Philmont Country Club Newsletter Template - October 2021

Newsletter

Volume 2, Issue 4 | Membership News and Information | Fourth QTR 2021

IMPORTANT CLUB CONTACTS INSIDE THIS EDITION

Chris Cissel, General Manager Clubhouse Update 3
(215) 947-1271 x107 | [email protected] Tee It Up 4
From The Courts 6-7
Steven McAvoy, Member Accounts & Billing Membership Update 8
(215) 947-1271 x104 | [email protected] Grounds Update 12-13
Member Reminders 18
Sarah Mahony; Director of Sales, Outing & Catering Club Calendar 19-21
(215) 947-1271 x101 | [email protected] Hours of Operation 24

Robert Casler, Director of Food & Beverage Philmont Country Club
(215) 947-1271 x102 | [email protected] Member Announcements

Laurie Schmeltzer, Co - Dining Manager Share Your News With Us!
Kayal Rivera, Co - Dining Manager
(215) 947-1271 x109 Is your son/daughter graduating?
Getting married?
Russell Danyluk, Director of Membership
(215) 947-1271 x156 | [email protected] Are you celebrating an anniversary?
Birth of a new baby?
Michael McCarraher, Director of Golf
(215) 947-1271 x111 | [email protected] Have you or a family member won an
award?
Dylan Bartholomew, Golf Professional
(215) 947-1271 x125| [email protected] Celebrating another accomplishment
or life event?
Chris Tyler, Director of Tennis
267-323-6311 | [email protected] Share your news with other
Philmont CC members!

Send your announcement to:

Vannessa Lawrence,
[email protected]

(215) 947-1271 ext. 100

Anthony Johnson, Golf Superintendent
(215) 947-1271 x116| [email protected]

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Clubhouse Update | Chris Cissel, General Manager

Hello to our wonderful Philmont Family,

I cannot believe another 3 months have passed. Time seems to be flying by. Fall is right around the corner and the leaves are
already starting to change. It’s back to opening the windows and evenings outside by the fire. The golf course is looking great,
and we are continuing to invest in your home away from home to improve your experience.

On the Course
I suggest you work on your tee shots for the 2022 golfing season. Hollywood and his crew are getting ready to lay down
10,000 lbs. of seed in the roughs for your enjoyment.

Tennis
It will feel like summer in the indoor tennis facility soon enough. The new heaters should be in any day now and we will get
them installed as soon as they arrive.

What’s happening in the 1906 Grille
I would like to thank you all for your patience this year in the 1906 Grille. Things are starting to look up and we are commit-
ted to building a great culinary team. I am excited for what is in store and will keep you posted on the progress.

As we transition into the Fall Season hours of operation, our team has been hard at work preparing to unveil some new food
and beverage options at the club!
• We rolled out a brand-new Menu this week with something for everyone to enjoy.
• Trivia is coming to Philmont on Thursday nights.
• Pot of Gold dinner every Friday night. This is a Chef’s selection prix fixe menu that rotates weekly and anyone that is
present can win Concert Cash. If no one wins it carries over to the next week and we add more Concert Cash to the pot.
• Saturday night is Happy Hour night at the club. Join us for great appetizer and beverage specials.
Sunday we are offering brunch and our new smoke house lunch. Come join us for the games and enjoy some great drink
specials too.

Power Outages
As you all know we suffered a power outage. We have pinpointed the problem and are working to rectify the situation ASAP.
Thank you to Concert for continuing to invest in your Club.

Golf Operations
Golf operations put together some great events this season as well. There are still a few big events to come. The Fall
Philmont gear is here. Please visit the shop and pick up your Philmont swag.

Lastly, I suggest that you take the time to check out the entire newsletter. The number of fun things to come, that you can
only get by being a member of Philmont, is amazing. Also keep a look out for our emails about upcoming specials and
events.

See you around the Club,
Chris Cissel

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Tee It Up! | Michael McCarraher, Director of Golf

Hello there Philmont family! It has been an exciting summer on the golf side of the club
with many great tournaments and events. It has been fun to watch the high participation in
those tournaments and seeing the friendly competition week after week. It has also been
great to see our beautiful golf course getting better each day as Tony and his team are doing
one fantastic job. I feel we are getting so close to having our championship North Course
back and see those putts roll off the front of 12 and 14. This is also a beautiful time of year
for golf especially here at Philmont as we all get to experience the mild temperatures and
witness the colors change on the trees.

