VERMONT STATE WOMEN’S GOLF ASSOCIATION

Meeting:  Annual Executive Committee Meeting
Date/Time: October 6, 2009 / 9:00 a.m.
Place:  Lake Morey   

Attended by: Alburg 1, Basin Harbor 1, Bellows Falls 2, Blush Hill 1, Bradford 2, Brattleboro 4, Burlington CC 2, Cedar Knoll 1, Champlain 2, Copley 2, Country Club of Barre 1, Country Club of Vermont 2, Crown Point 2, Dorset Field Club 1, Enosburg Falls 2, Essex 1, Equinox 2, Green Mountain National 1, Lake Morey 3, Lake St. Catherine 2, Manchester 1, Montague 2, Mount Snow 2, Neshobe 1, Newport 2, Okemo Valley 1, Proctor-Pittsford 1, Quechee 2, Ralph Myhre 2, St. Johnsbury 3, Stowe 2, Sugarbush 1, Tater Hill 1, Vermont National 2, West Bolton 1, Williston 1

Recorded by:  Mary Corey

 President’s Report:  The President called the meeting to order. Tracy Sloan welcomed everyone and asked that the Board and Committee Chairs introduce themselves.  She thanked the Club Reps for a job well done and stated how important their support was to the VSWGA.

Secretary’s Report:  Mary Corey asked if the Club Reps had received and reviewed copies of the 2008 Annual Executive Committee Meeting Minutes.   They had reviewed their copies; there were no questions or amendments.  The Minutes were approved as written.

Election of Three New Board Members: The Nominating Committee chaired by Vice President Phyllis Simon and committee members Jeanne Morrissey, Carolyn Barbieri, Ellen Sheffer, Judy Manley, and Sarah Lee, made the decision to present all seven applicants to the membership for a vote.  The tradition has been that applicants are presented to the Board and the Board selects a slate of nominees to be presented to the membership with the option of accepting any nominees from the floor.   The applicants were:  Phyllis Simon – Vermont National (incumbent), Nancy Myers – Blush Hill – (Incumbent), Kathy Sikora – West Bolton, Barbara Tiffany – Sugarbush, Pam Shover – Williston, Cynthia Borck – Stowe, Mickey Potwin – Lake Morey, with no nominees from the floor.  Ballots were distributed to the voting members.  The votes were tallied and the new board members are:

Phyllis Simon – Vermont National

Nancy Myers – Blush Hill

Kathy Sikora – West Bolton 

Jeanne Morrissey stated there were no losers in this election, we were happy to have so many qualified applicants and sad that there were only three slots available.   

Surprise Guest: 

Tracy Sloan introduced Libby Smith.   Libby has been playing on the Mini Tour, she won the Vermont State Amateur several times and the VSWGA uses her photo on our website home page.   Libby thanked the VSWGA for their $1,000 contribution to help pay her entry fees.  She wanted everyone to know how much it meant to her, she offered help to Mary Ann Levins by giving a Junior Clinic and as a special thank you she also volunteered to play a round of golf with three members from one of the VSWGA member clubs.  All of the clubs names, with representatives at the meeting, were thrown into a hat and the name selected for the round of golf with Libby was Proctor-Pittsford. 

Treasurer’s Report:  The 2009 Treasurers Report consisted of a Balance Sheet, Profit and Loss Statement with Pie Chart graphs of our Income and Expenses.  Tracy Sloan reported the 2009 season ended with a negative ($2,435.32) balance, which was better than the projected negative ($5,000).    The negative balance resulted from the loss of our USGA Intern Grant.  The USGA grants were limited for the 2009 season and unfortunately Vermont was one of the casualties.  Tracy emphasized that the VSWGA strives to operate from a zero base budget which she feels is achievable in 2010.

Income Pie Chart thru August 2009: 

Interest             = $     718.20 –   1%

Closest to Pin  =      5,207.00 –  5%

State Day         =   15,376.97 – 15%

Membership   =   19,320.00 – 19%

Tournaments  =   27,835.58 – 28%

GHIN                  =   30,879.00 – 32%

Expenses Pie Chart thru August 2009:

Travel                = $     977.79 –   1%

Junior Golf        =     6,062.04 -    8%

GHIN                   =    6,666.04 –   9%

Office Expense =    7,497.10 – 10%

Salaries              =  23,220.40 – 31%

Tournaments   =  31,035.31 – 41% 

Highlights from Profit and Loss Statement were: 

The Amateur was up $7,445 for 2009 because the host club was Burlington Country Club.

