Pinehurst Chapter - American Singles Golf Association March 2010

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1 CELEBRATING 17 YEARS OF SINGLES GOLF IN AMERICA Pinehurst Chapter - American Singles Golf Association March 2010 President s Message Will it ever get warm enough for some serious golf? I saw a blue bird making a nest a few days ago which signals Spring and warmer weather are just around the corner. That s great news since our year begins in earnest in March with our first clinic and our Opening day 18-hole outing. At our February meeting, we talked about the two surveys recently sent to our members. We would like to thank all of you that participated. If you have not completed the survey, please do so as soon as possible. The Board will be meeting to review the results and we would like to have as much information so we can plan the remainder of the events. Of particular importance are our away trips as Jolly is in the process of looking at places to visit. These trips have to be booked quite a few months in advance in order to make sure space is available. There will be two trips at places we have not previously visited. The events will be posted on our website ( as soon as final plans are made so visit often to stay informed. All the committee members are busy making arrangements so the schedule will change frequently in the next few months. Here s to Spring warmer weather and Golf!!! ~Judy Wimmer, judy@asgapinehurst.com Golf Committee Report OK, you all get out your calendars and take notes! Spring is almost here and our schedule is filling up. We are doing our best to get dates set as far in advance as practical so we will ease your planning and maximize your participation. March gets off to a limited start with daylight hours being our main concern. None the less our season opener is scheduled at Little River Golf Course for Saturday the 20th of March, with the first tee time set for 12:30pm. The price will be $ Little River is a fun and challenging course to play and has some beautiful views of the area. We will be playing a team event so I hope you all pay attention at our first clinic which will be on held Wednesday, March 17 th at Knollwood Fairways and Driving Range! April is considered in-season for golf in the Sandhills and we are fortunate to have arranged tee times and fees that are attractive to us. Dan and I work hard to convince the local clubs to cooperate and extend to us their best possible rates and in turn, we rely on you to come out and play to show appreciation to the courses. So, in April we will play the Pit on Saturday, April 10 at 1:00 PM at a rate of $ This is an interesting course to play. You will use every club in your bag! Next up - on Sunday, April 18th we will play Longleaf at noon for $ Throughout the rest of the season our goal is to play one "home" course (local course) and one away Upcoming Events Include: Memorial Day Weekend in Pinehurst - Thursday, May 27 Sunday, May 30, Details at Pinehurst We're Going to Scotland - August, Details at SinglesGolf.com/scotland National Website: ASGANational@aol.com Office Hours: 9:00am to 2:00pm, M-F (Eastern) National Office: or GOLFMATE Regular Meeting Date: SECOND THURSDAY of each month Next Meeting: March 11th, 2010 Meeting Location: 195 Restaurant in Southern Pines 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 or go to

2 Pinehurst Chapter of the American Singles Golf Association President Judy Wimmer (910) Chairman of the Board Larry Heiden (910) Social Chairperson Kathy Waldron Eva Mitchener Communications Chairperson Doug Hardisty (910) Handicap Committee Hollie Thomson (910) Golf Committee Jolly Erickson (910) Dan Runk Membership Chairperson Jean Lawson Peters (910) course (within 1 hour s travel) each month. This plan opens up a wider variety of courses for us to play and that's a good thing! Due to the lack of daylight hours we have not scheduled any Nine & Dines for March. In April we will play Hyland Hills on Friday, April 23rd at 5:30 pm for $ Being our first scheduled Nine and Dine event I look forward to record breaking attendance. Dan has finalized the venues for our annual Pinehurst Cup tournament which will be held on September 18th and 19th. We will be playing Southern Pines CC on Saturday the 18th and Legacy Golf Links on Sunday the 19th. So please set aside these dates right now. Last year we maxed out the open slots very early on so keep it on your calendar and watch for the e-vite. The real challenge this year will be for you to get in before this popular event gets closed out. Mark your calendars for another annual event! We have