Posted: 10/29/10 

Fall Meeting Minutes

VERMONT STATE WOMEN’S GOLF ASSOCIATION  

Meeting:      Annual Meeting
Date/Time:  October 5, 2010 / 9:00 a.m.
Place:           Ralph Myhre  

The President asked roll call to be taken and recorded:

Attended by: Alburg 1, Basin Harbor 1, Blush Hill 1, Bradford 2, Brattleboro 1, Burlington 2, Cedar Knoll 3, Champlain 2, Copley 1, Country Club of Vermont 2, Crown Point 2, Dorset Field Club 2, Equinox 2, Essex 2, Green Mountain National 2, Lake Morey 1, Lake St. Catherine 1, Links at Lang Farm, 1, Manchester 2, Montague 2, Montpelier 1, Neshobe 1, Newport 2, Northfield 1, Okemo Valley 1, Orleans 2, Proctor-Pittsford 2, Quechee 2, Ralph Myhre 1, Rutland 2, St. Johnsbury 2, Stowe 1, Sugarbush 1, Tater Hill 1, Vermont National 3, West Bolton 2, Williston 3

The President called the meeting to order at 9:10AM.  Tracy Sloan welcomed everyone to Ralph Myhre and asked the Board and Committee Chairs to introduce themselves.  She thanked the club representatives for all the work they do and their support of the VSWGA.  She then referred to two announcements from the Final State Day Awards Luncheon: the retiring of the Buxton Cup and the addition of the “Allbright Cup” (named for Kathy Allbright) and the Paquet Cup (for Cindy Paquet).  The Allbright Cup will be presented to the woman with the best ringer score at the Vermont State Women’s Amateur Championship. A  note was read from Cindy Paquet referencing all the work Kathy has done to make the VSWGA such a strong organization.  Also new this year is the Paquet Cup as the Buxton Cup is being retired.  Cindy not only has been a past champion several times, but she maintains the VSWGA’s website and archives.  Both Kathy Allbright and Cindy Paquet have both been champions on and off the course.

The president concluded that during the ‘70’s and 80’s over 800 women participated in the VSWGA.  Time periods have changed but the issues remain the same: participation and rules.  Yet the main task has always been to promote women’s golf in the State of Vermont.

Secretary’s Report:  Tracy Sloan asked if the club representatives received and reviewed copies of the 2009 VSWGA Annual Meeting minutes.  Since there were no questions or amendments, she called to suspend the reading of these Minutes.  The Minutes were approved as written.

Election of Three New Board Members: Vice President Phyllis Simon and Chair of the Nominating Committee (Ellen Sheffer, Judy Manley, and Sarah Lee) introduced the candidates.  The candidates were:  Incumbent Deb Warner – Champlain, Incumbent Sarah Lee - The Golf Club at Equinox, Pam Shover - Williston, Barbara Tiffany - Sugarbush, Bonnie Tuscany – Williston and Judy Kurtz – St. Johnsbury, with no nominees from the floor.  Ballots were distributed to the voting members.  Each nominee had written something about herself which was included in the packet presented to the club reps before the meeting.  Each club was allowed two votes. 

The election votes were tallied; near the conclusion of the meeting Tracy Sloan welcomed the new board members: 

Deb Warner – Champlain
Judy Kurtz – St. Johnsbury
Pam Shover - Williston 

Sarah Lee was thanked for her years of service. 

Treasurer’s Report:  The 2010 Treasurer’s Report consisted of a Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss Statement with Pie Charts of our Income and Expenses.  Deb Warner and Tracy Sloan reported the 2010 season ended with a negative $2,435.32 balance, which was better than the projected negative $5,000 balance.    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 based budget which she feels is achievable in 2010.

Income Pie Chart thru September 2010: 

GHIN Income                                          $   42,399.00        = 32.02%

State Day Weekly Tournament Income          26,397.95        = 19.94%

Participation Fee Income                               12,620.00        =   9.53%

Mid-Amateur Tournament Income                 12,410.00        =   9.37%

Seniors Tournament Income                          10,800.00        =   7.61%

Amateur Tournament Income                         8,830.86        =   6.67%

Restricted Funds Income                                5,814.05        =   4.39%

Golf Association Club Fees Income                 5,775.00        =   4.36%

Tri-State Tournament Income                         4,110.00        =   3.10%

80^th Anniversary Tournament                         3,570.00        =   2.70%

Interest Income                                                392.61        =   0.30%

