Seattle Chapter - American Singles Golf Association October 2014

Transcription

1 CELEBRATING 23 YEARS OF SINGLES GOLF IN AMERICA Seattle Chapter - American Singles Golf Association October 2014 President s Corner Summer is winding down. We had a very successful excursion to Idaho in September and have our annual Orange Ball tournament coming up. It is our last scheduled formal event. Some of us are going South for the winter and some of us are simply vacationing in the Southwest. For those who are hanging around, what can we try to do to keep our golf game sharp? Well, maybe sharp isn t exactly the right word but we don t want to slide so far backwards that we spend most of next summer getting back to where we were. We re fortunate in the Northwest to have a moderate climate where we can dress warmly and get out and play most of the winter. But what if you re getting squishy like I am and don t play much in the winter? We can still practice for 30 or 40 minutes on a putting green or hit balls at the range. Ask your local pro what sort of practice would be most beneficial? You might be surprised. My boss and I were talking about how much fun it is to play Wine Valley in Walla Walla with the hard dry fairways and downhill slopes. The ball seems to run forever. We all get jazzed when we blast a long one with the driver, but did you know that for the average golfer, 70% of our shots are around the green? Ever wonder why some of our not so long hitters in the club are frequently in the competition for prizes? Don t forget to practice your chipping as well as your putting. Take a lesson or two. Visit your nearby course and look for the end of the season deals on that new hybrid or whatever other club you ve been desiring. There s plenty to do in the winter. Do it! I m going to check out the clearance racks on men s golf wear. I tried playing like Rory without the desired result. My next move is the Rory look. ~Lynn Johnson, President Idaho Excursion SEPTEMBER 5-8 We had great participation at the Idaho event and perfect weather all four days. We knew what the course at the Highlands in Post Falls would be like because we played it last year. It's a challenging course so we put it on the itinerary for this time around also. We only had putting competition but the competition was stiff. Ben came in first on the front nine with 15 putts and there was a three way tie for first on the back nine with 15 putts. Steady Ben had 15 on the back nine also. Mark Johnson from Denver had 15 and Lynn had 15. We waived the Weller rule (only one prize per contestant) and allowed George to keep the money for second place on both the front and the back nine. I thought maybe he needed the money but he turned around and spent his winnings on a drink for his partner. Karen Kohler tied for second place with 16 putts, front and back. Good thing George didn't spend all the prize money on drinks for himself. He needed to be sharp for the next day at Twin Lakes and showed up ready to play. He finished second in two man team competition. His partner was Pat Walsh. Although they finished with a net 74.5, it was a very respectable score considering the difficulty of the course. The course was beautiful but very narrow with a lot of hazards. Finishing first was Mark Johnson and his partner, Cassie, with a net 73. We had KP competition on every par 3 and we needed it in order to come up with two winners. The par 3's were quite long and difficult. Mark Johnson won one KP and Ben Watson won the other. Fortunately for Mark the green was 150 feet by 200 feet (just kidding) but Ben had a real close one, approximately four feet. Upcoming Events Include (see SinglesGolf.com/events) ASGA's Battle at the Beach - Charleston, SC, October 30-November 2 Play Coosaw Creek, Dunes West and optional rounds at Kiawah Island's Oak Point and The Links at Stono Ferry. Details at Singlesgolf.com/Battle ASGA's Western Caribbean Cruise - November 16-23, Sail out of Ft. Lauderdale for seven nights. Details at SinglesGolf.com/cruise ASGA National's (Belated) New Year's Event - Orlando Area - January 4-7, Details at Orlando's Sunshine Fling - March 12-15, Details released in the coming months. For more information, contact Barney Coomes at bcoomes@cfl.rr.com Office Hours: 9:00am to 2:00pm, M-F (Eastern) National Office: or GOLFMATE Regular Meeting Date: SECOND TUESDAY of each month Next Meeting: October 14th, 2014 Meeting Location: The Big Fish Grill Northup Way, Kirkland, Our Website: seattle.singlesgolf.com (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 Seattle Chapter of the American Singles Golf Association President Lynn Johnson Chairman of the Board Carletta Barnes Vice President Ben Watson Secretary Sandy L'Allier Treasurer Karen Kohler Golf Chairperson Cassie Jacobson Handicap Chairperson Stuart Boyd Membership Co-Chairpersons Susan Mayon Nancy Carmen Social Co-Chairpersons Florence Solt John Sweeney Communications Chairperson Theresa Bronson Newsletter Editor Adrienne Moe Webmaster Patricia Bonner Sunday was the real test of our mettle. Circling Raven is beautiful but we all needed to be about 10 strokes better than we were to shoot anywhere near our handicaps. Aside from the waste areas that sometimes had 150 to 200 yards of carry for the men, the forward Tee's weren't exactly set up for sissies either. The sparse fairways were not so generously integrated with the overwhelming sand aspect of the course. I was pretty good at getting out of the traps but you don't score a small number when you hit from one trap to another to another. The putting greens were so fast that most of the misses were 15 or 20 feet past the cup and even off the back of the greens. We chunked chip shots all day long from 5 feet off the green. Everyone was afraid of hitting their shots too far and