President's Message -- April 18, 2021

 The Two Year Wait Is Over. Practice Your High Math Counting.

It has been two years since we have had a 2-day event and full tournament play is still not back. This Tuesday and Thursday event is a great start towards earning the right to have tournaments again, possibly on or before our planned annual election in the fall. This event will help us continue to prove we are a very responsible league.

Though we have conducted no formal survey, based on many conversations over the last few weeks it is my opinion that over 80% of our membership have completed the vaccination regimen and that a few more only need a second shot to complete. There may be a small number that have not started. Even if this is accurate or the actual is even better, we need to continue to practice the protocol the city courses have asked us to follow: Show up about 30 minutes before your tee time, wear your mask in the club house while signing up and give some space to the person taking their golf shots on the course. You should use your best safety judgement when sharing a cart.

Our Upcoming Two-Day Event

The scoring on Tuesday's Best-Ball round will be computed and the results posted by Wednesday, so you will know how your team stacks up in your flight entering Thursday. The Tuesday score will be used to calculate future handicaps so you will need to enter all gross scores for each player. The system will produce each team's best ball net and that will be posted Wednesday as well. For Thursday's Select-Shot round each two person team will have only one score recorded on each hole. The total score for 18 holes will be added to Tuesday's score to produce the two-day event score and that will be posted as soon as feasible following all cards turned in for Thursday. The total score of both days will produce the final results and prize payout. This is a fun event because it is two days and ASGA will be adding funds to the normal two day pool roughly doubling the prize money. Playing is fun. Winning is more fun. Getting extra money when you win is the icing on this "fun cake."

Remember you will pay for both days on Tuesday, so there is no reason not to show up on Thursday. Also, a suggestion for deciding on the 4 clubs to use the following week in the 4-Club event. If you do well reward the clubs that helped you the most in the 2 day event and bring them with you as your 4 for the next week. If you do poorly, leave those "faulty" clubs at home.  So practice your high math by scoring accurately during the 2-day and subtracting the right clubs in the 4-club event the next week. Also, continue to practice safe and courteous play. Let's have fun the next 2 weeks.  See you Tuesday!!

This News has been brought to you on behalf of the ASGA Board of Directors and The Austin Senior Golf League,

Travis McWhorter
President

President's Message -- April 2, 2021

First Hole-in-One and Yes, We Will Count Your Clubs April 27th!!

It was mid-morning March 23rd coming up to the eighth hole, par 3 at Morris Williams and Grady Morris was thinking,"I should use my new hybrid and try hard to get my ball on the green." That is a nice goal for one of the harder par 3's on the ASGA senior circuit. He did just that and looked away jubilantly as one of his foursome then said something like "the ball disappeared in the hole." Yes, he did not see it go in. He was playing with Karen Walsh, Joe Noon and his regular golfing partner Robert Sebring. Grady said Karen was just as excited as he was about witnessing such an accomplishment.

Click on image for larger view

For the records and many of you that have not made your first hole-in-one, do not fail to sign up for the new pot that will be at Lions again next week. The picture shows Shawn Higgins (at left), our Event and Hole-In-One Chair, handing Grady over $300 from the pool that had been accumulating for a year or more. We have had a new winner, in less than a month, so don't procrastinate.  We have also had a handful that made a hole-in-one and had not signed up. Once you have signed up, your name will show up on the website under Member Programs, Hole-in-One entries, so sign up when you see the box at Lions and your name is not currently on the website.

Now one more amazing thing about Grady--he only took up golf about 10 years ago after he reached the age of 62 and first played in an ASGA event at Bluebonnet in February of 2012. This was his first hole-in-one and even one of the new stars of the PGA, Bryson DeChambeau, took approximately 23 years to make his very first. Bryson was at the Masters and he got a piece of crystal. Grady can buy his own crystal or perhaps another hybrid with his winnings. Congrats Grady! For getting  the  ball on the green with your new club and of course that is a must in getting the ball in the hole in only one stroke.

One of our ASGA rules is that you can have in your bag as many clubs as you like normally. However, mark your calendar for a fun event that Shawn Higgins has scheduled at Morris Williams for April 27th. We are bringing back the Four-Club Individual at the request of several of you and most recently R.H. Harris. Joe Noon really loves it and when last played he scored what was then his lowest gross as a senior regardless of the number of clubs. I told him he should play only 4 all the time. There will be more details to come, but remember to sign up for this fun event and that day leave all your clubs at home that are not the 4 you wish to play in the event. Yes, we will count your clubs on April 27th.

This News has been brought to you on behalf of the ASGA Board of Directors and The Austin Senior Golf League,

Travis McWhorter
President

President's Message -- March 14, 2021

 Daylight Savings?? A Dream Golf Shot and Support Hancock

Yeah, right...

