forward to the same in 2021.
▪ Tyler Schettek (Eastern Kentucky) will be joining the outside services team as
a three-month intern. Prior to PCC, Tyler interned at Chicago GC and
Butler National GC.
o Our Outside Services team will have one addition in 2021 – Nick Wyatt. Nick joins
us having graduated from the PGM program at Mississippi State University and will
be splitting time between PCC and Estancia Club in Scottsdale.
➢ Billing for bag storage and lockers will occur in late-March. If you currently have either or
both and do not wish to use in 2021, or if you would like to add either service, please let me
know via email prior to March 1st.
➢ Each year the Golf Committee carefully reviews school usage of the golf facilities at the St.
Martins campus. While the Committee believes the club should support some limited usage,
it needs to be carefully determined and managed, especially given the increase in member
play at St. Martins. Pursuant to that, in 2021:
o There are no teams using the Flourtown facilities (same as 2019).
o There will be no usage of the St. Martins course in the Spring.
o In the Fall there will be a limited number of tee times that are equally provided to
SCH, Penn Charter, and The Mount (2 tee times per day, per school, between 3pm
and 4pm, Monday-Friday, from late-August to mid-October). This is a reduction in
allocated times of approximately 50% from 2020.
These adjustments have been made after discussions and in cooperation with the schools the
club currently supports. They are intended to enhance member satisfaction and reduce wear
& tear on the golf facilities.
➢ In October, each golf staff member is required to submit a minimum of five (5) ‘Service
Excellence Ideas (SEI’s)’ meant to help improve your golf experience. We cull the list from150+ to roughly 80 actionable items that we implement each year. Heading into 2021, some
of the SEI’s you will benefit from include:
o Enhanced websites dedicated to special events like the Women’s Member/Guest; the
Ross & Smith Invitational; The 1854 Invitational; and the Harold Cross Invitational.
o Addition of more than 40 high-end pushcarts, to be distributed to all three courses.
o Virtual lost & found – anything turned-in will be photographed and placed online for
review by members.
o Improved signage on both campuses.
o Added security cameras on both campuses.
o Short videos to explain things like tee time guidelines, event signup procedures, the
Golf Rules, and more.
o Video collage of staff to make it easier to know everyone.
o Increased staffing at St. Martins.
o Designated bulletin board for Club info near first tee of Wissahickon.
o Added TV’s on Wissahickon patio.
o New shagbags/stands for the shortgame area.
o Improved organization/distribution of range balls at the practice facility.
o New satellite-based distance measuring tools at the practice facility.
o More Adirondack chairs strategically located at all three courses.
o Higher-quality golf tees that do not break easily.
o Addition of medical kits to more locations on each campus.
➢ Travel opportunities have been a big part of the member experience over the last 15 years,
something that COVID-19 surely affected in 2020. With fingers crossed that travel resumes
with some normalcy this year, we are coming back at it with some ambitious plans,
including:
o August 2021 – Women’s Trip to Turning Stone (NY)
o August 2021 – Men’s Trip to Pinehurst (NC)
o October 2021 – Couples Trip to Austin (TX)
o February 2022 – Rescheduled Women’s Trip to Palm Springs (CA)
o August 2022 – Rescheduled Women’s Trip to Scotland
o August 2022 – Rescheduled Men’s Trip to Ireland
o October 2022 – Couples Trip to Williamsburg (VA)
o Last, but certainly not least, we are planning a ‘big’ trip for February of 2023.
Locations that fall into this category are Australia, South Africa, Hawaii, Argentina,
and Dubai. We always try to give members plenty of notice when we do a more
ambitious trip – we are hopeful by 2023 we will be able to satiate the pent-up
demand for travel and offer our membership a bucket-list type trip! We would
LOVE your feedback – click the following link (Big Trip Survey) to share which
destination (or others) you’d have an interest in! We will announce the destination
later this year but wanted you to be thinking about it ahead of time!If you have questions about any of the trips noted, please drop me an email. Each will be
advertised separately as well.
➢ The Junior Golf Handbook is being finalized and will be emailed to the membership around
March 1st.
➢ The tee sheets on Foretees have been populated for the entire season so that members can
easily understand what is taking place. Foretees and www.philacricket.com serve as the two
primary mechanisms to distribute information – if you need any help using/navigating either
site, please contact PGA Professional Zack Stanley at zstanley@philacricket.com and he’ll
help walk you through things.
➢ The club has purchased bag tags that look just like the plaques in the Tillinghast room. A
bag tag is now provided to the winner of each ‘paint’ event and we are retroactively
providing ‘paint’ winners with a bag tag – all you need to do is email Nate Eichner at
neichner@philacricket.com with the event you won (only one tag per member, so if you
have multiple ‘paint’, you need to choose the one most important to you), and how you’d
like your name to read. He will do the rest!
➢ We have expanded our clubfitting capabilities in 2021 – not only did we purchase the most
sophisticated launch monitor available (Trackman), but we have also expanded the number
of staff trained to providing an excellent fitting experience. In addition to Mark Matricardi,
you can enjoy a fitting from Rusty Harbold, Nate Eichner, or Chris Cerven – this will
provide more flexibility to schedule an appointment and allow us to fit you more quickly. As
always, we will have a massive inventory of demo clubs and fitting carts at our (and your)
disposal, and our pricing remains ultra-competitive (as always) – we are ready for you as
soon as the weather breaks. Fittings can be scheduled by contacting Mark at
mmatricardi@philacricket.com, or at 215-630-4878, and he will engage the other fitters as
necessary to take great care of you!
Thank you for the incredible support you gave the staff in 2020, and we are looking forward to an
awesome 2021!
Regards,
Jim Smith Jr.
PGA Director of GolfYou can also read
