Board of Directors
President
Doug Creech
Vice President
Mike Small
Financial
Terry Senich
Membership Director
Bob Stallings

Jackie Bridgers
Parmie Byrd
Bob Daves
Tim Horne
Sean Lewis

Managers (252) 726-4917
General Manager /Superintendent
Brian Green
bgreen@moreheadcitycc.com

Director of Golf
Nick Eatmon
neatmon@moreheadcitycc.com

Food & Beverage Manager
Jenn Trujillo
jenntrujillo@moreheadcitycc.com

Chef
Maria Costa

Business Office
Bennette Hopper

Assistant Greens Superintendent
Walker Bryant

Golf Professional
John Trujillo
johntrujillo@moreheadcitycc.com

Merchandising Manager
Ross Lapointe

Club Repair
Glenn Gulledge








Club News Board of Director Elections

Newly elected  Board Members are Bob Daves, Tim Horne & Sean Lewis.  Doug Creech is your new Club President, Mike Small Vice President, Terry Senich Finance and Bob Stallings is your new Membership director.


2010 Major Events Schedule

February 7th………………......Superbowl Scramble  
March 7th………………….....2 Person Tournament
April 18th…………………......MGA 2 Person Tournament
May 13th & 14th……………..MCCC Pro-Am
June 12th & 13th……………..Member-Guest
July 4th……………………......Flag Day Tournament
July 25th & 26th……………...Member Member
August 21st & 22nd……….......Club Championship
September 28th & 29th…….....North Carolina Super Senior Championship
October 9th & 10th…………..43rd Annual Seafood Invitational
November 13th………………ABCD Tournament

Event dates are subject to change



THANK YOU!
From the staff we would like to thank the
membership for this years Christmas Bonus!


Food & beverage notes Friday night dinners will start January 8th.  Thank you
for all of those who purchased pies over the holidays. 
For club bookings call Jenn (252) 726-4917 extension 4.






To join the club email list send your email address to nickeatmon@moreheadcitycc.com

Superbowl Scramble, February 7th
Tee Off 12:00, Pre Tournament Competition 11:00
Members $40 (Includes Cart Fee, Trackers $30) ~Members Guest $55 (Includes Cart & Green Fees)
Sign up individually or bring your own team.  In the spirit of the Superbowl everyone will be given a throw and a kick as a continuation of the shot used. Participate in the pre tee off competition to earn additional throws!  Teams will be handicapped using the handicap formula


Myrtle Beach Golf Trip ~ 24 Spots Available (Dates:  February 19th ~ 21st)
$225 To play all three days, $190 to play just Saturday and Sunday. 

Barefoot Resort Yacht Club Villas : Huge 3BR/3BA - 2 Queen Beds in 2 bedrooms, 1 King Bed in 1 bedroom, Full Kitchen, Washer/Dryer, Living Area, Balcony overlooking the intracoastal waterway, and many more amenities. http://www.myrtlebeachgolfaway.com/accommodations/barefoot-yacht-club-villas/
 
FRI-------- Oyster Bay (Tee Times 12:20-1:00)    SAT-------- Legends Parkland (Tee Times 9:32-10:12)
SUN-------- Legends Moorland (Tee Times 9:56-10:36)
Visit www.legendsgolf.com for information on all three courses.

THESE ARE THREE OF THE PREMIER GOLF COURSES IN MYRTLE BEACH.  PEAK RATES IN 2009 FOR EACH COURSE WAS $126!  RATES TO PLAY EACH COURSE IN FEBRUARY IS $85!  THIS IS AN AMAZING DEAL! 

