THE MAD POST

Friday, April 29th, 2022

Covid Protocols

Apr 28

Submitted by Bob Cook, Club President

Dear Member,

On April 21st, the Mad River Board of Directors met to finalize our opening Covid protocols.

We have followed provincial health and medical advice since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 and it is our intent to continue to do so as we manage through this next iteration of the pandemic.

As we have done from the outset, we also researched Covid plans for other private golf clubs across Canada and in the GTA.

It’s our plan to begin the season as follows and adapt Club protocols throughout the season as circumstances change;

Mandatory vaccinations are not required for members, guests or staff in order to use any of the facilities, including entering the building or to consume food and beverage indoors
We will continue to require members, guests and staff to wear masks while indoors as an added precaution, however not when seated to consume food and beverage
We will continue to require members to complete the annual Covid declaration form confirming their compliance with the Club’s Covid protocols
We will continue to require guests to complete a Covid declaration form in advance of attending the Club
We will continue to require staff to complete a daily Covid screening and we will require bi-weekly testing for any staff that may not be vaccinated.

Respectfully Submitted,

Bob Cook,
President,
The Mad River Golf Club

Golf Operations Update

Apr 27

Submitted by Carl Penfold, Head Professional

The wait is almost over, and our 2022 season will finally get started next Wednesday, May 4^th. I wanted to take this opportunity to highlight a couple of changes our members will notice when they arrive for their first round. The first is our scorecard which has been re-designed over the off-season. Aside from the new dimensions, the new card will be the only version printed this season. We will no longer require a hybrid card, as the SHORT and LONG hybrids have been incorporated into the new version. These two hybrid tees have been placed in between the regular tees. Members playing the hybrid tees can easily determine which deck to play from by following the arrows (see image below). If you are a hybrid tee player and need some help understanding the new card, please speak with one of the golf professionals.

Golf Course Update

Apr 26

Submitted by Chad Vibert, Golf Course Superintendent

Golf Course Update Spring 2022
We continue to be challenged by cold temperatures well into the spring season, this has included snow and plenty of rain to date. Soil temperatures remain much colder than normal and forecasts for this week include below freezing overnight temperatures with additional snowfall. Although we still plan to aerate our green surfaces prior to opening, the cold temperatures have pushed back our aeration plans to later this week. We remain one to two weeks behind the last few spring seasons due to these unseasonably cold temperatures.

Ladies Captain Report

Apr 25

Submitted by Susan Quigley, Ladies Captain

Hello Everyone, Our planning for the season continues…

We are reviewing our annual Ladies’ charity event. Gilda’s Club of Simcoe-Muskoka has been the recipient of funds raised for a number of years. This event raises anywhere between $10,000-$15,000. The recent Ladies’member survey indicated that while there is support for an annual fundraiser perhaps there are other local charities worth considering, especially during these difficult times.

A list has been compiled for your review and you will have the opportunity to vote on the charity, or charities that you would like to see benefit from your contribution. We will ask for your top 3 choices and your preference for a singular gift or dividing the funds between two charities and/or alternating the charity each year. “Read more” to see the list or review the list posted on the bulletin board by the Pro Shop. In the event that there is a local charity you feel strongly about that we overlooked you can tell us in the comment section of the survey.

Come out to the Ladies opening breakfast May 14 to cast your vote. Alternative arrangements will be made if you cannot attend the breakfast. We want to hear from you!

Quote of the week, “As you walk down the fairway of life, you must smell the roses, for you only get to play one round.” - Ben Hogan.

Men's Captain Report

Apr 24

Submitted by Ang De Lorenzi, Men's Captain

Greetings Gents,

I hope everyone is as excited as I am for next week’s May 04th Opening Day. The driving range will be open this weekend for you to shake some of the winter rust off.