TOTAL:                                                 $132,399.47                

Expenses Pie Chart thru September 2010:

State Day Weekly Expense                      $  23,727.49        = 18.20%

Awards (points) Expense                             15,818.80        = 13.25%

Mid-Amateur Tournament Expense              11,314.39        =   9.48%

Executive Board Expense                            11,307.40        =   9.47%

Seniors Tournament Expense                         9,836.70        =   8.24%

Amateur Tournament Expense                       9,213.00        =   7.72%

GHIN Expense                                             7,999.51        =   6.70%

Restricted Income Expense                           6,227.65        =   5.22%

Tri-State Tournament Expense                      4,941.87        =   4.14%

80^th Anniversary Tournament Expense          3,716.61        =   3.11%

Other Expense                                           17,267.59        =  14.47%

TOTAL:                                               $119,369.76  

Comments on the Treasurer’s Reports: 

·        There may be a discrepancy in tournament budgets depending on when bills are received and paid. Tracy Sloan indicated that tournament budgets are intended to break even with awards certificates.

·        Anticipated purchase for 2011 will be equipment for course raters.

·        Phyllis Simon would like to see the budget presented on a fiscal year of October to September rather than January through September as it is reported now.

·        The VGA Scholarship expenses increased.

·        The Mid-Amateur Tournament was reported incorrectly.  Chair Phyllis Simon reported the tournament only had a profit of $300 not $700. Tracy Sloan reported a timing issue between when the tournament ended and the meeting. 

·        Next year, members would like to see a 12-month spreadsheet and each tournament broken down.

·        It was announced that Jeanne DiBattisto offered her resignation as Bookkeeper, effective 12/31/10.

A motion was made to approve the Treasurer’s reports, seconded by Cynthia Borck.  The Treasurer’s reports were approved as written.   

COMMITTEE CHAIR REPORTS: 

The President expressed her thanks to the committee chairs for their outstanding performance throughout the season.  It was also acknowledged by the president that Carolyn Barbieri stepped down as Course Ratings Chair.  The new Co-Chairs are Harriet Parot and Ellen Sheffer.

Course Rating:

Harriet Parot extended her gratitude to Ellen Sheffer, Co-Chair, for her tireless efforts to help with the course ratings schedule.  Harriet reported that 12 courses were rated in 2010.  The teams have rated 171 holes, more than 10.5 miles of fairways, and an incalculable number of hazards and bunkers.  In order to be back on a regular rotation of rating 6 to 8 courses per year, 14 courses will need to be  rated in 2011.  Re-rating a course might result in a new slope and rating which Harriet stated appears on GHIN.com soon after she submits the information gathered.   

The VSWGA is always looking for new raters.  There are online seminars.  Observers are welcome to come along with our teams.  Contact Ellen Sheffer at vtreb@aol.com or (802) 247-6159 if you are interested.

Handicap: 

Harriet Parot reported that through the September 1^st revision, the VSWGA has over 2,700 active women golfers using the GHIN handicap system here in Vermont via the VSWGA.  This is a drop of a 5 ½% decrease or approximately 150 golfers from 2009.  The VSWGA has, as an association, billed $44,052 in GHIN handicap fees to member clubs.  Of that $44,052 we have collected $39,432.  There will be one final billing for the 2010 season that will be mailed by the 2^nd week in October.  It is anticipated that the final billing will represent approximately $650 in additional GHIN fee income for the remainder of this year.   There are a few clubs in arrears; however, the majority have been very good about staying current.

Harriet Parot reported there has been a change in the dates that handicaps are revised.  The new revision schedule changed this year to the 1^st and 15^th of every month for the VGA and the VSWGA.  In January 2012, the USGA will adopt this schedule universally for all state and regional golf associations. 

Revisions can be received via email.  These eRevisions include not only your most recent handicap information, but valuable information from your state golf association. To sign up for eRevisions, visit the GHIN.com website and click on the email update link.

The VSWGA and member clubs that are currently licensed will need to re-visit the club licensing process prior to December 31, 2011, which marks the beginning of the next licensing period.  It’s as simple as either attending a seminar held by the USGA at a state association sanctioned location 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.

Pace of Play:

Pace of Play Chair, Nancy Myers, reported the Pace of Play committee gave out the same number (42) of slow play warnings as last year and only 1 turtle designation this year.  Players seemed to have a much greater awareness of their position in the field.  The Pace of Play will always be an ongoing issue.  The policy for pace of play for major tournaments of going directly to the scoring area immediately after play to record their time is the best way and should be used at State Day tournaments as well.   This is an area where we all could improve.  In addition to the Office, club representatives will be notified if one of their members receives a turtle designation.

