READY GOLF HELPS PACE OF PLAY
What is ready golf and can we use it in a tournament?
Ready golf is a way to speed up play in golf by allowing players to hit when they are ready, rather than strictly adhering to the “farthest from the hole” rule, especially in stroke play. It encourages players to be prepared to play their shots as soon as they reach their ball and can safely do so, even if they are not the farthest from the hole. This can involve players selecting clubs, surveying the shot, and getting ready to play while others are still preparing.
- USGA Rule 5.6 encourages prompt play and ready golf, even playing out of turn, in a safe and responsible manner to save or make up playing time.
Is it ok to use Ready Golf during our State Days and Majors? Yes, absolutely. You aren’t being rude if you hit your shot before those behind you, just let them know what you are doing. Holler out “Hey Babs, I’m going to go ahead and hit while you look for your ball”.
The only time you should not play ready golf is during Match Play. Match play is different; if you play out of turn without agreement, your opponent can cancel your shot and make you replay it. Of course, if you both agree, you might still use ready golf to your advantage.
GREEN MOUNTAIN CHALLENGE
Last call for the 2025 VSWGA Green Mountain Challenge.
See the link above or the center of the member handbook for a map and more details on how to participate. If you have reached a milestone this season, be sure to send a photo of your map to vswgaquestions@vswga.com by 9/8 so that you can be included in the 2025 tally. Token prizes will be handed out at the Fall Awards Classic.
BOARD POSITIONS
Have you been thinking about how you might serve the VSWGA? Perhaps as a member of the Board of Directors? What is the first step in joining the board? Talk to anyone on the board about your interest. Reach out to Linda Jane Parson (lindajane1950@gmail.com) or any other board member, and/or submit an application to the board here: VSWGA Board Application. Once complete, you will be put on the docket for voting at the annual Club Rep meeting in October.
Once the board members are elected, the board will cooperatively determine the best position fit for everyone. Board members serve as officers (president, vice president, secretary, treasurer), as regional liaisons, or as chairs of various committees. See pages 4-6 and the inside cover of the Member Handbook for a list of positions. Board members commit to serving a three-year term, and may serve up to two consecutive terms, according to the VSWGA By-Laws.
The Board typically meets once a year in person – approximately one week after the Annual Club Rep Meeting. This year, it’s on Wednesday, October 15th, in Burlington. The board generally meets once a month via conference call throughout the winter, spring and summer, and conducts other business via email.
LOTTERIES
One of our last State Days is on 9/9 at Vermont National. Because it is often an oversubscribed event, we opted to run registration and entry as a lottery. 129 ladies registered for the event. 100 got in, and 29 were waitlisted.
We received some questions about how lotteries are run.
For every lottery there are two tiers of people:
Tier 1: Players that registered for the prior year event but didn’t get in
Tier 2: Everyone else
Tier 1 people get in first, then we fill in the field with Tier 2 people. One caveat is that if a team is made up of a mix of Tier 1 and Tier 2, they will be assigned (as a team) to Tier 2.
This caveat applied to a player registered for VNCC. Although she was waitlisted for the VNCC event in 2024, this year she signed up with someone that WAS in the event in 2024. So unfortunately for them, their team was put into Tier 2 and then they drew a high lottery number and were waitlisted in 2025. The good news is that that this foursome would now be a Tier 1 team in next year’s VNCC lottery.
We also always love to hear feedback (seriously, we do), so if you have opinions/ideas/suggestions for other ways you’ve seen lotteries run, please let us know.
HEY CLUB REPS
Natalie Lascelles sent out a note last week to all club reps about the annual Club Rep meeting being held Tuesday, Oct 7 at Lake Morey. If you are a club rep and you did NOT receive this email, please reach out to Nat (NatLascelles@yahoo.com) to get the meeting information and form for attendance.
2025 MAJORS
A reminder of our remaining Tournament schedule:
- Sept 6-7: Mid-Amateur Championship at Haystack Golf Course
- Registration is closed, but you can follow the action by using the Golf Genius ID 2025VSWGAMIDAM or look for the link on the VSWGA.org home page. 77 players are ready to go head-to-head for an action packed event!
- Sept 16: Fall Awards Classic at Country Club of Barre
- The Fall Awards Classic is a fun, end of the season golf tournament. The Country Club of Barre always delivers with a beautiful course, fantastic food and exceptional customer service. But the best part is seeing everyone gathered together after golf, eating, drinking, and celebrating the season, as various awards are announced. For those participating, note that we will be having a shotgun start at 10am! This event is currently full.
Visit our website for more information on each: https://vswga.org/championships/
FUN TIMES
The VGA Scholarship Fund (VGASF.org) has been awarding college scholarships to Vermont’s female and male student athletes for over 61 years. One big fundraiser is the annual Scramble at Proctor-Pittsford. This year the VSWGA supported the event by making a donation and sending two teams to play. The team of Trish Wade, Chris Johnson, Joanne Priestley, and Amy Butcher came out winners in the mixed-team bracket (just barely beating out Nathalie Lascelles, Jayne Magnant, and Ann-Marie Blackman’s threesome)!
VSWGA – WHERE FRIENDS COME TO PLAY
