While both of our courses received their annual summer maintenance, we continue to listen to your feedback and make improvements. We are in the process of adding new practice mats on the main practice tee, which should not affect your playing times. This will be a two-step process that starts by adding concrete. On October 26th, Toro, the worldwide leader providing innovative solutions for the outdoor environment, including turf maintenance, landscape, and irrigation, will be at the club. Their objective is to fix multiple sprinkler heads on our Bobcat Course.

We have now added dividers on our entire fleet of carts for safety protocol. We are pleased to see so many members adjusting to this change and appreciate golfers from not tampering with the dividers.

On October 13th, we welcomed back the shotgun starts, which will now continue through the season. While social distancing is a priority, the shotgun charts are spaced a bit differently from our past seasons. Our commitment is to our members’ safety and health to encourage social distancing and frequent social distancing announcements. 

As we kick off the season with the Nine & Dine, many more events will follow. Funky Golf is a nine-hole event on our Bobcat Course with funky games held every hole. Our event will begin with a 3:00 pm shotgun with cocktails and dinner following play. The fee for golf and dinner will be $75, and the price for attending the dinner only is $60. Included in the pricing above is a donation that will go to the Golisano Children’s Hospital.

Our Ladies’ & Men’s Fall Member / Member Event is coming up Thursday, Friday & Saturday, November 12th, 13th & 14th. The event format will be a better ball of partners for both rounds, with flights being determined by cumulative index. Members will play with 85% of their handicap based on the guidelines of the USGA. Members will have the choice to compete in a net division, gross division, or both. Divisions will be separate from one another, and teams will need to register which event they would like to participate in. If groups want to register for both net and gross, an additional entry fee will be required. Our field is up to 54 players thus far, and we would love to see more! For further information or register for our Fall Member/ Member event, please contact the golf pro shop at 239-481-5700.

October 19th, we welcomed Kenny Vierling, who began his tenure as superintendent of the Bobcat. Kenny is from the Creek Club on Long Island. He and his young family are excited about becoming a part of The Forest, so be sure to give them a warm welcome! 

Before you hit the links, please stop by our golf pro shop and browse new items from JoFit, Puma, FootJoy Belyn Key, Johnnie-O and grab yourself our new TFCC branded face masks! 

Off the Courses

Moving off the course, our very own Sara Cooper has been promoted to director of food and beverage. Sara is focusing on enhancing the member dining experience through improved training and staff retention. As we move through October, we are offering new menu items with flares of Autumn. New Dine-In and To-Go Special Entrees for October include citrus marinated Grilled Swordfish and Slow-Roasted Ribeye with natural au jus. 

While we move just outside of the dining room onto our covered terrace, we have transformed this outdoor space into our in-person group fitness classes. You can now enjoy the regular morning fitness classes while soaking in the beautiful Southwest Florida mornings in a peaceful setting. Nothing beats an outdoor fitness class! While we welcome back our in-person classes, we are continuing with three virtual classes each week. Our Fitness Coordinator, Nichole Vannatter, is busy at work reconfiguring and updating our site’s fitness information while also working on our own Forest Country Club Youtube Channel specifically for group fitness. 

Just past our outdoor terrace is our newly renovated bocce courts, which should be finishing up any day now! Janet Choisnet will now manage the fall bocce league. For more information on registering your team, please email Janet at [email protected] with your Captain’s name, participants, and team name. Make sure to get your group t-shirts and apparel planned now for when the season starts! We can’t wait to see how creative our members can be each year! 

Now, on our way to racquet sports, pickleball has exploded in popularity at The Forest! Each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings, our courts are packed for social play. While pickleball is poppin’, our tennis center and courts have also received some renovations. The Tennis Center restrooms are now complete, and the tennis courts have been resurfaced and look and feel incredible! 

As we welcome back many familiar faces, we have just welcomed our 100th members to join The Forest since the opening of our new clubhouse facility 18 months ago. Our 100th members are Mr. and Mrs. Bob and Cynthia Chambers. Please be sure to share a toast this week and welcome them to The Forest family. 

We are very eager to see what the rest of this season will bring. We look forward to safely enjoying the company and camaraderie of new and returning members. If you have any questions or know of someone interested in joining the club, please reach out to our membership director, Brenda Lanza, at (239) 482-1310.