Mid-Winter greetings from the Vermont State Women’s Golf Association!
While some of us are toughing it out here in chilly VT, others in chilly FL, still others in far corners of the globe, all of us are eager to turn our sights slowly to golf season here in Vermont. I mean, nothing says golf like yo-yo temperature changes and mud season!
RENEW YOUR VSWGA MEMBERSHIP
Get yourself ready for the season ahead, pencil in State Days and major tournaments onto your calendar, and get in the know by joining the VSWGA. Membership is now open on the website and what a deal: $40 for renewing members, $30 for new members, and free for juniors and those 80+ (oh, and club reps too).
To renew your VSWGA membership for the 2024 season go to GolfGenius and log in with your user name and password then choose Membership Payment. This year, all membership registration will be online. If you have trouble registering, please start by asking your Club Rep for help (if you’re not sure who they are, you can find them listed on the website and in your Handbook).
If you do not belong to a Vermont golf club, you will still need to get an active Vermont GHIN to sign up for VSWGA events. You can join the virtual Lakeside Golf Club, sponsored by the Vermont Golf Association, for $50. Go to the Vermont Golf Association website and follow the links for Lakeside membership.
And while you are on GolfGenius, it’s a great time to make sure your profile is up to date.
- Let us know if you prefer to receive your 2024 VSWGA handbook as a PDF or by mail.
- Be sure to update your club affiliation if you’ve changed your golf club membership.
- Finally, find the checkbox “Are you a Vermont resident?” and make your selection. A new residency policy will affect eligibility for the Amateur, Senior, and Mid-Amateur Championships.
WE ARE SO TECH SAVVY!
As we embrace GolfGenius for our membership renewal and tournament registration, it is a good idea to add noreply@golfgenius.com to your address book or safe-sender list. Whatever it takes to make sure communications don’t get swept up in the spam filter.
BEING A CLUB REP IS THE BEST
Not only do you get free membership in the VSWGA, but you also help build community, serve as the face of the VSWGA, and help pull off State Day at your club. Sounds exciting, eh? Well good news is that we still need a few club reps at:
- Blush Hill
- St. Johnsbury
- Northfield
You don’t even have to be a member at the club to be the club rep, just a point of contact and a willingness to run the State Day (with the help of the Liaison too). Wouldn’t you love to step up? If so, email Nathalie Lascelles.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR THE MAJOR TOURNAMENTS
Want to lend a hand to Jen Steck so she doesn’t need to pull off our Major Tournaments single-handed? There are always ways to pitch in. If you’d like to help, please reach out to Fran McCune by email for more info.
NEW APPROACH TO HANDICAP CALCULATIONS
The USGA has been busy with updates to the World Handicap system for 2024, with the goal of making Handicap Index caculations more equitable. These include new ways of using 9-hole rounds and partial rounds (10+ holes) to calculate your index. Check out the USGA website for more info.
ARE WE THE PERFECT FIT?
When asked why she joined, new member Genie Elms said, “I would like to branch out and play more courses and meet more ladies to play with and VSWGA seems like a perfect fit.” Let’s show her that we are indeed that perfect fit, and let’s ensure that she and other new members have a great time.
How?
- invite even more new folks to join by forwarding this newsletter to your friends
- at State Days, consider breaking up your regular foursome to make space to play with new folks
- when you meet a new member, take a moment to introduce yourself and say hello
The VSWGA is an amazing, welcoming organization and golf is an inherently social game. Could you ask for a better fit? 🙂