Mid Washington Seniors Golf Association`
Board Member Meeting
January
10, 2023
AGENDA:
A
CALL TO ORDER
at 10:00 am
Board Members in Attendance: Wes Forshee, Chuck Broten, Steve Carley,
Reinhold Schuetz, Terry Welling, John Galligan, Jim Pape, Ron Whitaker
Board Members not in Attendance: Tom Seeley, Dan Skaramuca, Denney Dawson
Others Present: None
B
ORDER OF BUSINESS
Ø Review and Approve prior Meeting Minutes
·
The minutes of the December 13, 2022 were
Approved
Ø Review Tournament Schedule
Confirmation/Contacted for 2023
Discussion and Action:
·
Auburn
Golf Course was added to the tournament schedule for August 16th. Steve Carley will be the Tournament Chair
with Wes as Co-Chair.
·
Jim
Pape reported that the White Horse Tournament has been rescheduled from
July 5th to
July 6th.
·
Steve
Carley reported that the tournament date of July 19th for American Lake Veterans Golf Course has
been confirmed, However, several
concerns about the rate structure were identified in preliminary negotiations with
the course point of contact. The course
will send a contract for review in the near future.
Discussion and Next Steps:
·
Tournament
Chairs were tasked to continue making contact with course managers and proceed
with negotiating rates etc. related to our tournaments. Contracts and/or agreements on rates etc. have already been
negotiated and finalized. Chuck
Broten indicated that he’s finalizing the tournament Dashboard and tracking
spreadsheet for the 2023 golf season for use by Tournament
Chairs/Co-Chairs. The spreadsheet was
used very effectively during the 2022 golf season to track essential elements
of information regarding golf course points of contact, rates, tee box
assignments etc.
·
Chuck
is continuing to make updates to improve and make the MWSGA Golf Genius Website
to be more user friendly and informative for the membership.
C ON-GOING
AND OLD BUSINESS
1.
Pace
of Play – Time Clocks
Ø
Issue:
The Pace of Play at MWSGA tournaments continues to be a problem. As a board we have adopted rule changes
allowed by USGA, provided helpful guidance to players and teams but we continue
to have slow play impacting the enjoyment of tournament golf. It has also resulted in the loss of members.
Ø
Discussion: Chuck
investigated several options for purchasing a time clock. He found a model for about $170 that maybe
configured to operate on a 12-volt battery.
The time clock will be placed on the tournament table. During the 2023 season, the board will
monitor and review the results and challenges of using the time clock to help
address the pace of play issue.
Ø
Decision: Chuck
was authorized to move forward to purchase the time clock based on a vote taken
and approved during the December 13, 2022 Board Meeting.
2. Playing from the Forward Tees – Criteria
Ø Issue: Overall,
the policy change during the 2022 golf season allowing players/teams to play
from the forward tees based on age and/or preference has been well received and
successful. However, it has been
apparent that criteria on who is allowed to play from the forward tees needs to
be more fully evaluated and modified if appropriate for the 2023 golf season. Any changes should be based on the experience
and comments received from members on the use of the forward tees as well as to
ensure criteria is fair and appropriate for all members.
Ø
Discussion: There
was a full discussion of options of when players should be allowed to play from
the forward tees. Options discussed
included but was not limited to criteria involving age, handicap, normal length
of a player’s ability to drive the ball off the tee, a player’s normal tee box
used outside of MWSGA tournaments, combinations of age and handicap and a
discussion of what other clubs and associations use.
The following proposal
was made:
·
A
player with an age of 70 or older with a handicap of Fifteen (15) strokes or
higher will be assigned to the forward tees in Golf Genius for tournament
play. If a player who meets these
criteria and wants to play from the back tees, the player will be assigned the
back tees upon written (email) request to the Board.
·
A
player who does not meet the combined age and handicap criteria and
wants to play from the forward tees, the player may make a written (email) request with justification to the Board for
consideration.
·
A
player may not make changes to the tee assignment from tournament to
tournament.
Ø
Decision: A
motion was made and vote taken to adopt the proposal.
3. Scramble Handicap Differential
Ø
Issue: During
the 2022 Golf Season, a handicap differential of 50%/50% was used. An
evaluation is needed to ensure the most fair and equitable differential is used
as well as a differential that members will understand. Several options for Scramble tournaments are
available for use in Golf Genius including the 50%/50%. The USGA recommends the 35%/15% option.
