January 2022 Newsletter
NEWSLETTER by Brad Bourret, General Manager on January 1, 2022
A Message from the General Manager:
I am absolutely thrilled and honored to be the next General Manager at WildeWood. This is an incredible special opportunity; my wife Sarah and I are extremely grateful for the belief in me to be the GM at one of the finest private clubs in the Columbia area.
I have had a love affair with the private club industry for over 30 years, I absolutely love and thrive on the unique challenges that exist in private clubs. I am incredibly excited about the opportunity to lead our members and our professional staff in making continual improvements in the daily member experience at WildeWood.
I began my career at one of my fathers’ restaurants named the Tail n Ale in Sioux City, Iowa. I was involved with all aspects of the business from the back of the house to the front of the house. After receiving my degree in Business Administration at Briar Cliff College I became the General Manager at Kearney Country Club in Kearney, Nebraska.
I have a unique passion about always trying to exceed our customers’ expectations that was drilled into my head by my father. The club industry was the perfect career path that I can use my passion for the hospitality business, my love of sports and the accounting side of our business.
My previous clubs have been:
- Kearney Country Club in Kearney, Nebraska
- Hillcrest Country Club in Batesville, Indiana
- Harbour Trees Golf Club in Noblesville, Indiana
- Carolina Trace CC in Sanford, NC
- Wilson Country Club in Wilson, NC
- Cabarrus CC in Concord, NC
My wife Sarah and I have been married for 42 years and we have 3 children, all living in the Carolinas. My oldest son Bryan and his wife Nina have two children and live in Greenville, SC. Our son Bo and his wife Courtney, live in Lexington, NC and they have a daughter Madison. Our daughter Shannon is married to Dr. Michael Dickson, they live in Waxhaw, NC and have three children, ages 3, 2 and 3 months.
My vision for WildeWood is to develop a first-class, empowering work culture for all of our staff members that is service oriented, and we are focused on providing our members a memorable personal experience each time you and your family visit the club.
As I have the opportunity to meet all of our members, please know that I would appreciate your input about the club and I encourage you to share your experiences at the club, both pros and cons. This is the best way for me to learn where we have been and it’s my job to work with our Board of Directors and Committees to carve out our direction for continued success in the future.
I am looking forward to the opportunity to meet you and your family members beginning on January 3.
I wish you and everyone in our WildeWood Community a fantastic holiday season and I am counting the days until we move into our new home, and I get started at the club on January 3rd.
Warmest regards,
Brad Bourret
General Manager
TENNIS Notes from Bill Simpson
USTA Charges
Every member that plays on a USTA team, is charged $15 to cover the cost of the away team’s guest fees for the season. That is $15 per team that you register for. This year, we charged our members on 4 occasions: February (Spring Season), May (Mixed and Tri-Level), November (Singles and Combo), and December (Fall, Mixed and Tri-Level). Charging Mixed and Tri-Level for the second time was unintentional, and for all of our members that played on a Mixed or Tri-Level team, we sincerely apologize for our fault. We are crediting everyone’s account that was charged for Mixed or Tri-Level. We apologize for this unforced error, and will do our best to correct this problem. In the future, we will be charging our members during each season and will put out communication to you, before we make those charges.
Indoor Court Charges. Starting 1/3/22, the indoor court fee has increased. The new rate for the use of our indoor courts is $8 per person, per hour.
Example 1: 3 Members and 1 guest play on the indoor courts for 1.5 hours. Each member will be charged $12, the guest will be responsible for the $12 indoor court fee, PLUS the $7.50 guest fee. If a member would like to be charged for their guest, they can indicate that on the Indoor Court Sign-In Sheet.
Example 2: 2 Members play on the indoor courts for 2 hours. Each member will be charged $16.
REMINDER: Please sign in all guests!!! Guests are only allowed to come 2 times per month, and HOA and Social Members are only allowed to play a total of 6 times per year at the guest rate of $7.50, or 2 times per month at the guest rate of $7.50.
Tennis Center Hours. Winter Hours started December 1st at the Tennis Center. These hours will be just for the months of December and January, or sooner if we see a need to go back to our normal times. New Hours of operation is as follows:
- Monday-Thursday: 8am-8pm
- Friday: 8am-6pm*
- Saturday 8am-3pm*
- Sunday 12pm*-6pm
- *Indicates a change from normal time.
