SWGA Fox Run Playday

Hoorah!  We finally got a 2010 playday!  Although the wind was a bit "testy", the biggest challenge was the greens.  I know we all complained about it, but think of this:  for the last SIX months, we've had horrible rain and more cold weather than we've had in years.  And during that time, they were trying to "heal" from the tornado that closed the course earlier in the year.  So don't be too critical.

With that said, we had a GREAT turnout: 52 players.  Thank you all for sticking with it and completing the round.  I personally don't like "tee time events" because every player doesn't get to interact socially with all the other players, but since this was my first event as Events Chairman, it was better for me to get a feel of it all.  As a reminder to all players, you need to sign-in with the Events person at every event.  Simply paying the pro shop doesn't constitute "signing in".  There were several who didn't sign in, but luckily, I had seen them in the pro shop.

I apologize for not having a slideshow presentation for this event.  I didn't get a chance to take many pictures yesterday as I was pretty tied to the sign-in table.  I've included a few below.  Check out the right column for the winner results. 

Senior Olympics Golf

This year's Senior Olympics Golf is sponsored by Landers Dodge and will be held at Crooked Hollow Golf Course on April 23, starting at 8:30am. Go to http://www.nwlsog.org/signup_form.php to download the entry form which must be submitted by April 7th.

There are quite a few events in which to participate, and the $15 Sr. Olympics fee allows participation in 3 different type events and also includes the cost of a Sr. Olympics tee shirt.  There is a $30 fee for the golf event which includes lunch and other gift items.r

If you qualify in any Senior Olympics event, you can go on to the State Level competition and even on to Nationals.  If you have any questions about the golf event, feel free to contact me (Kathleen McCoy) at 870-510-4113 or via email at golfingladybug@gmail.com.

Stonebridge Scramble

We we finally got a golfing event completed....even though it was cold and windy!!  About 36 ladies braved the elements at the Stonebridge Scramble on March 25. 

The winning group was Gloria Utley, WGAS; Kay Swope, PCC; Julie Butterfield, FRLGA; and Pat Rice, BWGA.  They scored a 70 which is really great considering the windy conditions.  Congratulations ladies!  Check out all the photos in the slideshow in the right hand column.

Our first "official" SWGA event of the year will be April 8th at Fox Run.  Sign up by Friday, April 2.  If you don't play in this one, you can't have 100% participation, so plan to play.

Golfing in the Wind

I think the "March winds" are a little late getting here, but you can be sure, we'll have them to contend with.  Here's a tip from Golf Magazine that might help.

"A headwind calls for a low tee shot. Two small setup adjustments make it easy. First, tee the ball about a half-inch lower than normal. This reduces the chance that you#'ll make contact high on the face, which tends to produce more loft, particularly with today's oversize drivers.

"Next, move the ball two inches back in your stance so the clubhead makes contact while it's moving slightly downward. Don't try for extra power; focus on moving smoothly onto your left side through impact."

Another cancelled golf outing

Did you ever notice that "rain" and "cold" are both four-letter words????

SWGA City Championship

This year's city championship was supposed to be hosted at Northwood CC; however, due to Northwood being closed (hopefully temporarily), plans had to be changed in order to make firm plans for the year.  Therefore, the city championship will be hosted at Stonebridge this year.  The dates have not changed. It will still be on September 15-16 and you'll be able to play your practice round during the week prior to the tournament.  More to come on that later, but just wanted you to change your calendar to reflect the correct location.

Equitable Stroke Play

With the onset of our 2010 golf season, we might want to re-visit "Adjusting Hole Scores for Equitable Stroke Control (ESC)™".  We all want fair and honest handicap indexes and the ESC system helps with that.

ESC is an adjustment of individual hole scores (for handicap purposes) in order to make handicaps more representative of a player's potential ability. ESC is applied after the round and is only used when the actual score or the most likely score exceeds a player’s maximum number. ESC sets a limit to the number of strokes a player can take on a hole depending on Course Handicap™. Apply ESC to all scores, including tournament scores. Below is the maximum number a player can post:

Course Handicap                         Maximum Number

9 or less ...........................................Double Bogey

10-19........................................................ 7

20-29 ........................................................8

30-39 ........................................................9

Keep in mind that you use your ADJUSTED COURSE HANDICAP, not your handicap index.  Those of us who are in the 18-19 handicap index for example, will many times adjust up to a 20 or 21 course handicap.  In that case, instead of adjusting the 10 you made on a hole to a 7, you would adjust to an 8.

And don't forget, you should post scores even if you didn't complete the hole or the round (if you played at least seven holes).  There are provisions for both of these and according to the Rules of Golf, you should post those scores also.  So if you play 16 holes and decide to quit, for whatever reason, you should record your score for the last two holes based on the par score plus your handicap for that hole.  If you need help figuring it out, contact the Events Chairman Kathleen McCoy for assistance. 

USGA Course Rating Seminar

On Tuesday, Feb. 9, six of our SWGA members attended a USGA hosted Course Rating Training Seminar in Lafayette.  In addition to the classroom training conducted by the USGA, raters went out on the course at Oakbourne CC to practice rating....in very cold, windy, and wet conditions I might add.  But it was a great learning experience.

The state is divided into the North and South at Alexandria, and raters from both areas met to share ideas and methods.  Only the North team has lady raters....and that's US. 

Pictured here are the North area raters that attended the class, as well as the LGA Executive Director Carr McCalla and the USGA instructor.

We were also fortunate to have our new LGA Director of Member Services Lee Rainwater, who helps with our individual handicapping. 

Shown in this photo is Lee, Donna Cobb, and Brian Spence, also of the LGA Staff.

The six of us ladies have volunteered to be on rating teams throughout the year, helping to rate courses in Louisiana, anywhere north of Alexandria.  Should be an enlightening experience.