CLUBHOUSE EAST WING RENOVATION
October 19, 2021
Dear Hackensack Golf Club Members:
In the fall of 2006, HGC embarked on an effort to improve our Club by investing in our key resource: our golf course. To improve the course’s conditioning, a new irrigation system, and significant infrastructure like expanded drainage, was installed. While the actual enhancements may have been hard to see, the effects were not: our course’s conditioning has improved significantly over the past 15 years. At that time, the “Active A” membership supported the Board’s recommendation and approved a monthly capital payment by each member that would last for 5 years.
Since then, HGC has been transformed, as we have pursued a deliberate course of constant improvement which has paid many dividends to not only our membership but our Club’s reputation. Since 2006, Hackensack has:
For these projects, the Club determined that all work would be completed at the highest level. Accordingly, we pursued a long-term approach, making improvements on a consistent annual basis. In some years, projects were more extensive; in other years, we made more minor, but still important, improvements.
The Club has paid for these more substantial recent projects and other necessary capital expenditures through a combination of monthly capital payments by our membership, long-term bank loans, and funds raised through initiation fees. We have also used funds from our operating activities to supplement these sources of funding. In 2011, and again in 2016, the Active A membership approved the renewal and increase of the monthly payment. These monthly payments have been used to pay down our current bank loans, which will be retired in 10 years; looking forward payments on these existing loans are approximately $170 per month per member.
The next phase of our long-term plan for investment in the Club includes renovation of the Northeast corner of the Clubhouse, including the Golf Pro Shop, Bag Room, and Locker Rooms, and most notably, the addition of outside seating on the deck above the Pro Shop and new Bag Room. The new addition to the Clubhouse will enable us to add features like golf simulators for year-round practice and play. To accomplish this, we will demolish the old bathrooms attached to the locker rooms, as well as the existing bag room. We expect that this project would begin at the end of the 2022 golf season, probably in October. Below are renderings of the new, expanded Pro Shop, and a view of the new outside seating area from the 1st tee.
Our Board task force who has planned the project estimates that the entire cost of the undertaking is approximately $3.1 million. We hope you share our Board’s vision that these proposed investments not only enhance the physical structure of our Clubhouse, but offer tangible benefits that members and guests will enjoy for years to come.
Through prudent financial management, we have maintained very competitive dues while achieving and maintaining a strong financial position. The Club continues to pay down its prior debt and is building a cash reserve to minimize potential borrowing for our next phase of investment in HGC.
Based on our analysis of our current financial condition and planned investment, and with our current monthly capital assessment of $150 expiring this month, at the upcoming Annual Meeting on November 11 you will be asked to approve two resolutions:
With the membership’s approval of the two resolutions, we will be able to achieve the following:
Importantly, membership consent with the proposed resolutions will provide the Club with the needed financial flexibility to manage this next phase effectively. In addition, we are cognizant that not only existing members should make contributions to these improvements. At this writing, Hackensack Golf Club has a full complement of members. Accordingly, we are limited in our ability to generate significant additional capital receipts through new member initiation fees. Nonetheless, the Board recognizes that our initiation fee has not increased in over 15 years—and since HGC is an extremely desirable option among New York Area private clubs—the Board believes an increase is warranted. While its immediate impact will be limited the Board has determined that effective January 1, 2022, we will increase the initiation fee for full membership by $10,000, from $35,000 to $45,000 (plus a $15,000 bond when available).
We believe your support of our recommendations gives our Board the flexibility to continue its stewardship of the Club’s affairs in a manner consistent with our history, and this next phase of investment will continue to increase the value that HGC offers to its members, their families and guests.
We look forward to discussing these plans further with you in the coming weeks and at our Active A Annual Members Meeting on November 11.
Sincerely,
The Board of Trustees