State Days:

Cynthia Borck reported the VSWGA had 458 State Day members and 44 were new members for 2010.  State Day tournaments were hosted by 56 courses.  A total of 7,090 points were awarded with $21,270 in prize money paid out to the members in the form of universal chits.  A graph representing 3 years of Closest to the Pin by number of division winners was presented.  Division B players lead each year.  2010 began the first year of club representatives electronic reporting their results to the office.  This was a huge success and will be continued in 2011. 

State Day Comments:

Kathy Allbright requested a breakdown of the number of players by division.

Chelsea:  A request was made from the floor to make players Chelsea points public.  Tracy Sloan reported that there is a two year accumulation of Chelsea ranking points as to what course choice you may get to play.  She further added that the Chelsea system is not a perfect system, and the player rankings have never been made public.  The Chelsea system places groups of four first, followed by threesomes, singles, and finally twosomes.  Your chance of getting to play your course of first choice improves with the type of course you play and your flexibility as to the time you want to play.

USGA Regional Affairs and Regional Associations

Kathy Allbright reported that she and Liz Walker attended the meeting in Far Hills, NJ.  They toured the USGA Museum and the Arnold Palmer Center for Golf History.  The meeting focused on the USGA’s mission which is Championships, Rules, Environment, and Preserving History.  There are concerns about the leveling off of the popularity of the game of golf.  Clubs are looking at ways to reduce maintenance costs by using less water and fertilizer and having more natural areas.  Kathy found it helpful to network with women from other organizations.

Rules:

New Co-Chairs, Kathy Allbright and Ellen Sheffer, attended a three-day Rules of Golf Workshop.  Harriet Parot and Deb Warner also attended a workshop.  Rules Seminars (one northern and one southern location) for members are planned for next spring.  There will be a nominal fee for lunch. Also planned is a brief rules question and answer time from 5-6PM the evening prior to all major championships at the host club.

The committee extended their thanks to the VGA who assisted at the NEWGA and Senior Championship tournaments.

The Rules Committee hopes to continue to improve information shared with the members.  They hope to explore the opportunity to have some sort of rules question when accessing the VSWGA website as does the VGA.

Nancy Murphy inquired about putting the planned rules seminar on the web site for all to view.

Tournament Procedures: 

State Seniors Championship:  The Seniors was held at the Rutland Country Club.  Thank you to Co-Chairs Stacie Eaton and Kristin Mahoney for a job well done.  The tournament was shortened by storm damage that swept through Rutland after the conclusion of the first day of play.  The tournament consisted of 81 players.

The top finishers were:

1^st Reggie Parker, Ekwanok = 78

2^nd Susie Bremner, Rocky Ridge and Deb Fletcher, Enosburg = 85

Super Senior, Edith Hiller, Rutland = 88

Legend, Dorothy Cleary, Mt. Anthony = 89

Low Net, Sue Ming, St. Johnsbury = 65

Pat Job Cup won by Crown Point County Club

The 2011 Seniors Championship will be held at the St. Johnsbury CC July 13-14.

State Amateur Championship:  The Amateur Championship was held at the Neshobe Golf Club.  Thank you to Ellen Sheffer and Andy Raymond, Co-Chairs, for a job well done.  There were 60 players in the field. 

The top finishers were:

1^st Holly Reynolds, Copley = 221

2^nd Catherine Shomo, Rutland = 226

3^rd Linday Cone, Rutland = 229

Low Net, Ellen Sheffer, Neshobe = 214

Junior: Madison Corley, Links at Lang Farm = 243

Buxton Cup won by Rutland Country Club

This was Holly Reynolds 6^th Amateur title win.

The 2011 Amateur Championship will be held at the Rutland CC August 16-18.

State Mid-Amateur Championship:  The Mid-Amateur was held at the Vermont National Country Club.  Co-Chairs, Phyllis Simon and Gwen Blankenheim did a fine job.  There were 103 players in the field. 

The winners were:

1^st Holly Reynolds, Copley = 144

2^nd Tiffany Maurycy, Williston = 152

3^rd Kristen Mahoney, Rutland = 157

Low Net, Jayne Magnant, West Bolton, 136

Dick Cup won by Williston Golf Course

Holly’s 67 on Saturday was an unofficial VNCC women’s course record (the tees were changed for the event) and it is a record for the Mid-Amateur Championship.