running across the green. The imposters appearing to be glorious putters the day before came disguised as Mark and Ben, Lynn, Karen and George. Pat Walsh was heard saying, who are you and what did you do with Karen? Whoever was possessing her body was apparently exorcised as she showed up to be incredible in the putting department the next day. Again we had KP competition on every par 3 but only one was captured; it was Sally Hollister hitting a driver from approximately 170 yards. We had two man team competition and we had a tie amongst players from the same foursome. The first place winners were Ben and Karen along with Larry Bash and Pat Bonner shooting a team net score of 80. Second place was Mashell Retherford from Oklahoma City and George Weller shooting a team Back to the mysterious disappearance of Karen Kohler. Monday at Meadow Wood we had plenty of competition. Karen reemerged in the putting contest with six 1 putts on the front nine, three of them from 25 feet or more and had 14 putts total on the front nine. Lynn won the putting on the second nine; I was a lot more aggressive at distracting Karen and held her to only 18 putts on the back. Winning KP'S were Mark Johnson, Sally Hollister and Carletta Barnes. Winning Low net was Lynn at 67 (who took 4 days to figure out how to hit the ball), 2nd place Larry at 70 and tied for third were Sally and Carletta at 73. Taking editorial liberty and giving himself honorable mention is Lynn for being Car- letta's swing coach the day before. I told her that her game was terrible. The next day she was back to her old self. Second Honorable Mention goes to Carletta for putting up with Lynn as a team mate. Everyone felt the course at MeadowWood was fantastic and we ended our golfing on a really sweet note. We had dinner at the Outback on Friday night, Mulligans at Best Western on Saturday, and at the Circling Raven casino buffet on Sunday. We had a great time socializing and besides telling golf stories we played poker went swimming and watched our favorite baseball team, the Mariners, on television. We always enjoy getting to know each other better on our overnight, out of town excursions. Wish you all could have been there. ~Lynn A Day in the Life of Golf Lessons Pace Your Play and Improve Your Skill Ever notice you can sing, walk, dance and do just about anything better when you stay on the beat? Golf is no different. As soon as we are late for the first tee or half a hole behind or speed up swing tempo, we are messed up! The bus system runs on a schedule and we schedule ourselves to work with the system. Whatever the pace of play is for the day, adjust to it like you would taking the bus. Get there early. Take time to prepare and your pace of play and swing tempo will improve. You will start to notice you are going with the flow, maneuvering downstream, blending with the pace and tapping your feet to the music. A nice, smooth swing. Ah... life is good. ~Chris Aoki, Golf Professional

3 About Our Members Happy Birthday to these members: Carletta Barnes - 10/01 Douglas Barrett - 10/21 Patricia Bonner - 10/30 Greg Brace - 11/01 Karen Christensen - 11/07 Bill Culverwell - 11/02 Glenn Douglas - 10/24 Carolyn Hanley - 11/11 Ann Hinken - 10/14 These members are up for renewal: (date shown is last day of membership) Adrienne Moe - 10/31/2014 Linda Webster - 10/31/2014 Welcome newest members: Douglas Barrett - Joined 09/02/2014 These members recently renewed: Arlene Davin George Weller These members did not renew their dues: (date shown is date membership expired) Patricia Walsh - 08/31/2014 Our chapter currently has 63 members. Rules and More Rules Is asking for distance advise on a golf course permissible? Q. In a club tournament, Scott, David and Larry were grouped together. On hole number 1, Scott was afraid that his approach shot might fall short of the green and if so would be in the bunker. Not sure of his distance to the hole, he asked David how far he was from the hole. David answered, about 240 yards to the green and about 210 to the bunker. At that point Larry who was the third player in the group cried foul. Larry said, Hey, you both need to add two stokes, you can t ask or give advice to anyone in a golf competition playing on the course other than a partner. Was Larry correct? What is the correct answer? A. No penalty, Larry was incorrect. Asking for or giving distance information, even from a competitor, is allowed, without penalty B. Two stroke penalty, Larry was correct. Under penalty of two strokes, a golfer may not ask or give advice to anyone in a golf competition playing on the course other than a partner. AND THE ANSWER IS: The answer is A. Larry is incorrect. It may be more correct to say he was partially correct. Rule 8 does state, you can t ask or give advice to anyone in a golf competition playing on the course other than a partner. However this is a lesson in understanding that there are often clarifications of application in the rules decisions. This example is such a case, asking distance, is not considered to be asking for advice. Decision 8-1/2 says, Information regarding the distance between two objects is public information and not advice. It is therefore permissible for players to exchange information relating to the distance between two objects. For example, a player may ask anyone, including his opponent, fellow-competitor or either of their caddies, the distance between his ball and the hole. HELP GROW OUR CHAPTER! New Members Are Our Lifeblood. Please print-out the Single? Play Golf? sign and post it where our future members will see it. Sign is on the last page of this newsletter and remember to cut the tabs at the bottom. What to do With Your Old Golf Clubs (Try to post one sign each month and use bright yellow or colored paper if you have it.)