This past Tuesday, you would have received an invitation to join our exciting new Wednesday, Mad Men’s League. This year’s league play has been designed to be more inclusive to those Men that are working and would like to play after work. If you would like to choose your foursome of gents, then enter Mens day by notifying the Pro Shop and play whenever you wish on Wednesday. Please take the time to register and answer the questions prepared by our Pros. It will provide us an opportunity to evenly choose teams for the year long totals. Please keep an ‘open mind’ to the changes to past formats. I promise it will gain traction and become a lot of fun. If you prefer to reply to the invitation by calling the pro shop, they will be happy to register you.

Here is the link for your convenience to reply as well:

http://www.golfgenius.com/ggid/xzdksf/register

As an added reminder, kindly register for the Saturday, May 07th Opening Day Breakfast and Golf if you can make it. Please respond before next Tuesday, May 03rd as we have extended the reply date.

Looking forward to seeing you gents next week!

Adult Programs & Clinics

Apr 23

Submitted by Ryan Rinneard, Director of Instruction

If you or someone you know is looking for a Beginner Series or Refresher Series, the first option will be a Get Golf Ready.

Get golf ready is a weekly 90-minute program designed to help you with the skills you need to play the game. In your 5-week group program, you will learn the essentials such as grip, stance, ball position, posture, and alignment and start to understand why these fundamental setup skills are so important. You will also learn more about putting, the short game, and the full swing.

F&B News

Apr 22

Submitted by Michelle Larcher, Food & Beverage Manager

We are looking forward to interacting with you this weekend. After spending time on the range, please come in to enjoy a pint of Creemore with our new Brisket Panini or have a late breakfast with a cup of tea. The kitchen will be offering our breakfast and lunch menu from 10:00 - 6:00. Menus can be found on the website under the ‘Social’ tab.

Chef News

Apr 21

Submitted by Chef Malcolm

A Note from Your Chef:

Hello Folks,

I heard that the Mad River membership really enjoy their soups and sandwiches. I love making soup and look forward to sharing my many creations with you. This week we will be featuring my roasted red pepper and rosemary soup as well as offering all our sandwiches on COBBS Bread. I look forward to your feedback and please feel free to share with Michelle and I any of your favourite soups and sandwiches. They may appear as a daily special in the future.

Regards,

Chef Malcolm

Annual General Meeting
Saturday, April 30th at 3:30 p.m.
Please RSVP to Sandy Higgins to attend in person at [email protected]
Gary Ward to attend by Zoom at [email protected]

Mad River Calendar Alert:
The Men's Presidents Cup Event is re-scheduled and will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 7th & Thursday, Sept. 8th.

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS

Monica Branigan & Gaétan Tardif

Monica & Gaétan both retired from full time medical practice in 2018 and moved to their farm in Creemore, building a new modern farmhouse and continuing to restore natural habitats for the local wildlife. Gaétan is the golfer, having picked up the sport as a teenager, but taking a serious hiatus of over 25 years from the game when work and family responsibilities took precedence over golf. He is very much looking forward to picking up the game once again and foolishly hopes that being older and wiser means the ball will stay in the fairway more often than not.

Monica teaches on a part time basis and Gaétan practices two days a week in Barrie. They are both avid hikers who also enjoy cycling and Nordic skiing. They have two adult children, Claire who is a medical resident in Saskatoon and Patrick who is an engineer in the San Francisco Bay area. both retired from full time medical practice in 2018 and moved to their farm in Creemore, building a new modern farmhouse and continuing to restore natural habitats for the local wildlife. Gaétan is the golfer, having picked up the sport as a teenager, but taking a serious hiatus of over 25 years from the game when work and family responsibilities took precedence over golf. He is very much looking forward to picking up the game once again and foolishly hopes that being older and wiser means the ball will stay in the fairway more often than not.

Magnetic Name Badges

If you would like to purchase a magnetic name badge in preparation for the reopening of social events at the club, please email Sandy Higgins at [email protected]
There is a charge of $7.85 plus HST

Have a Suggestion

Send your idea or concern to: [email protected]
Your suggestion will be forwarded to the appropriate individual or committee for consideration.

Thank you!