Newsletter (en) 2025-12-12

DCC 2025 Winter Newsletter

Message from the President

As 2025 draws to a close, we wanted to look back at a few highlights, share some of our best moments, and look ahead to our goals for next year. It has been my privilege to work with the dedicated team of volunteer directors who make up our Board.

We kicked off the year with your responses from our Member Satisfaction Survey. Your feedback gave us much to work with. We took your ideas and suggestions and rolled-up our sleeves to deliver what we hope was a member experience that met or surpassed your expectations.

Alongside your feedback, we have our Club’s Vision, Mission and Core Values to guide us in all we do: in creating a family-friendly atmosphere, a club where juniors can thrive, and new members are made welcome. Where we uphold the values of volunteerism, collaboration and sportsmanship.

It was a busy year for our directors! Much of the work happens behind the scenes; when everything seems to run smoothly in the forefront, you can be certain that there is significant heavy lifting in the background.

Although the course is now closed, our team is already hard at work planning for next season. So, if you cross paths with one of these committed directors during the off-season — on the slopes, at the curling rink, or at a holiday party — please take a moment to say a hearty thanks. They’ve earned it!

And of course, nothing is possible without our dedicated greens crew, our staff, committee members, and the countless volunteers who show up time after time to keep things rolling — thank you all.

Below is a list of our accomplishments over the past season followed by words from our directors about their areas of focus and the season that was, and what is to come!

And remember, while our course is closed for golf, you can still enjoy winter fun with your families, from snowshoeing to cross country skiing to tobogganing!

Wishing you and your families a joyful holiday season and a fabulous start to 2026!

2025 DCC Volunteer Highlights:
Results of the Combined Efforts of Directors, Committees, and Members!

1. Governance Initiatives

Member Satisfaction Survey: this provided clear feedback and helped to guide your Board’s priorities.
Governance Handbook: this enhanced transparency and clarified DCC roles. This guide is now available online.
The creation of a Compliance Director role: provided support to align our club with provincial and workplace regulations.

2. Strategic Financial Initiatives

Capital Reserve Fund: A long-term financial plan to help fund for major course infrastructure needs.
Legacy Endowment Fund: New opportunity for members to make lasting contributions to the club.

3. Course & Facility Improvements

New mowing equipment for improved greens, tees and fairways.
Greens Improvement Committee Study & Recommendations: for short and long-term course upgrades.
White-Red Composite Tees created for added play options.
Expanded parking & enhanced entrance landscaping.
Clubhouse: restoration of outdoor tables & benches; new dishwasher; and big boost in revenues from several rentals.

4. Membership, Programs, Events & Community Building

Junior Program: Strong participation and family engagement.
Ladies Steering Committee: Conducted Interviews and gathered insights to refine goals and shape future direction.
Digital Directory (Chronogolf): A new convenience for contacting members.
Christmas Craft Fair: A hugely successful first-time event that may become a new tradition!

5. Volunteers & Member Engagement
Our Club’s continued success is fueled by our volunteer energy. If you’re interested in getting more involved, there are lots of opportunities, including: bartending, Garden Club, Junior Program (walkers & mentors), Club Ambassadors (golf with prospective members), social events, and seasonal maintenance projects. Just send us an email if you’d like to get involved!

Dianne Burk
President

Tribute to member and friend Alan Morton

It’s never easy when the DCC community loses a member, particularly when it comes so unexpectedly as it has with the sudden passing of Alan Morton. To see so many present and past DCC members come out to remember Alan at the Pointe-Claire Curling Club was a testament to his impact at the club.

Alan was a friend to many for close to half a century, having the good fortune to be in Dunany as a junior, establishing a clear connection with this unparalleled golf community from an early age. His love of golf was unflappable, and it ultimately provided him with a career in turf management. Not only did that expertise carry him to work at a variety of clubs around Montreal and to the Board of Directors at the Canadian Golf Superintendents Association, but it provided the DCC with invaluable access and insight that significantly improved our course. Alan was always keen to talk shop and jump on a mower to demonstrate for good measure.

Alan was a fun-loving and loyal friend who exemplified what makes this club special beyond just the golf and the social stuff, but the intangibles like the sensations from walking down the 7th hole amid late afternoon shadows, or singing tunes to a guitar around a corn boil campfire. His golf game was solidly B class making each outing a blast, whether he shot a 1-over 37 or not. You could almost always count on Alan to ensure one golf ball struck the clubhouse in the Club Championship.

