Incoming President s January

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1 CELEBRATING 16 YEARS OF SINGLES GOLF IN AMERICA Hartford, CT Chapter - American Singles Golf Association January 2009 Outgoing s Final Letter It gives me great please to announce this years winner of the HASGA (Hartford ASGA) Cup! Contrary to popular belief that this is awarded to the person with no other life, this year, GEORGE DUFFY was the winner with 82 points! Mr. Duffy will have his name engraved on the club trophy and now he gets to carry it around for the next year, as well as greens fees for any one event in the 2009 golf season. The final list with names and point totals are inside the newsletter. I know that many of you are wishing for a short winter season, but I hope we get lots of snow! Several of us have put away the golf clubs and have invested in snow shoes. Last year several golf courses offered groomed trails for snowshoeing and cross country skiing, so watch upcoming afternoon events. It may make the winter go by faster! This is my last presidential letter (some things I am just not going to miss!) After writing about 30 of them in the last two and a half years, I don t have that much more to say! So, I will keep this short. I would like to thank those who supported what we tried to do with this Club in the past few years. I would also like to wish the new 2009 Board of Directors the very best of luck and I hope that the New Year keeps all our members and their families happy, healthy and safe! ~Nancy Hammond, Hartford ASGA (Past) Incoming s January Letter As I write this, the threat of two "significant snow events" loom large! Quite an adjustment for a transplanted Floridian indeed! Some of you may know that I moved here in June from Tampa, where I was of the Tampa Chapter, to be with my family in Cromwell. I was lucky enough to play a number of times with HASGA and saw some beautiful New England courses, with which Florida cannot compare (really!). The new Board of Directors of 2009 is quite a diverse and talented one, including our new and enthusiastic Golf Chair, George Duffy. He has assembled quite a nice Golf Committee, and I am sure they are itching to get going - sorry folks - "snow events" will keep us quiet for a few more months! We are all excited to get together and brainstorm some new ideas for the group and have already come up with a few "fun" events, like the sold-out Jersey Boys performance at the Bushnell in February. Stay tuned to our website for more events during the winter season. My personal mission for the 2009 group is to increase our membership and make it a pleasure to belong, no matter what your level of play. To that end, we have Barb Wysocki and Tom Woods brainstorming ways to advertise our group. I also hope that reinstituting the regular monthly meeting with h'ors d'ouevres and cocktail time will be an enticement for the potential new member. Please remember that our meetings will be the third Tuesday of each month at Angellinos Restaurant in Rocky Hill at 6 p.m. These are intended to be mainly social events, with some small informational announcements made towards the end of the meeting. Tell all your friends!! Golf joke of the month (a new feature) - A golfer goes into the pro shop and looks around frowning. Finally the pro asks him what he wants. "I can't find any green golf balls," the golfer replies. The pro looks all over the shop, and through all the catalogs, and finally calls the manufacturers and determines that sure enough, there are no Meet members from other chapter at these exciting weekends: Wilmington s Winter Chill, Feb. 27-March 1 Orlando & Hilton Head s Hilton Head Weekend, March National Website: ASGANational@aol.com New Office Hours: 8:00am to 4:00pm, M-F (Eastern) National Office: or GOLFMATE To join ASGA or renew your dues, contact the National Office at above number or go to Regular Meeting Date: The Board Meetings will be held the SECOND Tuesday of each month and the General Meeting will be on the THIRD Tuesday of each month Meeting Location: Angellino's Restaurant, 1115 Silas Deane Highway,Rocky Hill, Ct.(860) Our Website: Our Hotline: (See next page for list of officers and board members.) To join, renew dues, make a change of address, phone, etc., call National Hotline at left.