just received confirmation of July 23rd through July 25th for the North/South Challenge. This annual event takes place here in Pinehurst and pits chapter versus chapter in a no-holds barred bragging rights showdown. It s time for Pinehurst ASGA to regain the title of North/South Champion! More info to come There are many more events that we have scheduled so I suggest that you take a look at the calendar on the new website that Doug has put online ( The website is a great source of fun stuff and info about our chapter s events not only for the coming month but also forward to the end of the season. Can't wait to see you all out there! ~Jolly Erickson jolly@asgapinehurst.com ~Dan Runk dan@asgapinehurst.com Social Committee Our March 11 meeting will be at 195 in Southern Pines. This will be a preorder meal. The menu items are off the luncheon menu and are therefore smaller portions but are not as expensive as the dinner menu. Have no fear; this is still plenty of food. Some of the items give you a choice of side dishes, so be sure you indicate your preference on your evite response. Please be considerate of the restaurants who offer us preorder to make our meetings go smoothly. Economic times are tough for restaurants. If you preorder and do not cancel in a timely fashion, please be prepared to pay for your ordered meal. The treasurer may send you a bill to cover the cost of not canceling a preorder. Friday, March 5th at 6:30pm is the date for the Putterhead s indoor golf party. The type of activities we can have depends on the number of people who attend. A few of the activities will be a par 3 contest as well as a chipping contest. Be sure to bring your clubs for chipping, putting, and a par 3 hole. The cost is $25 which includes pizza, range balls, and use of the simulators. There is a bar for beer and soft drink purchase, but you can also bring your own wine. Thanks to our new member Randy Burnett for suggesting this activity. We have made arrangements for dining at Little River after our season opening golf outing on March 20. Watch for more information on the evite. We would like to thank Doug Hardisty and Mikey Dell for hosting the Texas Secretary Doris Gwinn Treasurer Kevin Peters Do you want to update your personal information on our chapter s roster? You can now do this yourself. Simply click on the MY ACCOUNT link at the national website (SinglesGolf.com). You can update your address, phone, add your cell phone, change handicap, etc. Doing it yourself takes the burden off of your chapter leaders so they can spend more time on the golf course and less time on the computer!

3 Hold-em party February 19. There were 16 people for this poker evening. The players dined on a sandwich/salad buffet followed by homemade chocolate chip cookies and chocolate fudge brownies with caramel chunks. Dan Runk, Bill Freitag, Mike Doyle, Ron Kelly, Doug Hardisty and guest Frank Briggs advanced to the championship table. The winners for the evening were: Dan Runk Championship Table Winner Peggy Clark Table Two Consolation Winner David Maytnier Table Three Consolation Winner Bad Beat Winners in Round 1 (booby prize) Table 1 Jean Peters Table 2 Larry Heiden Table 3 Mike Doyle All of the winners received golf related prizes. Be sure to check out the pictures on our website gallery. It is very helpful when members open their homes or association clubhouses for these events (Thanks Mikey Delle!). Please let us know if you are willing to host any event. We encourage you to suggest new places to hold our meetings as well as new activities you would like to see us have. We realize that not everyone will be pleased all the time with meeting and activities selections, but we are open to try new things. Suggestions are always welcomed! Look for an upcoming evite in early April for information about the April 8 Monthly Meeting that will be held at Table on the Green at the Midland Country Club in Southern Pines. ~Kathy Waldron kathy@asgapinehurst.com ~Eva Mitchener eva@asgapinehurst.com Communications Committee Thanks to everyone who has checked out our new website We have posted more information then ever as our upcoming golf and social seasons are starting to come together. While you are at the site please register as a user. You can find information about how to register on the front page of the website. February was Golf Trivia Month on the site. Every day I posted two trivia questions about the game of golf. If you want to test your knowledge about the game of golf visit the trivia post on the site. You will get a laugh and perhaps amaze and astound your friends with your insightful