Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! My how this year flew by and a new one is about to start. May each of you have the most joyous Holiday Season!

What do we do now?

I get this question over and over again. Now that the tournament season is over what does the ASGA do now? Even though tournaments are a big part of what we do it certainly isn't nearly all that the ASGA does. Right now we are trying to put to bed our schedule for 2010 and when you have some 24 ASGA Sponsored events that gets to be a chore in itself. We are getting there and soon should have a tentative schedule posted on the ASGA website, www.asga.org.

But believe me there are plenty of other things going on at the ASGA now. Planning for next years courses that will need to be rated is a very important part of what we do. We have some 120 member clubs and courses and the USGA asks that they be rated at least every 10 years but we are trying to be a little more aggressive than that. We are trying to re-rate every 7 to 8 years keeping the clubs up to standard with their ratings which directly affects your handicap index. We have 3 women's rating teams and 3 men's rating teams all trained and certified to rate our courses. These teams are volunteer's and devote their time in doing this for the ASGA, your club and for you the golfer. We can never say thanks enough to these very special people.

So you see there is never a time when Jay, Terri or myself can push back and say, Wow I don't have anything to do.

We are in the planning stages for 2010 and there will be some exciting news forthcoming soon concerning some new benefits for our some 16000 individual members. Look for these exciting announcement coming soon!

Congratulation Jay and the other Hall of Fame Inductees

Tonight, October 29, 2009, is a very special night for golf in Arkansas as the ASGA presents it's 2009 Hall of Fame Inductee's at our annual banquet at Chenal Country Club, Little Rock, Ar.

We are very proud of Jay Fox our Executive Director as he goes into this very elite group of Golf Hall of Famers tonight and I say to Jay," Job well done, very deserving and Terri and I are very proud of you". Congratulations!

Congratulations also for the other inductee's, Mr. Bobby McGee, Mrs. Rosey Bartlett, and Mr. Bobby Baker.

This evening is very special also for the ASGA Players of the Year as they will receive their award at this event as well. Congratulations to each of them as they played hard in a very long season and are very deserving to receive this honor. The players of the year are, Summar Roachell, Junior Girls, Hunter Smith, Junior Boys, Nicklaus Benton, Amateur, John Siratt, Mid-Senior, Stan Lee, Senior, & Glenn Hickey, Super-Senior.

This all started in 1994 when the first hall of fame members were inducted. Go to www.asga.org to see the entire list year by year of inductees. If you have never attended one of these banquets you should plan on doing so in 2010 as it is a very special evening for golf in Arkansas.

Again, Congratulations to everyone receiving an award tonight.

Part 4: Behind the Scenes Preparing for a Tournament

Parts 1, 2 & 3 covered pre-tournament preparations and now it is time to tee it up. First day of the tournament has arrived and we are up before the crack of dawn and out to the course. Once at the course we then start our pre-tournament setup. Open the trailer, setup the laptop for the day, grab our 1st round scorecards, rule sheets, hole location sheets, a fresh box of pencils and we are off to the number one tee about 30 minutes before the first tee time.

Normally we run tee times every 10 minutes and the most important thing a golfer can do to assist a tournament starter is to be early for his appointed tee time. Check in with the starter at least 5 minutes before, get you scorecard and other information, meet your fellow competitor and get ready for the event. Nothing is more frustating for a starter than to have to penalize a player for arriving late to the first tee. So remember be early!!

Now after the last tee time is off and running it is time to prepare for the players to start coming in from finishing their round. It is time to work the scoring area and score board. Important!!! Return your scorecards in immediately after you finish your round. Make the scorecard readable and never leave the scoring area until the scorer has completed checking and varifiying with you that your score is correct. Once you leave the scoring area it's over as far as your score. No changing it now.

Now we have completed the event and declared the winners. It's time to start on the next of the 28 events run by the ASGA!

Part 3: Behind the Scenes Preparing for a Tournament

Part 3: Part 1 and 2 covered preparations for a tournament before we leave the ASGA office. Now we are going to the site to make prepare the course setup and final touches before the first competitor hits his tee shot.

At all of the ASGA Championship each competitor receives a hole location sheet advising him where the hole will be place on a given day. To arrive at the hole location we visit each hole finding, using a little devise called BreakMaster which is a digital green reader that shows the severity of break in degrees therefore we can determine if the break is to sever we will not place a hole at that position. Once we determine the place on the green we then place a very small dot on the green, then measure the distance from either left or right of the green, and from the front or back of the green and using the depth of the green we will give the player the plus or minus from the center of the green. These hole locations are then given to the course superintendent for him to use to place the holes for that days competition.

After we have finished hole locations we set the ASGA trailer as close as possible to the scoreboard, plug into electricity, and we are ready to use the trailer for all of our scoring, posting results on the internet, & emailing results to the media. The ASGA trailer has been such a great new tool and we are very proud to have it.

