NCC Summer Employee Wins All-America Honors

Katie Gangelhoff, who worked at Northland this past summer on one of the beverage carts, has been named Second Team All American by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. Katie, shown at the right, is a junior at UMD. UMD won its fourth consecutive league title this year, finishing their season with a 29-2 record. Katie is from South St. Paul. She also was named second team All American last year.

New Quick Poll Rotation

We've updated our Northland Quick Poll feature....a series of polls will now be conducted at the same time. Each time you sign on to the site, a new poll will appear. (Generally on the right side of this screen, occasionally on the bottom depending on your screen size)
Among the topics we're exploring in the current series are the use of televisions in the J.R. Link Lounge, a new day for holiday golf events, and the possibility of a New Year's Eve party and the likelihood you would attend the event if it were held.
As always, these polls are only a reflection of those persons who take them and are not meant to be representative of the membership of Northland.
Why the current series?
Some members have requested that television viewing in the lounge be limited. What do you think?
Other members have suggested that Saturday holiday events be moved to Monday? Yes or No?
And, even though we're fast approaching the end of the year, do you think Northland should have a New Year's Eve Party? Would you attend?
As always, your additional comments are always welcome.

Ladies' Luncheon Menu - Guests Are Welcome

Have you made your reservation yet for the annual Ladies' Holiday Luncheon? The event is scheduled for Wednesday, December 12. It begins with a social hour at 11:30am followed by the 12:30pm luncheon. When you call the club to make your reservation, please let the office know which of the following entrees you would prefer:

Artichoke& Feta Stuffed Chicken
or
Plum Glazed Salmon

The cost for the luncheon is only $20 and guests are welcome. Monetary donations will be accepted again this year, with the donations being forwarded to The Salvation Army.
Please RSVP today at 525.1941.

Upgrade Now & Save $$ - Social Membership Fee Has Been Increased

Here's a great opportunity to upgrade your membership at Northland.
Starting December 1, social members at Northland can upgrade to pool & tennis for just $1000. And, members who would like to upgrade to resident golf can do so for just $5400.
This limited time offer ends February 28.
Membership Director Ann Robertson briefed the Membership Committee last week about the current status of memberships. While some private clubs will lose 10 percent to 20 percent of their members each season, Northland has lost less than a dozen members from the high reached earlier this year. Some of the losses were due to members moving from the area. There are currently 572 members in all classes.
There continues to be a waiting list for social memberships, with that list getting longer each week. The initiation cost for a social membership has been raised to $750 effective immediately. This will not affect those persons or couples currently on the waiting list.
The Membership Committee has also approved a new member campaign that will begin January 1. Details will be announced shortly.
If you would like more information on the NCC current member upgrade offer, please contact membership director Ann Robertson at (218) 428-5178 or (218) 525-1941 or arobertson@northlandcountryclub.com.

Happy Thanksgiving!

New Drainage on #4

Now that drainage work has been completed on the 13th fairway, the grounds crew has switched its attention to the 4th fairway.
New drainage is being added to the fairway adjacent to the creek bed. The area has not drained well in recent years which has affected the quality of the turf. Work on this project is expected to be completed today.

2008 Golf Calendar Indicates Busy Season Ahead

Director of Golf Joe O'Connor and Games Chairman Ken Buck are putting the final touches on the golf calendar for 2008, but it already indicates a busy season ahead for the club.
The season will officially get underway with the Ladies Opening Luncheon scheduled for Tuesday, May 13. On Saturday, May 17, it's the Men's Opening Event.
There will be some changes in traditional event dates and formats this season as the club explores opportunities to increase participation. We'll have more on some of the changes as the 2008 season approaches.
Here's an outline of some of the club events already scheduled. You can click the image to view it full screen. A complete calendar will also appear in an upcoming Northlandia.

Staff Starts "Green House" Committee

A group of employees at Northland have launched a new campaign to ensure the club is environmentally sensitive. The "Green House" Committee will review cleaning practices, recycling efforts, and other areas of clubhouse operation to discover ways in which the club can take advantage of new products or alter existing practices. Serving on the committee are Carrie Ohme, Clint Johnson, Kaila Nathe, John Martin and Jane Shank. The committee will present its recommendations to administrative staff for their review and possible implementation.