grasp of practically useless golf information. The online calendar is up to date with some of the confirmed activities planned by Jolly, Kathy and Eva. You can follow all events at the website and by responding to your specific Evites to each event. ~Doug Hardisty doug@asgapinehurst.com Handicap Committee Why do we need a USGA handicap to play in events? The USGA handicap system was designed to allow golfers of various skill levels to compete against each other. A handicap is the measure of a player's skill level relative to par for the course he is playing. To apply handicaps on golf courses of different levels of difficulty, a USGA handicap index is used to determine the specific course handicap where you are playing - thus making everyone equal. Don t belong to a golf course or have a handicap? We have the answer for you. Get one through our own ASGA Pinehurst Association for the cost of $15.00 per year. You will receive your own user number and password, along with instructions on how to use our system. The handicap system is administered by the Carolinas Golf Association and thus qualifies you to play in any golf tournament nationwide. Enter your scores using your home computer as you complete your rounds. You will need the complete scorecard to make your entries in case the system needs additional information about the slope or rating for the course you played. The USGA handicapping formula requires you to enter a minimum of five rounds to receive a handicap index. You can check for your initial handicap index after you have entered five rounds. Continue to enter the results as you play anywhere in the United States. The most recent 20 rounds are used to calculate your current handicap index. Because we belong to the CGA you can register on their website and receive a free subscription to Carolina Golf Association magazine and also look up your handicap index and check out tournaments and golf happenings in the Carolinas. Handicap indexes are updated on the 1st and 15th of each month. We conduct several tournaments that require you to have a real USGA handicap (not the online ones that say they are real handicaps but are not really legal). We encourage you to establish your handicap so that you can play our tournaments as well as any other golf tournament you might want to enter. Please contact me (Hollie Thomson) with any questions you might have or send me your check for $15.00 and I will set you up in the system and your user number and password. Looking forward to seeing you on the links soon... ~Hollie Thomson hollie@asgapinehurst.com Don t Let Your Membership Lapse... Be sure to renew so you won t miss receiving a newsletter. Call GOLFMATE ( )

4 Membership Committee Welcome to our three new members: Randy Burnett of Pinehurst, Phil Starr of Whispering Pines, and Norm Farnham of Aberdeen! If you know of anyone who might be interested in joining our fun group, please send me their and phone number, and I'll be glad to get in touch! We're getting ready to have a busy golf season... and as the saying goes... the more the merrier! ~Jean Peters, jean@asgapinehurst.com Useful Internet Links The USGA: To enter your score in our handicap system: clubentry4.asp?coursenum=80001& StateID=2A ABOUT OUR MEMBERS Happy Birthday to these members: Elizabeth Green - 03/23 Laurence Heiden - 03/22 Lewis Jamison - 03/29 Dan Runk - 03/21 Mimi Schoolcraft - 04/15 These members are up for renewal: (date shown is last day of membership) Suzanne Collins - 03/31/2010 Mikey Delle - 03/31/2010 Jean Peters - 03/31/2010 Mary Ann Rowe - 03/31/2010 Jan Stewart - 03/31/2010 Hollie Thomson - 03/31/2010 Judith Wadsworth - 03/31/2010 Welcome newest members: William Burnett - Joined 02/15/2010 Norm Farnham - Joined 02/15/2010 Philip Starr - Joined 02/18/2010 These members recently renewed: Mary Ann Blake Sylvia Jansen David Maytnier Alice Sheridan These members did not renew their dues: (date shown is date membership expired) Marquita Daniels - 01/31/2010 Donna Earnheart - 01/31/2010 Rick Hand - 02/28/2010 Peter Hill - 02/28/2010 Charles Hughes - 02/28/2010 Scott Sheffield - 02/28/2010 Our chapter currently has 68 members. Rules and More Rules Q. Larry's match play opponent conceded a putt and said, "Larry, that's a gimme, it's good." Larry, not being one to simply say thank you, went ahead and putted out. Of course he missed. Does Larry's missed putt count? A. Yes, Larry's missed putt is counted. When Larry proceeded with his putt, the gimme was nullified and Larry's putt counted. B. No, Larry's missed putt is not counted. Once the putt was conceded, the hole had ended for Larry. AND THE ANSWER IS: The answer is B. Larry's missed putt is not counted. Once the putt was conceded, the hole had ended for Larry. Rule 2-4 applies. The rule says that a match play player may concede his opponent's next stroke at any time, as long as his opponent's ball is not moving. At that point, the opponent is considered to have holed out. Please visit our website for all the details: April newsletter deadline: March 27th

