the little club - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-29T11:02:50Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/the+little+clubGulf Stream: Little Club changes won’t be needed to improve town’s drainagehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/gulf-stream-little-club-changes-won-t-be-needed-to-improve-town-s2023-02-01T16:15:22.000Z2023-02-01T16:15:22.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Steve Plunkett</strong></p>
<p>The Little Club’s golf fairways have been saved.<br />The town adopted what it once called Plan B and will install water filtration trenches along its roadways to guide excess rainfall to the Intracoastal Waterway. It originally wanted the club to rejigger its fairways in order to enlarge a lake on the golf course to handle additional stormwater. <br />Gulf Stream “redesigned the project after some discussion with The Little Club to accommodate water quality within our right-of-way through exfiltration trenches,” Assistant Town Manager Trey Nazzaro told town commissioners on Jan. 13. “We have obviated the need for lake expansion.”<br />The revised plan, good for another 20 years, and the town’s capital improvement project to improve drainage throughout its Core district “will significantly reduce the amount of water that will need to discharge into the club,” Nazzaro said.<br />“It will adequately allow the town to continue to discharge the limited amount of stormwater drainage in extenuating circumstances.” <br />Mayor Scott Morgan called the earlier proposal to dig a wider lake “significantly problematic.”<br />“The engineers went back and reworked it so that … we would not need to enlarge the lake,” he said. “So it works out, it’s a win-win.”<br />Last June, commissioners fretted that a demand by The Little Club to have its own engineer review the town’s plans would add an extra year to Gulf Stream’s 10-year capital improvement project. The club had agreed a year earlier to accept the town’s plan.<br />The town’s consulting engineers are scheduled to finish drawing up plans in the spring.<br />Gulf Stream intends to improve the streets, drainage and water mains on both the west and east sides of the Core. Part of the plan includes replacing a 24-inch drainage pipe from Polo Drive to a canal off the Intracoastal Waterway with a 48-inch pipe. To get the South Florida Water Management District to sign off, engineers proposed enlarging a quarter-acre lake at The Little Club to a half-acre. <br />The water management district does not consider a lake smaller than a half-acre as helping drainage.<br />At the time, Gulf Stream Commissioner Paul Lyons said he hoped to live longer than the construction.<br />“The 10-year CIP plan—that’s a long time. I just want to be sure I have enough years to enjoy it,” he said. </p></div>Gulf Stream: Little Club could throw wrench into town’s road and drainage planhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/gulf-stream-little-club-could-throw-wrench-into-town-s-road-and-d2022-06-29T15:48:34.000Z2022-06-29T15:48:34.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><em><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10604967059,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10604967059,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="10604967059?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a>The Little Club golf course has a number of lakes. Gulf Stream wants to double the size of a small, quarter-acre lake to provide additional drainage for a town capital improvement project. <strong>Photo provided</strong></em></p>
<p><strong>By Steve Plunkett</strong></p>
<p>A demand by The Little Club to have a separate engineer review the town’s drainage plan may cause a three-month delay and add a year or more to the Gulf Stream capital improvement project, officials said.<br />Town Manager Greg Dunham told commissioners on June 10 that for the past year Gulf Stream’s consulting engineers at Baxter & Woodman have been “laboring under the assumption” that The Little Club would let the town enlarge one of its lakes to filter stormwater.<br />“But recently in meeting with The Little Club, they’ve expressed the need for them to use a golf course architect and their engineer to review this,” Dunham said.<br />And worse, the club’s engineer has other work booked and cannot start this review for two or three months.<br />Mayor Scott Morgan was not happy with The Little Club’s leaders.<br />“They spoke before the commission in June of 2021, one year ago this month, and made statements that they’re in agreement with that (proposal) and that the pond that was selected was the perfect place to do it without interfering with golf play,” Morgan said.<br />Baxter & Woodman engineer Rebecca Travis is supposed to present a draft design of the drainage and roadwork at the commission’s July 8 meeting, with 60% completed plans due in December and final plans next April. Dunham said perhaps she can provide another option.