PAYMENT DUE WITH SIGN UP


AREA PLAY DAY
General Information
·  All events have a 10:00 Shotgun Start
·  Entry Fee is $30 / person ($20 for Golf & Cart, $10 for Prizes)
·  Format is 4-Person Blind Draw Teams with Blitz Point scoring (Best 3 out of 4) and Handicaps factored in.
·  Optional $5 Gross Skins Pot and $5 Low Gross Pot offered.  Each Course can field up to 12 Golfers at each site.  Extras will be accepted subject to available space at the          

4 Jan. (Mon.)   Cherry Point  
7 Jan. (Thurs.)  Morehead City
15 Jan. (Fri.)     River Bend     
21 Jan. (Thurs.)Falling Creek
27 Jan. (Wed.)  Minnesott     
1 Feb. (Mon.)   Brandywine Bay
8 Feb. (Mon.)   Carolina Pines
15 Feb. (Mon.) Cherry Point     



Men’s Golf Association

Membership for 2010

Yearly Dues……………………………………………………………$50.00

Member Name________________________________________________________________
         Member Address _________________________________________________________
              _________________________________________________________
         Home Phone Number _____________________________________________________
         Work Phone Number ______________Cell Number_____________________________
Email address:____________________________________________________________

Please enclose separate check for MGA dues made payable to MCCC—MGA
   ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MGA MISSION STATEMENT FOR 2008
It is the mission of the Men’s Golf Association to promote fellowship and support for our Country Club. We will attain those goals by offering prospective members value for their membership dues in the form of golf clinics, an outstanding Christmas Party and a couple of other small personalized items. We will support our Club and our MGA membership by sponsoring monthly “stag nights” and by sponsoring and assisting in the planning of numerous tournaments throughout the year.

Your dues may be paid directly to our MGA Treasurer or you may pay them by writing a SEPARATE CHECK
in the amount of $50.00 to MCCC-MGA and mail to: MCCC, P.O. Box 2400,Morehead City NC 28557

                                             

Golf Course Maintenance/ General Manager Report

I am very proud of the job the golf maintenance staff did over the past year. We worked extremely hard to ensure that the course conditions met the expectations that the membership has come to expect. We had a very successful summer with the greens. In fact it was so successful that we were able to delay the fall aerification until October which helped provide outstanding greens throughout the entire summer.  Some of the improvements that were made on the golf course include the tee renovations on #1 and #4 and the bulkheading and bunker renovation on #12 and #13.  The tee renovations helped address a major problem that we face here and that is limited tee space.  In 2005 the USGA suggested expanding teeing space and also removing trees that create shade issues on tees and limit the recovery of the bermudagrass. Renovating and expanding the teeing space is something that we will continue to address in the years to come The bulkheading and bunker renovation at #12 and #13 not only was an aesthetic improvement but it also stabilized the pond bank that was caving in and putting the pump house in jeopardy.

The maintenance of the golf course and the improvements that were made on the golf course were all accomplished while staying within budget. This was important as everyone is facing tough economic times.  This upcoming year we plan several improvements to the golf course. Most of the improvements will focus on improving the playability of the golf course. These improvements have started with 400 ft. of cart path replacement.  Beginning in January we plan on addressing drainage issues on holes # 1 and #8. We also plan on continuing to renovate and expand our tee space.

There are several concerns that I have regarding the golf course that have become more apparent over the past year. These concerns are a direct result of the increased amount of play that the golf course experienced this year. Increased wear on the greens was apparent with the amount of ball marks on the greens. Also apparent was wear from too much traffic. This was obvious on the putting green and several other greens that are either small, have shade issues (ex. #2), or both. I think it is very important that the board of directors pay close attention to these concerns over the next year.

Clubhouse, Pool and Club Business

The golf operations staff, food and beverage staff, and the office staff also worked very hard over this past year to provide great service and help improve the club.  The most apparent changes to the club this year include the painting of the clubhouse and the landscaping that was completed behind the club. Other improvements include replacing the HVAC system that services the ballroom, and painting all of the buildings surrounding the clubhouse. At the pool we were able stain the pool deck, refinish all of the pool furniture, and replace the pump and motor. All of these improvements resulted in increased use of the clubhouse with both member and outside events. It also resulted in the most use of the pool facilities that I have seen during my tenure here at the club.

