We are now into the Next Golf Year 2020 and only a few short weeks until we will be teeing up to start the new season of the Red River Valley Senior Men’s Golf Association. I can hardly wait but I guess I will have to. We finally got Reino back in the North Country to do some of the work necessary to start the season running smoothly. Dick Anderson is still working with our Computer Expert to make the changes we requested for this Golf Season. I think the only real change is that we will have two (2) handicaps on the scorecards if you are eligible to play from the Forward Tees.
I am still looking for a few Course Reps, specifically one more to help at the following courses: Balmoral, Casselton, Meadows and Wildflower. We have one Rep at these courses already but need one more for a smooth running of check-in. Please contact me if you have interest in helping.
I know I am repeating myself with this following information, but I think it is important to know what is going on in for RRVSMGA to run smoothly, so here goes.
We are very lucky that these Golf Courses in the area let us play at a reduced price, so we also must make sure we take care of these courses. One of the issues I struggle with is making sure we repair ALL Ball Marks on the Greens. I have seen multiple Ball marks on the Greens that the groups in front are not repairing. It only takes a few seconds to repair a ball mark or maybe even 2 ball marks, so let’s make sure that is one of the things we do when we play a round of golf. We also need to make sure we use the Golf Carts properly, following the rules set down by the Courses we play on. The only carts that should be close to the Green are the ones that have been okayed to be there because of the ability to walk to the hole, but even those carts could be to the back or side of the Green, so when done with the hole, the golfers move off to the side or back and not towards the front of the green. That is the proper way, so if there is someone waiting behind you, they don’t have to wait for you to exit to the front of the green and they can hit. This also includes those golfers that walk, make sure your carts are off to the side or the back of the green not the front of the green.
We have had some questions about the Prize Money and the time limit we have on it of 30 days to collect or you forfeit it. I am not too sure there is any scenario that will please everyone, but we think that the arrangements we have should work. The members who handle the Prize Fund, need to balance their books on a regular basis and to extend the time limit will just increase their duties. We have had lots of proposals on how it should be handled but we think the way we have it does not need any changing. If you can’t pick it up within 30 days, that is at least 8 events, then have a friend pick it up for you. If there are rainouts, as much as we would like to be in control of the weather, we aren’t so we will make appropriate adjustments.
WEB SITE: We have a very wonderful Web Site as all you need to know about the RRVSMGA is listed there plus we use it during the year for ALL updates, results, etc;, so please use it, read the rules, check the schedule, see the results plus under the Members Area, it only gets better, so check it out. Make sure you use it especially for signing up for an event or if you need to withdraw from an event. Remember if you want to withdraw from an event, you must do it before it is taken down from the Web Site or you will be charged a Cancellation Fee even if you call the Course Rep. Look up the rules for Cancellation so you are not surprised when you get a Cancellation Fee. No Show Fee is $15 Cancellation Fee is $10, so you save $5 by calling. See the rules for Cancellations/No Shows.
CANCELLATIONS/NO SHOWS: To cancel from an event on the web site without penalty it must be done: For Monday events by 9:00 PM the previous Friday. For Tuesday events by 9:00 PM the previous Saturday. For Wednesday events by 9:00 PM the previous Sunday. For Thursday events by 9:00 PM the previous Monday. If a member cancels himself from an event from 9:00 PM three days prior to an event until the start of the event he will be fined $10.00. To cancel after the event has been removed from the web site members must call the Course Rep. An event is considered started the morning of the event when the Course Reps close the check-in desk, at about 8:45. If you arrive after the check-in desk is closed, you may find your spot has been assigned to another player, you may not be allowed to play and could be considered a no-show. No-Shows who fail to cancel will be fined $15.00. Failure to pay a cancelation/no-show fine within thirty (30) days of the first notice being sent can result in a members Association membership being terminated.
Please pay attention to the last sentence of Cancellations/No Show rules.
SCORECARDS: We are in the process of updating our scorecards to show both Handicaps for Regular Tees and Forward Tees, as they will be different. If you are eligible to play the Forward Tees, Age plus Handicap must total 90 or more, there will be two Handicaps listed on the Scorecard and you will have to decide which Tees you are going to play from. If you are eligible to play from the Forward Tees but choose to play from the Regular Tees, you will cross out the Forward Tee Handicap and if you play from the Forward Tees, you will cross out the Regular Tee Handicap. Please make sure you take the time to fill out the Scorecard completely and properly, as the Scorecard Processor will appreciate that.
If anyone has any questions or concerns, please contact me or anyone of the Officers. Well, I think I have taken up enough of your time so I will stop for now. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year....
David