Hard to believe 2022 is quickly coming to an end.  Before we look back and talk to the future, let me begin by wishing you and your families a Happy and Healthy Holiday Season.
 
As a new Board in October 2021, we approached 2022 not knowing exactly what we were getting in to, but we shared a vision full of hope and optimism.  Armed with only the results from our first survey in years and some gut ideas, we built a plan for 2022 we hoped would build a solid foundation for years to come.  To pull this off, we needed and received lots of help and support from our playing members, their spouses, neighbors, The Pub and our sponsors.  Without these people, none of what we did would have been possible and for that we say thank you. 
 
While our survey results told us differently, we opted to schedule all nine events in 2022 at Cedar Creek.  Our commitment to the course was paid back in the form of improved course conditions that many would have never believed possible.  Some say the course is in the best shape they’ve ever seen it. Gary shared with us early on the course improvements he planned to accomplish for the year.  Even with some major setbacks (i.e. the pump house failure) each and every item on that list was completed and more, leaving us with a much improved golf course that we can be proud of and compete on.
 
Most of our nine tournaments reflected what you told us in the survey results.  We did host a couple of events that did not rank highly but opted to host them anyway.  Funny, those were among the best events we had.  Tournament participation ranged from a low of 37 players to a high of 72 and averaged 52 players per event.  Equally as important, our membership grew year over year from 146 to 177 as of end of month November 2022.  We have a comprehensive plan in place which we believe will result in continued growth in membership and tournament participation for 2023 and beyond. Remember, each of you play a vital role in bringing more members in as you share with others what we’ve been up to.
 
2022 was not a bad start. By now you’ve seen and had the opportunity to participate in our 2023 survey.  We will be sharing those results, our 2023 Schedule and other operational changes at our end of year meeting on January 31, 2023, at 4:30 in The Pub.  Don’t miss this opportunity to hear firsthand what the GACC has planned for you in the coming year.  2023 promises to be an outstanding year. Don’t miss out on any of the fun.
 
Look forward to seeing everyone on the course.


David Schwartz
GACC - President

2022: Our Transitional Year 

Can you believe it’s already February!! I hope the new year has been kind to all thus far. 
For those of you who attended our 1st Quarter Meeting in January, thanks for coming out. For those who missed it, we hope you make the 2nd Quarter Meeting scheduled for Tuesday April 19, at 4:30 in the Community Center. At the January meeting we shared the results of the December Membership Survey, spoke to your write-in questions, outlined our plans for the coming year, shared a letter from Gary Frazier outlining his 2022 plans for the Golf Course, answered attendees’ GACC-related questions and captured those questions that need to be answered by golf course management. Course related questions have been passed along to the appropriate parties, and I will report back to the group at the next meeting. 

This month’s letter is titled 2022: Our Transitional Year for two primary reasons. First, our tournament schedule is a direct reflection of what our membership requested in the Survey. We will learn from what’s planned and fine tune the events as we go along to provide you with the best experience we can. Secondly, the letter we received from Gary outlining his plans for course improvements demonstrates a commitment to bring our course back to a first-class facility. Some of his initiatives can already be seen. Please be patient with Gary and his Staff. It’s going to take time to get all the projects accomplished. 

Our team has some great events planned for the coming year which I’m confident will result in record participation from the membership. As you all know, there is strength in numbers when negotiating costs from our sponsors. We have 99 paid members as of this writing and growing. For those who have not renewed, please do so as soon as possible. It will benefit us all. Our first event is the Par 3 Tournament on February 26th and is just 20 days away. Registration will close on Monday February 21st to give us the time required to take care of all the behind-the-scenes administrative tasks associated with the event. Please make your way to the pro shop and get registered asap. 

We remain committed to providing monthly updates to keep you informed. We hope this will prove productive and eliminate a lot of the unnecessary rumors that tend to frustrate us all. Our Committee Directors have outlined their progress on their initiatives below following our January meeting.
 