2 Hartford, CT Chapter of the American Singles Golf Association Chairman of Board Nancy Hammond TM Betsy Schwartz Golf Chair George Duffy Social Chair Margaret Doyle Secretary Ellen Gregory Membership Barbara Wysocki & Tom Woods Communications Cathy Duncan ACTING Treasurer Joann Bryant Webmaster Rhonda Idleman green golf balls. As the golfer walks out the door in disgust, the pro asks him, "Before you go, could you tell me why you want green golf balls?" Well obviously, because they would be so much easier to find in the sand traps!" ~Betsy Schwartz, Hartford ASGA (Incoming) MONTHLY MEMBER MEETING The Monthly Member Meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 20, 2009 at Angellino s Restaurant, 1115 Silas Deane Highway (located in Wethersfield Shopping Center), Wethersfield at 6:00 p.m. At this meeting, there will be FREE Hors D oeuvres and CASH Bar. Please join us for our first gathering of 2009 and no reservations are necessary! 2008 HASGA CUP This year, the prestigious HASGA CUP is awarded to GEORGE DUFFY with a total of 82 points. The HASGA (Hartford ASGA) was started last year and is won by simply participating in ASGA golf events. Points are awarded for playing in ANY golf event sponsored by ASGA and by winning, or being part of a winning team. The first winner in 2007 was JoAnn Bryant. The winner has their name engraved on a club trophy and also has the greens fee paid for of a golf event of their choice in the upcoming year. Other members point tally includes: points Nancy Hammond points JoAnn Bryant Mary LeBel Dave Walstrom Jean Cooper Stephanie Sewell Rick St. George Pat Sullivan Tom Woods points Susan Ammann Dave Bromley Jack Curtiss Carol DeBerry Pat dewolfe Margaret Doyle Toni Fedora Rhonda Idleman Karen Young Betsy Schwartz Patty Landry Rich Lee Jerry Maxwell Tina Oswald Karen Skog Chris Spence Norma Spring Barb Wysocki Harry Mackenstein Judy Biernat Less than 24 points Russ Avery Stephan Kudriavetz Pearl Lynch Helen Bessoni Peg Machnicki Marilyn Drew Deb Macht Cathy Duncan Rich McKnett Nancy Faraci Barb Metzen Paul Figura Betsy Montgomery Linda Gamache Kathleen O Sullivan Jim Geis Laurie Price John Guandalini- Sue Rand Sandra Hackett Sue Roy Brian Schwerkolt- Brian Stere Dave Swingle Judy Unsworth Pat White Linda Woodruff Betty Washington Diana Swenhall Nancy (Bertos) McKnett Congratulations George! ~Nancy Hammond HASGA Cup Coordinator ASGA HOLIDAY PARTY On Saturday, December 6, 2008, Hartford ASGA celebrated the holidays with a gathering at the Hawthorne Inn, Berlin with 24 people in attendance! JoAnn Bryant led everyone in a game testing their knowledge of Christmas Carol titles, with teams being formed and the theory that two (or more) heads are better than one was put to the test! Guests also brought donations of toys, which Betsy Schwartz donated to the Marine Corps Toys For Tots and

3 hopefully we made the holidays a little brighter for children everywhere! Dinner was delicious with a choice of Chicken Piccata, Prime Rib Au Jus or Baked Stuffed Jumbo Shrimp! Throughout dinner people kept working on completing the questions for the game and catching up with friends on holiday and vacation plans. As dessert was being served, time was up for the Christmas Carol Game and JoAnn collected the answer sheets. Question #1 was the stickler and Linda Woodruff was the only one who got that answer The Nutcracker Suite! JoAnn announced the winning teams the first place team was Betsy Schwartz, Chris Spence, Norma Spring & Ellen Gregory; second place team was Jack Curtiss, Linda Woodruff & Margaret Doyle; third place went to Jerry Maxwell & Susan Ammann; followed by JoAnn giving the answers to the questions, which led to a lot of groaning or laughing! When the game was completed, Norma Spring had a raffle for many door prizes, which meant most went home with a gift! When dinner and all activities were completed, everyone moved to the Lounge downstairs for drinks, conversation and dancing. The duo playing the music were excellent and the dancing was fun! Everyone partied into the evening until someone noticed around 11:15 p.m. that it was snowing outside. It was the first snow of the season and it pretty much caused the group to call it a night and head home. The only thing is once we got a mile down the road there was no more snow it was a cloud passing over! Everyone had a great time and we all look forward to many more events in the near future! Those who attended the party included: Susan Ammann, JoAnn Bryant, Jack Curtiss, Margaret Doyle, Cathy Duncan, Ellen Gregory, Nancy Hammond, Patty