Tampa Bay ASGA - Newsletter

Yeah---finally a breath of fall air. We could not have had a more perfect day for our outing at the Preserve. I think I speak for everyone when I say it was a breezy challenge.

We elected new officers at our general meeting October 13th. Our new President for 2010 is Manus O’Donnell and our new vice president is Donna Dunlap. Thank you both for taking a vital role in running our organization. I am confident these two strong leaders will keep our association on target and growing for another year.

We had a great competition between our summer league teams at Westchase on October 10th. It was a very close race and the newly formed Central league took home the trophy. Everyone is talking about what will happen next summer. Watch out because there is talk of a fourth league starting up south of the bay. I think it is a great idea we could then have North, South, East and West teams.

If any of you are interested in what goes on at the Board Meeting you may now access the minutes on our website. Be aware that the information is subject to change, as some things are “in process” at the time meeting minutes are recorded.

You may or may not know that we currently maintain a telephone hotline. The Board is trying to decide if we should continue this for 2010. I would appreciate any thoughts or comments on the subject from the general membership.

The annual holiday party will be Saturday December 5; mark your calendars. It will be here in a blink of the eye.

We had 42 golfers on October 18 at the Preserve at Tara. It was a chilly, blustery day, but we all enjoyed the course which was in great condition. After golf we all went over to Gecko’s for drinks and food.

The winners were:

1st Place

Larry Klotz
B. J. Crane
Edie Senensky

2nd Place

Valerie Pyles
Mark Little
Kim Bendickson
Len Baggerman

3rd Place

Gail Kutay
Rick Beltran
Frances Panico
Don Davis

Midge Orris won Closest-to-the-pin for women. Being as the wind was howling, no men made it on the green for Closest-to-the-pin.

Our next outing is November 15 at Northdale. It will be a 12 o’clock shotgun and the cost will be $30. As in the past, there will be free range balls.

We will be having our Club Championship golf outing on December 12 so mark your calendars. Anyone can play, but if you want to participate in the championship, you must have an established handicap. We are still looking into several courses and will let you know soon.

~Tony Doyle, Golf Chairman

Meet us at Tampa Bay Downs Driving Range located at 11225 Racetrack Road in Oldsmar, starting with cocktails at 5:30; a buffet dinner at 6:00 and a golf lesson with Frank Ganley at 7:00. The driving range will be open to us until 10:00pm. Receive a coupon for future play.

The total cost is only $20. (Except cocktails) Please send your check to Edie per the attached registration form by 11/3/09.

For those still wanting to kick up their heels and go dancing, there are night clubs near by.

Our Dec. Year-End Holiday Party will be at the Eagles Golf Club located at 16101 Nine Eagles Drive, Odessa, FL 33556.

This is our dress up affair for an evening of dining, dancing, and giving. Roy Stewart will be providing the music again for our listening and dancing pleasure.

We are working on the menu and events for the evening, which will include our Toys for Tots & White Elephant gift traditions.

It is not too late to be part of the GHIN Handicap system. We are considered a Golf Club without Real Estate.

On Saturday, October 10, 2009, 40 golfers hit the links at Westchase Golf Course. Eight were there just for the fun of it; the other 32 were there to rumble. The temperature was hot enough to belie the fact that fall is here. Other than a few sprinkles on the first tee box the day progressed beautifully.

Closest-to-the-pin winners were Lou Lakatos, Lynne Wilson, Paul Trotta and Angie Garrett. They received gift certificates for a free round of golf, generously donated by Westchase Golf Course.

This year, for the first time, there were three leagues competing for the League Championship. Pinellas (Cove Cay) produced eight players (4 women, 4 men), Hillsborough (Pebble Creek) had 11 (8 women, 3 men), and the new Central league (NW Hillsborough at The Eagles) had 13 players (7 women, 6 men). Each team had a target score comprised of the average quota of the individuals competing. It was an arithmetic mean so it did not help or hinder the final outcome based on the size of the competing teams. Keeping with the spirit of the competition and as an added taunt, Pinellas and the Central league players donned uniforms – Pinellas in red shirts and the Central players in white shirts and black shorts. The final results were:

All three teams played their hearts out and the outcome was surprisingly close. Adrenaline was flowing. In the end, the Central league won the league playoff and proudly took possession of the treasured trophy. [There is talk that they may ‘take it on the road.’] While everyone played their best, apparently Rob Brauns was instrumental in leading the Central league to victory by shooting six points over his quota. Well done Rob!

An Italian buffet of salad, garlic bread, pasta, chicken cacciatore and cookies was awaiting the hot golfers at the clubhouse afterwards. A good time was had by all, particularly by the Central league players, aka The New Kids on the Block, since they won the title their first year in existence.

Kudos go to the eight non-league players in attendance for patiently enduring the league championship hoopla. We hope they had fun without the constraints of competition.

In 2009 the ASGA Board of Directors approved the formation of a third summer league to accommodate members desiring to play north of the Pinellas league site and west of the Hillsborough league site. Don Schmelzle negotiated an outstanding rate of $10 including tax from The Eagles for nine holes of golf on Wednesday nights between 5:00 – 5:30 PM. The league commenced April 22, 2009 and continued through September 30, 2009 with a total of approximately 48 people on its roster. There was a core group of about 15 players each week. “Frequent Player” members were Diane Jennings, Anne Phillips, Peter Murdock, Bill Ketchersid and Bob Mack. Weekly turnout varied, with a high of 23 to a low of six players. During the 24-week season there were six rain-outs (plus a few times rained on), but it didn’t spoil the enthusiasm. The co-captains for The Eagles league were Don Schmelzle, Cynthia Martell and Diane Jennings.