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Minutes of the 2010 Eagle Harbor Golf Club January 7, 2010
The Annual Meeting of Team Representatives began promptly at 9:30 a.m. Roy Gulick, the Meeting Facilitator, welcomed everyone and introduced the 20 participants. · Appendix A lists the meeting participants · Appendix B lists the action items from the meeting
PROCEEDINGS A. Report from the Tournament Chairman Recognition of the 2009 Season Champions. We all congratulate the top four teams of last year's season. In Fourth Place, the previous year's champs: Jacksonville Golf and Country Club. In Third Place: Sawgrass Country Club. In Second Place: Eagle Harbor Golf Club. And in First Place, our 2009 Champions: Hidden Hills Country Club. Review of the 2009 Season. 2009 was a great year. We played 12 matches, including a rescheduled rainout at Osprey Cove. That's 1,440 rounds of golf. We paid our Clubs $72,000 and those Clubs paid out $11,400 in merchandise prizes. We also awarded $4,300 in door prizes at the Brady Cup Tournament. MSIS Web Site. We made $275 from our Web site, including advertisements from two businessmen players, Jock Ochiltree and Tex Blinn, and hits from Google. We seek other advertisers at $50 to $76 per ad depending on where they want their ad placed on the site. Bank Account. Our Citibank account closed the year with $376. Income tax for 2009 will be approximately $37. Post-Match Scoring. Three laptops are sufficient for the task, and we have a good team in place. We can always use more volunteer help from those players who have laptop computers. (A question was asked about McIntosh laptops; Barney didn't think that the software would work on a McIntosh.) Legibility of scorecards has improved significantly, although we still have occasional problems deciphering individual hole scores. Please remind your players that if the data input staff is in doubt, they will always choose the higher score. With all the data we handle, our scorers do make mistakes. We've been lucky in catching and correcting most of them. Unfortunately, by our rules, if prizes are awarded erroneously due to such errors, the prizes cannot be retrieved. The overall results will, of course, be corrected. The best check we have for post-match scoring errors is the individual player who notices that an incorrect score was posted on the scoreboard. Players have been good about letting us know when that happens. Please encourage your players to always check the scoreboard and let us know of any errors. Handicap Database. Over the past year our player list increased from 660 to 715, and it is still increasing. I would like to remove inactive players from that list. (Barney then passed out a list of active and inactive players to each Team Rep.) He asked them to review the list and let him know of deletions.) E-mail List. You've been good about reporting new players, and I ask that you continue to send me an e-mail anytime you have a new player. Include the new player's e-mail address. Succession Tournament Chairman. I'm still looking for a successor. I ask that Team Reps actively look among your players for someone who might be interested in serving in this role. It would also be great if someone new could take over parts of the job, and maintain our Web Site.
B. Report from the Scheduling Chairman, Roy Gulick Thanks. Many thanks to all Team Reps for assisting me with the scheduling of your home course match. The procedure worked well this past year. There were schedule changes, as expected, and they were handled easily. We remain flexible. 2010 Schedule. (He handed out the 2010 Schedule.) Note that there is no date or course set for the December Brady Cup Match. That's because you will vote later this morning on the venue for that match: a neutral site as before, or possibly a home site. At this point Dave Spring requested a schedule change for Marsh Creek, and it was accepted. The April 19 date will slide one week April 26. 2011 Planning Schedule. Note that two dates in 2011 are already set: World Golf Village on January 10 and San Jose on May 2. Our Team Reps Meeting will be on Thursday January 6, and we need a volunteer to host that meeting. At this point Bill Basney of San Jose volunteered to host next year's meeting. Scheduling Procedure. Most of you have experienced the scheduling procedure. For those who have not, here it is: We follow a set rotation in a 16-month cycle (15 clubs plus the Brady Cup). I schedule one year in advance. I send an e-mail to the host Team Rep asking him to meet with his Pro and select a date. When he informs me of the date, I prepare three copies of a written Agreement, sign it, and sent it to Barney for his signature. When Barney returns the copies to me, I send them with a cover letter to the Team Rep for his signature and his Pro's signature. The Team Rep and his Pro keep one copy for themselves, and the third copy is returned to me. Succession - Scheduling Chairman. I'm pleased to announce that I have a successor. Tony DeMarco of Osprey Cove has agreed to become our Scheduling Chairman, effective tomorrow. (Round of applause for Tony!)