We grieve with his children Abby and Owen and his sisters Pamela and Sheila, who suffered further loss only days later when Alan’s father Brian passed suddenly. We extend our dearest to his mother Joan (Geoff Gale) and to his wife Chantal, who he charmed into Dunany and the club.

This club has lost young members in recent years and to lose another before their time is a gut punch. But – like them – Alan’s spirit lives on and time will allow us to tell his tales with a twinkle rather than a tear.

Paul Logothetis
Communications Director

Treasurer’s Report

As our fiscal year draws to a close, it looks like we will be very close to what had budgeted in terms of revenue, expenses and net income, resulting in a small operating deficit. Our balance sheet remains strong and we continue to enjoy sufficient cash resources to meet our immediate need. More details will follow in the Spring newsletter as we will have closed the books on 2025 by that time.

As in the prior year, the focus on our capital spending has been on grass cutting equipment, with additional sets of cutting reels for the mowers having been purchased which will allow the grounds crew to maintain precise lengths of cuts for fairways and rough areas. Over the next few years the Board will focus on updating our maintenance buildings.

Concurrent with the establishment of the new Capital Reserve Fund, the team will also review the Club’s Financial Guidelines to ensure they reflect the Club’s current financial environment.

As a housekeeping item, please ensure that your account is paid in full as soon as possible.

Have a great winter!

Alex Sandahl
Treasurer

Membership Committee Report

While a full membership report will be offered at our Annual General Meeting in May, we are happy to report that, since our last AGM, nine new regular members have joined our ranks.

These new members have proven themselves avid golfers, with a few of them on the course each day! Those new members have also captured the spirit of volunteerism and are already contributing to our Club community in meaningful ways.

Many thanks to Dave Kaufman and Cat Spaulding for their efforts on this committee. They represented the DCC to field countless questions and help onboard new members. And thank you to the many members who’ve acted as Club Ambassadors this year, by playing golf with potential members to familiarize them with both our course and our community.

Thankfully, the things that we’ve long valued as DCC members continue to drive interest and resonate with many of the applicants who’ve been in touch. Things like unlimited access to great golf; a small and tightly knit club community; access to our terrific Junior golf program; and, of course, the actual DCC course. We had a spike in interest and enquiries after both the Ladies’ and Men’s Invitationals this year. We will continue to work hard this off-season responding to requests for information about our Club and making plans for 2026.

Happy Holidays to one and all! And don’t forget: a DCC membership makes the perfect gift for the golfer in your life!

Warmest regards,
Christopher Jackson
Vice-President and Membership Director

Compliance

All aspects of any organisation are subject to rules and regulation and guided by best practises. Compliance requires regular action and oversight and has been an area the DCC Board has chosen to focus on along with internal housekeeping or governance. The role involves being available to jump into matters that require investigation or immediate attention.

Over the past several months, I’ve been able to share my knowledge and experiences in aid of our community. I thank Maureen Dubiel and Andrew Hay who I have been able to call-on to assist in this effort as it evolves.

It has been my pleasure to work, muddle and laugh alongside such a dedicated and supportive group of individuals.

Patricia Mannard
Member-at-Large

Greens Committee

With the 2024 membership survey results in hand, the greens crew enjoyed new direction and guidance to where our efforts would be best appreciated. Unfortunately, a variety of factors meant the year got off to a rough start led to us having to put our early planning on hold.

The damage from the grubs and the feeding animals left our greens crew with a daunting task as the nightly damage created from animals digging had to be repaired and reseeded daily, consuming a lot of time. Except for the top of No. 9, the course recovered quite well thanks to the dedicated efforts of Chris Hart and his early spring crew.

The grub spraying program continued in 2025 and we’re hoping for better results this spring and summer. The Japanese beetle is now considered an established invasive species so please expect the spraying to continue in the coming years to help curb its growth cycle.

Following this slow start, the long spells of hot, dry weather proved challenging as the consistent, early season rain dried up. This provided the course with hard, fast fairways, with many members appreciative of the extra length added to our games (me included!).

It is important to recognize the work done by our professional greens crew to address all of these challenges, led by Chris Hart, alongside Amanda Hart, Hayden Hart, Rob Haldimand and Vincent Verrault. Thank you very much to our dedicated greens crew who make my job so much easier.