On the first day of competition we arrive at the course approximatly 2 hours before the first tee time, i.e. first tee time 8:00 a.m. then we arrive at 6:00 a.m., put up our starters tents, tables and chairs and now we are ready to hand that first group of competitors their scorecard, rule and hole location sheet and get the event underway. A lot of work and hours before the first ball is put in the air.

We are not complaning as Jay, Mac and Terri love preparing and taking care of our members and to hopefully run the best event possible for the amateur golfers in the state of Arkansas. Stay turned for part 4 the final of the series. Hit it down the middle.

Part 2: Behind the Scenes Preparing for Tournament

In part 1 we covered selecting the Site and date, preparing the entry form and notifying the competitor. Now for part 2 and the next steps behind the scenes.
The ASGA has a program called Tournament Pairings Program that is provided by the USGA to the state and regional golf associations and we in turn provide it absolutely free to our member clubs for them to use with their events throughout the year. We now set up the event in this TPP program and now the entry forms are beginning to come into the office from the competitors.

As we receive the entries we check each one to make sure the player is an active member in the ASGA and if he/she is an active member then we proceed to enter all of the data for that competitor into TPP. Checking to make sure name, address, club, GHIN #, gender, email address are all correct and that all tournament fees are paid. If so we enter he/she in the event. Once we receive all entries by the deadline date we are now ready to proceed with putting the final touches on setting up the event.
Next step make pairings for the first round, print scorecards, print pairing and starters list, post tee times to website, email tee times to competitors, preparing scoreboards and cart signs and now we are ready to go to the site.
Here is what we have done so far for this event before leaving the ASGA office:
1: Selected Site & Date
2: Prepared entry form and notifyied competitors.
3: Setup Tournament in Tournament Pairing Program
4: Paper work (Scorecard, cart signs, starters list,tee times).
5: Made preperations to go to the Site.
Part 3 of the series will cover arriving at the site and our pre-tournament preparations. Stay tuned.

Behind the Scenes Preparing for a Tournament

ASGA tournaments are fun to play in but have you ever thought what it takes to prepare a tournament for you to be able to walk up to the first tee at your appointed time and tee it up. I will, in a series of blogs, try and explain what the staff at the ASGA goes through for that to happen and for you to have a well prepared and professional run event.
First we must find as good a venue as possible and a workable date that fits our time frame for the event. I must say we have some outstanding clubs and PGA Professionals all across the state to work with who are so very generous to allow us to use their clubs for your tournament pleasure. This staff knows that and we try our best to let the club know how much we appreciate their willingness to assist us with our championships. We are very lucky in Arkansas to be able to provide the ASGA Sponsored Championships along with a very strong designated schedule that allows you the competitive golfer to play tournament golf until you wear the logo off your golf ball. What you should do is tell the clubs that you appreciate them by speaking to pro's and staff and even go so far as dropping them a note, email and the ever hated text message thanking them for their course and time. These pro's are dedicated to this wonderful game and this can and will only improve each event if you simply tell them thanks not only to the professional but to the club, superintendent and members of the club.
After we the ASGA have set the site we must now communicate to you the player what we have setup for you. We do this in several ways. First and foremost through www.asga.org our website by giving you a printable and online entry form for all ASGA Sponsored events and a printable entry for most designated events. This takes time to build the entry form and then get it published on the website which is all done right in the ASGA office.

Second we use email blasts now more than the snail mail ( hardly use it at all, to slow) to get the entry form in your hands. The ASGA now has over 8000 email addresses in our database so we pull from them to email our tournament players or to the general membership as we now have about 1/2 of the 16000 ASGA members email address and it is growing everyday. If we do not have your email and you would like to receive entries and other information please send it to us at golf@asga.org or terri@asga.org.

This is only the start of our preparation for a tournament so check my next blog to continue the series. What I covered today is: Selecting the Site and date, preparing the entry form and notifiying the competitor.

Honesty and Integrity still in the Game

Honesty and integrity still remain the this great game of golf. I received a phone call from a golfer, whom I will keep anonymous, stateing that he should not receive player of the year points in a tournament that he just competed in as he was disqualifying himself from the tournament as he signed an incorrect scorecard. He singed a card for a lower score than he actually made on a hole therefore resulting disqualification. He caught the mistake and called to let the ASGA know that he should not get points toward player of the year. It's nice to know that yes, honesty and integrity still exist in this great game called GOLF! Lets keep it that way!