Landry, Jerry Maxwell, Nancy McKnett, Rich McKnett, Sue Rand, Betsy Schwartz, Chris Spence, Norma Spring, Brian Stere, Pat Sullivan, Sharon Viveiros, Dave Walstrom, Betty Washington, Gwen Westberry, Linda Woodruff, Tom Woods and Barbara Wysocki ~Cathy Duncan, Communications Chair Roving Reporter New Year s Eve 2008 / 09 The wind was strong and the air was frigid, but that didn t keep eighteen people from gathering to welcome in the New Year at the home of former members, Steve Liteplo and Karen Lessard. Although the day looked like a bust with five inches (+/-) of snow, the evening turned out to be clear including a crescent moon and an array of beautiful stars. Karen and Steve s home was anything but cold with a fire in the fireplace, a juke box spitting out all our favorite tunes and all the food and drink you wanted! We also had fun shooting pool and playing a game I think they called Polish Horseshoes (you will have to come to the next party to see what that was!). Those in attendance included two of our newest members, Steve Lynch and Sharon Viveiros. Also attending were a mixture of current and former members including: Rich & Nancy McKnett, Jack Curtiss, Mary LeBel, Sandra Hackett, Betty Washington, Linda Gamache, Bob Wimler, Dave Bromley, Toni Fedora, JoAnn Bryant, Dave Walstrom and two other friends of Karen and Steve s: Don and Shirley Sanders. Although some of these people are no longer active members of ASGA, most of us know each other because of our association. This is what makes having a club like ours worth the effort. Hopefully, you all will take the opportunity in 2009 to become participants in our various activities and benefit from the great friendships that are most certainly bound to develop! And finally, I want to take this opportunity to thank Karen and Steve for, once again, opening up their beautiful home to give us a place to celebrate the beginning of a new year! ~JoAnn Bryant, Treasurer Roving Reporter GOLF COMMITTEE REPORT 2009 GOLF SEASON..plans are in the works! The 2009 Golf Committee had its first meeting on December 16th to start its work on the 2009 golf schedule. Here are some of the highlights of the meeting FRIDAY NIGHT GOLF...There will be only one site in 2009 and currently we are leaning toward returning to Portland West where we had lots of fun in past years. Nothing is etched in stone yet, but we will be talking to the people there about returning. We have not ruled out Rockledge but we see problems there, so it is a long shot at this stage. SUNDAY NIGHT GOLF..There is considerable interest in moving to Rockledge for SNG...Tunxis Plantation Country Club is also still under consideration (let us know your preference) MONTHLY TOURNAMENTS... We will schedule a major event every month some on Saturday and some on Sunday...our focus is on spreading the events over the entire Hartford area in an attempt to be considerate geographically to the members. We also will be trying to keep costs low in these tough economic times. HOLIDAYS..We will plan a major event for Memorial Day, July 4th, and if it does not conflict with the Albany/Saratoga Labor Day as well. HOOKY DAYS...People enjoyed these monthly days and for 2009 we will try to book noon or 1 PM starting times as some people have indicated that they would like to get in a half day of work first. The Hooky Days might not always be on Mondays in The Golf Committee is currently made up of the following people: Paul Figura, Judy Biernat, JoAnn Bryant, Pat dewolfe, Jack Curtiss, and George Duffy. Nancy Hammond also enjoys our monthly dinner meetings and is lending her input to the Committee. We welcome additional members, so feel free to contact any of us, if you would like to help. Our next meeting will be January 5th. Feel free to send along any of your thoughts and suggestions for our 2009 golf season! ~George Duffy, Golf Committee Chairman FAMILY GOLF? A father, son and grandson went to the country club for their weekly round of golf. Just as they reached the first tee, a beautiful young blonde woman carrying her bag of clubs approached them. She explained that the member who brought her to the club for a round of golf

