4th of July Member Appreciation Day

Join us at The Island Country Club on Sunday, July 4th to celebrate not only our country’s birthday, but to enjoy a special Member Appreciation Day! The festivities will take place poolside, with the pool opening at 11:00 a.m. this day. Members are invited to enjoy complimentary Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, Chips, Ice Cream and Fountain Drinks from 11:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. Members will be charged regular prices for guests that attend. The pool will remain open until 7:00 p.m. on this holiday.

Golfers are encouraged to reserve their tee time early, as this is typically a busy day for the course. The Golf Shop will open at 6:30 a.m. with tee times starting at 7:00 a.m. Why not invite some non-members to play a round with you on this day to show off “your” home course?

Special Monday Opening July 5th

To accommodate the many members who will be celebrating the 4th of July holiday on Monday this year, we have decided to open the golf course, pool, tennis courts, fitness room and Bar and Grill on this day. However, please note that the course will be closed on Tuesday July 6th for maintenance. Normal hours will be observed in the Bar and Grill, pool and tennis courts on Tuesday.

“Fore!” Cast News

The Island welcomes a new General Manager, Cindy Hidalgo, to the management team. Cindy invites you to stop by and introduce yourself as she embarks on a mission to personally meet each member! She also welcomes and encourages you to share your ideas, comments and suggestions with her as we all work together to improve The Island Golf Course and Country Club experience for members and guests!

Assistant Golf Professional, David Ellinghausen has accepted a new position as Head Golf Pro at Pecan Lakes Golf Course in Navasota, Texas. Please stop by and see David before he leaves us on July 11th. We wish David the best of luck in his new position and he will certainly be missed!

Upcoming Tournaments

The Island will be hosting the following Golf Tournaments during July & August 2010:

News From the Golf Shop

Hot Shots

Steve Hartmann made a hole-in-one on #3 by using his 8 iron from 150 yards. His witnesses were Don Bailey, Kim Boudreaux and Mel Landry. Congratulations to Steve for this great accomplishment.

Rules Question of the month:

Any member who answers the rules question correctly wins a sleeve of golf balls of their choice.

Player A hits his/her ball into a sand bunker at that point they realize his/her ball is in a footprint. Due to somebody else’s lack of sportsmanship can that player take relief without penalty? Why?

Tips from the Pro

I notice a lot of players can develop bad habits by simply not paying attention to their alignment. For example: If your tendency is to hit a pull than you have to align your body to the right of the target line which develops a poor path creating lack of power and accuracy. To become more accurate, the best instruction is to align correctly and learn how to change the path of the club. If you do not have the time for instruction, just be aware of your tendencies and repeat the swing as consistently as you can. For further instruction contact Matt Berry in the golf shop. 225-685-0808.

Junior Camp

The Island will have their annual junior clinic July 20th -22nd. The cost is $100.00 per student and the sessions will last 1 hour and ½. The kids will learn etiquette, basic fundamentals and playing some holes on the golf course. This is a must for any child who wishes to enter into this great game; once a kid gets hooked on golf they have a game for a lifetime. The age groups are 8-11 and 12 and up. The times are 8:30-10:00 for ages 8-11 and 10:30-12:00 for 12 and up. Please call the golf shop to sign up.

Wednesday Scrambles

On the last Wednesday of every month the golf shop will have a 9 hole event. The format will change from month to month; we will alternate nines as well. The cost of the event will be $20.00 which includes prizes, food and cart. We need the membership to support us in these events to create more of an atmosphere and it is a great way to meet new members.

Last Month’s Winners

Hot Stuff from the Bar & Grill

Free hot dogs and burgers hot off the pit at poolside. How awesome! That's what The Island will be serving to club members on Sunday, July the Fourth. This annual outdoor spread also includes chips, soft drinks and ice cream.

Whether you are at the club for golf, tennis, swimming, exercising or just a visit for lunch come by and enjoy an old-fashioned hot dog or hamburger grilled at poolside. All the trimmings are right there. Members are invited to enjoy complimentary food and beverages from the following menu from 11 AM until 3 PM at poolside:

BBQ Hamburgers
Hot Dogs
Potato Chips
Ice Cream
Soft Drinks

The food and soft drinks will be complimentary at the pool for members only. You may bring guests, however these food and beverage items for your guests will be charged at regular menu prices. Non-member guest pool fee is $6.00 per person.

For this Independence Day celebration the pool will open at the same time the buffet opens, 11:00 AM. Pool closing time will be the customary 7:00 pm.

On Sunday, July 4th, the clubhouse, restaurant and golf course will be open regular weekend hours. The tee times start at 7 am.

POOL & CONCESSION HOURS

Pool
TUESDAY – SATURDAY
11:00 AM – 7:00 PM

SUNDAY
1:00 PM – 7:00 PM
CLOSED MONDAY

Concessions
SATURDAY
12:00 PM – 6:00 PM

SUNDAY
1:00 PM – 6:00 PM

CHILDREN'S POOL PARTIES

Let us do the work for your child’s birthday pool party. Call Godfrey to reserve a Saturday or Sunday date on the calendar. Typically the menu for the party includes hot dogs, chips and soft drinks from the concession stand. The children can swim for a while. Just before they get out of the pool we will prepare the order. A hot dog, bag of chips and a drink total is $4.75. The guest fee for the pool is $6.00 per swimming non-member (the kids). So, for less than $11.00 per person the food service, set-up and clean-up are done. And the pool is a terrific entertainment for the youngsters.

