special events, announcements, MWPGA policies and guidelines

   THE PRESIDENT'S CORNER
by Sara Wold

The Scope of the MWGA

Please read the Purpose of the MWGA written directly below the name of our newsletter. “Our purpose…is to promote knowledge and enjoyment of the game…by conducting tournaments, educational clinics and other events…and actively supporting events sponsored by organizations in which we are a member, such as the USGA and GAM.” It’s a broad statement appropriate for our diverse membership. Our members belong and play golf for many reasons. We have players extraordinaire, beginners and everyone in between. We have youths and very experienced (I wouldn’t want to say old because anyone who plays golf is youthful) players. We have students, career women, homemakers, mothers, grandmothers, great-grandmothers and retirees. Our members are involved in golf on many levels — some are girls and boys golf coaches, some are in the golf business in many aspects, some are volunteers in charitable events or as rules officials. Nine percent of us are members of a private club and involved in their club as well as in our organization. Altogether we form a very powerful group of women, who, I’m very proud to say, have made a huge impact on women’s golf in Michigan .

We, as a Board, try to have something for everyone. We promote golf from the social and recreational events all the way to the GAM and USGA Championships. We have supported the US WAPL Sectionals from our inception. We have supported the Michigan Golf Foundation and the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame to assure that our outstanding women golfers get the recognition they deserve. Recently we joined forces with the Men’s Publinx Association to share the expenses and responsibilities with GAM to continue to hold the Atlas Cup Matches on an annual basis. You will be hearing more about the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and the Atlas Cup and how you can participate.

We are proud of our members and appreciate your support. We want you to participate in as many events as you can. We want you to become a more skillful and knowledgeable player so you will enjoy the game more. Bring a friend and introduce her to the joy of golfing with a great group of gals. If you need a team or a partner, the tournament chair will help you find one. Don’t be shy because there is always somebody looking for somebody to play with. We look forward to seeing you at our events. Very soon, we will be hearing, “Play away, Please!”

  THE POSITIVE GOLFER 
by Dr. Jackie Odom, Ph.D. and Janina Parrott Jacobs

Genius Golf Traits

Continued from January/February 2005 NEWSLINX

6.        Repetition is a winning proposition. Ben Hogan was a golf swing genius. He would try technique after technique and practice until his hands bled. No. 1 ranked Vijay Singh is also a swing genius and is renowned to be the most prolific player on the practice tee. Beethoven consistently wrote tons of music. As a starving author, Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling kept writing Harry-type material until the box it was in began to overflow. Even though she had no market for it she just kept doing it, adventure after adventure. Imagine what a mere scant amount of practice could do for your game.

Don’t underestimate the power of pondering. In today’s busy world, if you aren’t constantly producing you aren’t cutting it. That school of thinking is ill advised. A genius knows that a good amount of thinking and imaging, properly placed, can alleviate many hours of useless toiling. The next time you are tempted to hit the practice dome and pay by the hour, don’t. Instead, choose to hit by the bucket and take the time to think things through, analyze what you did, visualize the shot and determine what you will do to the next shot. Genius of any kind cannot be rushed. The kid lying prone under a tree on a beautiful summer’s day with his or her eyes closed may not be as lazy as you think.

8.                   Retention matters: Work on your memory. It is very easy to remember the bad experiences you have had in life and in golf. But file those along with the good experiences and pay more attention to that side of the equation. It is important to remember what has worked — and not worked — in the past. Good swing thoughts should be written down in a notebook. Instructional genius Harvey Penick did exactly that with his dog-eared spiral notebooks that were literally falling apart with anecdotes, comparison and words of wisdom. A friend suggested he compile them all into a book; and thus was born ‘The Little Red Book’ series.

9.                   Don’t forget to have fun. Remember when you were a kid and all you did was play? Did you know that many forms of play and recreation are vital elements in the development of motor skills and other brain functions as we are growing up? So, why do we assume anything changes as we age?   Are we ever too old to stop playing?    Geniuses know better.

