I hope everyone is staying warm this winter and having a great start to 2026. After a snowy January, February is now upon us and there are 42 days until St. Patrick’s Day. I mention that day as the course has opened several times on or before that date! In anticipation of some warmer weather, this seems to be a great time to kick off our annual member registration process.
2026 Membership: The annual membership fee for 2026 will be $155 per member, a $5 increase from last year to offset some anticipated cost increases. Your membership includes:
· Preferred/reserved tee times every weekend for all Men’s Club events
· Entrance into the hole-in-one contest ($500 annual H-I-O skin pool)
· Entry into the Season Long Points Race. Points are accumulated for Individual Low Net performance against the field over 12 Race events with $2,000 or more paid out to 10% of the total membership.
Other items on the Registration Form:
· You can also sign up for the Match Play Classic for an additional $20 (same as last year). This is a season-long, single-elimination event with monthly matches, where you schedule your own tee time with your opponent. Last year, we had 96 members in 6 flights.
· The last item on the form allows for contributions to the Reggie Zurinskas Scholarship Fund. This allows us to award scholarships to two deserving Simsbury High graduates each year. Many of you have been very generous over the years, and I thank you in advance for your contribution to this year’s scholarship fund.
·Member Referrals: SFMC membership peaked at about 165 members shortly after Covid, and has declined a bit to 152 in 2025. To maintain/increase our membership numbers, we are offering a $20 award for each new member you can refer in for 2026. There will be a spot on the registration form where new members can identify who referred them, and we will reimburse you once the season begins.
Spring Kick-off meeting has been scheduled for Sunday, March 22nd at 1:00 PM at the Cracker Barrel Pub over in Tariffville. As many are probably aware, Cracker Barrel was selected as the new restaurant vendor. We have had a couple of discussions with them, and while details are still being planned, it sounds like an exciting opportunity that should benefit all golfers at the Farms.
Tournament Committee has begun meeting to start putting together a robust schedule for 2026. With roughly 30 events being scheduled, the calendar will be finalized and communicated at our spring meeting. Other key topics under discussion include improvements to the Pace of Play, updates to local course rules, and potential changes to forward tee usage. More details will be shared at the Spring Meeting.
We have not finalized the full calendar, but I would like to let you know some of the tentative dates:
· Warm-up event – Best 15 holes – Sat. April 4th
· Individual and Skins Event – Sat., April 11th
· 4-Man Shot-gun Opening Event – Sat. April 18th (pushed back a week in hopes of better weather!!)
Please look for a survey to be emailed later this month. There are a few issues the Board would like your feedback on before we finalize things for 2026. Also, please remember to mark Sunday, March 22th on your calendar for the spring kickoff meeting at the Cracker Barrel (1:00 PM) where we will go over the upcoming season.
I am looking forward to seeing everyone in March or on the course this April.
Dan Sullivan, President SFMC