ASGA Monk Wade Father & Son Championship

Another ASGA Monk Wade Father & Son Championship has come and gone and what a great championship it was. Clark and Gus Fitts are the 2009 Champions shooting a two day total of 131. They shot 64 and Pleasant Valley on Monday and a 67 Tuesday at Maumelle CC. Congratulations Champions.
We are not sure yet where the 2010 Championship will be held but will let you know as soon as that is determined.
Congratulations to all the flight winners in both the gross and net divisions. Great playing and I am sure bonding with each others was the most fun. Look forward to seeing everyone again in 2010 if not before. Hit it down the middle

Round One of the ASGA Monk Wade Father & Son Championship Complete

Round one of the 2009 ASGA Monk Wade Father & Son Championship is in the books. After a delayed start caused by an accident on I430 where a trailer truck hauling a load of pigs over turned and caused as much as 2 1/2 hours of sitting in traffic. Some teams were delayed 2 1 /2 hours getting started. Along with the HOTTEST day of the year and only a couple of heat related wd's the first round is in the books. With 200 teams, that's 400 golfers folks, competing for the overall championship and for their flights, Clark and Gus Fitts are in the lead with a blistering round of 64 shot at Pleasant Valley CC. The Fitts will play Maumelle in the second round. Good luck to everyone!

2009 ASGA Monk Wade Father & Son Championship

On June 22 & 23, 2009 the ASGA's largest sponsored golf tournament will be held at Pleasant Valley Country Club, Little Rock & Maumelle Country Club, Maumelle with some 400 golfers teeing it up. The event is more than a golf tournament in that it is a time for Fathers & Sons, & Father-In-Laws & Son-In-Laws to do some bonding(that means spending some quality time together) for a couple or maybe 3 days. It is a very special time because my son Tim and I played it until it got to be more than this ole guy could handle working it and playing it. Believe me it is more than just another golf tournament.
There are players of all ages in the "Monk Wade" starting at age 14 and then we have this one special guy who just turned 90, Mr. Charlie Owens of Morrilton and his son Toppy from Mt. View, who plays in it every year. Charlie and I go back a long way in fact I first met Charile in 1969 as I rented a building from him in Morrilton back when I was in the "Rag Business", but that's another story. Charlie, "Wheel" as I know him, has signed up and we look forward to seeing him again in 2009 as we do all 400 players. So Father & Son Golfers welcome to the Little Rock area and we hope you enjoy the 2009 ASGA Monk Wade Father & Son.

Where does the club get the scorecard yardage

Every round of golf you play more than likely you pick up a scorecard in the golf shop at the club you are playing. Well where does the club get the yardage for each hole and total yardage of the front, back and overall? It is a real good bet that the ASGA measured it and in fact it is required by the USGA that the ASGA measures every course that it rates before it is rated. All courses in the state of Arkansas has a course and slope rating therefore the ASGA has been at work behind the scenes attaining that yardage for our clubs and you.

I just returned from a trip to North Arkansas where I measured the course at Holiday Island just north of Eureka Springs, some how I forget what a quaint little city Eureka Springs is, lovely. A great getaway course and city and should be marked on your calendar as a place to visit and play around of golf.

Anyway the next time you pick up that scorecard remember that the yardage on the card more than likely was the work of the ASGA and that is part of the benefits you receive from your annual $15 ASGA dues.

Hit it down the middle!

What is a Scratch & Bogey Golfer

A scratch golfer as defined by the USGA as a pleayer who can play to a course handicap of zero on any and all rated golf courses. A male scratch golfer, for rating purposes, can hit tee shots an average of 250 and can reach a 470 yard hole in two shots. A female scratch golfer, for rating purposes, can hit tee shots an average of 210 yards and can reach a 400 yard hole in two shots.

A bogey golfer is a player who has a course handicap of approximately 20 and can hit tee hhost an average of 200 yards and reach a 370 yard hole in two shots. A female bogey golfer has a course handicap of approximately 24 and can hit her tee shots and average of 150 yards and can reach a 280 yard hoe in two shots.

Where do you fall in the above?

ASGA Membership

To follow-up on my last blog, the Arkansas State Golf Association main source of income is it's individual membership so we are always looking for ways to increase our members. The way you become a member is by signing up for the USGA GHIN Handicap System at your local club or association. It costs very little and it does great things for the betterment of golf in Arkansas. I would ask each one of you who are present members to reach out to your regular playing group and get those who are not ASGA members to sign-up. If everyone got just one member, just one, then we would go from a small golf association to a medium sized association and could further our progress on achieving our goals to improve golf in Arkansas. Thanks in advance for your help. Remember, ask your regular group to join the ASGA.

Why I should belong to the ASGA

So many times I hear, "I don't need a handicap I don't play in any ASGA tournaments". Did you know that having a USGA/ASGA Handicap makes you an automatic member of the Arkansas State Golf Association? You not only get your USGA certified handicap but you help support golf in Arkansas. That very small annual fee, $15, provides many services that you receive directly and indirectly such as the Arkansas Golfer Magazine printed and mailed to you twice annually. Once in the spring, which just came out, and once in the fall. Did you get yours?
Other services your $15 annual membership provides are college scholarship for deserving young people, ASGA Junior Golf Program, course rating and measuring, an office with 3 full time staff that you can call 5 days a week and many, many other services I will talk about in the next blog. So come on support this wonderful game by getting online at http://www.asga.org/ and join today. Thanks!