4 had an emergency that called him away and asked the trio whether she could join them. Naturally, the guys all agreed. Smiling, the blonde thanked them and said, 'Look, fellows, I work in a topless bar as a dancer, so nothing shocks me anymore. If any of you want to smoke cigars, have a beer, bet, swear, tell offcolor stories or do anything that you normally do when playing a round together, go ahead. But, I enjoy playing golf, consider myself pretty good at it, so don't try to coach me on how to play my shots. With that the guys agreed to relax and invited her to drive first. All eyes were fastened on her shapely behind as she bent to place her ball on the tee. She then took her driver and hit the ball 270 yards down the middle, right in front of the green. The father's mouth was agape. 'That was beautiful,' he said. The blonde put her driver away and said, 'I really didn't get into it, and I faded it a little.' After the three guys hit their drives and their second shots, the blonde took out an eight iron and lofted the ball within five feet of the hole. (She was closest to the pin.) The son said, 'Damn, lady, you played that perfectly. The blonde frowned and said, 'It was a little weak, but even an easy seven would have been too much club. I've left a tricky little putt.' She then tapped in the fivefooter for a birdie. Having the honors, she drove first on the second hole, knocked the heck out of the ball, and it landed nearly 300 yards away smack in the middle of the fairway. For the rest of the round the statuesque blonde continued to amaze the guys, quietly and methodically shooting for par or less on every hole. When they arrived at the 18th green, the blonde was three under par, and had a very nasty 12-foot putt on an undulating green for a par. She turned to the three guys and said, 'I really want to thank you all for not acting like a bunch of chauvinists and telling me what club to use or how to play a shot, but I need this putt for a 69 and I'd really like to break 70 on this course. If any one of you can tell me how to make par on this hole I'll take him back to my apartment, pour some 35-year-old Single Malt Strath Mill Scotch in him, fix him a steak dinner and then show him a very good time the rest of the night. The yuppie son jumped at the thought! He strolled across the green, carefully eyeing the line of the putt and finally said, 'Honey, aim about 6 inches to the right of the hole and hit it firm. It will get over that little hump and break right into the cup. The father knelt down and sighted the putt using his putter as a plumb. 'Don't listen to the kid, darlin', you want to hit it softly 10 inches to the right and let it run left down that little hogback, so it falls into the cup. The old gray-haired grandfather walked over to the blonde's ball, picked it up and handed it to her and said, 'That's a gimme, sweetheart. The blonde smiled and said, 'Your car or mine? OLD AGE AND TREACHERY WILL OVERCOME YOUTH AND SKILL EVERY TIME! ABOUT OUR MEMBERS Happy Birthday to these members: George Duffy - 01/11 Nancy Hammond - 01/14 George Martin - 01/03 Elisabeth Schwartz - 02/10 Anna Sielawko - 01/11 Judy Unsworth - 01/21 Barbara Wysocki - 02/14 These members are up for renewal: (date shown is last day of membership) Richard Becker - 01/31/2009 David Bromley - 01/31/2009 Nancy Faraci - 01/31/2009 Patricia Rogers - 01/31/2009 Elisabeth Schwartz - 01/31/2009 Welcome newest members: Peter Borkoski - Joined 11/28/2008 Robert Layman - Joined 11/19/2008 Sylvia Stevenson - Joined 12/04/2008 These members recently renewed: Marilyn Drew Steven Lynch Our chapter currently has 71 members. Rules and More Rules Larry s golf ball rolled to a position of rest directly behind a rather large divot clump that was not completely detached and projecting upward several inches directly in front of his ball. Of course Larry did the only natural thing and lifted the clump up and tossed it aside. His playing partners called a 2 stoke penalty. Larry protested. Who was right? What is the correct answer below? A. Larry was in error. He can not remove the divot clump. He should have pressed it down with his foot and left it in place. One stroke penalty B. The playing partners were wrong; the divot clump could be moved. C. Larry was wrong, his partners were right, Larry may not remove the divot or press it down before playing his stroke. Two stroke penalty. D. The partners were on the right track, a penalty should have been assessed, but only one stoke. Answer: The answer is C. Larry was wrong and should have been assessed a two (2) stroke penalty. Larry was in violation of USGA Rule 13-2 which pertains to Improving Lie, Area of Intended Stance or Swing, or Line of Play. The rule is very explicit, you are not allowed to improve your lie, area of stance or swing, or your line of play. The basic play it as it lies rule. The penalty for violating the rule in match play is loss of the hole; in stroke play the penalty is two strokes.

