The monarch teams have just wrapped up a fascinating season – raising, tagging and releasing 196 monarch butterflies – 137 females and 59 males (and “no”, we have no idea why such a discrepancy between males and females – more to research! )

The monarch season in Mattapoisett started out unusually strong.  By early July, Bay Club members were remarking on the many monarchs on the course and in gardens. Our collecting and tagging teams, which hadn’t expected to be needed until August, hastily assembled, locations were picked for our three screened in enclosures and the procedures of raising the butterflies began.  And then we realized our mistake.  The butterflies we were raising were part of the generation that precedes the migrators. These were their parents.  And we learned that there is a significant difference between the two generations.  The earlier monarchs, which are slightly smaller, mate, lay eggs and die within 6 weeks.  The later ones suppress the urge to mate for 6 months(!) seek forage to build up strength for their journey, familiarize themselves with the GPS located in their two antennae and, if all goes well, do not die until after their flight to Mexico and back to Texas, some 6 months later.

But it turned out that our mistake was fortuitous. Most of our team members had had no previous experience with monarchs, let alone with feeding and tagging, so raising this early generation was just the experience we needed to prepare us for the work to come. The article Making the Bay Club into a Butterfly Waystation posted in August 2020 details the specifics of the raising experience, so we won’t repeat that information here.  But we will acknowledge two valuable byproducts of the three and a half months of concentrated effort – first, the educational benefits available to Bay Club members (and their visitors) and second, the friendships that resulted from working together to raise the butterflies.

Because of their locations, the three enclosures received a host of visitors.  Tennis and Croquet players passed by a cage every day.  Golfers finished nine holes at the Halfway Cafe cage and anyone on foot or in a golf cart on Bay Club Drive was bound to run into a team member tending to the caterpillars near Hole 17.  In their golf sessions, Pee Wee campers begged John and Ben for golf cart visits to the enclosures, where they took turns reading out loud from the Monarch Butterfly signs and trying to spot caterpillars and chrysalides on the milkweed foliage.  And some interested individuals made daily visits to look for changes.  The following was written by a young girl who lives near the 17th Hole enclosure. 

All that is left for the 2021 monarch teams is to send Monarch Watch the specifics of each of the 196 releases – the tag number, the date and location of release, and the gender of the butterfly.  Monarch Watch, a University of Kansas organization which collects monarch data from all the states East of the Rockies, maintains an arrangement with Mexicans living near the migrators’ destination – the Oxymel Fir trees in the mountains of Central Mexico.  For each tagged butterfly found in Mexico, the finder, usually a Mexican native, receives $5.  The payment provides the local villagers incentive to search for tagged monarchs and discourages the natives from lumbering the forest which is crucial to the future of the butterflies. 

In late winter 2022 Monarch Watch will post and continuously update a list of all the tagged butterflies that have been recovered.   Considering the odds against a tiny butterfly completing this journey of over 2,000 miles, it is quite a thrill to discover one’s number on that list.  Last year a Bay Club butterfly released on September 6 was discovered in El Rosario, Mexico.  Will any of ours make it again this year – who knows?

The Bay Club wants to thank everyone who participated in the 2021 Monarch Project as well as all Bay Club members for their enthusiasm and interest.

Despite favorable weather and abundant flowers, the Eleventh Hole honeybees had only a so-so year.
 
The success of a beehive depends on several factors – the most important being the existence and vitality of the resident queen.  In our case, this past summer started off with queens in all three hives (sometimes the queen dies over the winter), but all three were old and no longer laying the 2,000 plus eggs daily that lead to good honey production.  Even when her pattern of egg laying becomes spotty and the hive population is dwindling, it’s easy to put off pinching (killing) the queen.  Eventually the worker bees will replace her through a process called “supersedure”, but often by then the hive is weak and barely able to make honey for their next winter, let alone providing a surplus for the beekeeper. 

So, by August it was clear we had to replace all three queens.  The bees were not going to do it for us and, with winter coming, it was imperative that the queen build up a supply of young, winter bees that could keep the hive, and particularly the queen, warm through the winter.

Finding a queen in order to “pinch” her can be easy or arduous.  Because she resembles her offspring in most ways, she can easily hide among the many thousand bees that remain in the hive.  To make her easier to identify, beekeepers who raise queens mark the queen with a spot of color on her back.  For some months this works, but often the color wears off before it is needed.  That was the case with all three of our queens.  But we finally found and were ready to replace the queens with young, vibrant Carniolan queens from Wetlands Apiary in Brockton. 