We had both of our Club and Women’s Championships this summer and both were well
attended and filled with excitement. John Simone took home the Club championship as he
beat Sam Perrotta on the 34th hole in the finals. It was a great match as they went back and
forth, and I simply hope I can be as good as they are someday. Sam did end up winning the
Women’s Club championship with an outstanding round at 3 under par.

Sadly the tournament schedule is coming to a close for 2021, but I have a feeling most of
us still have plenty more golf to be played. We have added a Black Friday Scramble on
November 26th, and we hope to see you all out there!

Thank you all again for being great and always supporting Philmont Country Club. It has
been an honor so far to work here as I have thoroughly enjoyed my time. I look forward to
many more good times on the course and around the shop, and I wish everyone the best
this fall.

Kind regards,
Michael McCarraher, PGA
Head Golf Professional

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5

From The Courts | Chris Tyler, Director of Tennis

Indoor Tennis Court Schedule

Monday - Courts available

*scheduled reservations only*

Tuesday - Friday: 7:30 am - 10 pm
Saturday & Sunday: 7:00 am - 8:00 pm

Drop In Clinic Schedule

There will be programs for members such as drop-in clinics Breakfast Club doubles
& Match play if desired can be scheduled.

Tuesday Wednesday

10:00 am 4.0 or higher players *10:30 am 3.5 or higher players
8:30 pm
3.0 or higher players *Once a month at 11:00 am (please text to confirm your coming)

Thursday Saturday

7:00 am 4.0 or higher players
(2 hour clinic) 3.0 or higher
9:30 am 3.0 or higher players.
*7:30 am - 9:00 am

*Breakfast Club doubles is a round robin Style Match play*

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Junior Tennis

*Junior Classes & Junior Match Play available on demand*

3pm - 4:30 pm Saturday

Beginner/Immediate Players

4:30 pm - 6:30 pm Intermediate/ Advanced Players
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Sunday

Beginner (Ages 6 yrs. -12 yrs. old)

More On Tennis

• Private & group lessons are available to be schedule with Chis or with other staff
instructors: Jimmie Nigro or Chris Fiorello.

• If you need to get your racket restrung Chris offers a full-service stringing and gripping
and with an enormous amount of string in inventory in order to provide the customer
with the string of their choice and at the tension of their choice with our top-of-the-line
Babolat stringing machine.

• Pickleball is also available on-demand indoors and if you're wanting to play Pickleball
please let us know and we will try to get more pickleball going at Philmont.

7

Membership Update | Russel Danyluk Membership Director

WELCOME TO PHILMONT COUNTRY CLUB

Jason & Molly Sliverman Dennis & Kate Sparks
Brandon & Kristin Fink Patrick Kelly & Stacie Kennan
Tova Weiss & Paul Meles
Mike & Gail Palumbo Matthew & Kelly Ingram
Joseph & Kristina Felix Daniel Perkins & Karen Auiler
Stephanie & Rocco Checchia
Jim & Cathy Salamone Paul & Carita Geib
Joseph & Stephanie Gonzales
Sharon & Jeff Blank
Ryan & Caitlin Loftus Stacy & Dennis Rue
Darya Mizrachi & Aaron Gette Jim & Kate Fiorella
William & Jennifer Barnett
John Leible Michael & Renee Rafferty
James & Chelsea Stinsman Deno & Kelly Ondrejka
Yury & Maryana Shmerlis
Stephen Suplick
Harrison Caplan Daniel Reatlick
Joseph & Barbara Ems Kristen & Stephen Cissne

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Grounds Review | Anthony Johnson, Golf Superintendent