All of the great service at the club and improvements to the club were all achieved while being fiscally responsible and continuing to reduce the debt. We were able to reduce the debt by $197,296.70 and showed a net income of $7806.62 after depreciation.  The financial success that was achieved this past year is a direct result of the talented and intelligent management team that we are lucky to have here at the club. Nick was able to have a record income year in golf operations and also had record participation in our major tournaments. Bennette worked hard to ensure that all of our financial records were in order and also managed our grill and lounge during a time of transition. Speaking of our food and beverage operations, we were lucky enough to add Jennifer Trujillo as our F&B manager and Maria Webb as our chef. They are working well together and are bringing both new member events and outside events to the club. Our future in F&B is bright with both Jenn and Maria on staff.

In closing I would like to say that I am excited about the future of MCCC. I would also like to thank all of the employees, the membership, and the Board of Directors for all of the hard work, dedication, and support that they have given over the past year.

GOLF OPERATIONS YEARLY REPORT (OCTOBER 2008-SEPTEMBER 2009)
By Nick Eatmon & John Trujillo

Overall Key Performance Indicators:  During the 2009 fiscal year troubles became evident with the loss of membership early in the year.  However, unlike the prior year we made a strong rebound.  Gaining 55 members in March and another 30 for the remainder of the year.  The gain in membership helped us reach our membership max of 660.  In each of the last three years we have reached our membership max of 660.  However, this year brought additional rounds of golf with a number of memberships being played by both husband and wife.  This years rounds jumped from approximately 32,000 in each of the past two years to over 38,000.  Placing Morehead City Country Club in the top 10% of rounds of golf played at 18-hole facilities in North & South Carolina.  While cart fees and greens fees remained constant with prior years income there were substantial increases in other areas.  Club records were recorded in, merchandise sales, range ball program and handicap participation.  Expenses were up $14,141 from 2008, but were down $10,214 from the three years average from 2006-2008.  This lead to being approximately $30,000 better than budget and in line with the last three years in golf operations net income.  From talking with other golf professionals across the Carolinas Section we had an especially good year as compared to other courses.  Strong membership participation lead to being better than budget. 

Rounds of Golf:  
     Total Rounds:     38,065
     Walking Rounds:  14,250
     Cart Fee Rounds:       13,900
     Tournament Rounds:    3,500
     Guest Rounds:      3,050
     Tracking Rounds:         1,850
                            Reciprocal Rounds:      1,150  
             Employee or Comp Rounds:            365

Keeping Costs Down:  Costs for tournaments and handicaps both increased due to more participation from the prior year.  Costs for tournament increased $2,938 and handicaps services increased $3,016.  Payroll increased $2,909.  This increase was due to a 3% cost of living pay increase for all employees and an addition of an assistant pro.  Total costs of operations were $240,915, up $14,141 from the prior year, but down $10,214 from the three-year average of 2006-2008.   

Member Communication:  Emails have been gained and the website has been expanded.  We have over 500 member emails and the website has had over 10,000 more page views than last year.  The website contains monthly newsletters along with up to date club functions such as tournament results and club improvements.  Recently we added a suggestion box for members on the website and we also recently sent out a member survey. 

Merchandising:  Sales were up over $20,000.  Outwear sales were up 25% and 60% from the prior 5 year average.  Glove sales increase 15%.  Shoe sales rose from 72 pair being sold last year to 113 this year.  There was no significant increase or decrease in club sales or ball sales.  Miscellaneous sales also remained similar to last year.  Solid year considering the average golf course in the Carolinas Section sales dropped over 15%.  Our sales rose approximately 12% from the prior year.  Sales can be directly tied to the increase of membership from 2008, however it should be noted the staff has done a great job in listening to the memberships needs.

Tournament Operations: This years Membership Tournaments were a huge success.  Member Guest had the largest field to date.  The Club Championship had nearly double the field from last year.  Member Member had a larger field than last year also.  Pro Am and Seafood Tournaments both had maximum fields.  For the first year MCCC participated in the Carolinas Interclub winning our division against Taberna.   However, tournament revenue was down approximately $8,000.  Two reasons contributed to not reaching budget.  One was several of our outside charity tournaments did not have the number of players they have had in the past.  Two charity tournaments actually had to cancel due to lack of participation.  Economy plays a large part in participants paying to play in charity events.  Also, we turned down tournaments that wanted to use our course from mid June to late August.  With the number of members gained we wanted to keep as many days as possible open for membership play in the prime season. 

