VSWGA News

VERMONT STATE WOMEN’S GOLF ASSOCIATION

Meeting:        Board of Directors / Committee Chairs
Date/Time:    October 09, 2007 at 10:00 a.m.
Place:             Lake Morey

Attended by: Sue Ginnett, Elizabeth Walker, Pat Job, Mary Corey, Suzanne Neville, Tracy Sloan, Jeanne DiBattisto, Nancy Myers, Kathy Allbright, Cindy Paquet, Sarah Lee, Polly Gadbois

Recorded by: Mary Corey

The meeting was called to order by the President, Sue Ginnett.

President’s Report: Sue Ginnett welcomed everyone and introduced the new board members, Sarah Lee and Polly Gadbois. Sue e-mailed copies of her agenda to all board members prior to the meeting and announced the topics would be discussed in random order.

Minutes for May 05, 2007 and Mini Meeting June, July, August, September were approved by e-mail. Mary reported, throughout the summer she had worked on and completed the much needed Major Decisions By-Law Supplemental reference document, it captures all of the major decisions made by the Board over the past five years (2003 through the current date). The Decisions were e-mailed to the Board/Committee Chairs for their input, Jeanne DiBattisto preformed an extensive edit suggesting several changes. Upon review, it was determined that the Major Decisions needed one deletion and several items rephrased for clarification. All changes will be made using a red font. The corrected copies will be e-mailed to the Board/Committee Chairs for their review and approval. Sue thanked Mary for putting so much time and effort into this project and asked for a round of applause.

A motion was made to make the changes in a red font and to accept the Minutes as reviewed. Motion Passed.

It was agreed that Kathy Allbright will make any necessary Tournament Procedure changes.

Treasurers Report/Proposed Budget: Tracy Sloan prepared the 2008 Proposed Budgets, capturing the estimated income and expenses based on historic data. The 2007 totals did not reflect final income or expense totals from the Mid Amateur and Final State Day. Tracy reminded the board that, if something unforseen happens and money is available the Budget can be flexible. She encouraged Tournament Chairs to claim all expenses, explaining, if expenses are absorbed, it will distort the true budget making it impossible to prepare an accurate proposal. Sue Ginnett expressed that Tracy has done an excellent job of preparing the VSWGA Proposed Budget.

A motion was made to accept the Proposed Budget. Budget was accepted.

State Day Point Value: Due to lack of time for a Board meeting and having sufficient funds, the State Day $3. point value was used again for 2007. Traditionally the State Day point value should be determined by the Board immediately following the last State Day in August.

Sarah Lee asked if board members could be reimbursed for their travel expenses? Jeanne DiBattisto replied that it had always been the VSWGA’s policy to pay any necessary travel expenses for Board/Committee Chair members. (The majority do not ask for reimbursement).

Kathy Allbright donates a lot of her time working on the VSWGA Major Tournaments. She coordinates all of the intricate details with Suzanne, the club Pro’s and the host club Tournament Chair’s to insure we have a timely professional-organized event. This includes several trips to the host clubs.

Mary Corey made a motion that as compensation for her hours of work, the Tournament Chair (Kathy Allbright) would be compensated with free Entry Fees for the Seniors, Amateur and Mid Amateur and be reimbursed for her site evaluation travel expense. Motion passed.

Topics for Discussion:

A. Changes in the State Day Book for 2008 - additions, deletions, wording changes, etc.

1. State Day Book changes:

a. Remove Club Fees from the Book.

b. Correct directions to clubs.

c. Change page 42 to read, The VSWGA will contribute a total of $2,000. to help subsidize the USGA Team’s expenses. (The amount was incorrectly written as $1,000.)

d. On the Mid Amateur application form, add “Age 55 prior to the Seniors Tournament” Yes or No.

If the Mid Amateur is over subscribed, players that are eligible to play in the Seniors with the highest handicaps will be the first to be cut.

e. State Day Book editing committee: Phyllis Simon, Jeanne DiBattisto, Sarah Lee, Cindy Paquet.

B. Guidelines for scheduling State Days in 2008. (Possibly the formation of a committee to help Suzanne)

Suzanne distributed the Proposed 2008 VSWGA State Day Schedule.

1. The board did not agree with shortening the season. We should not have four or five courses on the same day, that problem would be eliminated if we had the traditional season which extends through September 16, 2008.

2. During the State Amateur, there should not be any 18 hole courses scheduled.

3. Tri-States should be scheduled for June 18-19, 2008.

4. The NEWGA is scheduled for June 24-26, in Rye Beach, NH at Abenaqui CC

5. Guidelines: The State Day Chair should keep the Club Reps involved with the State Day Dates Schedule. Send duplicate copies to the Pro and Club Rep. Reps should be encouraged to work with the Pro in making some of the state day decisions.

6. A question was raised as to why not keep the same State Day schedule from year to year? Suzanne thought it would be unfair to some of the courses who do not like their dates but this issue could be revisited, if we ever get a schedule agreeable to everyone.

The State Day Dates Schedule has improved from last year and will get easier as time goes on.

