2024 Bulletin #15 – 10/30/2024
Frost delays.
Fall Ball Rule for drives lost in the piles of leaves in the fairway.
Ski hat and shorts.
It’s the shoulder season of golf here in Vermont!
Updates From Fall Meetings
It was a busy October with the Club Rep Annual meeting at Lake Morey followed by the Board meeting at Burlington Country Club. Lots of exciting updates:
Club Rep Meeting:
- The Club Reps gathered in person and on Zoom to hear reports from committees and the President. Detailed minutes of those presentations can be found in the minutes on the VSWGA website.
- This year presented a delightfully large field of candidates for the Board with six members putting their names forward, willing to step up to take on the extra work that helps make this organization run. In the end, the Club Reps elected Jill Appel, Susan Rand, and Dixie Mercier. Congratulations! Acknowledgement and appreciation for those ending their board terms: Dana Cassidy, Ellen Grimes, and Linda Jane Parsons.
Board Meeting:
- Election of board officers for 2025:
- President: Amy Butcher
- Vice President: Frances McCune
- Secretary: Kate Mitchell
- Treasurer: Jayne Magnant
- And the Liaisons who will be your point of contact on the board, depending on your course’s location:
- Northeast: Frances McCune
- Northwest: Susan Rand
- Central West: Jill Appel
- Central East: Dixie Mercier
- South: Sarah Lee
- Key conversations were had about strategy, committee formation, major tournaments, State Days, pace of play, and how best to function as a board and serve the needs of our members. More details coming soon.
Volunteer Opportunities
If you’d like to get more involved, maybe help out on a Committee or get more involved in supporting Junior Golf, please reach out to Dixie Mercier (dmerc1079@yahoo.com) or Jen Farrington (vswgaquestions@gmail.com), our volunteer points of contact.
Is Golf an Old Person’s Game?
The National Golf Foundation recently published some very interesting data about the age distribution of golfers. Not only is the average age of an on-course golfer going down (43.5, a full year younger than in 2018) but the largest age cohort of golfers is the 18-34 age group with 6.3 million US on-course golfers (compared to the baby boomer cohort of 5.4 million) out of a total of 26.6 million. The reporting of golf as an old person’s sport, hence a dying one, have been greatly exaggerated.
How to Keep Yourself Busy During Stick Season
Why not become a Rules Expert for your foursome? Sign up for the new Rules 101 course from the USGA. Registration is free.
A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words
As the temperatures drop and Vermont courses draw their season to a close, please take a look in your photo library and share some of those special photos from this VSWGA season. You can post on social and tag them with #vswga. Or you can text them to Meredith Parker, our social media wizard, for posting to VSWGA’s accounts (719.491.7740).
Last But Not Least
Apparently, World #2 golfer Zander Shauffele is a bit of a neat freak. Check out his advice on how to clean your clubs, bag, and shoes before you put them all away for the season. You’ll be glad you did when the springtime (eventually) comes around.