You are welcome to bring your own decorations, cake and ice cream. The club will supply free tables, chairs, plates, spoons, forks and napkins in the snack room for our members’ parties. Lifeguards are on duty.

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Reservation Line & Take Out Orders
685-0808 Ext. 2

On the Course

For awhile there I did not think we would ever see warm weather. But we went from winter basically straight into summer. A very warm and damp May followed a cool and very dry April and June has been flat out hot.

In early June we went down with our usual summer application of fertilizer on the fairways. It was about a week behind schedule but shortly after we applied it we got two good rainfalls. The golf course went from lime green to dark green seemingly overnight. With the fertilizer being on the ground the fairways responded as we knew they would. The correct temperatures and some rain kicked in the fertilizer. Now keeping up with the growth is our problem but a good one to have.

Our greens have also responded to our later than normal aerification and most are looking very good. We have been on a steady program with light verti cutting and topdressing on Mondays with no tournaments scheduled during this hot part of the summer. We should have another month or so of being able to give them lots of attention with these Mondays dedicated to maintenance.

Back in early May we took #3 member tee and one of the member tees on #13 out of play to re-level the tee box. Both tees were roto-tilled and then rolled to re-level them. The tees had been become humped back from most play occurring from the center of the tee and our maintenance crew topdressing that area of the tee constantly. Both tees were back in service within 3-4 weeks. We hope to do 2 or 3 more while we are enjoying these ideal Bermuda growing conditions.

As most of you know we are no longer using Hb2 workers and it’s been a little tougher with the new personnel. But hopefully they will come around to the standards we had become accustomed to with H2b guys.

For those families living on the golf course I would like to remind you and ask for your assistance in keeping young children from playing in the bunkers. The renovation of the bunkers was not inexpensive and they are not sand boxes. Also for those that jog, ride bikes or roller blade during the week all such activities should be completed no later than 8:00 AM. On weekends all such activities should be finished no later than 7:00 AM. The only carts permitted on the golf course are those belonging to the club or those members that have approved and authorized carts for use on the course. All others are restricted to the streets of The Island development.

Real Estate News

The Board of Directors of the Island Community Association (ICA) would like to take this opportunity to remind you and inform you of several important areas of interest that were discussed at the last monthly meeting of the Board:

• Cindy Hidalgo is the new General Manager of the Island effective June 8, 2010. We encourage you to stop by the Clubhouse and introduce yourself to Cindy and to share any ideas that you may have to better our development. We welcome Cindy to her new position.

• The growing season is in full swing and we remind you to maintain your property (lawns, landscape materials, flower beds and vacant lots) on a regular basis. This will eliminate the added expense of notification and enforcement efforts on behalf of the ICA.

• Please pay your quarterly dues in a timely manner. This too will eliminate the added expense of notification and enforcement efforts.

• We remind you that recreational vehicles, boats, golf carts, etc. must be parked inside a garage or permanent enclosed structure. The general consensus of the Board of Directors is that residents may keep those items mentioned above outside their homes for short periods of time for maintenance, preparation for excursions or cleaning, etc. (i.e. a couple of days) but parking them indefinitely is not permitted according to the guidelines.

• Design Review Committee Board Member and Landscape Architect Billy Reich will perform routine inspections of each home and lot in the Island Development for compliance with the landscape/maintenance requirements as spelled out in the Design Guidelines, Covenants and Restrictions. Billy will report any deficiencies that are found to the Board and you will be notified of such if necessary. We ask that you make every effort to correct those violations in a timely manner.

• Cart paths are to be used by the Island’s business staff, maintenance department staff, authorized golfers, authorized personnel or authorized golf carts ONLY. We have recently received a rash of complaints of children riding ATV’s and golf carts throughout the community (on private property, individual lots, cart paths, neutral grounds, etc.). If applicable, please inform your children that this is not allowed and that we are concerned for their safety. A portion of your dues is used to maintain liability insurance and we ask that you help us minimize our exposure and risks of potential accidents. Members are asked to report these types of activities to the Plaquemine City Police Department.

• Kenneth L. Blanchard, Jr. has been retained by the ICA to represent the association as its attorney and he is assisting the Board with collection and enforcement issues in relation to the development design guidelines, covenants and restrictions.

The homes in the Island are beautiful and the amenities offered by the Island are wonderful. Please make every effort to keep your quarterly dues payments current, your home maintained, your landscape materials and maintenance in compliance with the Design Guidelines, Covenants and Restrictions to avoid time consuming and costly notification, collection and enforcement efforts on behalf of your association.

The Island  •  23660 Myrtle Grove Road Plaquemine, LA 70764  •  225-687-8723