Golf Instruction:  “Leaving No Member Behind” continues to be a success.  John Trujillo and myself gave over 250 free lessons; the new members especially took the opportunity to work on their game.  The number of lessons given over the year helped place myself in the top 10% of all Head Professionals in number of lessons given.  Providing a great sense of satisfaction in seeing the trust the membership has put into their lessons.  John helped to alleviate the lone problem we’ve had in the past where there were weeks demand was higher than available time.  We are both looking forward to working with the membership over the next year.  Especially now both of us have gotten to know the members games better than before.

Junior Golf:  The club’s popular junior program remained strong in 2009.  We were able to hold two clinics a week during the summer months.  Something we were unable to do last year due to lack of staff presence. As an added bonus juniors who participated in the clinics were given lessons to be taken any time during the year.  Our hope is to keep juniors going throughout the year.  We offered an advanced junior clinic for junior high and high school golfers.  However, we did not have the success we were hoping to have this past summer.  John and I both earned college golf scholarships and we hope to pass what we have learned along the way to help those who want to play in high school and beyond.  With the help of a number of volunteers most notably Amy Nelson over $15,000 was raised in the first annual “Tee It Up” tournament to support men’s and women’s high school golf teams at West Carteret, East Carteret & Croatan. 

Bottom Line: Overall profit in golf operations was nearly identical to the prior three years and approximately $40,000 better than financial actuals from 2003-2005.  Our membership has become much more active this year.  This is evident by a 6,000 increase in rounds played.  In this economic downturn it has been an amazing year for the club.  From golf operations standpoint this has been a dream year with the course being busy day in and day out.  We are at the top of the list when it comes to private clubs in North & South Carolina concerning play.  Member tournaments have been filled.  Merchandise sales are the highest in club history.  However, it is concerning our overall profit with the activity hasn’t increased despite costs remaining constant with prior years.  A large number of members are walking.  As a staff we are happy to see the activity and no one has an issue with walkers.  However, the amount of play is taking a major toll astatically and financially with the course without a financial benefit. 

What to Look For in 2010

Tournaments:  The club has been chosen to hold the North Carolina Super Senior (Ages 65 and over) on September 28th & 29th.  Steve Hinshaw the Carolinas Golf Association President pushed for the club to hold this event after playing the course earlier in the year.  To say the least he cam away very impressed and found our course to be a perfect fit to hold the Super Senior event.  We will be adding one major tournament to our tournament schedule.  In March we will be holding a two-day two-person tournament.  Another new event will be a Ryder Cub home and home match with Castle Bay Golf Club located in Hampstead.  Our main tournament schedule will remain the same.  We are looking into switching formats for the Member/Member and Member/Guest.  Our Member Guest format has been used to play five nine hole matches.  27 on Saturday and 18 on Sunday with our dinner on Friday night.  Our max field in the past has been 120 players due to cart constraints.  This year we were able to borrow carts from North River to have a field of 132.  Even with the additional carts we turned teams down who would of liked to play.  With the five nine hole match format we have everyone tee off at the same time and come in after nine holes.  We then shotgun everybody again and then do the same for the last match.  This year Saturdays play took over eight hours to complete.  This is a normal amount of time and is the reason the dinner has been on Friday night.  In the past groups talk of being to worn out to make it back out to dinner on Saturday.  This presents a problem due to the fact there are some guest coming into town who cannot make the Friday dinner.  This years Member/Member tournaments field was 88 players.  A much better number to handle for the five nine-hole match format.  With the Member/Member format we can use tee times from 7:30 to 2:00.  At 10-minute intervals this gives us the opportunity to have 156 players.  With last years numbers of 132 and having to turn players away this is a much better option to accommodate more players.  This also gives us the opportunity to have the dinner party on Saturday night.  This year our Pro Am had the largest payout of and pro am held on a single 18-hole golf course.  We’re looking to build on the success of not only our Pro Am but our major tournaments by offering a club raffle to raise money for prizes. 