<br />“The schedule that we’ve got really can’t wait two or three months,” Dunham said. <br />No one from The Little Club attended the meeting, and club manager Rob Lehner did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment. <br />Gulf Stream wants to improve the streets, drainage and water mains on both the west and east sides of its Core area. Part of the plan includes replacing a 24-inch drainage pipe from Polo Drive to a canal off the Intracoastal Waterway with a 48-inch pipe. In order to gain permission from the South Florida Water Management District, the engineers have proposed enlarging a quarter-acre lake at The Little Club to a half-acre. The district does not consider a lake smaller than a half-acre as helping drainage.<br />“Part of the main reason that we’re redoing the roads is to eliminate the flooding that’s been occurring for decades,” Morgan said.<br />Commissioner Paul Lyons said he hoped to outlive the construction phase.<br />“This CIP plan — it’s taking a long time. I just want to be sure I have an opportunity to enjoy it,” he said of the town’s capital improvement plan. The town is in year five of the 10-year plan and wants the Core phase of the drainage project completed in three years. <br />The mayor said he and Dunham would continue discussions with club leaders.<br />Dunham said if negotiations with the club fail, Gulf Stream’s Plan B would be to use “water filtration trenches” all around town.<br />But that option also has potential problems.<br />“These trenches are rather large and our rights-of-way are full of other utilities,” he said. </p></div>Gulf Stream: Make way for ducklings (and ducks) near Gulf Stream Schoolhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/gulf-stream-make-way-for-ducklings-and-ducks-near-gulf-stream-sch2022-06-01T16:05:49.000Z2022-06-01T16:05:49.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10530667291,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10530667291,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="10530667291?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a></strong><em>Emma Imperatore and Valentina Autiero show the Gulf Stream Town Commission possible new locations for duck crossing signs. </em><strong>BELOW RIGHT:</strong><em> Prototype they drew two years ago. <strong>Photos by Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star</strong></em></p>
<p><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10530668291,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10530668291,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="300" alt="10530668291?profile=RESIZE_400x" /></a>By Steve Plunkett</strong></p>
<p>Thanks to the determined efforts of two Gulf Stream School fourth-graders, signs will soon go up on Sea Road and south of the school warning motorists to watch out for ducks.<br />Armed with a letter of approval from their head of school, Valentina Autiero and Emma Imperatore returned to the Town Commission’s chambers on May 13 after making their initial presentation in March 2020, mere days before COVID threw off the commission’s calendar.<br />“We are here because two years ago I saw a Muscovy duck get hit by a car on Gulfstream Road,” Valentina said. “I thought the idea to install a duck crossing sign on Gulfstream Road might help.”<br />The girls wrote letters to The Little Club and two homeowners, seeking buy-in for the placement of signs on Gulfstream Road, as well as contacting the head of school.<br />“Congratulations on a wonderful idea for having duck crossing signs in the town of Gulf Stream. I applaud your desire to protect our area’s wildlife,” Cathy Abrams, the assistant head of school, wrote on Head of School Gray Smith’s behalf. “We look forward … to finding a place that has maximum visibility.”<br />The homeowners were against putting the signs at the front corner of their properties, saying that might interfere with backing out of their driveways. Instead, they proposed the school grounds and police station as better locations.<br />“We thought that was a good suggestion,” Valentina said.<br />Despite many requests, the girls did not receive a response from The Little Club, which the ducks frequent, Valentina reported.<br />“We appreciate your support and thank you for your time,” she concluded.<br />Mayor Scott Morgan, who in 2020 counseled Emma and Valentina to contact the club and the school, applauded their “dedication and perseverance.”<br />“More importantly, you’re involved in what is our true democratic process, bringing an issue of your concern to a body that can respond to it and hopefully help with that,” Morgan said. “I think it’s an admirable effort by you two young 9-year-olds.”<br />Added an enthusiastic Commissioner Paul Lyons: “I think it’s a great idea!”<br />The next step for the girls will be meeting with Town Manager Greg Dunham to determine a final design and site locations.<br />In other business, commissioners welcomed newly appointed Thom Smith to the dais. Smith replaced Commissioner Donna White, who has her Place Au Soleil home up for sale and is moving out of town.<br />Commissioners also voiced concern about the condition of Little Club Road, a private thoroughfare that is maintained not by the town but by its owners, The Little Club and two condo complexes — the Hillside House and St. Andrews Club.<br />“I think it’s an embarrassment to the town,” Morgan said. “Anyone who goes to The Little Club or goes to the St. Andrews tennis courts or visits Hillside House thinks it’s a public road, and it’s just in terrible shape.”<br />Commissioner Joan Orthwein agreed. “Also on that road they’ve let the landscape grow out far into the road, which I find dangerous,” she said. <br />Town officials will explore getting the road’s owners to deed their right-of-way to the town. </p></div>Gulf Stream: Town to fit road, water main work into most of 2023https://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/gulf-stream-town-to-fit-road-water-main-work-into-most-of-20232021-09-29T17:58:34.000Z2021-09-29T17:58:34.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Steve Plunkett</strong></p>