USTA Leagues. We are gearing up for USTA Spring Season! If you are looking to be on a team, please reach out to Bill at 803.622.8813, and I will make sure to find you the best fit!
Ladies Clinics –
- 2.5 – Tuesday 9:00-10:30, Saturday 10:00-11:00
- 3.0 – Monday 9:00-10:30
- 3.0/3.5 – Saturday 9:00-10:00
- 3.5 – Friday 9:00-10:30
- 4.0 – Wednesday 9-10:30, Thursday 9:00-10:30
*These Clinics are open to all players; however, you must be rated at the same level of the clinic that you attend or play on a WildeWood team at the same level of the clinic that you attend.
Kids Clinics –
Junior Clinic Sign-Up. Parents can sign up their juniors at the beginning of the month, for the Red, Orange, or Green levels. This new monthly structure is for all levels from Red Ball 1 to Green Ball. The Yellow Ball Clinic will run as normal due to the crazy schedules of our high school participants. Parents can still drop their kids off on a clinic-to-clinic basis at a slightly increased price. However, if we cannot get at least 4 kids signed up for each month, then we will cancel that clinic for the month.
To sign your children up, please email Bill at bill@thewildewoodclub.com or by calling the Tennis Center at 803.699.2446.
- Yellow Ball Clinic (Ages 13-16): Monday and Wednesday 4:30-6, Friday 4-5:30
- Green Dot Clinic (Ages 11-12): Tuesday and Thursday 4:30-5:30
- Orange Ball Clinic (ages 8-10): Tuesday and Thursday 3:30-4:30
- Red Ball Clinic 1 (Ages 6-8): Monday and Wednesday 4:00-4:30
- Red Ball clinic 2 (Ages 3-6): Monday and Wednesday 3:30-4:00
MEMBER EVENTS Notes from Kimberley Bagley
MEMBER EVENTS COMING IN JANUARY
RSVP for any events at Events@thwildewoodclub.com
The board is working hard to continue to update our beautiful club! Please help spread the word about our club to your friends and family! There will be an entrance fee increase coming in this new year and it has never been a better time to join or upgrade. Our amenities are amazing for the monthly fee and we want to continue to grow our club family!
INTERESTED IN UPGRADING YOUR MEMBERSHIP? Email: Kimberley@thewildewoodclub.com
GOLF Notes from Adam Lindley
Golf Hours of Operation:
- Tuesday thru Sunday: 8:00 AM until 5:00 PM
Range Hours of Operation:
- Tuesday thru Saturday: 8:00 AM until 5:00 PM
- Sunday: 8:00 AM until 4:00 PM
Please continue to check-in when you arrive. The golf pro-shop will be moving from Tennis back to the clubhouse by January 10th and will be in the ballroom until construction is complete in the new pro shop. Thank you for your patience.
GOLF COURSE MAINTENANCE Notes from Steve Whitaker, Assistant Superintendent
You will notice this part of the newsletter is a little different from in the past. I want to start out by extending my utmost respect and gratitude to Grayson Clark. As you know, he has moved on to a new job and I have stepped up from my role as Assistant Superintendent to cover his duties and mine as well. Grayson brought me in and trained me from day one to become a superintendent. I want to wish him the best in his new position. As we all anxiously wait to learn who the new superintendent will be, the maintenance crew will continue to make course improvements.
Over the next few weeks, we will be continuing the cleanup of pine cones and property lines. We have done some tree removal at the seventh tee, but more work is to be done. Mother nature has been playing tricks on us with temperatures fluctuating from the low thirties up to almost eighty degrees and several days of high winds. The warm temperatures make for great golf weather, but it also alters some of our “normal” winter routines.
Speaking of weather, I want to remind everyone that while we are seeing some big swings in the temperature, when we have temperatures that are at or below freezing, the turf can be easily damaged. Frost is the obvious visual that we should not be walking on the greens but even without frost on the ground, freezing temperatures can severely damage the greens. Any damage done during this time of the year will be seen well into the springtime. If you happen to have a tee time that’s early in the morning, I do encourage you to look at the forecast the night before and to call the pro shop beforehand just in case we are on a frost delay.
As we leave 2021 in the rear view mirror and look forward to an exciting 2022, I look forward to seeing all of you out on the course and enjoying a fun round of golf.
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The WildeWood Club Staff would like to thank our members for their patience and understanding during this transition time here at the club. Thank you for being a member!
Brad Bourret
General Manager
(803) 788-8000 Option 3
brad@thewildewoodclub.com