Plan Now For Women's Holiday Luncheon

The annual women's holiday luncheon will be held Wednesday, December 12 beginning at 11:30a.m.
Invitations will go our shortly. We'll have more information in coming days, but you can reserve today by calling the office at 525.1971.

Tonight's Features

Post Parade Menu

Here's the menu for Friday night's party following the Christmas City of the North Parade. Remember, we'll also have seasonal movies for the children to watch following the parade. You can click anywhere on the menu to view it full screen.

Happy Hour Specials

Coming to tonight's Happy Hour? The fun begins at 4:30.

Here are tonight's appetizer specials:
Black & Tan Onion Rings with Bistro Dipping Sauce
Spicy Chicken Wings - three flavors
Chipotle Chicken Quesadilla with guacamole, sour cream & salsa.

Put one or more of the above together with half price taps, house wine and rail drinks.

Members In The News - Buscaglia Launches New Magazine

The following is an excerpt from Business North, click here for the full article...

Marti Buscaglia is back — with her own magazine.

The publisher of the Duluth News Tribune from 2002 to 2007 has gone independent as owner/CEO of New Ventures Publishing, which she founded in July 2007. She expects the first issue of the company’s glossy monthly, Duluth-Superior Magazine, to hit newsstands and the mail in February.

She said it will be similar to Mpls. St. Paul Magazine. “It’s targeted to an upscale audience, but it won’t be just upscale people who read it,” she said. “It will also be an aspirational magazine.”

As to how it will be aspirational she explained, “The way I’ve heard Mpls. St. Paul magazine described to me is that it makes the Twin Cities look cooler than it actually is. The Twin Ports is pretty cool as it is, but this magazine will bring to the forefront the things that make the area attractive.”

Articles will cover the arts, features on area residents, and interviews with community leaders. Don’t expect hard-hitting or investigative journalism. “We’re here to be the cheerleaders for Duluth,” she said.

Duluth-Superior’s circulation will be 20,000, covering the Twin Ports metropolitan statistical area, plus the North Shore and Iron Range. Copies will also be sold on newsstands in Thunder Bay and the Twin Cities. It will be distributed by paid subscription and free at area hotels. Individual copies will cost $3.75 to $3.95 each.

((Click here for the rest of the story))

Tonight's Menu Specials

On The Calendar

The rest of the week at Northland...

The Northland Women's Golf Association Board of Directors is meeting today to begin planning for next season's women's events.

Tonight, members Marti Buscaglia and Jackie Grombacher are presenting their new clothing lines at 6:00 in the ballroom.

Thursday night Happy Hour begins at 4:30 with bar and appetizer specials.

On Friday, following the Christmas City of the North Parade, there's a family party at Northland (see the full story below). There's food specials for adults and children, and movies for children to watch while their parents enjoy dinner.

What Specials Are On The Menu Tonight?

Art Fund Nears $13,000

In just two weeks, Northland members have contributed almost $13,000 to the Northland Country Club Art Fund. Northland member Howard Klatzky directed the initiative to raise funds to cover the cost of acquiring new art for the clubhouse, not all of which will be golf related.
Very soon, the recently formed Art Committee will meet to prioritize purchases and location for the new art. Committee members include Jim Abelsen, Dr. Joe Leek, Bea Levey, Michelle Wegler and Larry D. Johnson.
The committee will be assisted in their efforts by Sara Strom Sarvela and John Steffel, former director of the Duluth Art Institute.
Northland members who would like to contribute to the fund, can contact the office for additional details or send their contribution to the Northland office in care of the Northland Country Club Art Fund.