The act of physically replacing a queen is another interesting part of beekeeping.  The hive is very territorial and won’t accept a new queen unless they know they are queenless.  They figure this out when they can no longer sense their queen’s pheromones in the hive.  But still bees can be suspicious of a new queen, and, if she is simply placed in the hive, the bees will often gang up and kill her.  For that reason she is introduced by enclosing her in a tiny wooden box with one screened side.  The box is wedged between two frames in the hive.  From the safety of this box she exudes her pheromones, which slowly replace those of the former queen.  In another wall of her box there is a hole that is stuffed full of marshmallow, which the worker bees slowly eat through.  After several days the marshmallow has been consumed, the new queen’s pheromones fill the hive and she can safely walk out of her cage.

Now, in mid October,  the Eleventh Hole Hives all have young queens and a growing workforce which should get them through the winter.  Stop by the Golf Shop for a jar of Eleventh Hole honey, or watch the menu in the restaurant.  Mary and Eric are finding ingenious ways to use our honey in cocktails, paired with cheese and on desserts. 

The Bay Club was recently turned into a “movie set” for the filming of the 2016 Titleist Commercial.  No question the players list was  a who’s who of the top players in world: Bill Haas, Zach Johnson, Ian Poulter, Webb Simpson, Jordan Spieth, Henrik Stenson, Justin Thomas and Bubba Watson.  Bay Club members joined with the extras brought in to fill in the constructed gallery at Hole #1 to simulate a tour event.  In addition, the tour players hit short shots out and around the 7th, 8th and 13th holes as a camera equipped drone flew overhead capturing truly spectacular footage.

The day was a great success for all and even included the following tweet from Ian Poulter after his day that closed with a wonderful dinner at Golf House restaurant “Great TV shoot for @Titleist this afternoon, superb hospitality at The Bay Club, fun stuff coming folks. #1 ball in golf.”

This special day is one that the Bay Club will remember for a long time.

This month on the Golf House Dinner Menu members will find two of Executive Chef Jim Mercer’s favorite winter cravings.  The first item is the French White Bean and Meat Casserole, Cassoulet. There are many versions of the recipe, however Chef Mercer leans towards the one from Toulouse.  This variety features Tarbais Beans, Duck Confit and Garlic Pork Sausage.  Cassoulet is not a difficult dish, especially if you spread out the preparations over a few days. You will however need to know how to make Duck Confit, a skill Chef Mercer says  you will not regret.  This method yields a most delicious, at the ready duck meat for a fast appetizer or pasta filling.  Having enjoyed Cassoulet with a glass of red wine at Hamersley’s Bistro in Boston some 25 years ago,  Chef Mercer quickly learned how to prepare this dish and it has been a part of his winter menu repertoire ever since.

Another item he can’t go without during the cold winter months is Raclette Cheese from Switzerland. This extremely pungent and tasty, cow’s milk cheese is likely considered the original fondu.  All one needs to do is to hold the cut side of a wheel of cheese in front of a fire and “rake” it off onto bread or boiled potatoes.  The popular Raclette machine is the Swiss counter part to the American toaster.

Both of these dishes are fine and satisfying items during the chilly winter months.  Bon appétit!

Blane Toedt, Restaurant Manager and Corey Nuffer from Westport Rivers Vineyard and Winery recently held a series of Wine Nights at the Golf House restaurant.  During these hour long wine seminars  Corey educated members on a different wine topic each week.  Her inaugural event, The Champagne Method helped members to understand why Champagne tastes differently from Prosecco, Moscato, Asti and Cava.  She also explained the difference between Champagne from France and everywhere else.  Members not only heard about the differences but they were able to taste them as they sampled wines available at the Golf House.  Her next seminar Aging Your Wines explored just what goes on when a wine ages, beginning with why you swirl your wine in a glass.  Members did a vertical tasting of wines aged not years, but days.   And for the final seminar, Food + Wine Pairing 101, Corey took a nod from the teachings of Master Sommelier Randa Warren and covered the basics.  In addition, Executive Chef Jim Mercer prepared a variety of food pairings to show a little of what can go right and what can go wrong when it comes to what’s in the glass.

Nuffer’s approach to wine is informed by her background in biology, theology, and music.  Managing at an Italian restaurant as well as a country club provided the space necessary for a new approach to wine education to emerge.  After being selected for an internship at Chicago’s NPR affiliate, WBEZ, Nuffer moved to Chicago to work with a New York Times bestselling author. This led to an editorial position for a Food + Drink section of Chicago magazine.  Currently, Nuffer helms the educational outreach as well as representation of Westport Rivers Vineyard and Winery here in Massachusetts.

