HOLE IN ONE WINNER LAST TUESDAY AT LIONS!

107 members who signed up for the Hole-in-One jackpot are about to be disappointed as member #108 hit his iron on #15 last Tuesday at Lions Muny into the hole, and this time he had paid his entry, so Gabe Padilla will be taking home $540!

A new Hole-In-One contest starts next Tuesday. Get your $5 to Bill Burke (who’s substituting for Shawn Higgins) to be in the next go-round.

Good Luck to Everyone!

Member Goodbyes & A Couple of Speedy Play Tips

 Member Passings 

 

 James Evans (1940-2024)

James

A long-time active member (James was playing since before we kept computer records), James logged in over 300 rounds of golf with the ASGA, before he ended his playing in 2015. 

He worked at Morris Williams for some time. A definite golf fan, an excerpt from his obituary states "...He impressively had five holes in one". 

Here is a link to his recent obituary.

 Ronnie Morgan (1952-2024)

It is with great sadness that I report the passing of ASGA member Ronnie L. Morgan on June 9, 2024. Ronnie has been a member of ASGA for the last couple of years and enjoyed golf outing with various members of the association.

Ronnie is a native of Rockdale, Texas, had a childhood upbringing in Fort Worth, after which he joined the US Air Force and served for many years before retiring to Austin.

He is survived by his wife Carolyn, children, and siblings.

Gone but not forgotten Ronnie Morgan, rest in peace my dear friend.

Speedy Play Tips

So we'll be sharing tips regularly on keeping pace, but the one simple goal to keep in mind is this....

Keep Up with the group in front of you!!!!  

Your correct position on the course is immediately behind the group in front of you, not immediately in front of the group behind you. Arrive at your next shot just before the group in front leaves the area in front of you. If you are consistently not able to keep up and a gap opens in front of you, invite the group behind you to play through.

Another small time saver is leaving the driver head cover in the cart until the last hole.

Taking the head cover on and off on every tee box is a time suck. You’re not really protecting anything—take it from the equipment editor of Golf Digest. The driver sits well above your irons, and your fairways and hybrids have covers, so you’re good. I’ve gone without a driver head cover the last few months and my driver is never dinged and certainly never busted. Put it back on before you shove the clubs in the trunk—that’s it.

Thanks!!!!

 

Greg
President

Summer Scramble and Other Notes

Riverside! Awesome!

Riverside Next Tuesday

Two-person scramble next Tuesday at Riverside. Be sure to sign up by Friday as Riverside wants a 72 hour notice for our lineup, so we will be closing Tee Time Registration late Friday night.

Also with our first tee time to be scheduled for 8:00 a.m., please show up early so more members can beat the heat.

(Update 6/20: First tee time will be 7:40 and we've been approved for 48 hr. notice, i.e. Tee Time Registration will stay open Saturday as usual).

(Update 6/22: First tee time will now be 6:40.)

Member Passing

Lino

Longtime member Lino Oballo passed away May 20, at the age of 84. Lino joined us in 2016, playing in over 200 events, retiring just last year. 

An excellent golfer (usual handicap of 6), Lino almost always played in the 1^st flight, racking up more than 55 first place finishes, many with his usual partner Mike Sobremonte. Even more important he served as our Vice-President for two years during Covid, leading us through that unique period.

A memorial service for Lino was scheduled June 17th at St. Vincent DePaul Catholic Church. 

An obituary for Lino may be found here:

 

Pace of Play Update

Last week at Lions, groups improved their speed significantly. Late starting foursomes finished 20-30 minutes faster than prior 2024 averages.  Please Keep It Up!

Say "No" to Slow Play

 

Here are some tips as shown in our Pace of Play Video.
 

Thanks as always for your support,

 

Bruce Jones
Admin/Webmaster

 

ATX Temp Greens Update

From Golf ATX:

Preparations are in full swing to resurface the greens at Clay/Kizer, things are going as planned so far and we are super eager to put this chapter behind us. The temp greens are surprisingly decent but I am not going to overstate what they are...they are still temp greens. Below you will find some important dates over the next month that will help you plan your visits to the courses.