<p>Roads in the town’s core district won’t be torn up in 2022 or 2024, but get ready for detours in most of 2023.<br />Gulf Stream commissioners decided on Aug. 13 to make improvements to streets, drainage and water mains on both the west and east sides of the core area of town instead of spreading the work out over three years. Construction will begin in January 2023 and end 11 months later.<br /> Commissioners were pleased to be told that they might save 5% on the roadwork construction costs by combining the core-area projects and that the town has enough money to pay for the work without borrowing.<br /> “We’ve got a very healthy fund balance in the general fund. We have the money,” said Rebecca Tew, the town’s chief financial officer.<br /> At their Sept. 10 meeting commissioners learned that motorcycle companies are seeking a zoning change in Delray Beach to allow dealerships east of Federal Highway and north of George Bush Boulevard, where automakers already have showrooms backing up to Place au Soleil.<br /> Assistant Town Attorney Trey Nazzaro said the chosen area, if approved, would have minimal effect on Delray Beach residents.<br /> “Therefore it’s going to impact us the most,” he said, promising a vigorous lobbying effort against the change.<br /> In other business in August and September, commissioners:<br /> • Adopted the rollback rate, $3.67 per $1,000 of taxable value, for fiscal 2022, which began Oct. 1, meaning the town will take in the same amount of property taxes as it did the previous year. Gulf Stream has adopted the rollback rate or below for the past six years.<br /> • Rejected an appeal from 3247 Polo Drive to not have to replace a 25-foot gumbo limbo tree. New owner Graham Conklin said the tree was cut down before he bought the property in January. Town staff said it was removed Jan. 14. The Architectural Review and Planning Board had ruled he must remove a stump and plant a suitable replacement.<br /> • Approved a request by The Little Club to build two pickleball courts 600 feet from the nearest neighbors. An earlier application for courts only 50 feet from residences had been denied. </p></div>Golf: Kids get into swing of after-school golfhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/golf-kids-get-into-swing-of-after-school-golf2017-02-01T14:16:15.000Z2017-02-01T14:16:15.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960692261,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="500" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960692261,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960692261?profile=original" /></a><em>Third-grader Phoebe Condon is the picture of concentration as she lines up a shot.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960691668,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="500" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960691668,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960691668?profile=original" /></a></em><em>Ryan Fenton, a fourth-grader at Gulf Stream School, hits an iron at The Little Club range.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>He has played golf for about three years.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960692095,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="500" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960692095,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960692095?profile=original" /></a></em><em>After the practice session ends, the students gather, some holding hands,</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>for the quarter-mile walk back to Gulf Stream School.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Photos by Jerry Lower/ The Coastal Star</strong></p>
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<p style="text-align:left;"><strong>By Brian Biggane<br /></strong><br /> As club pro Wanda Krolikowski hauled several sets of undersized clubs from the bag room at The Little Club in Gulf Stream on a recent sunny late afternoon, a cluster of children appeared in the distance, marching down the No. 4 fairway on their way to the driving range.<br /> Skipping, jumping and clearly excited to be outside after another long day in the classroom, the group — all students from Gulf Stream School, ranging in age from 7 to 10, first to fourth grade — soon spread out across the range, grabbed clubs, balls and tees and launched into a range session.<br /> “The school actually approached me about it a couple of years ago,” Krolikowski said before fanning out to give individual instruction to each of nine junior golf wannabes. “It’s worked out great; I think even better than we expected.”