Introduction

Forsgate Country Club is a private, full-service club with many facilities for members to enjoy by having one of the three primary membership accounts. A Social Member account offers the ability to eat in one of the restaurants, The Grille Room or the fine dining Stirlings Room, and also to be able to participate in any monthly events the club offers. A Sports Member account allows access to the restaurants along with access to use the newly constructed Sports Complex, where they can use the gym or swimming pool, and also have access to the tennis courts and locker rooms. A Golf Member can enjoy all of the facilities including access to the two 18 hole courses, the Palmer and the Banks course, along with the amenities of the golf shop, private lessons from the golf professionals on site, and access to the indoor golf practice facility.
Among having a membership, the public can enjoy the highly noted Catering and Banquet staff to hold weddings, sweet 16’s, proms, birthday parties, business meetings, showers, any party of the customer’s choice!

Although not always just for private members, or just for the pleasures of golf, Forsgate was first introduced as Forsgate Farms back in 1913, when all there was to see was grass and dirt roads.

Around 1930, Edith Forster and husband John Abeel take over running the farm and club from John Forster. It was when the clubhouse and Banks course were first constructed. Around 1940, John Forster Abeel became the Chief Executive of Forsgate Country Club and Farms. Fifteen years passes by and Forsgate Farms becomes the largest GRADE A dairy farm in the state, yearly golf memberships were only $25, and the fine dining Stirlings Room was opened to the public. Around 1970, Abeel sells the dairy business to Welsh Farms, and John’s son, Jack Abeel, becomes the new President and Chief Executive Officer of Forsgate Country Club. The late 1970’s comes around and Forsgate begins to see more and more popularity hosting three LPGA tournaments. In 1989, FCC undergoes an extensive $8.9 million restoration that added 4,500 square feet to the clubhouse. In the 1990’s, three new tennis courts were added, the golf shop was expanded with the addition of a practice range, and all courses were upgraded and celebrity tournaments began to take over. Finally around 1997, RDC Golf Group and National Fairways purchased FCC, and then 2 years later, RDC became the sole owners of Forsgate, adding on another 1,300 square feet to the clubhouse. Lastly, in 2003 FCC became an exclusive, full-service, family-oriented and private country club, no longer offering Annual Golf memberships.

Chris Schiavone is the CEO of Forsgate Country Club and the founder and president of RDC Golf Group. RDC was founded in 1994, and currently owns and manages 5 courses in 4 different locations in Florida and New Jersey. Chris Schiavone went to Dartmouth College and received a Bachelor’s Degree of Arts in Government, and was named Entrepreneur of the Year in the hospitality industry by Morris County. Mr. Schiavone has gained his highly regarded experience in operating golf courses simply by the familiarity his family had offered him by having more than 30 years of their own experience by running New Jersey’s largest and most successful country club in Bedminster, New Jersey. Other experiences come from his advantage as a member of the Board of Directors of the Odyssey Golf company, which is company that has based its success off of making top of the line golf clubs. Besides having the intelligence of knowing a thing or two about golf courses, Mr. Schiavone completes his hospitality career by being the co-founder of a company that New Jersey Business Magazine named “one of Northern New Jersey’s Top 20 Privately Held Corporations”. Dartcor Food Service owns and operates corporate food service facilities and full-service restaurants.

“Customer perception of value cannot be easily created with well-manicured turf and fine facilities alone. Consistent commitment to service and attention to market trends are vital in our industry…Today more than ever our goal is to make the experience of every member and guest a memorable one from “bag drop” to “19th Hole’”. -Christopher R. Schiavone. RDC GOLF GROUP

The ethical and social responsibilities at Forsgate Country Club are taken very seriously not only by the management of RDC, but also by the staff members in every department at Forsgate alone. First and foremost to ensure the protection of all of our employees and all of our members of the club, every computer in the building has a specific log-in code for the manager that is operating that machine. These computers have information such as every members account information and status, information on employees, information on billing the public for an upcoming event at the club, etc. Not one person who isn’t considered upper management cannot access that information. All of the computers throughout the building are connected to a main computer in the General Manager’s office. If any new software that could be used to menu making, billing and shipping to other companies or members, payroll, etc, that are uploaded through the main computer and cannot be copied from any other computer, that way no one even able to copy the software that could hold all of the information on our computers. Practicing risk management at Forsgate is just like any other hospitality industry. When any sort of unproductive operational procedure occurs, our management staff is highly trained to reduce any risk that could potentially decrease cost effectiveness and reputation due to the result of poor service and quality.