10.                Connect the dots. Sometimes in the quest for the perfect swing, you may be given many swing thoughts to achieve a certain move.  None of them may work. If you are having a swing boo-boo and the first or second or third swing guru you visit does not help you solve the problem, keep going until you find the one who does. Remember, I said earlier that it took me over 30 years (and many bad shots) to finally learn the proper relationship between the lower body and the upper body in order to produce a more powerful, sound swing. One good visualization tip from professional swing genius Brad Dean at Crystal Mountain Resort and the swing picture was Crystal clear. The dots were finally connected. And if you want to know what that tip was, you’ll have to e-mail me and ask.

Now, don’t you feel a little bit smarter already?

  HANDIFACTS 
by Deb Pringle

 Well, do you think it’s almost time for golf season to begin? At least it is getting closer to that time. I know the snow is still on the ground and as I’m writing this it is still cold, but with the way time is flying by, the start of the season is at least just around the corner. So here are a few things to remember for the season start.

If you played out of state over this winter and it was in a state with an active golf season, those scores are to be posted. If you are using the online method of posting, post those scores at the beginning of the season. If you mail your cards to me, go to the MWGA website, www.mwgolf.org, and print off the posting sheet. Complete the sheet and send it to me as early as possible. You may send those scores anytime before the first posting period. The scores will not show up in your record before the first transmission; however, it will give me some extra time to get them entered into your record. Again, as with last year, you are to post all 9-hole and 18-hole scores.

Posting schedule for this year. The season this year for posting is as follows: Scores for rounds played in Michigan are to be posted from March 29, 2005 through October 25, 2005 . First date to report Michigan scores is TUESDAY APRIL 5. If you have not received your membership packet, you can pull the form from the MWGA website. The rest of the dates for sending scores are the following Tuesdays: April 26, May 17, May 31, June 14, July 5, July 19, July 26, August 9, August 23, September 6, September 20, October 18 and October 25. Internet posting is to be completed by the following Sundays: April 10, May 1, May 22, June 5, June 19, July 10, July 24, July 31, August 14, August 28, September 11, September 25, October 23 and October 30.

For our members who will be using the online posting system, please do not send me a posting card with the same scores on it. If you feel that you wish to inform me that you are posting online, just send me an email stating what you have done. Also if it is an MWGA tournament DO NOT POST IT online. All MWGA tournament scores are to be posted by the handicap chair.

As always if there are any questions regarding the handicap process feel free to contact me at golfcentral@123.net anytime, or by phone at 248-391-4587 after 7pm Monday thru Thursday and anytime on Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

   JUNIOR PROGRAM

Girls’ Junior Tournament Information

By Linda Lester, GAM Juniors Chair

The tournament department of the GAM is excited about the junior schedule this year. We have secured challenging courses for our championships. Please check out the information and requirements on our website: gam.org.

 The Girls’ Junior Championship will be hosted by Lakelands Golf and Country Club in Brighton , June 27-29. Bill Wright, a big supporter of juniors and a member of Lakelands, was instrumental in securing the club. Lakelands is a nice track with a little of everything, uphill downhill lies, a short par three over water and some straightforward holes. They have a nice size driving range and practice area. Their new clubhouse is open and ready after being completely destroyed by fire.

The GAM Junior Team Championship will be hosted by Metamora Golf and Country Club in Metamora, July 5. This is a fun course to play with a very unique layout that will test your golf course management skills. Your team can consist of two girls, two boys, or a boy and a girl. This is a tournament most often requested by juniors. It allows players the opportunity to play with other juniors they meet at various tournaments but never have a chance play on the same team or side.

The U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship is July 18-23 at Banbury Golf Club in Idaho . This is the first time a USGA championship will be played on a course in Idaho . Information about the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship is available on the USGA web site, usga.org, or by contacting Linda Lester, (313) 886-6416 . The Michigan qualifying site is:

Lochmoor Club     June 20     Grosse Pointe Woods                  18.4 (max. index)

The two young ladies who qualified to represent Michigan last year were Laura Kueny from Whitehall and Austin Mc Dermaid from Grand Blanc. They had a wonderful experience at Mira Vista GC in Fort Worth , Texas , the home of Kathy Withworth, the guest speaker and their best spectator.

