President's Message - September 23, 2020

Morris Williams Sept. 29th  Perfect Forecast. Individual Format Continues.

courtesy of weather.com

The weather forecast got in our way yesterday and we only had 16 play. The good news for those that did is that the course did not receive any rain during the event. We were the last group to finish and it was hard to believe how nice it was. Now the forecast for Morris Williams September 29th is near perfect, so sign up and come out to play. I usually look at the forecast when choosing the period of time requested for tee times. As the weather cools that may be more important.

Next week will be our third event since given the green light to play and we really need as many of you that are ready to play to sign up and come out. Also, I wanted to tell you that our sign up system is working well and we are looking forward to gathering some data as the fall seasons starts and when winter comes. With this data we hope to end up with a system that makes the most people happy, comfortable and well maybe even greater golfers. For sure during this pandemic we have likely all bulked up. That concept, though maybe more muscle oriented, sure worked well for Bryson DeChambeau.

A few of you have been questioning why we are only playing individual net.  When we were given the green light to play again, we had to demonstrate that we could play safely. The individual format and all the other protocol we have previously presented to you were determined to be best format to engage. We have been encouraged to continue for the next month or so and then we can review again. There are so many things we have given up, but being able to play even one format, get exercise and have fun is important. We want that to continue. Shawn Higgins, our Event Chairman, has updated the next few events to be individual format. With work being done on the irrigation system for Jimmy Clay we will be moving around between the other three courses as you will see when you review the Event Schedule on our website.

I am forecasting that you will have fun next week. Commit, sign up and show up to play.

On behalf of the ASGA Board of Directors and Austin Senior Golf League,

Travis McWhorter, President

President's Message - September 14, 2020

Playing Morris Williams Sept.15 and Sign-up For Lions Sept. 22 Starts Wednesday

If you're playing tomorrow, signups are posted. Remember to follow the current protocol. We want to be safe and continue playing. The highlights are to wear a mask in and around the club house and practice areas. Even when you remove the mask to play, remember to honor at least 6, if not 10 feet spacing from others. You must pay with credit card or debit card. The course will collect the $5 entry fee as a part of payment.

As to the Hole-In-One entry that is with cash and is not a part of the course and must be put in the container along with your name as Shawn Higgins has previously instructed. Many of you have signed up earlier in the year and only if you have not entered since the last winner should you sign-up again. This program is totally voluntary, but should you hit a hole-in-one and not be signed up you will not collect.

Also please show up only 30 minutes earlier than tee time, only three carts per group so you and your group will need to work out details. Shawn Higgins outlined those options under the update last week. You should just use regular score cards and record each player's gross score for each hole. Place the cards in the box near the check-in area after completing the round. The course will not handle the score cards. Bill Burke and the computer program will put in the handicaps as the scores are input. Please make the names very legible and have someone attest the scorekeeper. The results will be posted on our website as soon as possible.

The online sign-up went very well last week. If there are any of you nervous about signing up for next weeks event at Lions, please feel free to call me and I will walk you though the sign-up process. We tested a couple tweaks this week and will  continue to improve our system. Our goal is--fair to all and easy to do. Having fun is really why we play.

On behalf of the ASGA Board of Directors and Austin Senior Golf League 

Travis McWhorter, President

President's Message - September 8, 2020

Sign-up for Morris Williams September 15 Individual Net begins tomorrow 

You do not have to get up early just get on line and do it at your convenience Wednesday through Friday. It has been a long road getting back to playing and though I know some of you love the individual net format and some prefer others. It was felt from the city of Austin and the Parks and Recreation that to get us back on the course safely we should start with this for now. Follow the guidelines and we will  look for ways to expand formats down the line. The most important thing is please sign up and please show up. The current forecast is a near perfect "fall-like" day. Next Monday, I will update again with protocol issues as a reminder. Following are some pointers from some of your board members with the most involvement in league play management.

Shawn Higgins, Event Chairman 

1st - No one should arrive more than 30 minutes before their tee time.Once you pay and check in do not hang around inside the club house. 

2nd - No more than 3 carts to a group. If you do double up you should wear a mask while both are in the cart, but do not double up if you are uncomfortable with it. You can put 2 bags in a cart and take turns walking if this works for the 2 of you. If I did this I would clean the steering wheel before driving just to be safe. If you have 4 and one or more of you is willing to walk with a push cart or carry bag then all of the other 3 can have an individual cart.

3rd - There are 56 players currently in the Hole-in-one (HIO) pot. Please check the list of players already to see if you are already entered before putting your $5 in. I will leave the blue container to enter if you wish. It is okay to touch the note pads, pencils or make change as long as you clean your hands immediately after doing so. 

Bill Burke, Handicap Chairman

The completed score cards will be turned in at the end of your rounds. There will be a container close to the counter area. Drop you cards in there and I will pick them up to enter in the scores. All I need is a filled out scorecard with your gross scores written on them. The ideal is to score for one person and let them score for you. Make sure you identify the scorer and then attest. If more than one person is put on a card make sure they are properly attested by one of those playing in the group.  