Around the Course
October 2021

The weather pattern seems to be transitioning to less daylight and chillier mornings from day to day and
before you know it, I will be getting questions about frost delays. The less daylight is a double-edged
sword for the Grounds Department. With the length of the days winding down, it allows us to be a
little more aggressive with watering and mowing heights on the greens surfaces but later starting times
does not allow us to get as much done on the golf course. This year has certainly been an interesting
one to say the least and some of you may not know, but July and August were the hottest in recorded
history. The National Weather Service has recently published an article that the Northeast of the United
States is warming faster than any other place in the country. Just what a Golf Course Superintendent
wants to hear. This year we had 8 heat waves according to NOAA and to think that June was a mild
month for our area. On the other side of that we must thank our stars at how lucky we were when it
came to weather as well. Although we received our fair share of rain in the month of August, less than a
mile away received three times what we received, and we had three confirmed tornadoes less than a mile
of the club. And if that wasn’t enough, bring on Hurricane Ida and her 6 inches of rain in four hours.
I think we all know that Mother Nature owes us a few after last year.

Enough about Mother Nature, lets get to the course. As the year is not over and there is still plenty to
watch out for, this time of year the slow down begins. It starts with losing seasonal staff and the full-
time staff having to pick up the slack and then to the arduous task of blowing leaves. Blowing leaves is a
therapeutic task for me. The greens have responded nicely from the aerification except for the 18th
green that did not handle Hurricane Ida very well. The 18th green is a sand based green and one of
three on the property. Sand based greens are 12 to 18 inches of a sand and peat moss mixture that has a
different percolation rate and growth habits from push up greens. Push up greens were the standard
when Philmont’s’ North Course was built. In a simple explanation, they pushed up a bunch of soil they
had, shaped it and planted grass. The differences between sand based and push up greens make it a
challenge to maintain as the sand-based greens lose nutrients at a faster rate, drain faster and provide a
different myriad of tasks that we perform to make them healthy along with the push up greens. But you
have aerified the greens a thousand times since you got here, aren’t they all sand by now? Yes and no.
They are a modified push up green as the sand layer only gets about 6 inches down. Meaning that once
the water and nutrients get below the sand they are still in the soil and do not leach out like a sand based
green. Water sheeting or cascading across a sand based green like we saw during Ida creates a shearing of
the Poa Annua plant as the force of the water moves across the crown of the plant. Couple that with
the sand from aerification it basically had 5 hours of wet sandpaper going across it. Hopefully by the
time you read this it will be back to normal.

10

The tees, approaches and fairways will be next up for aerification. We are going to be a little more
aggressive on these playing surfaces and start treating them more like the greens to round out the playing
surfaces at Philmont. We will do the traditional aerification using hollow coring tines, but we will couple
that with a more aggressive machine called a VC60. This machine is not a pretty thing to first witness,
as the machine looks like it is destroying turf. It is a tractor mounted implement that has 24 blades that
resemble a circular saw. When inserted up to four inches, it will create channels. Where the channels are,
the thatch is removed and thrown into the air about 10 feet. This process will allow us to extricate
almost the same amount of thatch as a coring tine process but not go as deep. The focus with this
machine is just the thatch layer.
Every year, I attend turf conferences and talks and they are as riveting as they sound. The main take
away from the past 10 years has been labor and this year at Philmont was no different. There were not
many courses that were not affected by COVID restrictions, lack of a labor pool, or people not wanting
to work. I was born into a farming community and not working is something that is just hard for me to
fathom. Although we came close to having a full staff all year by filling in part time staffers and college
students, this had to be by far, the worst year for finding staff. I ask a lot of my staff in general, and I
have said many times before, I want to build an Agronomic Team here at Philmont. The core staff that
we have in place is one that I am very proud of not only in the daily routines and tasks but what the
staff has accomplished in a short period of time. I realize that most of the time I am the face of the
Grounds Department, but it really is a team effort and from the moment I arrived on site, the core staff
with a few additions has really bought into the Agronomic program that we are implementing for
healthy turf and a better golf course. I humbly ask that if you see my staff out there, give them a tip of
the cap or a thank you, it really does go a long way.
Winter is almost upon us. This year we have a plethora of projects and tasks to round out our year and
get next year started off to a great start. Of course, there will be tree work. We have a light year for tree
work planned this year. Some trees that are old and diseased must come down. The main focus for tree
work will be pruning and keeping the trees healthy and more importantly, creating sight lines and
increased playability. Creating these sight lines will benefit the unique terrain, hidden walls, and the
amazing property that Philmont is laid upon. I have seen numerous forecasts for a cold winter, but if
you see us out there doing tree work, be very mindful that we cannot hear you and please keep a safe
distance from us as well.
It is an exciting time for the Grounds Staff, and we are all excited for the next step in the process here at
Philmont. Please remember that fall is a great time to grow grass, so replace and fill those divots and
please repair your ball marks.

