Time to Clean Up the Scorecards!

 Sand Trap decided to take the week off, so I’m substituting for today.

Each week our handicap chair, Bill Burke, does a magnificent job keying in our scores, so we can keep an equitable handicap for our members. But errors are occurring because some scorecards are practically unreadable. This in turn causes extra work for Bill and me to re-align and re-post results. 

Our rules state that no one should keep his own scorecard. A byproduct of that would be that all scores should be legibly written, and checked and compared at the end of the round so there is no confusion as to exactly what each player’s score was, by anyone who reads it.

Here’s an example of a scorecard that failed miserably. (Players’ names are covered to prevent shaming of the culprits)… :-)

 

(click for larger image)

What’s wrong you say? Well….

1.   No scorer, no attest, no date
2.  TWO scores recorded for same player for a given hole. 
3.  Front nine total unclear (two players). 
4. No back nine total score, no total gross score, ALL players (dark black markings are Bill’s)

This also implies there was no second scorecard done to compare accuracy (given that no one bothered to total the card).

Fortunately for one player, Bill took the time to review this card again, and adjusted the score for lucky Player 3.

In the future, you should expect a DQ for the card if it looks like the one above.

How should a card look? Here’s an example:

 

what your card should look like

So spend that extra 5 minutes at the end of the round to check that your card is complete, accurate, and LEGIBLE. Use LastName, First Initial to identify a given player. Bill doesn't know everybody's last name.

Thanks in advance for helping out,

Bruce Jones
Web Administrator

Members Handicap Profile -- And a Technology Assist(huh?)

First up, don’t forget to move your clocks forward one hour Saturday night. Time change means daylight comes later. But it stays later, too.

Help with the greens

We have noticed a lot of ball marks on the greens lately.  I doubt that ASGA is responsible for all of them since we rotate around the courses and each course has a lot of customers playing every day.  With that said, if you notice an un-repaired ball mark, please take the time to repair it. One thing I do think some ASGA members are guilty of is dragging their feet around the hole.  Almost every week we notice scratches around the holes where someone was dragging their feet. Please look back after you finish and if you have accidentally left scratches on the green, take the time to tap them down. Your help will be greatly appreciated.

ASGA Handicap Profile

I have been curious for some time about our membership’s handicap profile. How many golfers we have with single digit handicaps, etc. I went to our website and printed the ASGA Handicap Listing as of March 4, 2022. Then I counted how many golfers we have in four handicap ranges. Below is what I found from the 188 handicaps listed:      

Handicap Ranges	# of Members whose Handicap falls in this range	Percent of Membership
0 – 10	30	15.9%
11 - 20	83	44.1%
21 - 30	62	32.9%
31 and higher	13	7.1%

Three suggested rule changes I have for the board

I doubt seriously the board will approve but below are three rule changes I would like our board to consider:

1.  A sliced or hooked ball into the rough shall be lifted and placed on fairway to a point equal to the distance it carried or rolled into the rough with no penalty. We seniors should not be penalized for tall grass which a groundskeeper failed to mow.
   
   
2. A ball hitting a tree shall be deemed not to have hit the tree.  This is simply bad luck. The senior player must estimate the distance the ball would have traveled if it had not hit the tree and play the ball from there.
   
   
3. There shall be no such thing as a "lost" ball.  The missing ball is on or near the course and will eventually be found and pocketed by someone else, making it a stolen ball. No penalty will be enforced.

With the board following these recommendations many of us can improve our handicap significantly!

Technology Assist

Bruce (our webmaster) mentioned the other day about a "button" for our phones that can make it easier to find the website (so you can see how far you've slipped in Grand Prix Points!). He provided these videos for posting. So don't blame me if it doesn't work.😄😄😄

How to Add a Web Shortcut to your Android phone

(When the video starts, click on the square in the lower right-hand corner for full screen view)


How to Add a Web Shortcut to your iPhone

 

I hope your drives are long and straight and all your putts find the hole.  Most of all, we hope everyone has fun.

As always,

At your service,

Sand Trap

 

Modified Pinehurst and Where's My Money?

 This Tuesday! Modified Pinehurst (2 players, Pick Partner) at Jimmy Clay golf course

Let's Tee It Up!

This will be an alternate shot format with one added step. On each hole, both players drive the ball from the teeing area. From this point on, one ball will be chosen for alternate shot play. The player whose drive was NOT chosen hits the second shot. (Ref: General Event Information)

This should be another fun ASGA event. But one thing that could disrupt the enjoyment is SLOW PLAY. We hope everyone practices READY GOLF. Please try and make an effort to be ready to hit and keep your foursome up with the group in front of you. Should you hit your golf ball off the fairway, remember you have 3 minutes to locate it. If you can’t find it within that time frame, you must declare a lost ball.  If two of you are in the fairway, you can help another person find their ball. The group as a whole should not spend more than three minutes looking for balls between shots.

We received complaints at Morris Williams about our slow play. Should a marshal inform your group that you need to speed up because you are not keeping up with the group in front of you, please comply. All golfers, including those playing behind you, deserve to have an enjoyable time playing, not waiting and watching you play.

Speaking of slow play, I played a round of golf at Jimmy Clay last week with my friend. He was having a terrible day.  He was going left and right and topping his shots. Then on the sixth hole with the island green, he hit his approach shot into the water right in front. Then he hit his next shot into the water over the green.  Afterwards he said, "I’m think I'm just going to jump into the water and drown myself." I suggested to him that that probably wouldn't happen because from what I could see, he couldn’t keep his head down for that long!

Here’s hoping your drives are long and straight and your putts all find the cup.


A Change to Last Paid Places in Flights

In case you hadn’t noticed, the Board in its last meeting voted to change the rule about last paid places for a given flight. Going forward these winnings will not accrue to the lucky golfer who shot a birdie on 18, but will be split across all ties for that event score in the flight. Given that no physical money was changing hands each week and the fact that it makes it a bit easier for your voluntary scorekeepers, that ultimately persuaded the Board to alter this rule.

At your service,
Sand Trap

P.S. Coming soon...

(Click image to go big)