A LETTER FROM THE GENERAL MANAGER: WHAT I’M EXCITED ABOUT
As I sit down to write this month’s Beacon article, I find myself thinking about how different the club feels from where we were just a few months ago. Summer was quiet. The pace slowed down, the newly familiar faces thinned out, and we took the time to do a lot of work behind the scenes that doesn’t necessarily get noticed.
But while things may have looked quiet from the outside, there has been a lot happening at Burnt Store Marina Golf & Country Club. And now, as we head into November, I’m excited. I’m excited about where we are, where we’re headed, and — perhaps most importantly — what we’re building together.
New Faces Around the Club
This summer, we added a new Executive Chef, Chef Werner Dietrich; a new Assistant Golf Professional, Ms. Caroline Lennox; and a new Assistant Clubhouse Manager, Ms. Kourtney Dominick, as well as several new servers, bartenders, and beverage cart attendants in the restaurant. Bringing new faces on board is about much more than putting new names on the schedule. It’s an opportunity to build, improve, experiment, and create the kind of golf, dining, and clubhouse experiences that our members and guests deserve.
Through all the change over these past few months, I’m incredibly appreciative of the team members who have continued to show up, work hard, and keep things moving in the right direction.
We have a tremendous staff, and we can’t wait to see what comes next!
Golf Is About More Than Golf
We’ve also spent a lot of time thinking about how we can make the golf experience at Burnt Store even better. That includes continuing to focus on the course itself, but it also means creating more opportunities for people to enjoy golf in different ways. Not everyone wants to play the same game every week — and that’s okay!
Whether it’s a traditional tournament, a Goofy Golf event, the crowd-favorite Tuesday Night Scramble, a casual Thursday morning with the Burnt Store Fun Golf Group (starting this month!) or simply grabbing a few friends and heading out for 18 holes, we want there to be a place for you.
We’re also excited about expanding opportunities for professional instruction, because sometimes improving your golf game is as simple as getting a little help with your swing — or maybe just figuring out why that little white ball refuses to go where you tell it to.
This summer, we hosted a few golf clinics, and we look forward to hosting more in the months to come!
And Then There’s the Fun Stuff
One of the things I’ve really enjoyed was reviewing our calendar of social events.
There were Saturday Socials, live music, Tastings, Trivia, Football Sundays, Specialty dinners, game nights, Tournaments, new events and new ideas.
Some events and ideas are big, some are small. Some are competitive, some are intentionally ridiculous. And I think that’s exactly how it should be.
A country club should be about more than golf and dining. It should be about people. It should be about running into someone you know when you weren’t expecting to. Sitting down for a drink and ending up staying for dinner. Finding a new golf partner. Meeting a neighbor you’ve somehow never met before. Laughing with friends over a terrible trivia answer—or a terrible golf shot. Those are the moments that make a club feel like a community. And we’ve really enjoyed taking a more active role in developing these events, giving Lynda Vail the opportunity to step back and enjoy more of them herself, while also putting our team members into the mix and giving them opportunities to truly shine.
What I Want BSMCC to Be
As your General Manager, I think about this a lot. What do we want people to feel when they walk through our doors? My answer is pretty simple: I want them to feel welcome.
I want our members to feel like this is their club. I want our residents to feel comfortable coming over and spending an afternoon with us. I want our guests to leave thinking, “That was fun. Let’s come back.” And I want our staff to be proud of the place they work and the experience they’re helping create.
We aren’t going to get everything perfect every day. No club does. But I believe strongly that we can continue to listen, continue to improve, try new things, celebrate what works, learn from what doesn’t, and keep moving forward. And that’s what I’m most excited about as we head into this season. A new season. New ideas. New faces. Familiar faces. Good food. Good golf. And, hopefully, a whole lot of good times.
At the end of the day, that’s what I want BSMCC to be: a place where you know the people behind the bar, recognize the faces in the kitchen, find a golf group to join on Thursday morning, hear live music on Saturday afternoon, sit down to dinner with friends — and maybe occasionally hit a really terrible golf shot that gives everyone something to laugh about.
That’s the kind of season I’m looking forward to. And I hope you are, too.