Ø Discussion: Specifically, the pros and cons of the two
options of 50%/50% and 35%/15% were discussed.
It was noted that the 35%/15%
differential was used by MWSGA Scramble Tournaments in the past for many years.
Ø Decision: A
motion was made and a vote taken to approve the use the USGA recommended
35%/15% differential for Scramble tournaments during the 2023 golf season.
4.
KP
Measuring Tapes
Ø Issue:
Several of the KP
measuring tapes are fairly old and made of metal that are becoming difficult to
use.
Ø Discussion: Jim
Pape provided and update on acquiring new measuring tapes. Jim brought a DeWalt measuring device for the
Board’s review and approval that should work very well. It is very well constructed and can be easily
modified to meet our needs. He
also provided an updated cost per unit at $22.87 including sales tax. Additional items needed for the measuring
device will bring the total cost to $30.93 per unit.
Ø Decision: A motion was made and vote taken to
purchase eight (8) DeWalt measuring tapes and associated items.
5. Participation Points
Ø
Issue:
Was the use and allocation of ‘Participation Points’ effective?
Ø
Discussion: There was a brief discussion on the
merits, benefits and effectiveness of awarding participation points. It was generally acknowledged that there was
little or no value of providing participation points.
Ø Decision: A motion was made and a vote taken and
passed to discontinue the use participation points.
D. REPORT OF STANDING COMMITTEES
No
Reports
E. NEW BUSINESS
Policies and Procedures
1. Score Cards
Ø
Issue: In
past golf seasons, several player/teams have forgotten to drop their score
cards in the box or giving them directly to a MWSGA board member before
departing the golf course. Tournament Managers maybe addressing this issue
inconsistently.
Ø Discussion: Various efforts are made by the
Tournament Chairs and board members to contact players/teams to recover score
cards that are not submitted following the round of golf.
Ø Decision: It was decided that the Tournament
Chairs need to maintain flexibility and continue to make an effort to recover a
score card not turned in and enter scores in GG for final results. However, if a player/team submits a card
after scores are entered in GG and the results are ready to be published, that
player/team will be disqualified.
2. Score Cards
Ø
Issue: There
have been multiple instances of players/teams failing to correctly fill out
their score cards in the preferred format.
Score cards for Scramble tournaments in particular seem to be the
problem. Incorrectly filling out a score
card by a player/team creates problems and delays for the tournament managers
entering scores and trying to interpret the scores.
Ø Discussion: Examples
of the correct and appropriate format for score cards have been provided and
displayed on the tournament table. Also,
players and teams have been directly contacted and informed if the score cards
they have submitted are in an incorrect format.
They are provided with a corrected score card and warning that they may
be subject to disqualification in a future tournament if they continue to use
an incorrect format.
Ø Decision:
The Board will continue
to provide examples of correct score card formats and display them on the
tournament table. Players/teams who
continue to submit score cards incorrectly completed will be subject to
disqualification.
3. Refund of Membership Dues
Ø
Issue: During
the 2022 season, a member registered and paid the $45 annual membership
fee.
Half way through the season, the member
had not participated in a tournament and
requested reimbursement. MWSGA decided to refund the fee based on the
written justification provided. Should
we allow a refund all or a portion of Annual Membership Fees if a member
requests it during the tournament season and he/she has not participated in a
tournament or a percentage of tournaments during the golf season?
Ø Discussion: A request for reimbursement of
registration membership fees is very rare.
The $45 ($50 in 2023) is very minimal and there are administrative costs
and time associated with reimbursement of the fee.
Ø Decision: A motion was made and a vote taken that
we should not reimburse registration membership fees.
4. Failure to Pay Tournament Fees
Ø
Issue: It
is fairly common that a player/team fails to pay and deposit their tournament
fee in the pay box prior or during the tournament.
Ø Discussion: We currently allow a Player/Team who has
not deposited and paid their Tournament Fees into the tournament pay box during
the tournament site to pay the fee before the player/team is allowed to play in
a future tournament. The payment of the
fee is recovered formally to the MWSGA Treasurer of informally to the
Tournament Chair. This process has been
implemented with little or no problems.
Ø Decision: It was decided that we should continue this
process of collecting delinquent tournament fees.
E. NEXT BOARD MEEGING
Scheduled: To
Be Determined prior to the start of the 2023 golf season.
F. ADJOURMENT
Ø A motion was made to adjourn the meeting,
and seconded. By a unanimous vote of the
members present, the meeting was adjourned at noon.