The Paddle Season at the Bay Club is well underway with members in action on both lighted paddle (platform) tennis courts on a daily basis.  And once again this year, Racquets Professional Jakob Klaeson provides members with classes and clinics throughout the season.  Jakob has worked for several high profile country and tennis clubs in New England, with an excellent track record for adult and junior teaching.  He is PPTA certified and is currently the Head Paddle Professional at the Sakonnet Paddle Tennis club and Head Tennis Professional at Dartmouth Indoor Tennis.

The Bay Club at Mattapoisett is a private golf and and residential property located in Southeastern MA. To arrange a private tour please contact Dave Andrews via e-mail or phone, 508-207-9232.

The Bay Club welcomed guest lecturer, Mike Bednarski, Ph.D., Stock Assessment Specialist for the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries’ to the club to discuss the natural history of the fishes of Buzzards Bay and their importance to the people of Massachusetts.  Coastal waters of Massachusetts are home to a diverse community of aquatic species and provide anglers, divers, and nature lovers with a world class experience.  One of the Commonwealth’s most productive regions is the Buzzards Bay Estuary, a dynamic system that hosts a variety of different fish species, ranging from the alewife, an important forage species, to the striped bass, one of the nation’s most valuable recreational species.  Members learned about the fish that inhabit the bay as Mike provided an overview on each fish of interest.  He also highlighted how the fish community changes throughout the different seasons and the importance of the Division of Marine Fisheries.

Mike serves as Massachusetts’ representative to many of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Technical and the Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Management Council’s Monitoring Committees.  Much of his work focuses on understanding the biology and fishery characteristics of many of the Commonwealth’s inshore species including bluefish, summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass.  

After the talk, members enjoyed a specially prepared dinner including fried scup at the Golf House restaurant. 

Assistant Golf Professional, John “Pi” Paesani will compete in the 26th Senior PGA Professional National Championship being held November 13 – 16 at the PGA Golf Club (Wanamaker and Ryder Courses) in Port St. Lucie, Florida.  The 264-player field is composed of senior PGA Professionals representing the 41 PGA Sections, and will compete on both courses over the first two rounds of play.  The low 70 scorers and ties after the second round will advance to the weekend’s final 36 holes at the Wanamaker Course.

Pi earned the chance to play by shooting a 1-over 141 at the NEPGA Senior Championship held July 30 and 31 at the Okemo Valley Golf Club, Oekmo, VT. His performance resulted in a 5th place tie.  This is the fourth consecutive year Pi has qualified for the championship.

Good luck Pi!

The Bay Club welcomed acclaimed Boston chef, restaurateur and seafood authority Jeremy Sewall to the club recently for a cooking demonstration and book signing. Jeremy is the Chef and owner of Lineage restaurant, Island Creek Oyster Bar and the newly opened Row 34 in Boston’s Fort Point neighborhood.

In addition to the cooking demonstration, all participants received a signed copy of his first cookbook, The New England Kitchen: Fresh Takes on Seasonal Recipes.  The recipes throughout the book highlight the best of each season, and include profiles on Chef Sewall’s friends in the farming, fishing and brewing communities.  Highlighting contemporary New England fare and adapting the region’s fresh, simple flavors into refined dishes for the home cook, the book features more than 100 delectable recipes from the area’s most celebrated farms and fisheries, for easy at-home cooking and entertaining. Divided by season, the book incorporates distinct flavors throughout the year through Chef Sewall’s soups, salads, hearty dishes, grilling favorites, seafood specialties and simple desserts.

Members enjoyed sampling Chef Sewall’s Toasted Barley with Chantenay Carrots and Pomegranate along with Crab Cakes with Grilled Scallions and Pickled Fresno Peppers over Hubbard Squash while learning more about Chef Sewall and his techniques.

Playing in front of a gallery of club members, the Bay Club’s Greg Yeomans defeated fellow Bay Club professional John “Pi” Paesani 1 up in the final match of the NEPGA Cape Cod Match Play Championship Thursday, October 30 on their home course. This win gives Greg his third consecutive title and seventh overall since 2005.

Greg took an early 1 up lead on the second hole with a par as John made bogey.  The two then halved the next four holes before Greg made birdie hitting his approach out of the left fairway bunker on number 7 to 3 feet leading to a win and 2 up lead.  The pair halved the next 8, 9 and 10 before Greg hit a poor tee shot into the fescue left leading to at least a bogey while John routinely hit the green in three to claim the hole.  John now having the honors hit a beautiful approach into number 12 about 15 feet behind the hole.  Greg missed his birdie bid and John made his, match all square.  After halves on 13 and 14, Greg hit two great three woods to 10 feet short of the 15th green and managed to get up and down for birdie to take the 1 up lead. John had good looks on 16 and 17 but just missed his putts taking us to the 18th tee with Greg leading 1 up.  Greg hit the fairway and John pulled his tee shot into the left rough but drew a great lie.  John’s approach missed the green just right in the first cut pin high.  Greg hit the green and was first to play and lagged his first putt into “gimmie” range for par.  The stage was set John need to make to extend the match.  Once his chip came up just short Greg had claimed the title.