Members may have noticed several sand traps were given new life with after receiving a new fill of USGA graded sand, while some tees were given leveling attention. This work will continue over the coming years as we refurbish the course’s traps and re-level tees as required. The fairways were cut nicely, the rough was trimmed a little shorter, the aprons around the greens were given an extra pass of the mowers and the greens remained outstanding.

Looking ahead to the spring, we’d like to add a second day of volunteer course clean up on top of the annual May long weekend one, for crews to walk the course to pick-up and stack fallen branches for the greens crew to remove. Watch the fixture card for those dates and times.

Thank you all for your participation.

Michael Cockhill
Greens Committee Chair

Match Committee

As we turn the page on a successful 2025 season, a few people in particular need to be recognized. Our grounds grew led by Chris Hart for keeping our incredible course in fantastic shape in the face of everything Mother Nature throws their way. Also, a big thank you to the team of captains and members of the Match & Handicap Committee as well as all volunteers who make our tournaments and events what they are. Lastly, a special thank you to my dad Pierre for bailing me out countless times and always being there as a last-minute lifeline.

Congratulations to all the year’s winners, we look forward to seeing you all try to defend your titles next summer!

The captains will be monitoring the captain's email dcccaptains@gmail.com throughout the offseason if you have any comments or questions. Also, if you prefer to reach out to me directly at demers.carl@outlook.com, please feel free.

Cheers to another fantastic season and looking forward to seeing you al next year.

Carl Demers
Club Captain

Junior Committee

The Junior Program was an enormous success again this year, with 50 kids signed up leading to a strong weekly average attendance of up to 30 on the tee at Tuesday’s weekly Junior Day. We continued to emphasize instruction on rules and etiquette to the Juniors but with many new kids coming in with parents who do not have golf knowledge, this presented a challenge as well. The need to secure knowledgeable walkers to accompany the kids – particularly the younger ones – and navigate the course safely remains an area where we are always looking for new volunteers.

A huge thank you to Stan Roy for organizing all the lessons and recruiting a group of members who were happy to teach. The kids benefited greatly from the variety of instructors. Looking ahead, Stan and Don Sutherland have graciously accepted to continue to organize the Monday morning sessions in 2026.

Thank you to all the volunteers who helped organize and make Tuesday’s Sports Night and Thursday’s Club Night events possible. Some highlights of Thursday night themes were Games Night, Dance Night and Bingo Night, with a few adults attending this, indicating a potential opportunity to expand this offering. And a big thank you to Carla and Rob Campbell for expertly running Family Field Day once again. It was a huge success and fostered a great competitive spirit among all participating kids and parents.

Our junior members are such an important part of the DCC community and play a role even beyond golf – you may have seen them working at social events as well. So please continue to encourage them and, maybe, even offer to golf with them!

Stephanie Logothetis
Junior Committee Chair

Social Committee

I would like to extend my sincere appreciation for the outstanding work contributed by the many volunteers who helped make this year’s social events the success they were. Every detail – from the planning through to the execution – was carried out with the level of care and attention that has become the hallmark of Dunany.

Your dedication created a truly memorable experience for all involved, and it was evident to everyone how much effort was invested both behind the scenes and in the forefront.

It started with the Havill clan who expertly organized the Great Canadian Cookoff for the Opening Director’s Dinner Dance, all the way through to the annual Championship Dinner, a spectacular event orchestrated by the Armstrong-Minty-Azaria organizational powerhouse.

In addition to these, I would like to highlight two other events from this season:

New Members Event: led by the Hindles, this 5-a-7 provided a particularly heartfelt welcome to those joining our community and offered everyone the opportunity to form new connections.
Italian Flavors Night: this gastronomic evening hosted by the Mastronardis will be remembered for years to come; fuhgeddaboudit!

I would also be remiss if I did not acknowledge the guidance, support, and counsel provided by the Board as well as my predecessor, Cherryl Gliona, whose presence was genuinely missed by the Social Organization Committee. Luckily, we had a crack team of superstars on hand, in: Sarah Armstrong (our rock of Gibraltar), Kevin Havill (Mr. Dependable, always in the right place at the right time) and Michelle Aikman-Carter (our vibe check who kept me from going insane).

And one last thought: Please think about joining the DCC Social Committee next summer - it’s lots’ o’ fun!

Daniel LeBlanc
Social Committee Chair

Environment Committee

No news is good news, particularly when members don’t hear from us about the water testing and drinking water on the course all season - that is good news! Both the surface water test and drinking water results came back positive.

Have a great holiday season and see you on the course next year!

Cathy Ashley
Environment Committee Chair