4 SEATTLE ASGA 2014 GOLF CALENDAR Fees payable to Seattle ASGA, mail to: Karen Kohler rd Ave SE, Bellevue, WA Day/Date Course Time Fees Deadline Location Coordinator Sun-2/16 Legion 11:00 AM Feb Everett, WA Mary Jo Eland Sat-4/5 Dungeness 11:00am Mar Sequim Cassie/Ben Sun-4/6 Sunland Golf 10:30am-S Mar Sequim Cassie/Ben Mon 4/7 Port Ludlow 11:30 AM Sat- 4/26 Snoqualmie Falls 10:30 AM Apr Fall City George Weller Sun-5/18 Battle Creek Golf Course 1:00 PM $54* 8-May Marysville Stu Boyd Sat 5/31 Meadow Park (Informal ) 1:00pm PAC Federal Way Ben Watson Sat - 6/7 Lynnwood Golf 11:00 AM May Lynnwood Virginia/Florence Sat - 6/14 Lake Wilderness (Informal) 12:00 PM PAC Maple Valley Ben Watson Sun - 6/22 White Fish Lake Golf Resort 2:20 PM May White Fish George Weller Mon - 6/23 Buffalo Hill 12:00 PM May White Fish George Weller Tues- 6/24 Glacier View 9:00 AM May White Fish George Weller Wed - 6/25 Meadow Lakes 11:00 AM May Columbia Falls George Weller Thurs-6/26 Eagle Bend 9:00 AM May Bigfork George Weller Wed-7/16 Rope Rider pm $60 *PAC 2-Jul Suncadia John Sweeney Thurs 7/17 Prospecter 1:00pm $60 *PAC 2-Jul Suncadia John Sweeney Sun - 7/27 Auburn Golf 11:00 AM $39/53* 17-Jul Auburn Sandy L'allier/ Stu Boyd Sat - 8/2 Avalon Golf 11:00 AM $71 *** 23-Jul Burlington Cassie/Ben Sun 8/3 Glen Eagle 12:00 PM $24/ 36* PAC Arlington Ben Sun - 8/10 Home Course 12:00 PM $74.04 * 1-Aug Dupont Karen Kohler Sat - 8/16 McCormick Woods 1:00 pm S $80.44 * 6-Aug Port Orchard Pat Walsh Sun - 8/17 Gold Mountain(Olympic course) 8:30 AM 85.00* 6-Aug Port Orchard Pat Walsh Mon - 8/18 Trophy Lake TBD PAC 6-Aug Port Orchard Brian Lucarelli Fri - 9/5 Highlands 12:00 PM PAC 22-Aug Couer d Alene Lynn Johnson Sat - 9/6 Twin Lakes PM $34/ $45* 22-Aug " " Sun - 9/7 Circling Raven 12:00 PM $95 * 22-Aug " " Mon - 9/8 Meadowood 8:20 AM $40/$55* 22-Aug Liberty Lake/ Lynn Johnson Spokane Sun - 10/12 Mt. Si 11:00 AM Oct North Bend Carletta Barnes cart fees include $3 for competitions * Includes cart ** Includes Range Balls *** Includes Cart and Range Balls S Shotgun Informal no need to prepay PAC= Pay at course

5 Policies of the American Singles Golf Association (Per your application form, you have agreed to these policies.) These policies are posted at but re-printed in newsletters periodically. The purpose of these policies is to provide uniformity amongst all chapters of the American Singles Golf Association (ASGA, Inc., hereinafter referred to as ASGA. ). ASGA provides opportunities for single persons to meet and enjoy each others company through regular golf outings, membership meetings, and other social events. This is done primarily through its local chapters, which ASGA charters. As with any organization, these policies are subject to change as ASGA grows. Upon approval by ASGA, all policies will be posted at SinglesGolf.com. (Note that these are policies that apply to the membership base in general. Other policies, such as how your bank account should be set-up, event cancellation policy, membership applications, etc., are addressed throughout this website in their respective areas.) ASGA Roster Policy (established February 1996) The ASGA roster is for chapter use only and shall not be used for private or commercial solicitations. ASGA shall not distribute member data to any entity outside of ASGA for any reason whatsoever. Individual members have the right to have certain information omitted from their chapter roster by notifying ASGA. ASGA Advertising Policy (established February 1996) Local chapters may use the ASGA name and emblem for the purpose of promoting locally sanctioned events. The ASGA name or American Singles Golf Association may never be used in conjunction with a private function or offering made not on behalf of the local chapter. Local/Chapter Policies (established February, 1996) Chapters may establish policies that are in their own interest. Such policies may include payment for golf outings, cancellation policy, use of addresses, discounted golf fees for event coordinators and additional fees for non members to name a few. Policies should be discussed at the committee level and adopted through the board of directors. Each chapter should maintain a policy manual for local policies. That manual should be turned over the new board each year. Keeping the policies on the chapter s website is also encouraged. Multi-Chapter Events Policy (established