C. Guidelines for NEW procedure concerning the Closest to the Pin Contests in 2008.

New Procedure and different scenarios for Closest to the Pin Contest:

1. Keep track of who wins the Closest to the Pin Contest, Name and Division. A form will be created for the Club Reps and will be added to their State Day Package.

2. What happens if no one wins one of the two holes? The winner will split half the pot with the Closest to the Pin Fund.

3. What happens if no one wins either hole? The entire pot goes to the Closest to the Pin Fund.

A suggestion was made for the VSWGA to piggyback the VGA’s alcohol policy of “no alcohol consumption during play for all VGA Tournaments.” This was rejected. Club Pro’s have authority over these decisions for all of the VSWGA tournaments. The Board felt that the Misconduct Rule would be applicable for any isolated incidents.

Sue opened the floor for suggestions. It was agreed that something has to be done about the Pace of Play. Six hour rounds are not acceptable.

Thirty Minute Rule: Elizabeth Walker suggested following some of the policies practiced in Florida, upon completion of your round of golf you must turn in your scorecards immediately. (There is a 30 minute window starting when the group in front of you turned in their scorecards) This allows 15 minutes to play the last hole with 15 minutes to complete your scorecard and get it to the scoring table.

Turtle Flag: Cindy Paquet asks Suzanne if the Chelsea System still had the Turtle flag. Suzanne said that it did. This could be used as a tool for players who complete their round with open holes in front of them. The Turtle will not allow groups that are flagged to get early tee times.

Gate Keeping System: Kathy Allbright suggested the Gate Keeping system which would be hard to control without rangers. You only have X number of minutes to play each hole or you have fallen off the recommended pace.

Captain Issue: Captains should be responsible for keeping their group on track. If you are a fast player but happen to be in a slow group, you must speak up and get the other players moving.

There was one course that reported, their ranger had asked a group to pick up the pace and they actually swore at him replying it was a State Day. Unbelievable - this is actually grounds for a misconduct penalty which could result in disqualification.

Let Faster Players through: Some groups are under the impression they cannot let faster players through because it’s a State Day. WRONG! If you are looking for a ball and the group in front of you are more than two strokes out - let the foursome behind you through.

Quota/Stableford System: Kathy Allbright wanted to know if the Board/Committee Chairs liked the idea of changing to a Quota/Stableford system. Everyone present said NO. They did not want to see the format changed.

2. Stableford can be both Gross and Net but each person would have to keep their Gross Score, Gross points and Net points on each hole. (This would be time consuming)

3. Each course would have to use their TPP program to create scorecards. Cards have to be dotted for the stroke holes.

4. You could have the round of a lifetime and not win because you just played good all day but didn’t have any birds.

7. Pace of Play would not be any faster because the time saved for picking up when you have reached your max would be lost on scoring.

8. Slow players do not realize they have a problem and will play slow regardless of the format. Have you ever seen a slow player who thinks they’re slow?

Kathy Allbright reported the Tournament Budgets were based on 80 players. When the field is 80 or more, the budget runs as expected or at a surplus. The problem lies with only having 59 players for the Amateur, through no fault of the Tournament Chair, they could not possibly stay within their budgeted amount. The VSWGA Major Tournaments award 10 Low Gross and 10 Low Net prizes, token trophies’ and standard Chits for each place. These are fixed expenses that are based on a field of 80 players. The Mid Amateur was over subscribed and all applicants were allowed to play which should offset some of the expenses.

Mary Ann Levins does an excellent job running the Junior Program but she has a difficult time finding volunteers to help with teaching workshops in the eastern part of the state. The VSWGA has donated $1,100. to the Rutland group, unfortunately, Club Pro’s are unaware of Junior funds being available. Tracy Sloan will Chair the Junior Golf Funds Committee with Sue Ginnett, Elizabeth Walker, Nancy Myers and Sarah Lee as committee members. Their primary duties will be to develop guidelines for the Junior Golf Program Funds, make Club Reps and Pro’s aware funds are available and have guidelines as to how they can apply for teaching workshop assistance, etc.

Woodstock played 80% of each handicap and teams were placed in Divisions by lowest handicap.

Quechee played with 100% handicap and teams were placed in Divisions by lowest handicap.

There were a few complaints from some of the players but seeing how each course played individually it really didn’t matter. The general consensus thought, placing teams in Divisions based on the lowest handicap player worked well.

The VSWGA pays $540. per year to belong to the Golf Industry Committee. The Committee has members from the VGA, VPGA, Golf Superintendents, VSWGA and Senior Amateur’s Group. The Golf Industry Committee lobbies at the State Legislature on behalf of Vermont Golf and environmental concerns. Lois Hadd was the VSWGA liaison but has not been able to attend the meetings for the last few years. The VSWGA needs to have someone that will attend the meetings and be our voice on Golf issues. The Board appointed Elizabeth Walker to the Golf Industry Committee to replace Lois Hadd.

The Director of Administration needs a new laptop that has wireless capability. Her old computer keeps crashing and it’s difficult trying to find internet connections when working tournaments. The 2008 Projected Budget has earmarked $2,000. for this purchase.