Merchandising: We will continue to offer the finest in selection for our members giving them the best prices they can find anywhere.  We will continue to work with vendors to find the best discounts possible.  Club fittings and demo days will be scheduled throughout the year. We will be offering new products such as tervis tumblers. 

Golf Instruction:  We will be beginning our third year of “leaving no member behind” with a slight change.  We will be giving one 45 minute lesson for all members at a $15 cost.  However, if that member decides to purchase three lessons or more they will have $15 dollars reduced from the package rate.  For our juniors we will be working with the Eastern North Carolina Junior Golf League.  Giving our juniors the opportunity to compete with other junior at local golf courses.  John and I will continue to offer biweekly junior clinics in the summer and we will also be offering member clinics through the spring and summer.  Some of these clinics will be at no charge!  

This year one of your fellow members Phil Buzzelli is coaching both the men’s and women’s golf teams for West Carteret.  John and I look forward to doing anything we can to help Phil have a successful start to his West Carteret coaching experience. 
 
Member Communication:  Over the past year there has been an overhaul to the website.  We will continue to up date the site.  Emails will be sent to the membership in a weekly manner.  Monthly newsletter will be readily available online.  Surveys to encourage member feedback will be available.  Additional advertisements will be posted around the club including but not limited to monthly calendar of events and monthly pro shop sales.  We will be offering overall club financials to members in newsletters. 

John and I will be making the rounds to play with each of our member groups in the hopes of getting to know you and your games better.

Biggest Issues: Our biggest issues are lack of available tee times, pace of play and member retention.  Starting late in the 09 prime season we moved our weekly tee times up from 8:00 to 7:30.  We deemed this to be a success and will start times at 7:30 throughout our prime season during the week.  We also moved our time up to 7 days to be able to set tee times with the hopes of making it easier for golfers to set regular weekly times.  There have been questions on group times for members being blocked on the weekly basis.  As a staff and Board of Directors it was decided to have these groups remain.  These groups allow and member to join.  Plus they are able to fit more players into a smaller amount of tee times due to the fact all players are on the tee at once.  In reality we have many more members than our listed amount with every membership being a family membership.  Our actual number of members playing is most likely over 8 hundred.  With a full compliment of tee times we can handle just over 200 rounds per day.  We will continue to work with area courses to provide reciprocals.  Our hope is if we can’t get a tee time for you at MCCC we want to make sure we can find a course in the area you can play at a reduced rate.

Pace of play is monitored as closely as any aspect in golf operations.  We will continue to use our pace of play guides.  As a staff we are going to make a more consistent effort in rangering the course.   For the majority of the year pace of play was acceptable.  It should be noted with each tee time being booked if a group in the morning plays in a pace of four hours each golfer from there on is going to play at that pace or slower.  Without a doubt there are a number of groups who can play in a much faster than four hours.  With the amount of play we are having groups need to expect to play no faster than three hours and fifty minutes.  This includes twosomes.  All we ask is for each group to follow the pace of play guide whether you are a twosome or a fivesome.  There has been a lot of talk on fivesomes.  Bottom line it has been a decision by staff and the Board of Directors to allow fivesomes.  We all understand the argument of not having fivesomes.  But we are not a club who turns people away.  If there are no fivesomes groups will either have to turn a player down from playing or play in a twosome and threesome.  This adds a tee time and causes more waiting for those in the twosome and threesome.   

Member retention has been a major issue for most clubs over the past couple of years.  We are no different.  Over the past year we have lost approximately 100 members.  We were much more fortunate than a number of clubs in the fact we gained nearly as many members as we lost in 2009.  Our success has been due in large part for past decisions made for the club.  Renovations, constant improvements to the course and a great maintenance crew have placed the course above all others in the area.  Our practice facilities are like no other in the area.  Our new food & beverage manager and chef are offering great food and more social functions than ever before.  Our golf operations staff is as friendly and knowledgeable as any you’ll find.  Our tournament schedule and participation is second to none.  Our two main member organizations in the LGA and MGA are very active and accommodating to all members.  We offer pool and tennis along with reciprocals to a number of courses.  We have as much to offer as any club you can find and we are truly the best deal in town.  However, we are walking a fine line with budget.  Our current budget is based on 620 members and we are budgeted to make less than $10,000.  Bottom line is we cannot afford to lose members with our current income and our current cost of operation. 