September 2000, amended January, 2004 and April, 2005) Local chapters of 20 or more members are encouraged to host joint events with other chapters, however, they shall not sponsor or promote multichapter events (MCE's) that involve more than three (3) chapters without coordination with National Headquarters. Host chapters are expected to follow established guidelines and templates for an MCE. Payment Policy (established September 2001) All monies paid by members for local events shall be paid directly to the local chapter, otherwise these events shall be deemed as non-asga related events. Individuals making payments to other individuals within the chapter shall do so at their own risk. ASGA is not to be held responsible for loss of monies from events or operations generated by local chapters and vice versa. Disassociation Policy (established October, 2002) ASGA is an organization involved in establishing official chapters that provide opportunities for singles to meet, primarily through golf and social activities. In as such, it shall be against the policy of ASGA for such chapters to become disassociated with ASGA without going through a certain due process, herein established. No chapter may become disassociated with ASGA simply for reasons relating to their preference to keep all dues income for themselves. However, if a chapter, by two-thirds majority vote of its Board of Directors, seeks to disassociate from ASGA because it believes ASGA is not providing the services to its members and chapter as promised (as outlined at its website at then the chapter may submit to ASGA, via certified mail - return receipt requested, a list of grievances. Said list shall be referred to a grievance committee established by ASGA, consisting of one member from the subject chapter, one member from ASGA national headquarters or its representative, and three (3) neutral members chosen from random chapters. Such neutral members shall have served, or are presently serving, as local chapter presidents. One of the neutral members shall serve as chairperson of the committee and coordinate all activities. The grievance committee shall receive a copy of such written grievance and review the grievance with the subject chapter. It shall then review the same grievances with ASGA. If it is found that the grievances are frivolous, the grievance committee shall notify subject chapter and ASGA of such and the committee shall dissolve itself. If the committee finds that there is merit to the chapter s grievance, committee shall notify chapter and ASGA of such. ASGA shall be allowed thirty (30) days to correct such grievance and report back to the committee, who in turn shall report its conclusion report back to the subject chapter. If, in the opinion of the grievance committee, ASGA has not corrected the grievances outlined within the thirty (30) day allocation period, subject chapter shall be allowed to become disassociated from ASGA with no consequence from ASGA. In the event additional grievances are expressed by the subject chapter in the future, the same procedure shall be undertaken, by the same grievance committee members, if available, or selected in the same fashion as previously selected if the members are unavailable. In the event subject chapter elects to disassociate from ASGA in violation of the due process outlined above, subject chapter shall pay an amount of money to ASGA equal to a projected amount of dues subject chapter would have collected (by comparing subject chapter s city to other cities the same size) had it continued as an ASGA chapter for the next ten (10) years or twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00), whichever is greater. Such payment shall be made within ten (10) days of such disassociation, whether formally announced or formally voted upon by the Board of Directors, or otherwise. If such payment is not made timely, the subject chapter s officers and/or Board of Directors shall be personally responsible for said payment. ASGA reserves the right to pursue all other remedies allowed under state and federal law. It is the policy of ASGA to keep the organization alive and well by continuing to service local chapters and continue to create new chapters. ASGA believes that it serves its members best by having chapters operate as part of the national association as opposed to splintered, individual clubs.