The story is spring your clocks forward an hour, lose an hour of sleep and gain an hour of light. Really??. You do lose an hour of sleep, but how is there more daylight than the day before? Science says the earth rotates every 24 hours. The amount of daylight stays the same, the clock only changes. Science also has proven that more strokes and heart attacks occur in the few days following the spring forward, than the same number of days preceding. We are older than most and can't afford this risk and need as much light in the cooler part of the day for playing golf. There is a lot of talk about getting off of daylight savings in the future. Call, write or visit your congress representatives at the state and national level and give them your opinion. My opinion is when fall arrives and we return to standard time this year that we leave our clocks set there forever more. Sorry, I may be a little grumpy as I lost an hour of sleep and want it back in the future.

Have you ever daydreamed about a shot or round you played long after you played it? Thursday March 11, 2021 became one of those dreams. The last few weeks I have been playing a practice round on Thursdays at Kizer with 3 of our ASGA members, Don Akers, Bill Burke and David Brader. They are a very fun group. David as our lowest handicapper in the group often hits last on par 3's and Bill often says to he uses our collectively closest shot to the hole as a target and generally gets inside it. Thursday, he arrived first and went ahead with his shot and now we know he really does not need a target as it settled about 2 or so feet from the hole slightly right. Bill said, one thing for sure we can't get inside that great shot. I stepped up and looking at the set-up and said there is one way that I could see, "I plan to bank off his ball and go in the hole." Don then added to the conversation by saying, "If you do that I will give you a twenty dollar bill." In mid-flight the ball was looking pretty good and Don added and it has to bank off his to count for the $20. Dreams do come true, it did touch his golf ball and it did go in the hole for my third ever hole-in-one. I told Don forget the "twenty" the thrill of it would be enough for me. Don, being the gentleman he is, said "no way" and that he considered the $20 very much worth it. It was so much fun and forever will be a dream of mine to replay.  I could not have asked for three more fun players to share the dream experience.

One of the most historical golf courses in Austin is Hancock. Many times various proposals have come along to eliminate or change it. Lately it has really grown in popularity and is a fun course to play. Considerations to make it a park, turn it into a practice area and 9 hole 3 par course or improve on it as one of our only 9 hole courses and keep it as a golf course. A survey is being conducted to help decide it's future. I think it has an excellent chance to survive. You can help the cause by completing the survey at this link. It will just take a couple minutes. I have played it many times and really like it. You should  play it, too. The link for the survey is   

https://austinenergy.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1Tyloojt1kmzAc6
(email required to take survey)

This News has been brought to you on behalf of the ASGA Board of Directors and The Austin Senior Golf League,

Travis McWhorter
President

President's Message -- March 7, 2021

 Goodbye Winter (Good Riddance,) Update From PARD, and Special Memory Lane.

My wife Jo Ann often tells me not to put thoughts into the universe that can bite back. It is a little bit like saying wow I did not lose a ball on the front nine of Lions as you tee off on 10. It seems you wake up the golf gods and they say collectively, "What?" We all know where the tee shot or second shot is likely to end up.

Bevo in the recent snow

Just before the Texas ice storm of 2021,I almost under my breath said, "We sure have been lucky this winter with reasonably mild weather and a lot of golf." Ok, you may now agree with my wife and I may be responsible for the Big Texas Blizzard. As of Friday, March 5 at 5 o'clock we officially finished getting our house and yard back in order. As if to say good bye and good riddance to this record  winter attack on Texas, our son Todd who was of great help to us, ran a Beautiful State of Texas flag up our front yard flag pole to celebrate being finished. Today is Saturday the 6th and I am admiring the flag blowing in the wind and feel we have once again said "Don't Mess With Texas!" We will always come back. It is the Texas Spirit. Now I am pretty sure that is a Texas fact and I am not putting a thought into the universe.

The Austin Parks And Recreation Department's Golf  Advisory Board met virtually Wednesday. Jack Scruggs, our PARD representative, was not able to attend. I will summarize some of the updates Kevin Gomillion, Division Manager presented to us.

• Golf rounds played at all city courses are way up including Hancock.
• The big freeze may hurt Jimmy Clay and Morris Williams' Greens. Hoping for best.
• Jimmy Clay is fully back up with 18 holes in play. The new irrigation system is done.
• Both Lions and Morris Williams will continue to improve practice areas, maybe a sand trap will be added if there is enough room.
• New synthetic driving range turf is being installed at the back of the Jimmy Clay/Kizer driving range as an alternate teeing area when needed to preserve the real grass.
• Though 8 minute tee times intervals may come back, fivesomes will likely not be allowed soon.
•  Regular tournament play such as scramble fund raisers are still not being permitted.
• Butler Pitch and Putt is being greatly improved and is nearing completion.
• Progress is continuing towards a good future for Lions. Keep the hope and help coming.