5 CELEBRATING 16 YEARS OF SINGLESGOLF IN AMERICA AMERICAN SINGLES GOLF ASSOCIATION JANUARY, 2009 Valentine s Day: Saturday, February 14th, 2009 Love on the Links was a headline a reporter named his article which appeared in a newspaper years ago. It was a great article about ASGA but it was a great headline as well. Since then, the Charlotte chapter has borrowed the headline and created an annual golf outing with the same name. It initially was played on the Saturday on or around Valentine s Day each year as a way to interest new members and to get the season kicked-off. Since then, it s been moved into early Spring (gosh, it got cold in February!). Let s take advantage of an upcoming date: Valentine s Day falls on a Saturday this year. ASGA National would like for all chapters to run a Love on the Links tournament with the goal to expose ASGA to more singles. It s a great way to start your new year and a great way to generate interest in your chapter. So watch for the link on our website (SinglesGolf.com) and we ll provide press releases and other information to help you get a new tradition going for your chapter for 2009 and beyond. Welcome New Chapter Leaders! Just as we turn the corner on the new year, we also turn the corner with new leadership in each of our seventy chapters nationwide. New leaders bring new ideas. Last year s chapter presidents become Board chairs and offer continuity to the leadership, but it s the new president that emerges as the team leader. This is our annual ritual and somehow it works. It s been said that the greatest thing about being a chapter president is that one day you get to become a past president. Those who have served in that capacity this past year deserve your thanks as those of us at national headquarters thanks them as well. With or without your knowledge, chapter presidents are in contact with the national office many times throughout the year, looking after your concerns. But the Number One job for a chapter president is to delegate. Delegate to the four key people know as committee chairs. Your chapter should have by now your four key committees organized for 2007: golf, social, membership and communication. Those committees do the detail work on the activities your chapter will be involved in over the next year. It s a great place to start if you want to volunteer for your chapter. So we welcome the new chapter presidents, officers and committee members. Make the best of your year. Realize the potential of what your local chapter can mean to you. We re all about bringing happiness to your life, so just continue to remember the first word in our three-word slogan we adopted almost 15 years ago... fun, fellowship, fairways... and all we ask is that you keep it fun first! Keys to a Great Year Ahead No doubt, everyone has their mental list of what works and what doesn t. Here s our Top 10 Recommendations for new leaders: Regarding your meetings, remember the three E s: make them Entertaining, Educational and Enlightening Encourage every member to invite a guest to each meeting. That automatically doubles the attendance. Most people don t join because they were never asked to join. New people have their own circle of friends who will join as well. Display the free brochure stands at golf courses. They work! Remember to work as a team. You re not going to win every battle. Always keep the interest of the chapter as your priority. Follow your bylaws. They re on the national website if you ve never read them. They provide the structure for your chapter. Submit guest names via our online add-a-guest form. One out of three guests become members! Encourage attendance at multi-chapter events in order to get the full experience of ASGA from members across the country. Read newsletters from other chapters (posted on the national website under List of Chapters ) to get additional ideas. Dates: Feb. 27-Mar. 1, 2009 Wilmington s Winter Chill Our Wilmington chapter will again host their Winter Chill which will be in the Southern Pines / Pinehurst area of North Carolina. Check out all of the details on this and other upcoming multichapter weekend events at Who s Your Daddy? Now that we ve caught your attention, what we really want to know is Who s Your Chapter? Please make sure SOMEONE in your chapter has notified ASGA National of the names of your newly elected officers and board members. We need this information for the 2009 newsletters. Of utmost important is who your treasurer will be so we can issue the chapter portion of the dues to the right person. this info to our office manager, Irene Matthews at ASGANational@aol.com. And remember to update your website with the new chapter leaders as well. - Tom Alsop, / Founder American Singles Golf Association GOLFMATE ( )