Shelter Island Country Club taking measures to reverse decline in revenue

The Shelter Island Country Club will lease its bar and restaurant, tighten oversight of its finances and reach out to attract new members in 2017, all in an effort to reverse a significant decrease in revenue, according to Newsday and the Shelter Island Reporter.

The public nine-hole course affectionately referred to as "Goat Hill," which dates back almost to the turn of the 20th century, saw its annual revenue decline 34 percent in 2016, the result of stark drops in membership fees, green fees and food and beverage sales.  The club was forced to pare down expenses in 2016 and take out a loan from the Town of Shelter Island to cover losses.

New financial officers on the club's board of directors presented their plans to the town board last month, most notably its three-year lease with an East End restaurateur.  Following four years in which the club went through four different restaurant operators, the new lease allows the club to collect guaranteed revenue and eliminates up to $117,000 in operating expenses.  The financial committee will also conduct monthly financial reviews.

Belle Lareau, chairwoman of the club’s development committee, said membership fees will not increase this year, although members will be responsible for paying sales tax for the first time.

Other planned improvements include opening a Courtesy Pro Shop, making three golf tournaments open to the public and using volunteers to help with maintenance, Lareau said. The board, which has three new members, is also considering creating a foundation for donations toward improving the golf course.

“We really have a jewel here,” Lareau said. -- Rachelle Blidner, Newsday, 3/30/2017

Goat Hill opened on one of Shelter Island's highest points in 1901, only a decade after Shinnecock Hills became America's first incorporated golf club.  In 2009, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.  The course is owned by the town and leased to the club for $1 a year, according to the Shelter Island Reporter.

[PICTURED: Shelter Island CC's clubhouse, as seen on an early-1900s postcard.]