We had a committee meeting last night attended by all 8 committee members:



Finance: A report will be forthcoming by next week. By next month we will be able to publish a monthly report and tournament financial review and, hopefully, post it on the website in the members' section

Membership: We now have 75 members with a few more applicants and several existing members who haven't responded. It looks like we will have in excess of 70 for the season. About 50% have renewed, the rest of you need to do so by the April event or you will not be eligible for that event or the matchplay. It was agreed that "once a member, always a member" is the rule, so, if you leave and want to rejoin you will only be charged the renewal fee. Pete, Greg, Justin and Russ were voted in as full members.

Old Hickory: The Old Hickory event is on 4/25 at 12pm. We are almost 60% full so hurry up and sign up at http://www.neddevinesgolfingsociety.com/tourup.htm For this and all other events we will hold a random draw and will put two A/B players in the same group as two C/D players. We discussed two alternate stableford formats but decided to wait until next year to decide whether to change formats. Mike, our committee chair, believes that when all handicaps are correct we will be able to demonstrate that the current system is the fairest and encourages fast play.

O'Leary Golf Academy: We again have great offers from John and these will be detailed in a separate email

Ryder Cup and Lions/Legends: We finalized our thinking on this and we will have a 12 man, qualification based Ryder Cup in mid September and the Lions v Legends at the end of September. The Lions v Legends will be a fun event, with everyone who signs up for the September event being eligible. Teams will be developed that weekend.

Flight competition: Mike has split all members into 15 and under and 16 and over and we have started the competition which runs through the end of the year. Each month he will enter your scores and the top 4 scores will count towards the prizes. We will publish the spreadsheet each month so you can see where you stand.

Away trip: Wayne is still working on a trip to Myrtle in May, stay tuned

Handicaps: This continues to be a critical aspect of the society. We are striving to ensure that all handicaps are accurate with a goal of achieving that by year end. Mike is doing a great job ushering this process along. We also decided that we will follow USGA rules and there will be no maximum handicap.

One very important decision was made that affects all new members. As the prizes for the matchplay are so significant ($5k + to the winner last year) we have decided that a new member must have ten scores in by 4/30 to be eligible. We recognize this will be a challenge but it is what it is. Old scores can be entered as well as any scores between now and the end of the month. New members, we want you to play, so please contact Mike at mike.foster@sherwin.com to work out how to satisfy this requirement. Thanks! Attached is the sheet that we handed out on Saturday and previously circulated explaining how to post your scores. It is incumbent on and expected that you will all enter your scores everytime you play. Mike will again help after Old Hickory. One aspect that even us old committee members never knew is that the rules for the posting of each score depend on where your handicap AT THAT COURSE puts you in the range as opposed to where your index places you. Please read the rules carefully.

Matchplay: The draw will be held on Saturday after the event. This is a great night and we will bid on each player and then hold the draw. Details will be forthcoming soon. Please attend the drawing even if you can't play at Old Hickory. There will be some free drinks available for all attendees. If you are out of town please let me know how far you want me to bid you. ALSO, PLEASE EMAIL ME IMMEDIATELY INDICATING YOUR INTENT TO PLAY. There is no entry fee, you have a month to play each round and all money bid will go to the prize fund with the exception of $1200 which goes in $100 amounts to buy drinks for the committee at the monthly meeting. Last year each of the last 16 got $100, the last 8 got an additional $200, the last four got an additional $500 with the winner getting over $5000 and 2nd place over $2000!

Raffle: We will have raffle tickets for sale by the end of the month. 600 tickets only at $20 each. This raffle supports many of the things we are able to do for the members so please help us sell them. There are 5 $100 consolation prizes and the winner gets 4 tickets to Ireland, car and accomodation or cash!

Website: Deirdre is working with our webmaster to ensure that we will have an up to date site by month end. We hope to be able to offer an area where you can put a business card and we will encourage members to use your services.

Retail partner: We are still looking for a retail partner who will offer members discounts on golf stuff, stay tuned. If any of you have an idea please let me know.

Suggestion box: There is a button on the website which allows you to make comments, suggestions or criticisms. The emial will come directly to me and the committee will discuss any topics raised.

Thanks!

Dave