Maintenance Closures:
June 24-25 -- Kizer
June 3-4 -- Jimmy Clay
June 10-11 -- Morris Williams -- Aerification
June 17 -- Lions

Events of note:
Monday June 3--8 AM Shotgun--Lions
Thursday June 6--11:00 AM--STPGA Lil Linksters -- Morris Williams
Monday June 10--8AM Shotgun -- Lions
Thursday June 13--11:00 AM - STPGA Junior Tour--Morris Williams
Wednesday/Thursday June 12-13 -- AWPLGA Event-Should open by 1:00 -- Lions
Monday-June 20--11:00 AM -- STPGA Junior Tour -- Lions
Saturday June 22--Firecracker Qualifier -- Lions
Thursday June 25--11:00 AM-STPGA Junior Tour--Morris Williams
Tuesday June 25--Firecracker Qualifier--Lions

Play Well!!

Best,

GOLFATX Staff

Temp Greens Coming to Clay/Kizer

New Grass is Planned for Clay/Kizer!

Golf ATX has recently announced the planned replanting of all 18 greens at Clay and Kizer. Below are some details as recently disseminated.

We want to provide an announcement regarding the conditions at Clay/Kizer of the plan going forward for the next couple of months.  The reason this has taken so long is due to planning, sourcing and weather.

We have been in discussions with our grass farms and it has been decided we will replant all 45 greens at the Clay/Kizer Golf Complex.  From the beginning of our communications, we have pained over this decision and we are to a point where this is the quickest way to get a resolution to the situation.  Not a single thing we have done is a result of neglect or incompetence. If we have lost your trust, I understand and that is regrettable.  Here is what our timeline looks like.

• Week of May 13th-Begin preparation of the greens surfaces
• Week of May 13th--Begin preparation of the temporary greens surfaces
• First week of June--Transition to temporary greens (highly discounted rates)
• 2nd-3rd week of June--Sprig all 45 greens (5 day process)
• June-July--Continue play on temporary greens
• Middle August--Fully re-open better than ever.

Items of note:

• We will not be closing and will have the best temp putting surfaces we can on as many holes as possible.
• We will be adding 120 days to full golf memberships and 60 days to half golf memberships
• Range grinders and $5.00 resident cards will not see an increase in time.
• This plan is still fluid but as solid as we can get it right now.
• 45 Greens? 5 short course, 2 Practice Greens, 2 Nurseries, 36 playing greens.
• Sodding is not an option because our supplier does not have 8 acres of sod.
• The practice range will be unaffected.
  
  

Play Well!
Steve Hammond
Golf Division Manager

We will advise the membership on any effects this may have on our events at Clay/Kizer.

April Updates

 Annual Spring Event Update

Results are posted—we have a tight race among the six flights—all but one twosome signing up braved the 70° weather to put up some great scores! Thursday is the two-person Scramble—flights were created using Total Team Handicaps. Scheduling for Thursday will be low-handicap flights first, and within each flight, highest scores from Tuesday are scheduled earliest. Remember there are Grand Prix bonus points for this event, as well as an ASGA 50% match to payouts!

Member Passing

Member Clifford Rierson recently passed away on April 14^th, at the age of 84. A long-time member, Cliff joined sometime before we started keeping computer records,i.e. prior to 2006. He played in over 350 ASGA events since that time. He won his flight in the 2010 Annual Championship, tied with Ken Eppright, another long-time member of that period. He remained an active member through 2024.

President Greg Marshall recalls: “I played many times with Cliff.  He loved the game and always had a smile.  He was really smart, and really curious.  He was a huge fan of the NFL and cosmology and could hold court equally well on the Big Bang or the West Coast offense.  A renaissance man if ever there was one.”

A memorial service for Cliff is scheduled for May 17^th at St. Theresa Catholic church at 10:00 a.m. An obituary for Cliff may be found here:

Recent Golf ATX Update (4/18)

“Soil Testing from Clay/Kizer yielded two active ingredients from in the crab and goose grass application.  Although those two ingredients were well within the tolerable thresholds, we are confident in saying that application contributed to our conditions.  We don't know why and neither does the manufacturer because as stated previously, all application labels, rates, post application watering schedule and time of application suggestions were followed.  It is just too peculiar that we went south shortly after the application.  