</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960692292,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="500" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960692292,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960692292?profile=original" /></a><em>The Little Club pro Wanda Krolikowski works with first-grader Colton Ettwein.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><br /> Many, but not all, of the students’ parents are members at The Little Club, and the youngsters say the most enjoyable part of the exercise is that they see enough improvement to encourage their parents to bring them along when they play a round.<br /> “This helps me a lot,” said Ryan Fenton, a 9-year-old fourth-grader who said he’s been playing about three years.<br /> “I practice at least three times a week, and my handicap is about a 20 on this course. I come out and play 18 (holes) with my dad.”<br /> Eight-year-old Phoebe Condon, a third-grader, already has set high goals for herself. Asked how good she thinks she can be, she replied, “As good as my dad. No, better than my dad.”<br /> That will take a while. Fenton, clearly the best of the group on this day, has enough control over a sand wedge, which he says is his favorite club, that he can flip shots toward a natural bunker about 50 yards away and almost make them stick. Many of the others swing and alternately connect and miss the balls, all of which are teed up to improve the chances of contact.<br /> There is plenty of banter back and forth, and much of it brings smiles to those within hearing range.<br /> “That tee is very unlucky,” one girl comments after several poor hits.<br /> “Oh my God, you should have recorded me!” another cries out to a photographer who was looking the other way.<br /> Gulf Stream School art director Holly Pemberton, who is the chaperone on this day, watches one of the smallest boys swing a driver and says, “It’s like the weight of the club throws his whole body backward.”<br /> Krolikowski had predicted some students would start losing interest after a time, and sure enough, water breaks and bathroom breaks become the norm about halfway through.<br /> Krolikowski said the number of students who turn out for the twice-weekly lessons depends largely on the schedules of their parents.<br /> “One reason some of the parents like the program is they don’t have to pick them up until 4:15, which gives them a little more time at work or whatever,” she said. “It really is a part of their after-school program, and it’s more than just playing in the playground. They come here and learn golf, so it’s more beneficial.”<br /> Twice a year Krolikowski puts on what she calls a “golf-a-rama,” a daylong event with several skill competitions — closest to the pin, a six-hole putting contest and a three-hole scramble — followed by a barbecue with pictures and prizes.<br /> “I limit it to 16 teams, which is 16 parents and 16 children, with complimentary food and drink,” Krolikowski said. “And the parents don’t have to be members. I give the Gulf Stream School top priority, and then I open it up to our members. We fill it right up and they have a great time.”<br /> Soon enough, Pemberton checks her watch and sees it’s time to head back. Worn out by the exercise, the students line up and trudge the quarter-mile back to campus.<br /> “A lot of these kids come to my summer camp, and we have Thanksgiving and Christmas camps too,” Krolikowski said. “Our junior program is growing; we had 13 at my Christmas camp and I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh.’ My main goal is to let them have fun while learning the game, and that seems to be working.”</p></div>Along the Coast: Teeing off for summerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/along-the-coast-teeing-off-for-summer2016-05-04T19:10:23.000Z2016-05-04T19:10:23.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><span class="font-size-7" style="font-family:georgia, palatino;"><strong>First ‘Little Cup’ a pleasant competition</strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span class="font-size-2" style="font-family:'times new roman', times;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960650877,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="500" class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960650877,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="7960650877?profile=original" /></a></strong><em>Golfers roll in to The Little Club for the first Little Cup tournament in Gulf Stream.</em></span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span class="font-size-2" style="font-family:'times new roman', times;"><em><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960651660,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="500" class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960651660,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="7960651660?profile=original" /></a></em></span><em><span class="font-size-2" style="font-family:'times new roman', times;">The tournament trophy remains at The Little Club since no overall winner was awarded.</span></em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span class="font-size-2" style="font-family:'times new roman', times;"><strong>Photos by Taylor Jones/The Coastal Star</strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span class="font-size-2" style="font-family:'times new roman', times;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960651852,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="500" class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960651852,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="7960651852?profile=original" /></a></strong></span><em>Tom Rubel of The Ocean Club at the tee at The Little Club.</em></p>