A motion was made: To purchase a new laptop for the VSWGA Office with wireless capability and add on software spending up to $2,000. Motion passed.

The Board recommended that Suzanne consult with Cindy Paquet regarding this purchase. Cindy thought she could find a good laptop for $1,200. - $1,500.

K. Budget for VSWGA Office: The VSWGA office budget was covered in the Proposed Budget items above.

L. Review of Policy & Procedure Manual and Association By-Laws (How to accomplish this review):

The By-Laws have only had two changes after the 10/02/2000 Revision. The first change was made on 10/15/2002, last paragraph, page #2, bottom line, add. “The Past President shall be a non-voting member of the Board for the completion of her term.” The last change was made on 11/09/04 page #2, first paragraph, first line, changed or printed to printed, or electronic. Both were officially approved at the fall meeting following the change.

The Policy & Procedure Manual and Association By-Laws will be reviewed via e-mail.

M. Golf Course Cancelling a Scheduled State Day in lieu of green fees (Stamford Valley):

Stamford Valley had a State Day scheduled for 2007 but cancelled. They did not want our ladies tying up their course when they could be getting Green Fees. The Board agreed that Stamford Valley should be removed from the State Day Eligibility list.

Engraving: The Rotating Trophy’s are presented to the winners who have been responsible for getting the trophy’s engraved and having the VSWGA billed. At one time Cheryl Hoar took care of having the trophy’s engraved but it has somehow reverted back to the recipients. The board was in agreement this should be a VSWGA responsibility. Suzanne Neville has accepted the task of having the trophy’s engraved. For 2008 the Trophies’ will be presented to winners at the awards ceremony then collected for engraving. When the process has been completed, they will be mailed to the recipients.

Ruth Raymond Jones Memorial Seniors’ - Burlington VT at Burlington CC, July 23-24, 2008

Vermont Women’s State Amateur - Wilmington, VT at Haystack, August 12-14, 2008

Mid Amateur - Enosburg Falls, VT at Enosburg Falls CC, September 13-14, 2008

Ratings: All we need is one Team Leader for each rating. The VSWGA should hookup with the VGA Team Leaders. Ratings have somehow lost touch over the past couple of years, we have not been receiving anything and we need the annual rating sheets. Margaret Dick does not want to do any of the prep work but is willing to be a Team Leader for ratings. Dorset keeps calling and we need to get a team to complete their re-rating.

VGA Scholarship Fund: We have not been working with the VGA on the Scholarship Fund. The VSWGA makes a contribution of 10% of our budget and it ends there. We need someone from the VSWGA to sit on the board. Suzanne Neville has agreed to attend the VGA meeting on our behalf.

USGA Computer Grant Money: There was a question regarding the USGA Computer Grant money. Did the VSWGA receive a USGA Computer Grant and if so where was it located? The VSWGA did receive the Computer Grant, it was purchased and has been assigned to the Handicap Chair, Harriet Parot.

NEWGA Tournament Chairs: The 2008 Tournament Chair’s are Kathy Allbright and Past President, Elizabeth Walker.

The Seniors Tournament will be hosted by Burlington Country Club and the Chairperson will be Diane Peters.

Mistake on Most Improved Award for A Division: At the year-end Awards Ceremony a mistake was made on the Most Improved for the A Division. The persons awarded the trophy should have received the B Division most improved. This mistake will be corrected. There will be another award given for the A Division most improved. This will be in addition to the awards already distributed. The records will reflect two B Division winners.

GPS Devises: Jeanne DiBattisto request that the Board revisit our decision to authorize the use of GPS Devises, distance measuring devices, for all VSWGA tournaments. The Board did not agree. The decision authorizing their use stands.

Awarding Major Tournament Prizes: It was suggested that we alternate Gross and Net prizes. Example: 1^st Gross then 1^st Net, 2^nd Gross then 2^nd Net, and so on. The Board disagreed, the money may be greater but the majority of the field canvassed would prefer to receive 10^th Gross than 1^st Net for any of the Major Tournaments. The Decision to Award the first 10 Low Gross then the top10 Low Net Prizes stands. The only exception is in the Seniors Championship. 3^rd Low Gross is awarded 1^st Low Net. (We have had complaints but this has been the tradition).

Reassign Supervisor Duties: The Vice President, Phyllis Simon, has been supervising the Director of Administration, Suzanne Neville, for the past year. Phyllis lives in Waterbury while Suzanne lives in Arlington the distance makes it difficult to communicate other than by e-mail. Sue thought the Organization would be better served if Tracy Sloan temporarily took over all supervisory duties.

A motion was made: That the Vice President will no longer supervise the Director of Administration. The supervisor will be appointed by the board. Motion passed.

Cindy Paquet wanted to know if anyone wanted her old laptop. Due to the age and it’s limited capabilities no one was interested.

The $25.00 Nonparticipation Fee will be called Championship Administrative Fees:

Kathy Allbright thought it was confusing for a participant paying a “Nonparticipation Fee” to play in a Championship, when the funds are actually used to cover administration cost.

A motion was made to change the name of the Nonparticipation Fees to Championship Administrative Fee. Motion passed.