See you on the course!
Anthony Johnson

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18

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Member Reminders

Bill Pay Options & Reminders

Via Check

Mail your check to the club, or stop in and drop off your check
at the front desk.

Via Autopay

Philmont Country Club is offering 2 Autopay options:

Option 1 – Credit Card Autopay, Philmont Country Club is Mark Your Calendar
authorized to charge credit card account on the 15th of each
month with a 3% convenience fee of the amount charged.

Option 2 – Pre-Authorized Bank Debit, Philmont Country OCTOBER
Club is authorized to debit your checking or savings account on
the 15th of each month.

Via Bill Pay October 14th Quizzo with Sarah
October 17th Halloween Harvest Day
Many financial institutions offer bill pay to their account October 20th Wine Tasting
holders. Contact your bank to take advantage of this bill pay October 27th Texas Hold’ Em Championship
service. October 29th Costumes & Cocktails Party

Other Reminders NOVEMEBER

When paying by check, please be sure to include your member
number on your check for timely processing.
There is no need to submit a copy of your statement along with
your check. Our accounting department has access to your
statement electronically when processing your payment.

If you have questions about your statement, or making November 4th Beer & Brats
a payment, please contact Steve McAvoy, November 7th Family Game Night
(215) 947-1271x104 | [email protected] November 10th Wine Tasting

November 12th Dinner & Magic Show

November 18th Wine Dinner

November 19th Friendsgiving Dinner

November 24th Thanksgiving Carry-Out Day

Food Minimum Reminder November 26th Thanksgiving After Party

DECEMEBER

Our F&B minimums are currently December 5th Polar Express Holiday Party
Wine Tasting
set up to run from May 1—April 30 December 8th Gingerbread House Party
(of the following calendar year)
December 12th

December 17th Jingle & Mingle Ugly Sweater Party

December 19th Santa Brunch

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SUNDAY MONDAY OCTOBER 2021 FRIDAY SATURDAY

TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY 1 2

1906 Grille 1906 Grille

11:00am – 8:00pm 11:00am – 8:00pm

Pot of Gold Dinner Happiest Hours
5:00pm – 8:00pm 5:00pm – 8:00pm

3 4 5 6 7 8 9

1906 Grille Club Closed 1906 Grille 1906 Grille 1906 Grille 1906 Grille 1906 Grille

11:00am – 6:00pm CLOSED 11:00am - 8:00pm 11:00am – 8:00pm 11:00am - 8:00pm 11:00am – 8:00pm
Porch Night Derby Auction Pot of Gold Dinner Philmont Derby
Brunch Buffet 5:00pm - 8:00pm 7:30 pm - 11:00 pm 5:00pm – 8:00pm 7:45am - 1:00pm

11:00am – 2:00pm Men’s League Happiest Hours
Wings & Things 4:00pm – 8:00pm 5:00pm – 8:00pm
1:00pm – 6:00pm

10 11 12 13 14 15 16

1906 Grille Club Closed 1906 Grille 1906 Grille 1906 Grille 1906 Grille 1906 Grille

11:00am –6:00pm CLOSED 11:00am - 8:00pm 11:00am – 8:00pm 11:00am - 8:00pm 11:00am – 8:00pm
Brunch Buffet 19 Quizzo with Pot of Gold Dinner Happiest Hours
11:00am – 2:00pm Sarah 5:00pm – 8:00pm 5:00pm – 8:00pm
1906 Grille 6:00pm - 9:00pm
Philmont Derby
7:45am - 1:00pm CLOSED
26
Smokehouse Lunch
2:00pm – 6:00pm 1906 Grille

17 18 CLOSED 20 21 22 23

1906 Grille Club Closed 1906 Grille 1906 Grille 1906 Grille 1906 Grille

11:00am – 6:00pm 11:00am - 8:00pm 11:00am – 8:00pm 11:00am -8:00pm 11:00am – 8:00pm
Brunch Buffet Wine Tasting Trivia Night Pot of Gold Dinner Happiest Hours
11:00am – 2:00pm 6:00pm - 9:00pm 5:00pm - 8:00pm 5:00pm – 8:00pm 5:00pm – 8:00pm