GHIN Income is down $6,600 because the membership has dropped off by 20%.

State Day Weekly Tournament Income for 2009 is reported net of sales tax.  The VSWGA has started paying amusement (sales) tax to the State of Vermont.  We do not feel this is a fair tax but the VGA has been unsuccessful in their fight with the State over this issue.  Tracy feels it is in our best interest to start paying before the state decides that we are a similar organization and sends us a delinquent tax bill.

Seniors balance increase was due to timing of the 2008 Seniors.

Tri-State Tournament was down because we did not host the tournament this year.

The Treasurers reports were approved as written.

COMMITTEE CHAIR REPORTS: 

Tracy expressed her thanks to the committee chairs for their outstanding performance throughout the season.

Web Administrator:   

The Web Administrator, Cindy Paquet, does an exceptional job with the VSWGA website.  Cindy designs and maintains the website, plus writes the majority of the articles.  She is always making improvements which make the VSWGA website far superior to any other association.  During 2009 Cindy added a new Message Board and acquired a new AT&T Laptop Connect Card.  

Message Board:  The new Message Board has 7 sections:  Administrative, State Day, Championships, Rules, Miscellaneous, Local Tournaments and Flea Market.  This allows members to post club tournaments, ask questions, advertise items for sale and even air some of their pet peeves.  

Cindy commented that she was disappointed that so few members were using the Message Board.  One of the Club Reps said that she did not find it to be user friendly but the majority agreed the biggest problem was not being able to sign on.  Cindy stressed the importance of signing in using your e-mail address and using the VSWGA password 1234.   Then you must complete the registration form and set up a User Name and your own Password.   

The AT&T Laptop Connect Card allows Cindy to post tournament information and tee times to the website from anywhere.  This has been a big help getting tournament tee times posted to the website.  

Tracy Sloan thanked Cindy on behalf of the VSWGA for the fabulous job she has done throughout the year.

Course Rating:

Carolyn Barbieri reported that we have a contractual obligation to the USGA to maintain scheduled course ratings in order to receive monies from the GHIN system.  We have fallen behind in this obligation.  There were 23 courses due for rating in 2009; six course ratings were completed and three more are scheduled.  Williston country Club requested that their rating be postponed until 2010 because of course changes.  We still have some catching up to do but have made good progress this year.  The northern courses still remain a problem.  We have two qualified Team Leaders from the North and one from the Central who is willing to travel.  There are no courses to be added to the list for 2010 which leaves 13 courses to bring us up to date

The ratings are taking longer because most of the raters are new and the training process is time-consuming. There seems to be interest in course ratings but when course gets scheduled, many people have other commitments.  

Jim Bassett is planning a Course Rating Seminar in the spring and anyone interested in rating should attend.   Interested parties are welcome to observe a rating team, plus they can take an online Course Rating Seminar through the USGA University.   To complete the online training seminar contact Tracy Sloan, she in turn will contact Mary Kay Kemp from the USGA.  Mary Kay will send an e-mail with your assigned User Name and Password and a direct link to the online Course Rating Seminar. 

USGA recommends that the courses take care of lunch, carts and give raters vouchers to play the course.  Most of the ladies rating teams only have 3 or 4 women, they start at 9:00 a.m. and complete nine holes around 2:30 - 3:00 p.m., then go in for lunch.  This makes it too late to play.  The men rating teams show up with 10 experienced raters for 9:00 a.m., they complete all 18 holes by noon, have lunch then go out and play 18 holes.  This is what the ladies strive to accomplish.  The VSWGA Rating Committee lost most of their experienced raters, which explains the longer rating process. There are only 4 Team Leaders, Carolyn Barbieri, Nancy Myers, Ellen Sheffer, and Nina Tasi, Nancy Murphy is experienced and will become eligible to be a team leader in 2010.   

Scheduling is a problem; most courses do not like committing to a specific date and want a confirmation call one-week prior.  Fridays and weekends are out making Mondays or Thursdays the best days.   