The 2011 Mid-Amateur Championship will be held at the Neshobe GC September 17-18.

New England Amateur Championship:  Vermont hosted the 2010 NEWGA Championship at the Green Mountain National Golf Club.  Co-Chairs of this event were Kathy Allbright and Pat Whitney of the host club.  First place was awarded to Samantha Morell of Rhode Island.  The top Vermont finisher was Teo Poplowski of the Champlain Country Club who finished fourth.  The junior champion was Kristen Garabedian of the Lake St. Catherine Country Club.

The 2011 NEWGA Championship Tournament will be held at the Shuttle Meadow Country Club in Kensington, CT July 18-20.

            Major Tournament Discussion: 

Tournament Participation:  Reasons for the diminishing participation in major tournaments included: the economy, 3-day tournaments mid-week are too long, VSWGA members’ ages, and scheduling dates when college players are returning to school and are not able to play.  The dates of tournaments cannot be changed until at least the 2012 season. 

Cynthia Borck suggested that the age requirements for both the Seniors and Mid-Amateur tournaments change to 55 and 35 respectively by the end of December rather than the beginning date of the tournament. 

Kathy Allbright suggested a length required for the course layout in order to host a tournament be: 5200 yards for Seniors, 5400 yards for the Mid-Amateur, 5600 yards for the Amateur, and 5800 yards for NEWGA.  The yardage will not change for the Amateur Championship next year at the Rutland Country Club. 

Tracy Sloan announced Kathy Allbright’s retirement as Tournament Chair and Rhonda Colvard of Burlington will be the new Chair.

Tri-States:

Chairperson Phyllis Simon reported that Vermont won the 2010 Tri-States Tournament held at the Waterville Country Club in Waterville, Maine.  The Vermont team won by two points over Maine with strong play in the individual matches.  The 2011 Tri-States Tournament will be held in Vermont at the Green Mountain Golf Club on June 22^nd and 23^rd.   The committee (Phyllis Simon, Pam Shover, and Mickey Potwin) expects registration to increase due to the tournament being held locally (Vermont).  Next year, the practice round will not be mandatory, but it is strongly suggested.  Also new next year will be the handicap limit criteria.  It will be limited to golfers with an index of 30.0 or lower.

Web Administrator: 

The Web Administrator, Cindy Paquet, reported on her duties to update the VSWGA website through the year.  Cindy does an exceptional job maintaining our website and keeping it current.  She writes the majority of the articles and posts state day and tournament results in addition to many other responsibilities.  This past year, state day results were posted on a more consistent and timely basis due to the new electronic transmitting of information. 

Message Board:  During 2009, Cindy added a new Message Board.  Cindy commented that she was disappointed that so few members were using the Message Board. Should we continue or look for a new form of communication? Betty Hansen (Northfield) commented the association should give it another year. 

Tracy Sloan thanked Cindy on behalf of the VSWGA for the fabulous job she has done throughout the year.   We all would be lost without this invaluable service. 

Junior Program:

Mary Ann Levins runs the Junior Program and has made it a great success.  The VSWGA assists the program by donating 50 % of our Closest to the Pin (CTP) money, which helps the Junior Program meet its matching funds requirement.

First Tee Program:

The First Tee Program has grown to 80 schools participating with 4,000 members.   This program is for both girls and boys and is supported by the VSWGA, the VGA, and several other organizations.   The VSWGA gives $3,000 to the First Tee Program and $5,000 to the VGA Scholarship fund.

OTHER BUSINESS:

Junior Golf: 

Weslie Porter (Dorset) reported that Leo Reynolds would to like to restart a Girls Golf Clinic and having three per summer.  Each course would need to follow up with allowing playing time and more instruction.  It was suggested that the VSWGA make contact with local schools and golf clubs to encourage golf participation.  USGA Rep Jim Farrell stated that programs that do the best are the ones that continue to provide affordable access to the game of golf.

A motion was made by Nancy Murphy (Proctor-Pittsford) to create a committee to look at what is available around the state and what works.  Money should not be spent until a decision as to where the money should go is thought out.   Motion Passed.

Barbara Tiffany stated we need to work on keeping our good junior golfers in the State of Vermont after they completed college.