Halloween Harvest
Family Day
12:00pm - 5:00pm

Smokehouse Lunch
2:00pm –6 :00pm

24 25 27 28 29 30

1906 Grille Club Closed 1906 Grille 1906 Grille 1906 Grille 1906 Grille

11:00am – 6:00pm 11:00am – 8:00pm 11:00am – 8:00pm 11:00am – 8:00pm 11:00am – 8:00pm
Texas Hold’ Em Trivia Night
Brunch Buffet Championship 5:00pm - 8:00pm Costumes & Cocktails Happiest Hours
11:00am – 2:00pm 7:00pm - 10:00pm Party 5:00pm – 8:00pm

Smokehouse Lunch 7:00pm - 10:00pm
2:00pm – 6:00pm

31 Tennis Event Pool Event Social Event Dining Special

1906 Grille

11:00am –6:00pm
Brunch Buffet
11:00am – 2:00pm
Smokehouse Lunch
2:00pm – 6:00pm

Golf Event

NOVEMBER 2021

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

12 3 4 5 6

Club Closed 1906 Grille 1906 Grille 1906 Grille 1906 Grille 1906 Grille

CLOSED 11:00am - 8:00pm 11:00am - 8:00pm 11:00am - 8:00pm 11:00am – 8:00pm
Beer & Brats Pot of Gold Dinner Happiest Hours
6:00pm - 9:00pm 5:00pm – 8:00pm 5:00pm – 8:00pm

7 89 10 11 12 13

1906 Grille Club Closed 1906 Grille 1906 Grille 1906 Grille 1906 Grille 1906 Grille

11:00am – 6:00pm CLOSED 11:00am - 8:00pm 11:00am – 8:00pm 11:00am - 8:00pm 11:00am – 8:00pm
Brunch Buffet Wine Tasting Trivia Night
11:00am – 2:00pm 6:00pm - 8:00pm 5:00pm - 8:00pm Dinner & Magic Show Happiest Hours
Smokehouse Lunch 5:00pm – 8:00pm 5:00pm – 8:00pm
2:00pm –6:00pm
Family Game Night
3:00pm – 6:00pm

14 15 16 17 18 19 20

1906 Grille Club Closed 1906 Grille 1906 Grille 1906 Grille 1906 Grille 1906 Grille

11:00am – 6:00pm CLOSED 11:00am - 8:00pm 11:00am – 8:00pm 11:00am - 8:00pm 11:00am – 8:00pm
Brunch Buffet Wine Dinner Friendsgiving Dinner Happiest Hours
11:00am – 2:00pm 6:00pm - 8:00pm 6:00pm - 9:00pm 5:00pm – 8:00pm

Smokehouse Lunch
2:00pm –6:00pm

21 22 23 24 25 26 27

1906 Grille Club Closed 1906 Grille 1906 Grille 1906 Grille 1906 Grille 1906 Grille

11:00am – 6:00pm CLOSED 11:00am - 8:00pm 11:00am – 8:00pm 11:00am -8:00pm 11:00am – 8:00pm
Brunch Buffet Thanksgiving Trivia Night Pot of Gold Dinner Happiest Hours
11:00am – 2:00pm Carry-Out 5:00pm - 8:00pm 5:00pm – 8:00pm 5:00pm – 8:00pm
9:00am - 4:00pm
Smokehouse Lunch
2:00pm –6:00pm

28 29 30

1906 Grille Club Closed 1906 Grille

11:00am – 6:00pm CLOSED
Brunch Buffet
11:00am – 2:00pm

Smokehouse Lunch
2:00pm –6:00pm

Golf Event Tennis Event Pool Event Social Event Dining Special

DECEMBER 2021

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

1 2 3 4

1906 Grille 1906 Grille 1906 Grille 1906 Grille

11:00am - 8:00pm 11:00am - 8:00pm 11:00am - 8:00pm 11:00am – 8:00pm
Trivia Night Pot of Gold Dinner Happiest Hours
5:00pm - 8:00pm 5:00pm – 8:00pm 5:00pm – 8:00pm