The rating standards are:  Courses must be rerated every 10 years or if tees are moved more the 50 yards.  Any changes in bunkers or hazards only affect ratings slightly if they are in the landing zone or near the green.  The biggest factor is distance.

Raters cannot rate their own course but they can be an observer. 

A suggestion was made to assign team leaders specific courses, making them responsible for scheduling and rating those courses. 

 Tournament Procedures: 

Kathy Allbright, Tournament Procedures chair, was unable to attend the meeting.  Tracy Sloan reported that Kathy did a great job overseeing all the Championships.

State Seniors Championship:  The Seniors was held at Neshobe and a Thank You goes to the co-chairs Andy Raymond and Ellen Sheffer.  The Neshobe staff were great hosts and ran a very smooth and wonderful two-day event.  The top three places were:

1^st Reggie Parker, Ekwanok = 148

2^nd Susie Bremner, Rocky Ridge = 163

3^rd Mary Corey, Cedar Knoll = 166

State Amateur Championship:  The Amateur was held at Burlington Country Club and a Thank You goes to the co-chairs Rhonda Colvard and Diane Peters.  John Paul and all the staff and helpers should be proud for running a fantastic three-day event. The top three places were:

1^st Molly Aronsson, Burlington = 211

2^nd Catherine Shomo, Rutland = 223

3^rd Holly Reynolds, Copley = 225

State Mid-Amateur Championship:  The Mid-Amateur was held at Haystack and a Thank You goes to co-chairs Eileen Ranslow and Judy Manley.  All of the Haystack staff were great to work with over the last three years and ran a very nice two-day event. The top three places were:

1^st Erika Politano, Crown Point = 164

2^nd Ann O’Day, Williston = 166

3^rd Tiffany Maurycy, Williston  = 167

New England Amateur Championship:  Host site was Metacomet CC in East Providence RI.  A thank you goes to Lori DiPersio and Patricia Keough. 

1^st Chelsea Curtis of MA

2^nd Isabel Southard and Sara Whitney both of MA

13^th Teo Poplawski, Champlain CC, VT = 234

21^st Catherine Shomo, Rutland CC, VT = 237

25^th Holly Reynolds, VT = 239

26^th Morgan Deutsch, VT = 242

41^st Keely Levins, Rutland, VT = 251

49^th Reggie Parker, Edwanok, VT = 253

2010 State Championships sites and Dates:

a. Seniors - Rutland CC  – 07/21/10 – 07/22/10

b. Amateur - Neshobe CC – 08/17/10 – 08/19/10

c. Mid-Amateur  - Vermont National CC – 09/11/10 – 09/12/10

d. New England - Green Mountain National CC, VT – 07/06/10 – 07/08/10

Handicap: 

Harriet Parot reported that through September 16^th we have 2872 active VSWGA women golfers using the GHIN handicap system. This is a drop of 11% over 2008, paralleling the membership decrease at most Vermont golf courses.  Member clubs have been billed $46,122 for GHIN handicap fees.

Of that $46,122 we have collected $41,340.  There will be one final billing for the 2009 season that will be mailed by the 2^nd week in October.  After the August billing Harriet anticipates receiving an estimated $750 additional GHIN fees income.  All GHIN fees carried over from last year were collected by June of this year.

Harriet recommended that all clubs deactivate any players who are no longer members of your club.  This will remove them from the initial May billing, avoiding your club being overcharged the $15 per player fee for those individuals.   It is much easier to do this at the beginning of the year rather than having to reconcile the entire list with your active membership list.

The VSWGA and member clubs that are currently licensed will need to re-visit the club licensing process prior to January of 2011, which is the next licensing period.  It’s as simple as either attending a seminar held by the USGA or taking the seminar online and passing a short quiz.  A schedule of all USGA Handicap seminars may be found on their website at USGA.org.

The USGA will also be offering a course through their USGA University on Handicap Committees, which will prove very helpful and answers many questions on handicapping in general If anyone is interested in taking the course they can contact Harriet Parot and she will arrange for a login password through the USGA.

Problems with inaccurate handicaps:  The GHIN system should be set up to transmit daily, because for those clubs transmitting weekly there could be delays in scores being posted.  Any questions contact Harriet. 

