Meet the Rye Golf Club Commission and its Chair Terry McCartney
In this series, MyRye.com will introduce readers to the boards and commissions of the City of Rye and the residents who run them. All volunteers, these residents give their time and expertise to keep our city running. The series is intended to bring visibility to what each board and commission does, its priorities and what might prompt a resident or another person or company to interact with the group.
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Your Name: Terry McCartney
Board or Commission you chair: Rye Golf Club Commission
Your role: I serve my fellow members as the chair of the Rye Golf Club Commission by helping set priorities and policy initiatives, advising the RGC General Manager and City leaders regarding important decisions impacting the Club and leading our commission meetings.
MyRye.com: What is the charter for your Board?
McCartney:
- Although we are an entirely self-sufficient enterprise fund, we actively participate in the annual City budgeting process.
- We ensure that our membership has a high-quality experience when using the Club and is kept informed about club policies, events and news through our website, emails and other forms of communication.
- We advise the GM and Superintendent about golf course and facilities improvements and capital projects.
Looking at 2025, what will be your top initiatives?
McCartney:
- We are studying our aging pool facilities to determine the best plan for the future.
- We are constantly improving the course; we just finished the second year of a multi-year program to renovate our bunkers and greens so we will continue to work on that.
- We are always working to balance the quality of the membership experience while also reducing the membership waitlist.
Who is the City Council liaison to your Commission for 2025?
McCartney: Councilmember Jamie Jensen is returning for her second year as our liaison.
Tell us about the residents or others you interact with at your Board.
McCartney: We primarily interact with our many members but our meetings are open to the public so we also interact with our neighbors and Rye residents occasionally. Non-members typically come before the commission with concerns about how use of the course is impacting their use of their adjacent property. Errant golf balls, tree removal or rainwater management are a few examples. We also hear from residents who want to join the Club but are on the wait list.
When was your Board chartered by the City of Rye? What prompted the creation of the Board? Has its role expanded or contracted over the years?
McCartney: We actually wrote a book that covered this topic a few years ago (2021) as a part of the Centennial Anniversary of the course (but not the Club). The Rye Golf Club was founded in 1965 after the City purchased the defunct Ryewood Country Club. The Golf Club Commission was originally known as the Board of Advisors. Our role today is essentially the same as always – to advise the RGC General Manager and the City on the best ways to manage this unique asset.
Looking back across 2024, what were your Board’s top achievements?
McCartney:
- We improved the quality and playability of the course.
- We increased our membership (and reduced the waitlist) while not negatively impacting our members’ experience.
- We improved the RGC web site and communications with the membership.
Tell us about you:
How long have you been in your current role?
McCartney: Four years.
Who appointed you to this position, and when?
McCartney: The Commission originally elected me chair in January 2021 and then Mayor Cohn and the City Council appointed me. I have been re-elected and re-appointed each year since then.
Is the role full time or part time? Paid or volunteer?
McCartney: RGC chair is a volunteer job. I have a “day job” and also run the Rye Boxing Club, also a volunteer job.
What is your day job?
McCartney: I am a trial lawyer and I represent plaintiffs in product liability cases mainly involving defective cars and trucks. The litigating and negotiating skills I have learned in my day job have helped in my roles at the RGC over the years. I was on the City Council from 2013-17 and served as the RGC liaison back then so, in that capacity and my current role, I have been able to help guide the Club through a few difficult situations.
How much time does your role require in a typical month?
McCartney: About 4-6 hours per month depending on the nature of the projects underway.
How would your friends and family describe you in one word?
McCartney: Committed.
Where did you grow up?
McCartney: I grew up on military bases all over the country to start but then in Tidewater, Virginia after my dad retired from the Air Force. I was born in Hawaii and we lived in five states by the time I was 12 years old. I went to high school and college in Virginia.
What is your favorite unimportant thing about you?
McCartney: I’m a fly fisherman.
If the next five years is a chapter in your life, what is this chapter about?
McCartney: Taking good care of my family and friends and the people who rely on me.
What would you do if you were not afraid?
McCartney: Sail around the world. I love being on the water but definitely prefer to be within sight of land.
Where do you live in Rye and how many years have you lived in the City?
McCartney: We have lived on Park Avenue for 25 years.
Are your meetings recorded?
McCartney: No, our meetings are open to the public but we don’t record or broadcast them.
Are written agendas and written meeting minutes available?
McCartney: Yes. The Agendas and Minutes of all of our meetings are available here.
Thanks Terry!
Learn More:
Are meetings recorded?: No.
Are written agendas and meeting minutes available?: Yes.
Main Rye Golf Club Commission page on City website
Members of Board:
Terrence McCartney, Chair 12-31-25 (term expires)
Christopher Fanning 12-31-27
Lynne Murphy-Gere 12-31-27
Akhil Kumar 12-31-25
Eliot Chait 12-31-26
James Mulcahy 12-31-26
Arthur Teidmann 12-31-26