6 (Continued... ) Application Policy (established April, 2005) Applications for membership are automatically approved upon payment of dues assuming all criteria established on the application are met. In the instance payment is made and an application form is submitted without a signature, whether on a printed application, on-line (website) application, or application and/or renewal of dues over the phone or fax, the applier acknowledges and agrees to abide by the same terms and conditions set forth on the application form as if application form was actually signed and submitted. Appointment Policy (established September, 2006) Chapters are required to elect a new chapter president each year. If such election is not held in accordance with the chapter Bylaws, then ASGA National may appoint a chapter president upon consultation with the current chapter's Board of Director members and other members. (Additional policy established November, 2009:) Upon the establishment of a new chapter or upon the re-constitution of an existing chapter, the appointed chapter president may fill any local Board position by making appointments as necessary without holding elections. Guest Policy (established January, 2008) Guests are allowed to attend one event (meeting, social or golf outing) prior to joining, however, guests must become members in order to participate in any additional events. Chapters may not create additional tiers of membership such as "guest members," "temporary member," or "local members only." Membership, Equality, Marriage and Termination of Membership (established April, 2008) ASGA membership is open to any person, 21 years of age or older, who is unmarried (i.e. never married, divorced, legally separated or widowed) without regard to race, creed, gender or national origin. Any official event sponsored by the national organization or local chapters must be open to all members on an equal basis subject to space availability. Members who marry during the term of their dues period shall remain members until the end of their dues period. The national office has the right to decline or terminate any member's membership if the national office determines that such membership is not in the best interest of ASGA. In such cases, dues will be refunded on a prorata basis. National Officer Ex-Officio Member of All Chapter (established January, 2011) The currently serving national president of ASGA shall also be an ex-officio, non-voting member of all chapters. Dues are not owed nor shall they be paid. Dues Rebates to Local Chapters (established January, 2011) Receiving a local chapter's monthly newsletter is a stated benefit for the individual who pays to join ASGA. Effective with the May, 2011 newsletters, any chapter not submitting such monthly newsletter to the national office will forego its portion of the dues rebate for that month. Chapter Dissolution (established January, 2014) In the event a chapter dissolves for any reason, the National Office of ASGA may transfer current members into another chapter of its choosing. After such transfer, if there is sufficient interest by members living in the original chapter location to re-establish a chapter, members may transfer back to the newly established chapter. A minimum of ten (10) existing or new members must indicate their desire to do so by notifying the National Office of ASGA. Reunions (established August, 2014) In the spirit of connecting former members with current members, the National Association and Local Chapters shall be allowed to host up to two (2) events each calendar year whereby former members, whether married or not, may be invited to and participate in those events. The event must be publicized as a "reunion event," and current members are to be notified that former members who are married or in a partnership relationship may attend. Event administers shall, in some form or fashion, notate to others attending the event, either through nametags and/or attendee listings in the program, that said former members are not current members. Any former member may be charged up to an additional ten percent (10%) of the registration cost of the event. Comments? to: Tom Alsop, ASGA Founder and National President at GolfASGA@aol.com Local Bylaws: In addition to national policies, local chapters are governed by a set of bylaws and local policies administered by your chapter s Board of Directors. Each chapter elects and/or appoints a local Board in the Fall of each year and the new Board takes office January 1 of each year. Local policies should be posted on the chapters website. For a copy of your chapter bylaws, go to

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9 The Seattle Chapter of the American Singles Golf Association WANTS YOU! We re 3,000 members in 75 cities and we re ALL ABOUT HAVING FUN! So if you re single (i.e. divorced, widowed, legally separated or never married) and enjoy meeting others through the game of golf, you re invited to inquire about membership by calling the American Singles Golf Association directly at (1-TRIPLE-EIGHT-GOLFMATE) or visit our website at SinglesGolf.com