Club Reps Training: 

Harriet encouraged Club Reps to attend the Spring Club Rep Training session, which is normally held during the month of May.  It’s very informative and can help answer many questions.  There is some TPP Program training, showing how to use the system to run leagues, state day and calculate winners, etc.

Tracy thanked Harriet for a job well done!

Pace of Play:

Pace of Play Chair, Nancy Myers and her committee, Carolyn Barbieri, Nancy Myers, Shari Pfannenstein and Mickey Potwin received positive feedback from the VSWGA Board and the members, saying what a fantastic job they had done and how well the Turtle System had worked.  The average State Day round was 4˝ hours. Trouble courses that normally had rounds of 6 hours or more were completing their rounds in 5 hours. 

The Pace of Play committee gave out 46 slow play warnings and 2 turtle designations, the second one on the last week of State Day.  It was very interesting to look at the tee sheets and times.  A course might be averaging 4.5 hours and then a group, one that receives a warning, comes along and finishes in 4.75 hours.  It then would take 7 or 8 groups before the times came back into the 4.5-hour range.  So it appears that we are identifying the correct groups.

They have heard both positive and negative feedback.  Any policy on slow play inherently makes players aware of their pace of play and many did not like that.  Many players complained, “They didn’t like the feeling of having to watch the clock”.  Several complained that they were out to have a nice round of golf, or were players of lesser ability, and that expecting them to play in 4.5 hours was unfair.  Many also complained that they felt their finishing times were incorrect.  Many objected to their warning by saying, “There is no way we finished 23 minutes behind.”  We don’t know if this is a misconception on their part, they didn’t go to the scoring table immediately, or the finishing times are inaccurate.  This is an area where we could improve.

On the positive side, we have heard many remarks about how much nicer it is to play a state day without worrying about the 5-hour rounds.  Many of these women were to the point of no longer playing State Days.  We also now have a record of the times for each round during state day.

One of the State Day misconceptions is that the Turtle System does not allow anyone to play through.  Yes, you must try to keep up with the group in front of you but if you’re having a bad day and repeatedly get into trouble causing your group to fall behind, when there is an open hole in front of you, if you get into trouble again, please let the group behind you play through while you are looking for your lost ball.  Both groups must report this to the committee when they complete their rounds.

The Disqualification (DQ) Option:  DQ is another option for any player having a terrible day causing their group to fall behind.  Example: You just can’t get over a hazard or waste area; the group in front is long gone and the group behind you is waiting.  There comes a time when it’s best to just go to the other side and drop a ball and write DQ in the Hdcp area of your scorecard.  You should still post your score just take your maximum esc strokes on that hole.

Excuses:  Occasional excuses are acceptable, weird things happen such as losing your ball on the last hole, etc. but too many excuses equal a warning.  

For 2010 the State Day Book will explain that upon completion of your round of golf, go directly to the scorers’ table and let them know you have completed your round.  Then add your cards, verify scores, sign your cards and turn them in.  Upon completion you then go to the parking lot and put your clubs away etc. 

A few clubs said some of their older women were not going to play in State Days because of the Turtle System but other clubs reported they gained several new players because of the 4˝-hour rounds.

A motion was brought to the floor to make the Pace of Play Turtle System a permanent policy for State Days to become effective in 2010. Motion Passed

Turtle Policy penalties:

1^st Offense = Warning

2^nd Offense = 4 Weeks of not being able to have a tee time prior to noon or being required to receive one of the last tee times.

3^rd Offense = 8 Weeks of not being able to have a tee time prior to noon or being required to receive one of the last tee times

State Days:

Suzanne Neville has resigned and a new State Day chair will be appointed for 2010.  During the 2009 playing season, 472 State Day members played 3670 rounds.  There were 59 State Day tournaments held over a 20-week period.  Approximately, 300 members won over 7,000 points totaling $21,000 in prize money paid out to the members.

Progress was made in getting Club Reps for all clubs.

In an effort to address the concerns over State Day cart cost, the fall letter to Pros included an expanded section on cart requirements and fees.  We are hopeful the clubs will respond to this section and we will communicate the results either in the State Day book or the website.  In any event, if you are concerned about the cost of a cart, it is best to check directly with the Pro shop prior to the State Day.

The new Pace of Play policy has been very good for the VSWGA’s relationship with the courses.  They are happy with our 4˝-hour rounds. 