Closest to the Pin:

Tracy Sloan, on behalf of Jeanne DiBattisto, requested a vote as to whether to continue the Closest to the Pin, as is, or revert back to it being based on handicap, lower handicap players on one hole and the higher handicap players on the other.  Jeanne feels too many “A” players were winning on a regular basis.  A discussion followed that results have proven that anyone can win Closest to the Pin and the “new” method has not affected the number of participants. 

A motion was made by Kathy Sikora to continue the Closest to the Pin format with two CTP contest holes for everyone; seconded by Sarah Lee.  Motion passed unanimously.

Lakeside Membership: 

The mission statement of the VSWGA is to promote golf and provide service to all women golfers in the State of Vermont.

Harriet Parot raised the subject that the VSWGA should look into allowing Lakeside members to belong to the VSWGA.  Presently, Lakeside members have their GHIN fees sent to the VGA; this could be additional income to our association.

Lakeside is considered a “non-real estate” course.  According the USGA, there are 3 types of golf courses: 1) Real Estate 2) Shared Common Interest (i.e., employees), and 3) Non-Real Estate (i.e., Lakeside – no association with another member club).

GHIN charges each golfer $15 per adult and $9 per junior; $2.59 of that money per golfer is paid back to GHIN for their handicaps.  The VSWGA keeps the rest in the operating budget.  All work is done via Lakeside as far as posting scores and getting a handicap.

If the VSWGA were to accept Lakeside members for State Day play, with full benefits of a real estate club, then they would have a club representative and all state day points accrued by members would go to Lakeside.

Betty Hansen (Northfield) stated that any proposal needed to be looked at very carefully and stated, “that once you open that door, you won’t be able to close it.”

A motion was made to provide a GHIN handicap to anyone in the State of Vermont and to consider creating a non-real estate club (type 3); these players would not be eligible to play state days.  Nancy Eames (CC of VT) moved to amend the motion.

Scooter Hathorn (Bradford) amended the motion to read: the VSWGA should recognize and establish a Lakeside Club (type 3) for all women golfers; this club would have the same privileges as Ekwanok, i.e., they would not be able to play in State Days, but could play in Championships.  Motion passed.

Lindy McMahon (Country Club of Vermont) volunteered to chair and form a committee to look into accepting Lakeside as a club with all the privileges of a real estate club. 

REPS CONCERNS/ISSUES:

FSD Location: Suzanne Neville (The Golf Club at Equinox) requested the Final State Day location be moved.  She reported that The Golf Club at Equinox and the Manchester CC were interested.  Tracy Sloan reported that the location ideally should be central and Manchester/Equinox would not be centrally located.  The Board is looking into different options because the Quechee Club is beginning a 4-year renovation project.

VGA Scholarship Scramble: Kathy Allbright (Crown Point CC) requested the VSWGA sponsor more teams to participate in this tournament for more visibility.  There were two teams sponsored by our organization out of 9 teams of women this year.

Credit Card Payments:  Josie Herrera (VT National) suggested the VSWGA move towards paying for tournaments using PayPal or another electronic means of money transfer.

Kathy Allbright stated that more states are going this route.  Harriet Parot added that GHIN is developing a system, but to keep in mind that there will be processing fees involved.  It was agreed that there are both advantages and disadvantages to paying electronically.  Jim Farrell stated that in his experience, electronic processing can be very messy.  Irene Farrar (Orleans) stated that the golf courses need to take the sales tax out of the $15 that goes to the course for state days and perhaps our fees to reflect this.

COMMENTS:

Libby Smith:  Nancy Murphy reported on the fun the women of Proctor-Pittsford had playing with Libby Smith last year.  Proctor-Pittsford won a round of golf with Libby at least year’s annual meeting.

Special Thank You:  Tracy Sloan thanked Krissie Lohrman for setting up the new electronic procedures for club representatives to report their state day results.  The process ran very smoothly with few mistakes and results were posted at faster rates than in the past.  Special congratulations were also given to Krissie for an overall job well done.

Farewell:

Vice President Phyllis Simon thanked outgoing President Tracy Sloan and presented her with a gift.  Tracy has given six years of service to the VSWGA Board.  Tracy Sloan replied, “It was an honor to serve a phenomenal association; it has been a real gift.” She also thanked Jim Farrell for being our liaison with the USGA and presented him with a gift. 

Annual Board Meeting adjourned: 12:05 p.m. 

Next Meeting: October 5, 2011, 9 A.M; place to be determined.
Minutes Recorded by:   Kathy Sikora

Minutes completed:  October 26, 2010