5 67 8 9 10 11

1906 Grille Club Closed 1906 Grille 1906 Grille 1906 Grille 1906 Grille 1906 Grille

11:00am – 6:00pm CLOSED 11:00am - 8:00pm 11:00am – 8:00pm 11:00am - 8:00pm 11:00am – 8:00pm
Brunch Buffet Wine Tasting Trivia Night Pot of Gold Dinner Happiest Hours
11:00am – 2:00pm 6:00pm - 8:00pm 5:00pm - 8:00pm 5:00pm – 8:00pm 5:00pm – 8:00pm

Smokehouse Lunch
2:00pm – 6:00pm

Polar Express
Holiday Party
5:00pm – 8:00pm

12 13 14 15 16 17 18

1906 Grille Club Closed 1906 Grille 1906 Grille 1906 Grille 1906 Grille 1906 Grille

11:00am – 6:00pm CLOSED 11:00am - 8:00pm 11:00am – 8:00pm 11:00am - 8:00pm 11:00am – 8:00pm
Brunch Buffet Trivia Night Jingle & Mingle Happiest Hours
11:00am – 2:00pm 5:00pm - 8:00pm Ugly Sweater Party 5:00pm – 8:00pm
6:00pm - 9:00pm
Gingerbread House
Party
12:00am – 4:00pm

Smokehouse Lunch
2:00pm – 6:00pm

19 20 21 22 23 24 25

1906 Grille Club Closed 1906 Grille 1906 Grille 1906 Grille 1906 Grille 1906 Grille

11:00am – 6:00pm CLOSED 11:00am - 8:00pm 11:00am – 8:00pm 11:00am -8:00pm 11:00am – 8:00pm
Santa Brunch Trivia Night Pot of Gold Dinner Happiest Hours
11:00am – 2:00pm 5:00pm - 8:00pm 5:00pm – 8:00pm 5:00pm – 8:00pm

Smokehouse Lunch
2:00pm – 6:00pm

26 27 28 29 30 31

1906 Grille Club Closed 1906 Grille 1906 Grille 1906 Grille 1906 Grille

11:00am – 6:00pm CLOSED 11:00am - 8:00pm 11:00am - 8:00pm 11:00am - 8:00pm
Brunch Buffet Trivia Night Pot of Gold Dinner
11:00am – 2:00pm 5:00pm - 8:00pm 5:00pm – 8:00pm

Smokehouse Lunch
2:00pm – 6:00pm

Golf Event Tennis Event Pool Event Social Event Dining Special





- Philmont CC Hours of Operation -

1906 Grille Hours | (Call x100 for Reservations) Fitness Center

Monday: CLOSED Monday: CLOSED

Tuesday: CLOSED Tuesday: 7:00am - 8:00pm

Wednesday: 11:00am - 8:00pm Wednesday: 7:00am - 8:00pm

Thursday: 11:00am - 8:00pm Thursday: 7:00am - 8:00pm

Friday: 11:00am - 8:00pm Friday: 7:00am - 8:00pm

Saturday: 11:00am - 8:00pm Saturday: 7:00am - 8:00pm

Sunday: 11:00am - 6:00pm Sunday: 7:00am - 8:00pm

Golf Shop Hours | (Call x 118 Tennis Shop Hours (Call x 122)

Monday: CLOSED Monday: CLOSED

Tuesday: 8:00am - 5:00pm Tuesday: 9:30am - 10:00pm

Wednesday: 8:00am - 5:00pm Wednesday: 9:30am - 10:00pm

Thursday: 8:00am - 5:00pm Thursday: 9:30am - 10:00pm

Friday: 8:00am - 5:00pm Friday: 9:30am - 10:00pm

Saturday: 8:00am - 5:00pm Saturday: 7:00am - 8:00pm

Sunday: 8:00am - 5:00pm Sunday: 7:00am - 8:00pm

Pool & Snack Bar The Pool & Snack Bar Will Be Closed For The Season
As of Tuesday, September 7th.
Monday:
Tuesday: We Look Forward To Serving You Again Next Summer!
Wednesday:
Thursday:
Friday:
Saturday:
Sunday:

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