94th Season in Full Swing

(Even if some of us aren’t swinging fully anymore)

The breadth and tempo of the Island Country Club’s 94th season swung into full gear last week, even with a couple of days of “it’s just Maine in June” weather. The fairways are a beautiful green, the greens themselves are coming back from the near devastating drought in May, the tennis courts are finally ready for play, the golf leagues are fully in play, Ladies Golf begins with their play and opening luncheon tomorrow, the lunch program with Fin & Fern is normalizing with more experience and a continual introduction of new offerings, Wine Wednesday is thriving, the Pro Shop is getting in new clothing choices as well as neat golf and tennis accessories, our members are getting recognition for their prowess well beyond our Island and there is even News of Bridge. What will it be like when everyone is here?! And with that

Herewith the News:

News of the Clubhouse:

The season’s first full Board Meeting will be held at 4:00PM on Wednesday, June 22. Members are encouraged to attend and participate in the discussion but cannot vote. There will be operational and financial reports, presentations by the directors for our committees and discussion of some important Clubhouse maintenance issues. For your planning, the upcoming Board meetings are July 20, August 17 and September 21, all at 4:00PM. All Board Meetings are in the Great Room and will also be available on Zoom.

The Club’s first Fin & Fern dinner, “A Night in Italy,” will be at the Clubhouse on July 19. Chef Andy Chappell of Fin & Fern is justifiably famous for his Italian cuisine, and will be preparing and serving a four course, traditional Italian dinner, which the Club will accompany with a selection of really good Italian wines at very reasonable prices. Details are being finalized, but we will have a signup sheet in the Clubhouse soon to gauge participation. Two more Fin & Fern dinners are being planned for August. We’re very excited to be bringing you this unique social and dining opportunity and look forward to a great “Night in Italy.”

The Annual Lobster Bake is Saturday, July 9, prepared and served by Chef (Chief/Club Vice President/Lobsterman – you pick it), Ryan Hayward. Wine and beer at 4:00PM, Lobster Dinner with all the traditional accoutrements at 5:00PM – fun and surprises throughout. The signup sheet is in the Pro Shop or make a reservation at 348 2379.

The Club has made it to the 21st Century with the opening of our Instagram and Twitter pages (both are @iccmaine). You will also like our Island Country Club Members page, administered by Mike Parker and Linda Stratton (Island Country Club members group | Facebook). Great thanks to Annie and our newest staffer, Willow Weed Eaton, for these great additions to our communications capabilities. Willow will be updating our pages regularly.

Wine Wednesday News from Social Director Jeannette Parker: Last week’s Wine Wednesday was a gathering of 15 members. Door prizes were won by the ladies this week: Linda Allen, Mimi Gerstell and Carol Shaw. Members continue to return. Looking forward to seeing you soon!

The Answer May Not Lie at the Bottom of the Wine Bottle. But You Should At Least Check.

Wine Wednesday ~ June 15th ~ 5:00 – 6:30

Friends ~ Appetizers ~ Door prizes

Swing By Fore A Fun Time!

The Clubhouse public rooms are available for parties and other events, and can be scheduled by calling Annie at 348 2379. Annie and her team do a great job in setting up the rooms in a wide variety of formats, to accommodate everything from dinner parties to weddings to celebrations to formal and semi-formal presentations. Here are some images of the set up for a Graduation Party held this past weekend to celebrate Ashley Emerson’s graduation from Deer Isle Stonington High School. You’ll soon see Ashley working in the Clubhouse as part of Annie’s team.

The Club’s Plaques and Trophies are being updated with great diligence and care by Jim Plotts. Jim notes: We are nearing the end of a lengthy process to get all our plaques and trophies up to date with names of winners from previous years. We will then update 2022 winners as they are determined. BUT, we still lack some names for our Member/Member Plaque. If anyone can supply names for the missing years, please send them to Jim Plotts at jmplotts@aol.com. We need:

WOMEN – 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021.

MEN – 2013, 2014, 2016, 2019.

Also, the last name on the Hole-in-One plaque is Percy Zentz, 7/10/21. We know we need plates for Mikey Bannister – 6/2/22 #6 and Jack Shaw – 6/6/22 #4. If we are missing anyone, let Jim or Annie know.

