VSWGA Bulletin:  6/13/2024

Can you believe it’s already June?  And this weather so far? We don’t want to jinx it, but it’s been a good 2024 golf season to date.  Visit https://vswga.org/calendar/ for the full lineup of State Days, Majors and Invitationals around the state.   

SOME STATS 
We keep a lot of statistics in the VSWGA.  Here is some info on our current membership: 
Total Members: 421  
Total New Members: 37
Total Junior Members: 1 (we would love to see more juniors)
Total Sr Members: 17
Total Club Reps: 49   

To date we have held 20 State Days with 1,339 rounds played so far.  In 2023, we had roughly 1,014 rounds played at this time.  It was definitely a rainier season in 2023, however, plays are definitely up this season.   

Rutland Country Club is the next LOTTERY Event  
Registration will open on July 5 and close on July 15.  Mark your calendars accordingly.

Some players have experienced difficulty registering and/or seem to continue to get put on waitlists.  Here are the stats on waitlist numbers to date:
State Days Waitlists
Manchester – 14
Dorset – 6
Woodstock – 5
These numbers are misleadingly high, because players from the waitlist that were offered a spot but didn’t want to play were not removed. Green Mountain National started with a lottery and waitlist, but fortunately we were able to accommodate everyone that wanted to play.  If you have issues registering, contact Jen at vswgaquestions@gmail.com asap so that we can help you through any issues. We continue to work hard to make the registration experience as smooth as possible.  Your feedback and ideas are always welcome. 

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RULES CORNER:  RED AND YELLOW PENALTY AREAS

Many of you played at Woodstock Country Club last week, the beautiful course with that dastardly Kedron Brook that continued to taunt many players throughout the round. It’s a good time to brush up on options when our ball lands in a penalty  area. Watch this USGA video for an explanation of how to take relief from penalty areas.

USGA Penalty Relief:  great images that explain your options when taking relief from yellow versus red penalty areas  

Here is a picture of Belle McDougall, fishing…I mean plucking golf balls from the Brook during her round.  She claims that she recovered 35 balls.  Could one of them been yours? 

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WHY DID VSWGA FEES GO UP IN 2024?

If you have golfed in State Days this season, you noticed that the registration costs for some events have gone up to $15.  The VSWGA bumped up the cost of the more popular courses for two reasons.  First, it takes more time to administer those courses, answering questions, running the lotteries, handling registrations and cancellations, etc. This translates to more admin time ($).  Second, because of the higher number of registrations, we incur higher credit card charges.  Each registration (and cancellation) costs the organization money, so bumping up the cost of the event to cover back end credit card charges is another reason for the increase. 

We appreciate your understanding and continued support at our events. 

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PACE OF PLAY 

In general, our state day events have had decent round pace of play.  Thanks to all players for paying attention to this.  So far this year only 5 letters have been sent to groups.  If you receive a letter, please know that we encourage feedback. Let us know if we don’t have the times/numbers correct or if something happened out on the course that caused the slowdown. We can only go by what is reported and with communication we can sort it all out if reality is not what is on the tee sheet. 

Just a reminder that:

• Player’s starting time and finishing time must be recorded on the completed scorecard:
  • Starting Time:  Time that the first player in the group tees off of 1.
  • Finish Time:  Time when the last player finishes 18.
• 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. 

Also, please use “Split up to Catch Up” if you find yourself behind.  It really does work.  See VSWGA Pace of Play for details on this and other ways to improve your pace of play.

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CONGRATS CHERI CAMPBELL!

Cheri Campbell hit a hole-in-one during her play in the Country Club of Vermont State Day on May 28.  It was Hole #14, 112 yards, and Cheri played her nine iron.  It’s Cheri’s first hole-in-one.   

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TRI-STATE TOURNAMENT
The Tri-State Tournament was held on Tuesday, 6/11 and Wednesday, 6/12 at Brattleboro Country Club. Vermont was victorious over New Hampshire and Maine.  

• Vermont: 162.5 points
• Maine: 143 points
• New Hampshire: 99.5 points

Patty Baroudi captured her first hole in one during the tournament.

Vermont’s 2024 Tri-State Team

For more pictures and action shots (thank you Amy Butcher), visit our Vermont State Women’s Golf Association Facebook page.  A HUGE shout out to MJ Shomo and the Tri-State Committee, all of the helpers, the Brattleboro Country Club, and the many members there that came out to help and cheer on the team. It was a huge success and a blast for all involved.  

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VSWGA RUTH JONES SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP
There are still spots available in our Senior Championship Tournament on July 9-10 at Country Club of Barre. Visit our website for details. Remember that everyone will go into pending registration status upon registration.  It does not mean that the event is full.  Once the event closes, players will be moved from pending to confirmed status, and your credit card will be charged at that time. If you have any questions about format or eligibility, contact our Tournament Director, Jen Steckjensteck@yahoo.com or vswgaquestions@gmail.com. 

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RUTHIE SCHAMBACK INVITATIONAL – FOX RUN GOLF COURSE – JULY 15
Ruthie passed away in December 2021 after a hard fought battle with ovarian cancer. Her final request was that people who loved her, just make a donation to the Hospice Foundation or Girls Junior Golf.

In 2022 the women of Fox Run decided to honor Ruthie by naming the annual invitational the “Ruthie Schamback Invitational”.  Orchestrated by Club Pro Mark Senecal, Club Rep Peg Margiotta, and help from Ruthie’s husband, Doug, they quickly set-up the Invitational, gathered numerous photos of Ruthie and proceeded to collect donations for Vermont Girls Junior Golf to provide junior golfers the opportunities to play, compete and grow in the game of golf. Please think about joining them at the Ruthie Schamback Invitational

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2024 SARAH HUNTER INVITATIONAL – HAYSTACK GOLF COURSE – MAY 31 & JUNE 1 
On Friday, May 31 and Saturday, June 1, Haystack Golf Course in Wilmington hosted  the Sarah Hunter Spring Classic for the second time. The tournament honors the memory of Sarah Hunter, who served as head golf professional at Manchester Country Club.

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FEEDBACK AND PHOTOS
Do you have a golf story or a great photo to share with us?  Email vswgaquestions@gmail.com.  We will be happy to share with the VSWGA membership.