DISCUSSION 1. Pricing for 2011. Roy Gulick passed out a sheet showing our pricing history. He then proposed no change for 2011: $55. The Team Reps voted on that and agreed: no change. 2. Proximity Prizes. Barney Poston requested that the host club donate a dozen golf balls to use as proximity prizes for that match. After discussion, the Team Reps agreed to do that. 3. Prizes for the Top Four Teams. Barney Poston proposed awarding cash prizes to the season's top four teams in this allocation: 45%, 25%, 20%, and 10%. This caused a great deal of discussion, including comments regarding the USGA rules concerning amateur status. The Team Reps voted, and agreed that the awards would be made to the team, not to individuals, and that the Team Rep would decide how his team members would be properly rewarded (food, merchandise, etc.). There was a suggestion that a photo of the team might be appropriate. 4. Handicaps. Roy Gulick, for the third year in a row, suggested that we use our USGA handicap index rather than Senior Interclub handicap index. After discussion by the Team Reps, he made a motion to that effect. There was no second. The matter was dropped. 5. Matches; Home Team Advantage? Barney Poston showed statistics indicating that the home team has a decided advantage in our matches. He suggested that as a remedy the home team have points subtracted from their score. The Team Reps considered that and then offered other suggestions. After discussion, the participants agreed to maintain the status quo. 6. Brady Cup Venue. Continuing the previous topic (home team advantage), Barney Poston discussed the idea of playing the Brady Cup Tournament at one of our Clubs. After questions and discussion, the Team Reps voted to maintain the status quo. 7. Handicaps; Refresh? Skip Lunsford suggested this topic, which was introduced by his substitute, Russ Sell. The suggestion was that players who have not participated for six months should have their MSIS Handicap Index revert back to their USGA index the next time they participate; otherwise their handicap accuracy is suspect. After discussion and vote, the Team Reps decided that, at the beginning of each season, (1) Barney would reset the handicap index of any player who did not play during the previous season and (2) Team Reps would ask him to permanently remove any player they believed would not play for their team in future matches. (Because the first match of the season at San Jose was but a few days away, these actions will take place after that match.) 8. Canceled Matches; Reschedule? Barney Poston reminded the participants that in 2009 one match was rained out, but a fortuitous schedule change by another Club permitted that match to be rescheduled. Citing the unlikelihood of that happening again, he proposed that in the future canceled matches not be rescheduled. The Team Reps voted and agreed. 9. Picking Up; USGA Rules. Roy Gulick said that one of his team members suspected a bias in favor of the high-handicap players and thought that he knew why. Roy handed out an analysis of the 120 scores recorded at the Brady Cup Match at Deerwood. The analysis indicated there was such a bias, of a couple of points. Roy's team member suspected it was due to higher-handicap players picking up, especially on par-3 holes, and thus being assigned their ESC score (an 8 or a 9) by the computer, causing an inflated gross score for the 18 holes and inflating their handicaps. This was discussed by the Team Reps. They agreed that Barney Poston's instructions to keep playing until you're out of the hole AND have reached your ESC score were sufficient. 10. Communications on the Course. Barney Poston proposed that there should be no communications between teammates or spectators regarding the match in progress. This applies to both verbal and electronic communications. The Team Reps voted on this and agreed. 11. Pace of Post-match Scoring. Bill Basney said that while the pace of play has improved (it was mentioned at last year's meeting but not this one), post-match scoring takes too long and players get restless and leave. The participants thought that the main reason for this was the amount of time spent recording scores on the large scoreboard. Bill and others suggested different ways to improve the situation, including adding help at the scoreboard, doing away with the large scoreboard and printing and distributing the results, and using a projection system. The Team Reps agreed that the Pro Staff needed more help at the scoreboard, and agreed to provide it. 12. Maximum Handicap. Gary Owensby suggested that we set a maximum handicap. Barney Poston reminded him that our rules say that we play by the USGA Rules of Golf, which limits handicap indexes to 36.4. The matter was dropped. ADJOURNMENT APPENDIX A - Meeting Participants
(s) Substitute for Skip Lunsford (ss) Substitute for Roy Gulick APPENDIX B - Action Items
1. Handicap Database. Team Reps should review the list of your team's players that Barney passed out and let him know of any deletions from the handicap database. 2. Handicaps - Refresh. At the beginning of each season, Barney Poston will reset the handicap of any player who did not play during the previous season. 3. Handicaps - Deletions. Team Reps will ask Barney to permanently remove any player they believe will not play for their team in future matches. 4. Successor Tournament Chairman. Team Reps should look among their players for someone who might be interested in serving as Tournament Chairman. It would also be great if someone new could take over parts of the job, such as post-match or writing our monthly newsletter. 5. 2010 Schedule. Change the date of the Marsh Creek match from April 19 to April 26. Select a neutral venue and date for the December Brady Cup match. 6. 2011 Schedule. Note that the 2011 Team Reps Meeting will be held January 6 at San Jose. 7. Successor Scheduling Chairman. Note that Tony Demarco of Osprey Cove has relieved Roy Gulick as the Scheduling Chairman. 8. Pricing for 2011. The price for 2011 matches will not change: $55. 9. Proximity Prizes. Barney Poston will ask the host club to donate a dozen golf balls to use as proximity prizes for that match. Team Reps should help him arrange that. 10. Prizes for the Top Four Teams during a Season (Calendar Year). The top four teams will be awarded cash in this allocation: 45%, 25%, 20%, and 10%. The awards will be made to the team, not to individuals, and the Team Rep will decide how his team members will be rewarded (food, merchandise, etc.). 11. Canceled Matches. Canceled matches will not be rescheduled. 12. Communications on the Course. There should be no communications between teammates or spectators regarding the match in progress. This applies to both verbal and electronic communications. 13. Pace of Post-match Scoring. The host Club Team Rep will provide one or two players to help the Pro Staff post the scores at the scoreboard. Barney Poston will look for other possible ways to speed the process: perhaps a printer, a projector, no scoreboard at all, etc. 14. Scorecard Legibility. Team Reps should remind their players to write their scores legibly, and explain to players that if the data input staff is in doubt between two scores, they will always choose the higher score. Encourage your players to check the scoreboard and let us the scoring table know of any errors. 15. New Players. Team Reps should continue to send Barney an e-mail anytime they have a new player. Include the new player's e-mail address.
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