5 CELEBRATING 17YEARS OF SINGLESGOLF IN AMERICA AMERICAN SINGLES GOLF ASSOCIATION MARCH, 2010 Event Dates: Thursday, May 27 Sunday, May 30, 2010 With great excitement and anticipation, we re happy to announce our continued association with the fine folks at Pinehurst Resort in announcing our Reunion in Pinehurst again. The Reunion on Memorial Day Weekend has shown to be ASGA s largest-attended event each year with attendance soaring over 400 in years past. It s a great time to see old friends and meet friends you never thought you had. Dates set for this year are May Prices have been lowered $23 on the standard package price and $140 on the room by myself package price, as compared to 2008 pricing. As such, we anticipate a quick sell-out. Pinehurst was the site of our Memorial Day weekend reunion in 2006, 2007 and Packages start at $489 per person, based on double occupancy and $639 per person based on single occupancy. If you priced this event on its own, you d easily pay $1200-$1300 (dbl. occ.) for all that s included. Optional rounds on the day-of-arrival (Thursday on No. 3) as well as day-of-departure (Sunday at Tobacco Road Golf Club Rated #4 Public Course in the U. S. by Golf World magazine and a Top 100 Golf Digest) are being offered as well. A registration form is enclosed with this newsletter and you can also obtain one at The standard package is a great deal. If you priced this on your own, you d easily pay twice as much as what you get as an ASGA member. You can t fine a value like this at any great golf resort in the country. Of course, outside of everything Pinehurst has to offer, you get to meet hundreds of singles from various ASGA chapters. As with all ASGA multi-chapter events, you must be a member to attend. To join ASGA, simply go to Included in the Standard Package: 4 days / 3 nights, based on double occupancy 2 rounds of golf, cart, range balls, prizes for winners and welcoming gift for all 6 food functions: cocktail party (heavy hors d oeurves and 2 free drink tickets if you register by April 18), picnic-style cookout Friday after golf, Saturday sit-down dinner and 3 lavish buffet breakfasts in the main dining room Dancing with our DJ on 1st and 3rd nights (does he dance?) All resort service fees and taxes. The resort service fee pays for bicycle rental, practice green, afternoon tea, on-site transportation, fitness center, tennis courts, outdoor pools, etc. In addition, Pinehurst is offering ASGA members a coupon good towards a 20% discount on spa services or one round of golf club rentals. See SinglesGolf.com/Pinehurst for details on this coupon. Room-by-Yourself packages and non-golf packages are available. Non-hotel packages are available only to our Pinehurst chapter members. U. S. Open Returns to Pinehurst in 2014 For the first time in Open history, one venue is the site of both the men s U. S. Open Championship and the women s U. S. Open Championship in the same year. Both championships will be hosted by Pinehurst in Pinehurst was also the site of the 1951 Ryder Cup as well as the 1999 and 2005 U. S. Opens. We re proud to see the American Singles Golf Association host their event at Pinehurst again this year, said Sara Green, sales manager at Pinehurst. The showing ASGA had in years past is a testament to the match we have with our resort and your members. Pinehurst has a tradition that goes way back into the last century. All of the greats have played there. The No. 2 course will not be part of our standard package, but hopefully, you ll have an opportunity to play it at a reduced rate due to the anticipated aerification schedule. See website for details. Please review the Pinehurst.com website and check out their hotel accommodations. They re offering the Carolina Inn, the Holly Inn, Manor Inn and their condos again. In addition to these hotels, if your chapter (or group of friends) would like to get eight (8) of your members together and get a villa, which has a common living room and kitchen facility, review the Pinehurst.com website and indicate such on your registration form. - - Tom Alsop, President/Founder, ASGA Phone or GOLFMATE GolfASGA@aol.com

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