2020/21 will long be remembered with the pandemic and much interruption for all of us. It was our goal to make sure we did not overlook the passing of any of our members and hope we have giving proper recognition to them over the last 14 months during this time. The one thing about being a part of a senior group that begins at age 62 is we are all closer to our final round. It seems to me that you often only get to know someone well that you meet later in life when you read their obituary. We have a very diverse and amazing group and I am always wishing I knew you all better than I do. Please join me in moving on down the NEWS after reading this and remember our latest two members that have recently passed, plus another special recognition for General Marshall. Should you wish to review all nine that have left us during the last 14 months their names are in alphabetical order and you can find their story in the NEWS by scrolling down.

Joe Baitz, Fred Blazine, Troy Collins, Bob Gamble, Charlie Gorin, Carl Hedrick, General Marshall, Waymon McLamb, and Gene Payne. Nine Great Golfers and humans.

This News has been brought to you on behalf of the ASGA Board of Directors and The Austin Senior Golf League,

Travis McWhorter
President
 

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JOE BAITZ RECENTLY PASSED AWAY.
Pat Baitz, Joe's wife of 62 years recently advised Handicap Chair Bill Burke that we should remove Joe from our e-mailing and handicap list list as he is now playing golf in heaven. Joe joined ASGA in 2014 and was on our active list until his passing February 26, 2021. Joe had not been playing for a good while, but had played in the past with John Osgood and more recently some with Steve Ellis. I played with him a couple times and others of you may recall having played with him over the years. I agree totally with the following comments. He was so nice.  Steve Ellis said when learning of Joe's passing, " I have not seen him for quite a while. I did play with Joe and he was always friendly, gracious and fun to play with. Sorry to see him go."

ASGA wishes Pat and the family much comfort and you should know you are in our thoughts and prayers. Maybe we will all be lucky enough to get some rounds in with him in heaven at some point down the line.

Please follow the link below to Joe's Obituary. He was quite the man.

Travis McWhorter
President of ASGA

https://www.brookhavenfuneralhome.net/obituary/joe-ray-baitz

CHARLIE GORIN PASSES
Former ASGA member and World War II veteran Charlie Gorin passed away February 21, 2021. He was best known as a star left-handed pitcher for the Texas Longhorn Baseball Team, leading them to back-to-back NCAA championships in 1949 and 1950. Charlie also played professional baseball for the Milwaukee Braves and later taught and coached for Lanier and Anderson High Schools. He enjoyed playing golf immensely. He was a member of ASGA until 2011.

Sam Mihalik
Secretary Treasurer ASGA

Charlie’s full obituary can be found at https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/austin-tx/charles-gorin-10069812.

Bruce Jones, Website Chairman recently ran across this updated story about our former member GENERAL MARSHALL. We covered his passing originally June 26, 2020. Click on the link below.

https://www.themunyconservancy.com/remembering-general-marshall.html

President's Message -- February 12, 2021

Grand Prix Prize Money, Golfing With The Snowbirds and Handicap System Now Once Again Bug-Free?

Your Board met by Zoom and put some excitement in the form of prize money in the current Grand Prix. It was decided to go with bigger prize winnings to incentivize players to make a run at each category. The program itself has been previously posted on our website. There will be four members winning prizes in each category and will be as follows:

	Individual All-IN	2-Person Team
1st	$125 plus name on trophy	$100 each player plus name on trophy
2nd	$75	$50 each player
3rd	$50	none
4th	$25	none

 

Grand Prix is our only season-long program and has been approved for this one more season at this point. The standings will be updated weekly until the next-to-last event. The winners will be announced and awarded at the  Banquet/Election/Golf Event. The new Board elected at this event will early on review the program and decide on any changes. We are forming a new committee to manage the program going forward until then. Bruce Jones, Website Chair, has agreed to post the Top Five standings one day a week on the home page as well as maintaining the full standings under Member Programs. You can all win and have fun doing it and now also win some "big cash." The Key is playing often and placing high in your flight. 

Anybody see my ball?

Wow! I have lived in the Austin area 22 years and the Indiana winter weather many Snowbirds visit Texas to escape and I left permanently behind to come back to Texas, has finally caught up with me. Shawn Higgins, Event Chair, told the Board that he was planning to watch this winter weather carefully and to make the call about playing or canceling our Tuesday the 16th event perhaps as early as this weekend. It is looking cold to say the least. I think I will skip any Mardi Gras plans for sure. 

It was brought to the attention of Bill Burke, Handicap Chair, and me that in some cases the handicap lookup was showing less than the 20 events for some players on our website. The 10 scores needed to create the handicap index were correct in each case. The entire 20 have been restored  now and going forward. In a nut shell it was caused by a self-inflicted computer generated entry following one of our events. The bug is dead now and all has been restored. 

We had a productive Board meeting and I am always pleased at how much effort they all put into their volunteer work.  

This News has been brought to you on behalf of the ASGA Board of Directors and The Austin Senior Golf League,

Travis McWhorter

President