Tamarack Mens Golf association

The TGA Golf Association has been organized for the purposes of…

· Making available to its members the opportunities, privileges, pleasures and good fellowship of golf, in keeping with the best interests and true spirit of the game.

· Promoting the best interests of the Tamarack and Meadows Golf Course.

· Promoting competitive play among its members by establishing tournaments.

· Enabling its members, as a group, to participate in and become associated with other golfing organizations.

· Providing good fellowship and to promote social interests among its members and, when approved by the Executive Committee, to hold social and other approved functions.

The purpose of this paper is to inform prospective new members of the Tamarack men's golf association of the procedures and activities that are available. It is not intended to either encourage or discourage anyone to join but to try to give an understanding of what membership involves both good and bad.

The cost is $125.00 per year. There is no first time additional expense. This will entitle members to play on Sundays and holidays in mini tournaments and in ‘daily action’. There are also scheduled tournaments throughout the year including the club championship.

Eligibility for participation are that you must be 18 years of age and have a generally good understanding of the rules and etiquette of golf. Members must agree to abide by the regulations of the association. There are fines for improper behavior and possible cancellation of membership.

Schedules are prepared each year by the tournament committee and distributed to each member. The schedule includes the course that will be played on each weekend which may be Tamarack west, Tamarack east or the Meadows along with the type of tournament that will be played. Official play starts on the first week in April and ends the last week of October. Weather permitting there is play throughout the year without tournaments or the sanction of the association.

Contrary to popular belief by the general public, the association does not have preferred tee times. All members are asked to call in for tee times as often as possible. Each tee time that a member gets is recorded. Members that don’t have enough tee times are either not eligible for prizes in daily action or are disqualified from major tournaments or both.

Playing formats:

1. About 60% of the playing day’s foursomes are made up by dividing players into two

or three groups according to handicap. For example the lowest 12 handicap players

will be used to make 3 foursomes and the next 12 lowest handicap players for

another 3 foursomes. Players play in groups with other players in their own skill

level and compete against other foursomes in their group.

2. About 30% of the playing days players are divided into groups known as ‘A’ ‘B’

‘C’ and ‘D’. ‘A’ will be the lowest handicap players, ‘B’ the next lowest, ‘D’

are the highest handicap players. Each foursome is made up of one player in each

group.

3. The remaining playing days are scheduled tournament days. For those playing days

you will play against another player or you and your partner play against another

twosome according to your seeding.

The playing format in the Tamarack golf association is extremely competitive. All putts are putted out, all stokes are counted, and all penalties are enforced. Play is based upon the strict interpretation of USGA rules and regulations along with handicaps that are computed.

Please be aware that it can be a long day. Players must arrive by 7:00 am and the first tee time is 7:30. The table committee needs this time to arrange foursomes. Depending on the number of players the last tee time may be as late as 9:00. If it is a 5:00 hour round you may not get home until 2:30 or later.

Each year a weekend trip is planned to a golf resort within driving distance. The trip is normally planned for late September. The last several years the trip was to Atlantic City and the cost was $325.00 and included golf at three great courses, carts, and two overnight stays at Sea Oaks Inn.

Members are asked to serve on committees on a voluntary basis. This is not mandatory, however there is a lot of effort in running and setting up all of the activities. In addition to officers that are elected there are tournament committee, rules committee, Sunday coordinators, membership chairman, birdie pool chairman, trip organizers and action table setup.

THE WEEKLY PROCEDURE IS :

The goal each week is

1. Each Sunday to know the number of players that are registered to play.

2. To have enough quality tee times to accommodate the number of players.

3. To give the table committee enough time to set up playing foursomes according to the playing format of the day.

SUNDAY thru Thursday

If a player intends to play on the following Sunday he will call the TGA signup number, (732) 309-8192 and state his name.

TUESDAY MORNING:

The weekend coordinator working in cooperation with Tamarack and the Meadows

determine which tee times to keep and which to delete based on the number of

players.

THURSDAY EVENING:

If you change your intentions to play or not to play, you have until Thursday

evening. This is accomplished with a phone call to the weekend coordinator to a

message machine. Be brief , do not ramble – your name and are you in or out.

SUNDAY:

You must arrive by 7:00 am. A $10.00 entry fee is paid at the table. This will be

used for ‘daily action prizes’. I.E. closest to the pin on par 3s.

New members that have a USGA handicap will be eligible for tournaments, course action and table action (low net, 50/50, and greenies). New members that do not have a USGA handicap will be assigned a temporary handicap by the handicap committee based on recent scores or historical handicap information. They will pay $5 at the action table which will cover $2 club fee, 50/50 and Greenies. On regular action days temporary handicap members will play with their handicap group (A,B,C,D) and be eligible for the course action in that group. On team tournament days temporary handicap members (THM) will fall into their handicap group (A,B,C,D) and play with the team they are select for. Their scores will not be used for tournament scoring as blinds from USGA members will be assigned to that team. The (THM) will not be eligible for the tournament prizes. For tournaments that run consecutive weeks (president cup…) Temporary handicap members that establish a USGA handicap during the event can then use scores from previous weeks for that tournaments. Exception to this rule may be made when circumstances warrant (IE: we have 35 USGA members and one (THM) for the J Walker cup...).