News of Golf:

The Masonic Lodge’s Tournament to Benefit Island Youth Sports is this coming Sunday, June 19. Four person Men’s and Ladies’ teams compete in Scrambles in this annual event that raises money to support the Island’s many youth sports teams and programs. There is still time to signup in the Pro Shop. If you are looking for teammates, leave your name in the Pro Shop and pairings can be made until Saturday. $25.00 entry fee per player, with cash prizes for both gross and net winners.

Twilight League’s first session opened Monday, June 6, using a modified Calloway format, with results reported by Commissioner Ken Wiberg: two teams tied for first with identical cards:

1- Steve Stone/David Greiwe 18pts and

1- Sam Ostrow/John Thompson III 18pts

3-Ryan Hayward/Dick Dunham 18pts (lost tie breakers)

Pins Hole 3:

1-Jack Shaw 23.5” (What? No Hole in One this week?)

2-Kendall McGuffie 24’ 4”

Twilight League play for tonight (June 13) has been postponed because of the wet conditions on the course. A makeup date will be scheduled.

Billings League was rained out on June 9. The round has been rescheduled for tomorrow night (Tuesday, June 14).

Scrambles was played on June 10 and is reported by the Commissioner, Mimi Gerstell: Four foursomes competed in Scrambles on June 10th. Low gross winners on a card playoff were Jack Shaw, Ed Black, Dave Goddard, and Emily Hawkins. Low putts (9) were also achieved by the low gross winners, so the low-putts prize went to the team with the second-lowest putts (12), which was the team of Lee Levant, Steve Moore, Kendall McGuffie, and Mimi Gerstell.

Scrambles will again be played on Friday, June 17. Sign up for Scrambles in the Clubhouse or by phone (348 2379) by 5:00PM (Mimi works late!) on Thursday. If you show up on Friday without having signed up on Thursday, we may be able to accommodate you, but we don’t promise to do so.

Ladies Golf begins tomorrow, June 14, followed by their Opening Luncheon in the Clubhouse. Your editor is looking forward to publishing results of the many interesting golf games this outstanding members group plays each season. Play well!

As to how dedicated our Lady Golfers are, here are Liza Childs, Sharon Hellstedt, Anne Douglass and Pam Fowler after nine holes in a cold, soaking rain.

Island Country Club golfers are bringing great recognition to the Club from well beyond the Island:

Shaun Webb, who began his golf career here as a kid (he played frequently with my son, which explains why he was beating me at age 10), and is now a PGA Professional, has just been named a top golf teacher by both Golf Magazine and Golf Digest, one of the very few teachers to be so recognized by both of the major golf publications: https://www.golfdigest.com/story/the-50-best-teachers-in-america and https://golf.com/instruction/golf-magazine-top-100-teachers/. Shaun’s website is http://www.athleticmotiongolf.com/ He is planning to be on the Island for all of July.

Lorenzo Anderson, all of 8 years old, has finished third in the first round of qualifying for the national Drive, Chip and Putt competition in Portland. Lorenzo, son of Spencer Anderson and nephew of Liza Childs, practices here and wears Island Country Club gear in competition. Keep practicing hard, Lorenzo, and we will cheer you on in Augusta next Spring.

Claude Hoopes, representing Kittansett, his club in Massachusetts, playing with a partner from that club, has won that state’s Super Senior Four Ball competition. Well played.

News of Tennis:

The tennis courts are fully ready to play (except today when they are soaked). Reservations are required, with signing up in the Pro Shop or by phone. Walk-ups are possible, but only if the courts are not reserved. After rain or other inclement weather, contact the Club to learn whether the courts are playable. This decision is always made by the Grounds Superintendent and his staff to protect the Har-Tru courts.

Tennis Director Linda Allen provided this update: Open Tennis is underway on Wednesday mornings from 9-12:00 and Sunday afternoons from 2-5:00. All are welcome to join in this friendly round-robin play. The courts are in great shape. Call to schedule your court time!

News of Bridge:

Bridge play begins at the Club on Monday evening, June 20. Commissioner Jim Plotts reports: We will begin our season Monday night June 20th at 7:00. To remind everyone of our process, we would like everyone there before 7:00 so we can decide on tables and start on time. You do NOT need to come with a partner NOR do you need to let us know ahead of time of your attendance. Just come. Entry fee is $1. We give half our proceeds to the Club and pay the remainder out to winners. We play 4 hands with one partner then switch around. If you did not receive an email about the start of the Bridge season and want to have your name added to the email list for future correspondence and updates, send an email to me at jmplotts@aol.com. See you Monday.

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Whew! That was a long one!