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<p style="text-align:left;"><strong>By Brian Biggane</strong><br /> <br /> Gulf Stream Golf Club member Andy Laidlaw offered a smile when asked if the first Little Cup golf tournament, contested in early April at The Little Club in Gulf Stream, offered an opportunity to network for its 40 competitors.<br /> “It’s more of a social event,” he replied. “The people that are here are done networking.”<br /> A well-heeled clientele representing nine clubs — most of them either east of the Intracoastal or close to it — enjoyed a low-key afternoon of fellowship and fun on a relatively cool, breezy day on the par-3 layout.<br /> “It was great,” said Charlie Begg of The Ocean Club, which fielded a four-man team despite the club’s absence of a golf course. “Everybody had a great time. Beautiful weather, and the course is in great shape.”<br /> The tournament came about when Little Club members John Lynch and John Smith got together with Michael Mullin of neighboring St. Andrew’s and kicked around ideas for an event to celebrate the end of the season.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960651100,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="500" class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960651100,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="7960651100?profile=original" /></a><em>Michael Mullin (left) of Gulf Stream, playing for the Wianno Club,</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>chats with Bill Egan of Delray Beach, playing for the Seminole Golf Club.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><br /> “We thought we’d call 10 of our buddies and ask if they’d like to bring a foursome up here,” said Lynch, who teamed with fellow Little Club member Jay Carey to win the two-ball event with a low score of 43. They teamed with Smith and John Doering of Indian Creek to win the four-ball with a net of 40.<br /> “About half of us know each other already,” Mullin said. “This way we mixed it up a little.”<br /> While the original plan was to have teams play as foursomes, Lynch decided it would be more fun to pair twosomes from different clubs. St. Andrew’s had a conflict — the final day of its men’s league season — so Mullin put together a team from Wianno, a club he plays out of in the summer in Cape Cod.<br /> Other clubs represented included Gulf Stream Bath & Tennis, Country Club of Florida, Seminole and Everglades. Gulf Stream had two foursomes, everyone else one.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960652452,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="450" class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960652452,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="7960652452?profile=original" /></a><em>David Lloyd of The Bath & Tennis Club hits out of a bunker</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>during The Little Cup at The Little Club in Gulf Stream</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Photos by Taylor Jones/The Coastal Star</strong></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><br /> “It’s good for the club,” said Little Club member Andre Lemire. “It makes the club better known, and people will appreciate the difficulties. It’s a tough course; the greens are hard to read.”<br /> The greens were a topic of discussion throughout the day. Gulf Stream resident and iconic golf course architect Pete Dye installed new greens last summer and the consensus was that, while they’re coming along nicely, they remain a work in progress.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;"> “They’re still a little hard, so it’ll take awhile,” said Begg, also a Little Club member. “We’re getting some new members here and everything looks good.”</p>
<p style="text-align:left;"> Bath & Tennis member Duke Felt, whose parents were Little Club members, said he hadn’t played the course in 10 years but that the improvements made during his absence are noticeable. “It’s changed; it’s gotten better,” he said.<br /> Gulf Stream member Curtiss Roach said anyone expecting the par-3 layout to yield low scores was in for a surprise.<br /> “I played worse than many of my rounds at Gulf Stream,” he said. “But it was great to have gotten a lot of these clubs together, so you run into people you haven’t seen for months, if not years.”<br /> St. Andrew’s has signed on for next year and Smith said he expects the second annual Little Cup to be on the spring schedule.<br /> “I hope so,” he said. “It sure sounds like everybody would like to come back.”</p></div>