WORKDAY DIRECTOR – Don Leblanc 

GACC Group - 19-man hours including 1-4 volunteers per project
 
*Mat prep and placement on #9 forward tee *Cart path repairs #16

*Bathroom repairs #5 and #15 as well as Pro Shop 

* Workday planning has begun by completing a hole-by-hole survey on the front nine and identifying projects needed. These projects will be prioritized, and volunteers requested based on the rigors of the tasks. We ask that volunteers provide their own gloves and tools in some cases. 

Keep an eye out for volunteer needs and monthly updates on our progress 

CC Maintenance Crew Progress and Observations 

*Sand added to traps throughout the course 

*12 mats have been placed on the driving range
 
* Monument moved to new position, but not completely installed because the weather needs to be warmer to secure with adhesive 

*Two trees marked for removal on #9 forward tee; 

*Lots of grounds crew activity observed performing general clean up from downed debris from latest storm 

*Pump house electrical is hooked up, but Aiken Electrical Cooperative must supply the power first before pressure testing the lines can happen 

NEW MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR - Dave Rasmussen
 
*The Membership Committee will be reaching out to the surrounding HOA’s Leadership in hopes of using their residential newsletter to tell our story and invite them to be part of Cedar Creek Golf. 

*To date, we’ve added 10 new members to the GACC family. Please join us in welcoming: 
Ann Davis, Larry Halicki, Bill Hunkele, David Jett, Ann Kelty, Pete Pacific, Mike Smith, Regina and Richard Williams and Tom Wolfe. 

SOCIAL DIRECTOR – Kim Matthews 

*Our February 26, Par 3 Tournament is coming up very soon and we are excited to get everyone back together for golf! Lunch will be catered by Shane's Rib Shack. Our new CC Grille lessee will not be open for business quite yet. We are looking forward to their Grand Opening and our patronage for future golf events. 

In closing, 2022 will be a year full of transition. I’m confident when we look back at the year, we will all be proud of what the GACC and the Golf Course have collectively accomplished. 

Look forward to seeing everyone on the course before, during and after our events. 

David Schwartz
​President - GACC 

​

As we say goodbye to 2021 and ready ourselves for 2022 it’s important that we recognize those who got us to where we are.  I’d like to thank Dick Leach, Board Members, Committee Chairpersons, and the numerous Volunteers for their tireless efforts navigating through the pandemic, post pandemic and the numerous challenges Mother Nature threw their way over the last year.  When all is said and done, I think they did a fabulous job.  Thank you again.
With each new year comes change.  I’d like to introduce your new Board for 2022.

• David Schwartz – President
• Linda Leblanc – Vice President
• Greg Pasco – Treasurer
• Buck Blum – Secretary

Let me start by saying you are our customer, and we are dedicated to “arrange and conduct friendly competition golf activities, promote good fellowship, and undertake such other activities as may be appropriate to further camaraderie and socialization between and among our members as well as other golf associations” as defined in our Constitution.  We are open to all suggestions that will better the experience for our members.  

Our first mission is to fill the 2022 calendar with a variety of competitions that will appeal to all.  To achieve this goal, we need every member’s input.  On Monday, November 22nd each of you will receive an email containing a link to the 2022 Member Survey.  To our knowledge, this will be the first survey taken since 2015. It’s time to hear from all of you again.  The survey will take approximately 15 minutes to complete and will give us the insight we need to schedule the most popular events for 2022 based on your input.  This is your time to be heard.  Please take the time to complete the survey by December 1st.

There are numerous initiatives on our plate but feel we need to walk before we run.  That said, increasing membership is high on our radar.  How will we accomplish this?  The answer, only with your help. We all play in different groups throughout the week.  All of us need to talk the GACC up in our groups and encourage those who are not currently a GACC member to go ahead and join.  Everyone who plays here should want to be part of the GACC. 