Rules:

Regrettably Shari Pfannenstein has resigned as Rules Chair, her business is doing very well, that combined with her official USGA Rules duties, does not leave her with enough free time for the VSWGA.  Thank you Shari for you years of Service!

The VSWGA will be forming a Rules Committee; anyone interested in being on the committee can contact Tracy Sloan.  They will be expected to attend an official USGA Rules Seminar.

Junior Program:

Mary Ann Levins runs the Junior Program and has made it a great success.  The VSWGA assists the program by donating our Closest To the Pin (CTP) money, which helps the Junior Program meet its matching funds requirement.

First Tee Program:

The First Tee Program began last year and had grown to having 47 schools participate.  This program is for both girls and boys and is supported by the VSWGA, the VGA and several other organizations.  

OTHER BUSINESS:

Stableford System: 

The Stableford System was introduced as a Pace of Play program, to encourage players to pick up after they had reached their maximum esc on a hole. The majority agreed, it was tried but did not work, while the Turtle System was well thought out and implemented successfully.  During the 2009 season, the Stableford was played by two courses, Tator Hill and Killington.  Both had low attendance and want to return to the Medal Play format for 2010.

A motion was made to discontinue the Stableford Format for all State Days.  Motion Passed.

State Day Flights:

In 2008 Kathy Allbright and Rhonda Colvard want to form a Committee to review the possibility of running State Days like tournaments, by dividing players into equal flights, instead of being placed in flights based on your handicaps.  This fell through the cracks last year but they asked Tracy to have anyone interested in working on The State Day Flights Committee to contact Rhonda Colvard at paradisebaybb@aol.com.

A Special Thank You: 

Phyllis Simon said a special Thank You should go to Krissie Lohrman for setting up the Final State Day flights.  There were NO flight revisions and all of the prizes were awarded accurately.  She also did a wonderful job of getting all of the State Day gift certificates completed!

80^th Anniversary: 

The VSWGA needs to form an 80^th Anniversary Committee; this event will probably be celebrated at the Seniors.  Anyone that loves to plan Parties or is interested in working on the 80^th Anniversary Committee, please contact Tracy Sloan.

Job Search:  

A Job Search Committee is being formed to prepare all of the paperwork, job description, advertising, etc, for a new Director of Administration.  This search will be from October through November.  Krissie Lohrman has thrown her hat into the ring plus we have Holly Reynolds and Richard Milhrad who have expressed an interest in filling that position.  Anyone interested in being on the Job Search Committee please contact Tracy Sloan. 

Closest to the Pin:

Prior to 2009 the Closest to the Pin contest was based on handicap, lower handicap players on one hole and the higher handicap players on the other.  In 2009 a decision was made to have two CTP contest holes for everyone.  This has not affected the number of participants.  Everyone seems to be happy with having the opportunity to have two chances.

The results have proven that anyone can win Closest To the Pin.   All flights have had winners with the greatest number being in the C Flight.

Development Committee:

 Jeanne Morrissey made a suggestion that the VSWGA should have a Development Committee.  She is the chairperson for the Inspiration Committee and though it would be great to work on Board improvements.   Anyone interested in being on the Development Committee please contact Jeanne Morrissey.

REPS CONCERNS/ISSUES/COMMENTS:

Someone asked why the State Day Chits were not split for amounts greater than $100.  Tracy Sloan admitted this was an oversight for this year but with things being so hectic it worked to our advantage.

Farwell to the VSWGA Secretary:

Mary Corey completed her second term and will be leaving the Board.  Phyllis Simon, on behalf of the Board, thanked Mary for her 6 years of service and presented her with a beautiful cutting board which was engraved with “VSWGA, 2003 -2009.”  Mary loved the Cutting Board and though it was so appropriate to receive a board for being on the Board.  She said that being the VSWGA Secretary with no prior secretarial skills had been a learning experience that made her truly appreciate that position.  Tracy Sloan acknowledged Mary’s years of service and expressed her appreciation in the opening comments.

This will be the last time I prepare the Minutes.  Thank you and good luck to my successor.

Executive Board Meeting adjourned: 11:45 a.m.

Next Meeting: Lake Morey, October 20, 2009, 10:00 a.m.

Date Minutes completed:  October 8, 2009