Both John and Greg played real solid golf as between the two of them they missed only three greens the entire day.  Although Greg won it was a win for the Bay Club as the professional staff once again showcased their talents.

Congratulations to both Greg and John for putting on a great show!

Chris Makepeace, former President of Ocean Spray, and Dawn Gates-Allen, Communications Manager for the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers’ Association (CCCGA) recently presented “Cranberries 101 – Neighbor to Neighbor” for the members.  Using a variety of pictures, they demonstrated how the bogs change during each season of the year, and how the growers deal with issues such as frost, pesticides, and pollination.  This unique presentation told the story of the history, heritage, cultural practices and neighbor to neighbor relationships which help educate within the cranberry industry to preserve an important economic agricultural industry in Massachusetts.  CCCGA is one of the country’s oldest farming organizations.  Through research, assistance to farmers, and professional development, the CCCGA works to ensure that cranberry farming can survive urbanization and that open space and clean water, vital to cranberry growing, will be preserved.   

Members enjoyed cranberry inspired cocktails before the lecture followed by dinner at the Golf House restaurant.

The Bay Club once again hosted the Annual Nativity Preparatory School Tennis and Golf Fundraiser.  Golfers enjoyed a fabulous day on the championship 18-hole golf course while the clubs 4 har-tru tennis courts were in full action. Afterwards, a dinner buffet was enjoyed by all participants and their guests at the Golf House restaurant.  A successful auction capped off the evening.   

Nativity is an independent, tuition-free middle school for boys from low-income families in the New Bedford area. The school provides a challenging and supportive learning environment, where motivated students of all faiths are offered an intellectual, cultural, physical and moral education. The goal is to graduate young men who are academically prepared for further education, inspired to lead their lives with humility, and dedicated to serving others. 

The Bay Club is excited to learn that Chef Stacy Cogswell will be featured on Season 12 of Bravo’s Top Chef which premieres on October 15.  Stacy was a key member of our kitchen staff when the club opened, leaving us in 2006 to pursue a new restaurant opportunity in Boston.  She is currently the executive chef at the Regal Beagle in Coolidge.  Her resume also includes stints at such other notable Boston restaurants including Bouchee, Atlantic Fish Company, and UpStairs on the Square.

The Golf House kitchen staff is not surprised at Chef Cogswells’s success and newfound notoriety.  Stacy was not only a focused and serious  team player, but one of those rare employees that from the get go  showed real culinary promise.  We are all thrilled and proud of her.

We will be watching and cheering for Stacy!

8 year old Bay Club member, Johnny Hiller wins Regional Final at Bethpage to advance to Drive, Chip & Putt Championship

Johnny Hiller won the boys 7 – 9 age group on Wednesday, August 27 at the Drive, Chip & Putt (DCP) Regional Finals at Bethpage State Park to advance to the National Finals at famed Augusta National.  Johnny was one of thousands of boys and girls aged 7-15 that attempted to earn a similar trip.  His road to Augusta has seen him advance in Local Qualifying at the Bay Club in early July to Pinehills Golf Club and the sub Regional in early August.  After capturing the top spot at Pinehills, it was off to Bethpage for a winner take all opportunity.  Johnny posted an early high mark and watched as competitor after competitor failed to match or top his score.  As a winner at Bethpage, he will be heading to Augusta National for the National Finals being played the Sunday before the 2015 Masters Tournament.

Drive Chip and Putt New England is a national junior golf initiative in collaboration with The PGA of America, United States Golf Association, and the Masters Tournament Foundation.  DCP New England hosted eight local qualifiers for boys and girls ages 7-15 with separate divisions for each gender and with each division split into four age groups.

We wish Johnny all the best in his quest for Augusta…Good luck Johnny!

International musical comedy entertainer Jimmy Keys recently returned to the club for a one-night performance.  Jimmy held the audience spellbound from the beginning  to end with his high energy variety show.  

Jimmy has been a pro since 1970 and has worked in well over a dozen countries worldwide entertaining thousands of people of many nationalities.  He has opened for such stars as Willie Nelson, Tom Jones, Huey Lewis and Wynona Judd. Prior to the show members enjoyed a special Italian Summer Buffet prepared by Executive Chef Jim Mercer and his culinary team.