GACC dues for 2022 will remain at $15 and are due by January 15th.  The 2022 New Member and Renewal form is attached.  Dues can be paid by putting cash or a check made out to GACC in an envelope with your name and current email address in the Box at the Cedar Creek Pro-Shop. You may also mail it to: GACC, ℅ Cedar Creek Golf Club, 2475 Club Dr, Aiken SC 29803.  As in the past, we are committed to spending all membership funds to augment the prize fund and gifts for our tournaments.  

The Board is excited about what the GACC can accomplish in 2022.  We will only realize our full potential with the support and participation of each one of you.  We look forward to meeting, competing, and sharing a few laughs with all of you.

Fairways and Greens,
​
David Schwartz
GACC President Elect - 2022

We have had a trying past few months and I hope everyone is looking forward to 2021 approaching an end to this pandemic. The GACC started 2020 with very active committees and plans to make several changes that were the result of a list of items the membership wanted. Most of our committees were not able to safely operate to achieve their objectives. The Volunteer Work Committee accomplished a lot originally and some individuals are continuing to work on their own. Our hats are off to the Tournament Committee that was able to fully function to provide quality safe tournaments for our membership during 2020.

We cannot predict what to expect in 2021 except we should be able to continue to hold quality tournaments. Therefore, the GACC plans to focus our activities on the tournaments in 2021 and make them as safe and unique as we can. If the environment is safe by October we plan to hold an outdoor social event, with refreshments associated with a Special Tournament that we hope to hold annually in the future.

It is time to renew your membership for 2021. We are raising the dues to $15 per year. We are committed to spend the entire $15 collected for the 2021 dues to augment the prize funds, gifts for our tournament events and if possible, an outdoor social event.  We will use any existing funds for administrative cost such as website, printing, bank charges, donations, in addition to committee costs should they be able to resume activities. Our goal is to provide a variety of tournament activities that will be enjoyable to the majority of our membership. Hopefully having something during 2021 that will cover everyone’s interest.

We are attempting to differentiate our tournaments from the many tournament opportunities that our membership has available to them in the CSRA. In addition to other promotions we may have during the year, we contacted the company that provides insurance for hole-in-one contests to provide insurance that will allow us to hold a hole-in-one shoot-out at the October Special Tournament. The value of the prize for the hole-in-one will be $1,000,000. The shoot-out will allow our tournament participants, during the tournaments, leading up to the October event, to qualify for the shoot-out. We will put all the names of the tournament participants in a hat and draw four or maybe five names at each tournament.  Four new members that joined before March 1, 2021 will be drawn from the pool of new members for a foursome to also participate just prior to the shoot-out. Those players will be eligible for the shoot-out in October. There will be a shorter distance to the pin for our lady members during the shoot-out and the final event. Except for the new members the participants will be required to participate in 60% of the available tournaments prior to October. The details relative to the requirements of the insurance company, distance, etc. will be provided in the next few weeks. 

The shoot-out will consist of dividing the eligible participants into foursomes according to their handicaps and gender. We will then conduct a closest to the pin contest. If we need a player or players to even out the number of foursomes we will draw names from a pool of players that played all tournaments prior to the drawing.  The player closest to the pin in each foursome will win a prize and move on to the next level. The other players will be eliminated. The next level will consist of one group with one shot and the player that is closest to the pin will be the last person standing and will move on to the final event. The final event will be one shot, for one person, for a prize of $1,000,000 for a hole-in-one. We will provide more details prior to the first tournament.
In addition, we will augment the prize funds with carry over funds from each tournament added to the prize fund for the October Special Event. The details are currently being worked out and will be announced soon along with the tournament schedule for 2021 which will include at least three Par-Three Tournaments.