Fall Course Maintenance In Full Swing

The following is an update from Superintendent Chris Tritabaugh:

All of the greens at Northland are now covered. The process went very well and we finished the covering in what I am told is a Northland record...two days. We are bound to experience a couple of nice days before winter fully sets in and some of you who may want to come out and swing the sticks a little bit. While I would not discourage you from coming out, I will ask that you do not play from the tee boxes, fairways or greens. The turf on the tees, greens and fairways has been hardened off by the cold weather. While this will allow the turf to protect itself from the winter weather it does make the plant more susceptible to damage from foot traffic. Even though the covers protect the greens, the netting on the covers can easily be caught on golf spikes. This type of damage can reduce the life span of the covers. Please do not walk on the green covers.
While the golf course is now put to bed the ground's crew will be keeping quite busy over the next couple of weeks. We have begun installing drainage on #13. (Rob Tripp is seen above as he begins digging the drainage collection basin near the 13th tee box) (The photo on the right shows the drainage lines running from the left side of #13 to a catch basin near the right side of the #6 fairway bunker)

The material we are removing for the drain lines is being placed to the right of the cart path on #6 tee. This fill will be used to create a swale right of the cart path. This swale will move the water from that area to an existing catch basin and keep it from pooling between the cart path and #6 tee.

Once the weather stops us from working in the soil we will turn our attention to tree work. There will be some removal of dead and dying trees and in other areas we will be cleaning up low limbs much like the recent work on #11.

Revision to Member Fall Clean Up
Awhile back I brought up the idea of a fall member clean up. Rather than do a few hours on a Saturday or Sunday, probably getting a limited amount of work done, we've now designated the first week of December (3rd-7th) as member clean up week. The crew will spend this week working to clear brush and buckthorn from a specific area and members who are able to work with the staff for a day or part of a day are welcome to come in and help. Since this is during the work week, I am sure some members would not be able to participate, but there may be others who would find it a relaxing and enjoyable break from the weekly grind. Please let me know if this is something you might participate in. As always please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you might have.
Chris Tritabaugh
Golf Course Superintendent
ctritabaugh@northlandcountryclub.com

NCC Plans Post Parade Party

It's just ten days until the annual Christmas City of the North Parade in Duluth. On Friday, November 16, Northland is celebrating with a post-parade party.
We're planning the party with children and families in mind. There will be hot cocoa and special menus for both the children and parents. The menu items will be perfect for "after the parade" dining.
There will also be special videos available for children.
Reservations are encouraged - please call the office at 525.1941.

Snow Showers Signal Season's End

As snow showers began on the upper reaches of the golf course this morning, ground crew members began the process of closing the course for the season. The crew is seen in the photo above unloading a new delivery of excelsior wood fiber mats at the 9th green. Superintendent Chris Tritabaugh says the club has mostly new matting material to work with which should aid in preserving the quality of the greens through the winter.
Late last week, other members of the ground's crew began their schedule of Fall work by trimming tree limbs along both sides of the cart path that extends along the side of the 11th fairway. This work will assist in improving the turf in the area. Two trees near the 11th green that were exhibiting stress were also removed.

One other tree has also been removed in this area of the golf course. A large pine to the right and front of the 12th tee complex was taken down. In addition to some health issues, the tree had also grown so large that it was restricting play to mostly the left side of both the white and blue tee positions.

Superintendent Tritabaugh has put together his list of Fall and Winter projects. As always, he'll provide members with regular email updates and progress will also be noted on this site.

O'Connor Gets New Contract

The Northland Country Club Board of Directors is pleased to announce that Director of Golf Joe O'Connor has signed a new three-year contract with the club.
Joe recently completed his 20th year as the PGA Professional with Northland.
Joe is already busy planning next season's event calendar.
As was reported last week, Joe was recently honored as Facility Promoter of the Year by the MGA.

Course Closes Sunday - Sunday Food Service Ends

Sunday will be the final day of golf at Northland Country Club for 2007. What a season! A new superintendent, great tournaments, new events, record participation in league play, and more rounds of golf played than in most years. Quite a few members were on the course today and some have talked of one final round Sunday before the mats go on the greens Monday.
Sunday food service at Northland will not be available until the golf course opens again in the Spring. The J.R. Link Lounge will be open Sunday at 11am and close at 7:00pm for those who want to watch seasonal sporting events or get together for cards, backgammon, cribbage or other activities. Once winter sets in, cross country ski trails will be groomed and the lounge and fire pit will be available for a warm up.