Welcome

Welcome to the 2014season for Washington Bell Golf Association marking our 67th year. It is a privilege to serve as this year’s president, and I look forward to working with all of you to strengthen the WBGA.

Membership Dues & Fees

The dues for 2014 will remain the same as 2013 at $65.Our 2014 membership application will reflect this. The application will be sent out shortly, so please get those dues in as soon as possible. We need to have an accurate membership headcount as we enter the season. We also need seed money to place deposits on several of the courses that we have scheduled.

Tournament Fees will remain unchanged in 2014. Members will pay $60.00. Guest fees will remain unchanged at $70.00. The cost of the courses are going up. We could get access to several additional courses if our tournament fees could be flexible. By this I mean, at one course the fee would be $X and at another it would be $Y. In all cases we would have a maximum fee that had been voted on by our membership. We would still like to hear your comments on this idea. Please let any of the officers know what you think of this.

Schedule

The 2014 schedule is currently being finalized with the courses. There will be a few changes from 2013. Two of the courses have indicated price increases and date changes. Because of this we have added one new course and brought back two old courses. Our first tournament is once more at “MEADOWS FARMS”. Augustine has proven to beinflexiblewith no shows and their price per participant will max out the $60 fee. The schedule will be sent out as soon as it is finalized and as always it will be updated on our website (

Flights

One of the many comments from our membership concerned our requirement that all new members had to play in 3 WBGA Tournaments before establishing a handicap, being put in a flight, and competing for the Order of Merit. In 2014 new members can establish a handicap in 1 of 2 ways: 1: New members will participate in 2 events to establish a handicap for being put in a flight, or 2: New members may provide a valid USGA handicap and will be immediately placed into a flight and compete for the Order of Merit.

2014 Officers

President / Bob Noel / Tournament Director / Erin Ball
Vice President / Erin Ball / Prize Director / Ed Calabria
Secretary Treasurer / Terry Peck / Handicap Chairman / Erin Ball/John Hill
Starter / Randy Greer / 50/50 Director / Rick Bouchard

Awards

Reduced membership and participation continues to impact multiple facets of the WBGA. The awards for 2014 will change slightly. The gift certificate given to the holder of our REDticket will be reduced to $75. Please note that you can buy more than 3 tickets!Flight winners will still receive Dick’s gift cards. For all “Gross” and “Net” prizes that result in a tie, the winner of the tie-breaker will receive the prize. However, all winners, ties included, will receive the points towards the Order of Merit.

Slow Play

Slow play continues to be a problem, not just in our association but for golf in general. See the ads on Golf channel and in the magazines. We welcome any suggestions or comments from the members to alleviate this problem. 18 holes of golf should be completed within four and half hours. A few suggestions and don’t shoot the messenger.

Ready Golf – WBGA is a proponent of ready golf. If you are ready to play your next shot (including putts) and one of your group members is away and not ready, go ahead and play your shot. This will speed up play. This is a big help.

Lost Balls– Keep the time looking for lost balls in the woods and rivers to a minimum. You are most likely going to have to take a drop anyway. When a member is hitting please have everyone watch so that everyone can look in the best place.

Putts – Start reading and lining up your putt while your members are putting up. You don’t need to wait until it’s your turn to do a 360 around the green to read your putt. If you’re ready: PUTT.

Tee Chatter – If you are ready to tee off, tee off, even if you don’t have the honors.Do all talking after the shots or in between while walking to the tee or moving to your carts.

Senior Tees

Another suggestion from our membership was for the use of SENIOR TEES (where available). After a lot of discussion as to how we could manage this we came up with the following compromise. Anyone that meets the following requirement can play from the Senior Tees if they elect this option at the beginning of the year. There will be a box to check on the 2014 membership application for this option. It is optional, not mandatory. It will however be for the full year. If due to an unforeseen event during the course of the year, a member may request a waiver from the officers to use the tees.

In order to use the SENIOR TEES a member must meet the following: AGE plus HANDICAP = 85

Additional Comments

In order to make each tournament successful, all members Must confirm their individual participation. This includes sending their tournament fees in on time, calling the Starter on call-in night (mandatory if it is a tee time tournament), and designating an official scorekeeper at each event. The scorekeeper will be responsible for ensuring all scores from their grouping are turned in correctly and are legible. It is essential that all scores (no omissions) be recorded accurately and expeditiously. This will allow the handicap officials to ascertain the tournament winners and runner ups in a timely manner.This will cut down the time on getting everyone home.

Due to the decrease in membership our numbers at our tournaments have declined. We averaged approximately 35 players per tournament for 2013. Most of the courses that we play or have talked to require a minimum number of players (50+) in order to have a shotgun start. Last year we were able to stave off the return to tee times. This year will see more tee time starts. If our membership increases we will push for more shotgun starts. Talk up the association. Let’s continue to guarantee that we qualify for the Shotguns.

Please utilize the website at There are updates posted there as information changes throughout the course of the season.

Referrals:

We would like to see a bump in membership this year, so please talk up the association. There are benefits! Golf Balls (Free dozen) to the Sponsors!A new incentive for 2014. Each new member will get 1 free tournament after they play in two (2) events.

The officers of this association do hear each and every one of you. We strive to incorporate any reasonable request into the bylaws of the WBGA. An organization is only as strong as the individual members. As long as you keep offering suggestions and keep the officers on their toes then we will continue to grow and prosper. I would like to be able to see this group celebrate its 100th birthday someday. Not many groups can say that.

I look forward to seeing each of you at the tournaments this year and I sincerely hope this will be the best year yet for you and the WBGA.

Bob Noel

WBGA President, 2014

Washington Bell Golf Association – President’s Message – January 2014