We are looking forward to a great tournament year in 2021. Don’t forget to pay your dues as soon as possible. The 2021 New Member and Renewal form is attached.  Dues can be paid by putting your cash or check made out to GACC in an envelope with your name and current email address in the Box at the Cedar Creek Pro-Shop. You may also mail it to: GACC, ℅ Cedar Creek Golf Club, 2475 Club Dr, Aiken SC 29803​

Dick Leach
President
GACC

This is the monthly summary of the activities of your Golf Association of Cedar Creek (GACC), your member managed co-ed organization dedicated to the enhancement of our golfing experience at The Cedar Creek Golf Course (CCGC).  As always, more detailed information can found on our webpage, gaccgolf.org

Due to the issues of the current Covid-19 virus, several of our committees such as Social, Jr. Golf, Fund Raising and Community Relations have been unable to perform their duties.  However, as can be seen below, a lot of  work has been completed by our other teams.

Work Committee (Chair Bob Gilliland):  There were several volunteer days in the last month, with cleanups again covering most holes and some common areas as well.  Trees were trimmed using a new pole saw and some fallen trees were cut up as well and the O.B. markers on #14 were re-positioned.  In all, over 20 trailer loads of debris were carted off by co-ed teams made up of GACC members and non-members.  Additionally,  new brushes were purchased and installed by Don LaBlanc in the club washers on the driving range. Please contact Mr. Gilliland if you some have items that we may be able to address or you wish to volunteer.

Tournament Committee (Chair Rich Stamm):  The July 27 tournament at Bartram Trails went off well.  For results, please navigate to our website.  The sign-up sheet for the Saturday, August 15 Par 3 tournament is available in the pro shop. We are also considering a tournament on a Sunday in September, probably a 4 person co-ed scramble.  Look for details in the near future.  Additional events are also scheduled for later in the year.  Please check our website for information on all past and future events.

GACC Membership Committee (Chair Dave Rasmussen):  Dave has met with prospective property purchasers and those interested in CC memberships, including playing a round with them as an introduction.  Contact Dave if you know of any who may be interested. Also, GACC membership forms are available on our website and in the clubhouse for any of you who may be interested in joining us.  The greater the participation, the more we can do.

Contact an officer or committee chair with any ideas you may have to help us enhance our Cedar Creek golfing experience.

See you all at the course!  Play the Creek!

This is the first of our planned monthly summary of the activities of your Golf Association of Cedar Creek (GACC), your member managed co-ed organization dedicated to the enhancement of our golfing experience at The Cedar Creek Golf Course (CCGC).  As always, more detailed information can found on our webpage, gaccgolf.org

Due to the issues of the current Covid-19 virus, several of our committees such as Social, Jr. Golf, Fund Raising and Community Relations have been unable to perform their duties.  However, as can be seen below, a lot of  work has been completed by our other teams.

Work Committee (Chair Bob Gilliland): 28 different individuals (some GACC, some not) have completed over 250 hours of course cleanup activities YTD.  Most holes have received debris and root removal, tree canopy trimming, asphalt cart path repair and club house power washing.  However, the work is never done.  So be on the lookout for future scheduled work days and volunteer if you are able.

Tournament Committee (Chair Rich Stamm):  While our April & May events were cancelled, several tournaments have been completed, including the new Virtual type tourneys where you can play at your own chosen time.  Upcoming events include 7/27 at Bartram Trails, 8/15 Par 3 at Cedar Creek and 9/19 at Cedar Creek - format TBD.  Additional tournaments are also scheduled for later in the year.  Please check our website for details on all past and future events.

GACC Membership Committee (Chair Dave Rasmussen):  Dave has met with prospective property purchasers and those interested in CC memberships, including playing a round with them as an introduction.  Contact Dave if you know of any who may be interested. Also, GACC membership forms are available on our website and in the clubhouse for any of you who may be interested in joining us.  The greater the participation, the more we can do.

Special kudos are in order to the Ladies Monday 9 Hole Group!  They organized and completed a cleanup, buffing and repainting of the clubs' outdoor furniture on the patio and under the pavilion.  Great job and looks great.

Contact an officer or committee chair with any ideas you may have to help us enhance our Cedar Creek golfing experience.

See you all at the course!  Play the Creek!