A Letter From the Director of Operations
14 NOV 2020
Hello RattleSnake Point Golf Club,
On behalf of the team at RattleSnake Point Golf Club, we want to thank all our Members for your tremendous support in a challenging year. It has been our pleasure to serve you and we hope that you truly enjoyed your experience at the Club this season.
Our preparations for the 2021 season are underway and we are motivated to spend this winter finding ways to make your experience the best possible. This season we were focused on providing our Members with the Next Level Experience when it came to course conditions, service, food and overall experience. As life would have it we were a little derailed because of the pandemic, at one point in April there was the question of ‘would we even have a 2020 season.’ Our focused changed gears to taking every precaution we could to keeping our Members, guests and staff as safe as possible while they were here. The golf season ended up being a great success, with our Members playing 30% more golf than they have in the past. Overall we were able to provide a safe environment while providing an excellent experience; from the engagement with our staff to the amazing playing conditions to the quality of food in the bistro.
There are many new and unique challenges ahead, and we are using the feedback our Members have provided us throughout the season to guide our focus for 2021.
With the increase demand in golf from our membership we will be focusing on ways to ensure tee time access for our Members.
We plan to make some changes as it relates to our guest policies. We believe it is imperative to ensure that Members have access, before we allow guest play. As of 2021, we will be selling guest pass packages differently. Packages will be limited to 1 per Member and are not transferrable. They will be sold by round so you can purchase a prime, opportunity of twilight package at 12 for the price of 11. Guest play will be limited to after noon on weekends and holidays. Guests will also be limited to 12 rounds a year, 2 per month. This will be tracked diligently in 2021. Social members will have limited access to weekend and holiday mornings at the discretion of the Director of Operations or Director of Golf.
An area for improvement is our process for handling our “No Show” policy. We continue to have Members who arrive without the number of players in their booking and have been actively charging the $60 no show fee. Our goal will be to educate Members on the policy to ensure a complete understanding of what Members are responsible for in order to ensure maximum tee time availability.
On the golf courses we started the year (winter) with lots of tree and underbrush work to help with air flow and sunlight. 15 Copperhead benefitted with this work as turf conditions were excellent on our most sheltered green through a tougher than normal year. Our cultural practices of venting, topdressing and astute water management lead to great playing conditions on our greens from opening day to closing day. We also made every attempt to keep the greens slightly more receptive. We started the process of removing bunkers that were out of play and penal to a very poor shot or non effective to the enjoyment of the Rattler. This will continue into 2021 and we plan to fill in 20 bunkers next season, mainly on the Rattler. After we close we will be starting a project to expand the pond on Copperhead 11. The objective here is to remove the front bunker and expand the water to the front of the green with an armour stone wall to mimic the green site on 10 Copperhead. This project has many benefits; the removal of a bunker that was built too shallow and stays wet from poor drainage, filling in of bunkers that are not in play, and increases the aesthetic value of an already nice green site. The fill from the pond will be used to fill in the large penal bunker to the right of the tee on Copperhead 10. Our objective moving into 2021 will be to continue building on the excellent playing conditions while providing a fast and friendly golf course.
Although a very different season for our Food & Beverage team we were able to provide a safe and positive Food & Beverage experience for the Members. The team will be working on building menus which focus on value, quality, presentation, variety for next season. We continue to improve on meeting everyone’s dietary needs. Our plan for next year will revolve around thoughtfully crafted items that use functional and healthy ingredients moderately so that it looks great, tastes great and is beneficial to your well-being. We hope to offer a few new and interesting beverage options. A subtle transition from boozy to lightly alcoholic drinks such as the White Claw seltzer. We will continue to source unique premium blends like Tito’s vodka or Empress Gin. We are fortunate to have a fantastic terrace and Gazebo area which lends to a safe and spacious environment for everyone. We hope to see Members dining in the Bistro in 2021 but whatever comes, we will continue to personalize service. We will work to create a memorable service experience ensuring everyone feels welcome and at home.
We have a great team in place here at RattleSnake, and we are all excited to do our part to make this your favourite place to be.
Thank you for your continued support and please continue to reach out with ideas and suggestions about how we can make it better.
Sincerely,
Craig Cupido
Director of Operations