Other tournaments open to girls are listed below. A full list of junior tournaments will be listed on the GAM website when all of the information has been complied.

Women

Michigan Women’s State AM       July 11-15, Radrick Farms GC           15.4 (max. index)

GAM Women’s Championship    Aug 15-16, Spring Meadows CC        15.4 (max index)

REMINDER: All EXEMPT players must file an application to be included in any tournament they are exempt to play in.

HANDICAP — It is time to start finding courses in your area where you will be able to sign-up for a handicap. Handicaps are free for junior players under the age of 18. However, some courses do charge a fee to cover costs to run and maintain the program. Another option is to join the MWGA. See the back page of this newsletter for the Student membership and its benefits or visit www.mwgolf.org.

   COURSE COORDINATOR
by Barbara Porter

Dollars and Cents

If you are like most MWGA members, balancing your golf in relationship to your finances is a priority. Believe it or not, as your Course Coordinator for the last several years, I, also, am very cognizant of the issue of money when it comes to booking a course for an event. Not only is there the cost of the golf, but I need to add our tournament costs to each event. And, as the MWGA plays on weekends, it is getting more difficult to negotiate price as everyone wants to play on the weekends. Consequently, I try my hardest to achieve some sort of balance between all the courses for the season.

The MWGA is a statistic crazed organization. I’m sure many of you look at the schedule and think the prices have skyrocketed. Oh contraire, my fellow golfers. According to our statistics, the average price for the 2005 season is $66.00, which is within 6% of the lowest figure for the last five seasons.

Average price for an event:

Don’t you wish your gas bills would be this consistent? (I apologize to those who work for a gas company). I think you get my message.

Anyway, every course has a “value” and I try to disseminate this figure against all the events for the season. I just want all of our members to realize that we do try to have their best interest in mind and we would appreciate any suggestions. Do not be apprehensive about voicing your opinion! In the meantime, start your calculations for the 2005 season and budget accordingly as we want you to attend our events! Thanks for your support!

Car Pool Anyone?

In reading the course surveys, one of the reoccurring comments is, “This course is too far,” to which I always manage a grin. “Too far” is rather subjective, don’t you think? Given our current membership demographics, a course may be some distance for one member to travel yet in another member’s backyard.

According to the oil experts, the price of a gallon of gasoline is expected to go up this summer. No surprise in that statement; however, it might impact our tournament entries as it adds to the price of our events. Consequently, the 2005 tournament entry flyers have a space where you can indicate if you are interested in car pooling. Our top notch membership chair, Jane Kersjes, has made it possible for each tournament chair to download entrants according to city, which will facilitate assisting players in car pooling to our events.

So, when reviewing the MWGA 2005 Tournaments, if you think to yourself, “That course is too far,” consider the above option. Your Board appreciates your support and we will continue to strive to make it easier for everyone to enter our events. Now, if we could only find a sponsor with enough financial backing to pay for all of our events…….

   MEMBERSHIP TIDBITS
by Jane Kersjes

Women’s Leagues

We are starting a column on Women’s Leagues in Michigan . Even though MWGA only offers the Match Play league, we felt it would benefit women’s golf if we provided information on available women’s leagues. I’ve gotten calls past and present from members (and non-members) wanting to join a league. I will be sending an email to those courses listed in the GAM course directory publishing an email address to ask if they can provide this information for publication in our NEWSLINX and on our website, www.mwgolf.org. The Board hopes this information will be beneficial to our members.

If you could provide us updated information on the leagues you play on, we could add this information to the next publication. As well, you could show this article to the course you play at and ask if they could provide the information to us to be published. Your help would be very beneficial in providing accurate and encompassing information. Thanks in advance. 

We have compiled the information provided from the course surveys you’ve filled out, membership form and Executive Women’s Golf Association leagues (you must be a member to be a regular but subs don’t have to join).

If there is interest, we could also publish mixed league information for those looking for play with their husbands. Not that the guys don’t have a handle on this already, but every little bit helps.

Please let me know your comments and suggestions on this.