 
Paul Redden, Immediate Past President and Registration Manager

I will be going over the sign ups on Saturday to organize and send to the course. In the event that you made a mistake and want to correct please email or call me. You can find my email and phone number on the website. You can also check with Travis McWhorter.  It is not mandatory that anyone has to share a cart. The limit of three includes personally owned ones. There are a some regular walkers and several that are used to riding with someone.  You should be able to find a group to play with that will make the three cart limit work as Shawn described. 

 
Bruce Jones, Website Chairman 

Don’t forget that signups for the next event are now just a few clicks on-line. No more dialing in at 7:00 a.m. or standing in line at the counter on a specific morning. Our TEE TIME REGISTRATION SYSTEM is available ANYTIME Wednesday through Friday. One person can sign up your usual group if desired—all signups are randomly distributed into one of three signup blocks you choose--early, middle, and late. Just come back to austinsga.org on Sunday to see your Tee Time, then head to the course Tuesday morning. Further info can be found at austinsga.org/TeeTime_Signup/signup_help.php
Be sure to call the course if you need to cancel after the tee times are posted.
 

We have been on the sidelines too long. Now we must play. See you Tuesday.

On behalf of the ASGA Board of Directors and Austin Senior Golf League 

Travis McWhorter, President

President's Message - September 5, 2020

The City, Parks and Recreation and Golf Division Said Yes!! We Will Restart League Play  September 15th at Morris Williams. The Voting Has Closed and You Have Extended Your Board for an Additional Term.

It was very exciting to learn from Kevin Gomillion and I quote, "We have been given permission to allow our Tuesday Senior Golf League to re-start on Tuesday, September 15th at Morris Williams. A couple of changes to the format and Travis McWhorter may chime in on any additional information."  I have so chimed and we are ready to start. Some of the details will be covered later in this update. I can honestly say that "goose bumps" overcame me. Thanks to all of you and the board, we have succeeded.

The voting for extending the board has completed today and after 10-24 hour periods the voting was closed by Bruce Jones, voting coordinator. Since at the unanimous recommendation of the board we were suspending  our normal by-laws for this one time exception to the date of election and term limits the vote by the membership had to pass by a minimum of 2/3 of those casting a vote.  The final results were 86 sent back the email response. Those that voted yes were 84, no was 1 and without a vote 1. The without a vote was not counted, so we had 98.8 % approval. The Board and I do appreciate your vote of confidence and look forward to serving you until the appropriate election and transfer meetings in 2021. It would be nice that at some point during this time normality or something close to it returns. In the mean time we will zig and zag when needed and get the job done.

Now it is time to get ready to return to playing golf. Next week we will give you more information to help our return to golf go smoothly. It is important that we play by the guidelines we have agreed to. Remember that all sign up for tee times will be on line. The sign up for the Morris Williams Event will begin Wednesday morning at your convenience and will end Friday. You may want to review under Member Programs and then open Tee Time Registration. A complete outline of the program is then available by clicking on Registration Help. Those of you that played at our last tournament at Riverside used the program and all of you had a chance to practice it as we tested during our downtime.

A few key things about playing. We are now playing for the foreseeable future Individual net only. We will be playing under the Austin Senior Golf League as we will not play tournaments but league play only.  This was deemed to safest form relating to Covid-19 Guidelines for us to re-start. In time we will look into other safe formats. Carts are limited to three per group. If you are playing in a foursome at least one person will have to walk or if all wish to ride two will have to share a cart. Those requesting a cart alone will not have to pay extra, but will need to balance out the three cart maximum in some way. We will be working on a way to find out your desires up front so we can make sure to comply and help with the foursome groups to have enough walkers to make it work. In the event that some share a cart it is recommended that you each wear a mask when in the cart at the same time. The three cart situation is about quantity of carts available. In and around the club house you must wear a mask. At the first tee, practicing safe distancing of at least 6 feet or more if possible, you may remove your mask if you like. Please put it back on as you complete your round and turn in the score card. The course will take your appropriate fee plus Event entry fee of $5 by debit or credit card only when you arrive to sign in. Signs are everywhere explaining course protocol.  The score card properly signed and attested will be put into a receptacle near the front desk. ASGA Senior Golf League will be responsible for the scoring and results posted on the ASGA website as soon as possible after the event. Do not attempt  to hand the score card to the course employees. They are required not to touch.

Many of our officers will take on dual roles as a results of our playing as Austin Senior Golf League. I am the president of both our groups. Shawn Higgins is the Event Chairman. All the rest will do their normal duties while focusing on serving the Austin Senior League. All the age restrictions, membership etc are the same for both groups.

Paul Redden and Bruce Jones will be working hard to get all ready on the website to start taking your registrations on Wednesday. Do not call or go to the course to get reservations. We are hoping with cooler weather now here that we will fill up all our tee times available. We have a lot so come and play. We have worked so hard to return and now all you have to do is at your convenience sign up yourself or your group, select the approximate tee time range you would like and all will be treated equally as the computer with a tweak or two from last time strives for fun, easy and healthy golf. Let the events begin!! Think positively and play with respect and safety for all.


On behalf of the ASGA Board of Directors and Austin Senior Golf League

Travis McWhorter, President