“Winter damage and Poa annua are both significant factors in our conditions.

“With the above, I am pleased to report that we are seeing significant growth at Morris Williams and Kizer and we are seeing growth at Clay.  Growth does not mean immediate improvement but it does mean hope.”

Steve Hammond
Golf Division Manager

No-Shows at 2-Person Events

We have lots of members who like to play with different members each week. If you are assigned a partner in a 2-person event, don't have his/her email, and are not planning to play, please advise the webmaster (email preferred) so he can pass along that information to your partner. Let’s not leave anyone “high and dry” in future events.

Thanks for your support,

 

Bruce Jones
Webmaster

March ASGA News from the Prez

 Greetings all!!!!!! March is here!!!  That means running both the heat and the AC…. sometimes on the same day.  March Madness and the Masters are right around the corner (best four weeks in sports!).  And we’re enjoying the moderate temps while we can!

Earl Klattenhoff

Former ASGA Champion Passes

Earl Klattenhoff, long-time ASGA member, passed away last November at age 86.  He was a good golfer and a great competitor.  Earl was our 2004 Champion and was runner-up in 1999, 2003, 2006, and 2010, as well as claiming the ASGA Hole-In-One Jackpot back in 2015. He remained active in ASGA through 2018.

Our hearts go out to his family and friends.  You can click here to read more about Earl’s life and accomplishments.

 

 Lions Muny Maintenance

A  liner leak was recently discovered in the irrigation reservoir on the 13th hole.  This is going to require sludge pumping out of that pond which should begin shortly  If it is not safe for crews to be in the pond during work, hole #13 will be closed and regular rates will be modified down to evening rates during closures, but since most of us have senior memberships, the rates won’t change.  Lions is at the mercy of the contractor with regards to scheduling so they can't give a firm start and end date yet.  

Also, the Save Muny Conservancy in partnership with Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore have begun a maintenance project which will reshape the #1 tee complex, expand the upper putting green and provide a larger practice area.   No doubt you've noticed the large change at #1 tee where they are enlarging the practice putting area. The #10 teeing ground will also be resurfaced. Much of the sand will be replaced with soil.  Planting is scheduled for April 1 and those areas will be re-opened as soon as possible.  

Playing Lions on April 2nd

Scoring for hole #13 if closed will be an automatic 3 for handicaps 17 and under, and a 4 for 18 and over. In the event a flight contains both 17 and 18 handicaps, those scores on #13 will all be 3.

Start/Finish times on your Scorecards

Please take a minute before you turn in your scorecards to make sure you’ve entered the start and finish times for your group’s round.  And make them as legible as you can.  Times are recorded and entered weekly, so your help is needed and appreciated!!

An example of what TO do

An example of what NOT to do!

 

 

 

Speedy Play Tip

Sharing a cart should be like a game of leap frog, not a three-legged sack race. Often, I see a golf cart stop at one ball, the first player hits, then they drive diagonally 20 yards to the other player’s ball before moving up the fairway together.
Instead, try parking the cart between your balls and you can both get ready at the same time. If your balls are farther apart, there is no shame in dropping off the first player and then going to yours. After that first player hits, they can walk up the fairway and meet you after you hit. The passenger of a cart should always be aware of when they should get behind the wheel.  

Did you know…..?

The original Augusta National was intended to have a 19th hole, giving losing golfers a chance to win their money back on a quick round of double-or-nothing. It was indefinitely tabled because the hole would ruin the flow of the golf course.

That’s it for now.  See ya in the short grass!!!

Greg

February ASGA News

 ASGA Long-Time Member Passes

Many of you may remember Robert Amaro, who passed away earlier this month. A long-time member (our first recorded finish for him was July 2009), Robert was our last winner of the Hole-In-One pot last June.

Robert retrieves his hole-in-one
golf ball at Morris Williams #14

As a senior member of the ASGA, Robert took part in over 400 tournaments, finishing first in his flight over 20 times. He usually led off on tournament day, as he and his group would consistently finish in under 3 hours, 45 minutes. Oh that we could all be this quick on the course!