   TOURNAMENT GUIDELINES

1. The entry fee for each tournament will be the greens fees plus $18 for 4-person eventss and $15 for all other tournaments. Fifteen dollars or twelve dollars, respectively, of this additional amount will be paid back in prizes. If food, goodie bags or other extras are going to be included at a tournament, the price of those items will also be added to the entry fee.
2. The entry fee for non-members will be $20 more than the entry fee for members, except that male partners in mixed tournaments playing with members will pay the member fee.
3. A minimum of one fourth of the field will receive prizes.
4. There will be an equal number of gross and net prizes.
5. In order to be eligible for net prizes, a player must have a current, official USGA handicap.
6. ALL tournaments will have a minimum of two flights. 
7. Each division will get back a percentage of the prize money based on the percentage of entries.
8. In individual stroke tournaments, first place is guaranteed $65. Numbers of entries premitting, MWPGA will try to pay 2^nd place $45, 3^rd place $30, 4^th place $20 and 5^th place $15.  See posted estimates at the tournament sites.
9. In two-person events first place is guaranteed $55 (per person). Numbers of entries premitting, MWPGA will will try to pay 2^nd place $40, 3^rd place $30 and 4^th place $20.  See posted estimates at the tournament sites.
10. In 4-person events first place is guaranteed range of $40-$50 (per person). First place prize money is based on the number of entries. Numbers of entries premitting, MWPGA  will try to pay 2^nd place $35, 3^rd place $25 and 4^th place $15. See posted estimates at the tournament sites.

11. Players will pay an additional fee for contests if they want to enter them. All money paid will be returned to the winners. Longest drive , closest to the pin, chip-ins and gross skins will be available at all tournaments.   Note: Player's ball must be in the fairway and lying one to claim Longest Drive.  Player's ball must be lying one to claim Closest to the Pin.Scramble tournaments will be flighted  tournaments.

12. A 4-person team (currently scrambles and Best 2 of 4) will be flighted by determining the team handicap.  The handicap is calculated by taking 20% of the lowest course handicap on the team, 15% of the next lowest handicap, 10% of the next lowest handicap and 5% of the highest handicap.  This handicap is only used for net scores in 4-person scrambles.  In other 4-person events (Best 2 of 4) the team handicap is ONLY used to flight the teams. A 4-person scramble team will have to use each player’s drive three times. 

13. A two-person team (currently scrambles and 2 Person/Lady Best Balls) will be flighted by determining the team handicap.  The handicap is calculated by taking 50% of the lowest course handicap and 25% of the handicap. This handicap is only used for net scores in 2-person scrambles.  In other 2-person events (Best Balls) the team handicap is ONLY used to flight the teams. A 2-person scramble team will have to use each player’s drive six times.  

   GOLFER OF THE YEAR

Purpose: Recognize accomplished golfers that post the lowest overall gross scores in our tournaments.

Eligibility: To be eligible for points, players must participate in the event and be on the membership roster as of the date of the event.

Points: Points are awarded to players with the lowest 15 gross scores posted in selected events. 

Ties: Ties will be scored by combining points for places tied and dividing by number of players.

Events:
MWPGA Stroke Play Events (State Tournament, President’s Tournament, Spring and Summer Stroke Play Tournaments)
2-Lady Best Ball Events and Best 2 of 4 Events (Each player plays own ball and MUST record a score for each hole in the competition.)
WAPL Sectional Qualifying Round (One, designated Qualifying Round)
**Extra 50 points for WAPL Medallist and extra 25 points for WAPL Qualifier

Points Awarded

  PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Purpose: To recognize and award members of all skill levels that participate and successfully compete in our tournaments.

Points:  Points will be awarded based on a player’s finish in MWPGA tournaments. 

Place	Points
1st	10
2nd	9
3rd	8
4th	7
5th	6
all other participants	2

• Points for all places will be awarded for gross and and net finishes. Of course, you’ll only get one place.

• Points will be awarded at all MWPGA tournaments including the WAPL Scrambles and WAPL Sectionals.
  
• Members will also get 2 points for attendance at rules seminars, skills clinics, the annual meeting, the match play tournament and any other events run by the MWPGA.
  
• Class divisions by index:
  

  Class	Index
  A	0-9.9
  B	10.0-19.9
  C	20.0-29.9
  D	30.0-40.4