Thank you all for your continued support and we promise to do everything we can as a staff to meet your every golfing need.  HAPPY GOLFING!!!







LGA News

November 3rd  Ace of Month
November - Glenda Baker     December - Mary Lee Cuthrell
Gross 1st Mary Lee Cuthrell     Net 1st Glenda Baker
         2nd Peggy Barwick                      2nd Dell Ericksen
         3rd Jerri Brooks                          3rd Bet Ketterer

November 17th  Blitz Points
1st Peggy Stallworth
2nd (tie) Sandi Bach/Mary Lee Cuthrell
3rd (tie) Carol Council/Eileen Senich

December 1st Ace of Aces
1st Sandy Woods   
2nd Bet Ketterer   
3rd Carol Council
Gross 1st Sandy Woods           Net 1st Bet Ketterer
         2nd Mary Lee Cuthrell                2nd Sharon French
         3rd Carol Council                       3rd Dell Ericksen

December 15 ABCD 9 Hole Scramble
1st Sandy Woods   2nd Barb Buettner     3rd (tie) Mary Lee Cuthrell      Dell Ericksen
    Mary Greene                 Dorothy Steenland                  Mary Ann Hotham     Mary Adamson
    Joy Wray                       Linda Seale                            Arlene Terrell             Carol Council
    Carol Wray                    Bet Ketterer                           Pauly Brown              Patti Summerlin
    Parmie Byrd                             

Crystal Coast 12-8-09       Championship Flight 1st Gross Mary Lee Cuthrell
      MCCC                                                  1st Flight 1st Gross Sandy Woods
                                                         2nd Flight 2nd Gross Sharon French
                                                         3rd Flight 1st Gross Mary Adamson

Christmas Party - End of Year Awards

Ringer Board Cards -
1st Flight
     Net Score                Birdies                Chip Ins
1st Mary Lee Cuthrell  1st Mary Lee Cuthrell    1st Sandy Woods
2nd Sandy Woods        2nd Sandy Woods          2nd (tie) Mary Lee Cuthrell
                                                                                                      Joy Bell
2nd Flight
1st Carol Council      1st Joyce Creech         1st (tie) Carol Wray
2nd Joyce Creech            2nd (tie) Parmie Byrd                     Carol Council
                                         Dell Ericksen                    Joyce Creech
                                                                        Dell Ericksen
3rd Flight
1st Mary Adamson        1st Mary Adamson          1st Bet Ketterer
2nd Bet Ketterer           2nd Bet Ketterer             2nd Suzanne Scott

Parmie Byrd broke 90 on 5/20/09 - 89

Match Play - 1st Bet Ketterer
                  2nd Parmie Byrd
Consolation Bracket - Carol Council

Masters - 1st Carol Council - Nancy Lopez
             2nd Sandy Woods - Lee Trevino
             3rd Carol Montgomery - Jack Nicklaus
             4th Dell Ericksen - Julie Inkster

State Play Day - Parmie Byrd

Ace of Year - 1st Sandy Woods
                   2nd Bet Ketterer
                   3rd Carol Council

Most Improved - 1st Judi Price
                        2nd Joy Wray

Good Sportsmanship Award - Carol Council







November 10th  Best Side
Gross 1st Mary Lee Cuthrell     Net 1st Sharon French
         2nd Dell Ericksen                        2nd Carol Montgomery
         3rd Kay Jaenike                           3rd Mary Adamson

November 24th Turkey Shoot
Gross 1st Mary Lee Cuthrell     Net 1st Julie Young
         2nd Sandy Woods                         2nd Carol Wray
         3rd Barbara Chambers                  3rd Eileen Senich

MOREHEAD CITY COUNTRY CLUB
JANUARY -MARCH NEWSLETTER