Our hearts and prayers go out to Robert's family.

Further information regarding Robert’s life and funeral arrangements may be found here. 

 

No Fee Increases at Austin Courses for 2024

At the latest Parks & Recreation Board Meeting it was announced that there will be no fee increases for 2024. If you play the Austin city courses more than once a week, consider an Annual Senior Membership to save money. Look for "Annual Card: Senior" on this city website page for more details.

Let's Get Rid of the Poa Annua Grass on the Greens!

As each of us plays a round of golf this Tuesday at Morris Williams, use your divot tool to take up one piece of poa annua grass each green when you putt. You know this grass--it's the one that causes all the bumps in the greens. For each usual tournament of ours, that would be more than 1,800 pieces of grass removed!

Here's what you're looking for!

See you all at the course,

Bruce Jones
ASGA Webmaster

Welcome to the New Year--from Your ASGA President

Is winter really over?

Can you believe it is already February?  The holidays and even your broken New Year's resolutions are a distant memory already.

2024 marks ASGA's 50th anniversary!  

Just a quick stroll down memory lane to 1974:

• City of Austin greens fees were raised to $3.25
• The interstate speed limit was set at 55 mph to conserve gas
• Richard Nixon resigned
• The average home price was $38,000
• Blazing Saddles was the top-grossing movie
• The Rubik's Cube was invented
• The Pittsburgh Steelers won Super Bowl IX
• I was a college sophomore trying to look cool with my Afro, bells, and platforms. (photos not available)

But most importantly, our founding fathers would surely be proud of how their traditions have been carried on. With over 200 active members, we continue to be an active, lively organization ready for its next 50!

Mark Your Calendars

Our Spring Championship is still a ways off, but I wanted to remind everyone that it will be played on April 23rd & 25th....Tuesday and Thursday of that week.  It's the only time we'll be playing on a day other than Tuesday, so be aware.

Speedy Play Tip

It's not the big things, it's the little things. If each player in your foursome could save 10 seconds per shot, your round would be 35 minutes faster!! And that's not counting putts! Going forward, we will be regularly providing tips and tricks to get you that 10 seconds!

Joke of the day

"You're late on the tee, John."

"Yes, well being a Sunday, I had to toss a coin to see if I should go to church or go play golf."

"OK...but why are you late?"

" I had to toss it  15 times!!"

That's it for now.  Be well.....and see ya in the short grass......Greg

 

 

Greg Marshall

City of Austin Golf Courses Closed Sun. 1/14 thru Tue. 1/16

Tue. 1/16 Golf ATX Update - Currently the greens are covered in a sheet of ice at all locations and will not thaw on Tuesday Jan 16th. We need temps to be consistently above freezing for a significant amount of time before we can reopen. Our best guesstimate at this time for reopening is Thursday, Jan. 18th. 

All Golf ATX driving ranges will reopen on Wednesday, Jan. 17^th, mats only with a last ball at 5:00 sold. In addition, Lions may not have running water and this affect both the restrooms and food operations.

Golf courses and practice greens will remain inaccessible while the temperatures are below freezing and until the greens thaw out.

We hope everyone is making it through this event with no property damage and staying warm.  We want you back out at the facilities as badly as you want to be back out there.

Best,

GOLFATX Staff

Steve Hammond

GOLFATX Division Manager

 

 Email from Austin's GOLF ATX Division Manager:

"With the impending weather, GOLFATX properties will be closed Sunday the 14th through Tuesday the 16th.  In an effort to protect the grasses, our agronomists are going to insulate the greens with water and it will freeze over on Saturday night.  Although the sun may be shining, the ground will not thaw until the temps are consistently over 35 degrees.  We apologize about the closure as we know your time to play our courses is valued.  Our practice of insulating the greens has proved beneficial the last three years and it has showed in our conditions.

"We will have phone operators on property until 11:00 each day provided they can safely get to the golf courses. Please do not access the properties during the closure.

"Stay safe and warm, we will see you next week."

Sincerely,

Steve Hammond

GOLFATX Division Manager