Month: October 2017

2018 Membership Renewal Now Open

by

Metro Senior Members,

It is time for you to began the your membership renewal process. You have until December 31, 2017 to renewal your membership and maintain your position in your current division, or transfer to a different division.

If you wait until after January 1, 2018, you will be grouped with new members on a first come first serve basis and when the 160 member limit is reached you will be frozen out of your desired division.

Division 5 was at 160 members last year, while Divisions 3 and 4 were almost at 160. To guarantee your position in Divisions 3, 4, or 5, then you should get your renewals in.

Please use the following link: On-Line Renewal Form

If you elect to mail in your renewal application (see attached file) the check should be made payable to – Metro Seniors.

The completed renewal form and check should be mailed to:

Dan Glenzy

14 London Ct.

O’Fallon, MO 63366

Thank you,

The Membership Committee

Metro Seniors Renewal Form

2017 Smartphone Survey Results

by

Thank you for your responses.

The evolution of smartphones has generated the opportunity and need to make communications “mobile friendly”.  As an example, our Metro Sr website automatically resizes for the smaller smartphone screen.  We also need to look for improved ways to communicate Metro Seniors news and perhaps weekly VP tournament announcements (emails?).

Over the last several years, ideas for improving our weekly tournament scoring process have bubbled up. Ideas have outrun the technology.  Our current “paper based” Universal Scorecard process is:

  • Time consuming – members and data entry
  • Time delayed – mailing, bulk data entry
  • Relatively expensive – mailing, printing, data entry
  • Error prone – input and data entry
  • Affects every member

Technology now exists. Smartphones are now in wide use. Essentially hand held wireless computers connected to the internet and central servers/systems.

Applications (APPs) that use smartphones for “Mobile Data Entry” are widespread and some are virtually free.  These allow easy point – click data entry, automatic completion, error checking and math.  They also allow immediate data transfer for use in central databases (like OurGolfStats).

We are exploring the opportunity to utilize Mobile Data Entry as a replacement for our current paper scorecard system.  Within a few years, we expect that this will be the standard everywhere.

The decision for us is should we start now or wait.  The Smartphone Survey will help in deciding when we start.

Do we have a “critical mass” of smartphones?

Do members have enough experience to use website or Mobile Data Entry APPs?

Do members understand the issues, problems, delays, costs, and time for paper scorecards?

Can we develop Mobile Data Entry that is faster, cheaper, higher quality and that members will use?

Do we see more opportunities?

  • Fast, accurate, real time course surveys or course conditions reports
  • Improved pace of play measures, real time
  • Reduced efforts and time for volunteers (Starters / Scorers and administration)
  • ???? More Ideas?????

Download (PDF, 260KB)

 

 

 

 

2017 Course Survey Results

by

Thank you for all the responses to the 2017 Course Survey.  The results were discussed with the Tournament Committee.  This was used as part of the decision process to set our target courses for the 2018 season.

The responses came from 224 members (30% of total) who played almost 4000 rounds (40% of the total – averaging 18 rounds each. These folks have seen all the courses.

I would like to see more responses from members who didn’t play as much. They might help us understand how to get them out for more fun.

The short summary of the Survey follows.  For those who want to see a more detailed analysis, see the link to the full report.

Executive Summary – Member Guidance for 2018 Weekly Tournaments

  • Eliminate or Minimize “reverse” shotgun starts
  • Start Times
    • Shotgun Starts at 7:30 AM with some at 7:00 AM (mid-summer, June, July, August)
    • Tee Starts at 7:00 AM preference (6:30 AM start still OK especially for mid-summer)
  • Target Tee positions Regular (5800 to 6200 yds) and Forward(5200 to 5800 yds)
  • Schedule with 2017 courses as preference for 2018
  • Convenient distance and quality of course are valued higher than cost
  • Consider adding “quality” courses

 

CLICK HERE to see the Full Survey Results

 

 

Member Smartphone Survey

by

We are looking a possible methods to improve our scorecard data collections and entry.

Mobile Data Entry (MDE) is a very promising technology.

APPs for MDE are already available is downloaded from the Google Play Store or ITunes onto members’ smartphones.

Simple as point and click on a smart phone, that would make completion of scorecards faster (than pencil), more accurate (click-on selections for Names, ID numbers, courses), hole score totals automatic, easy edit for corrections and immediate electronic transfer (no mailing and waiting for postal service).

Purpose of Survey – what type phones Apple -IOS or Android (everything but IPhone), experience with internet and APPs, knowledge and use of golf apps, and problems/issues with green cards.

Should only take a couple of minutes.

Members w/o smartphones go to scorecard, bypass rest of survey.

https://goo.gl/forms/B5DgXRbcCY2fkrNa2

Provisional Ball Rule Clarification

by

Posted for Gary Brown, Rules Committee Chair

Provisional Ball Rule Clarification:

The provisional ball has been quite the topic of conversation lately.   This post is intended to clarify the rule so that everyone plays it the same.  Below is the text copied directly from the USGA rule 27-2 and the Metro Seniors “Tournament Rules Summary”.   The Metro Seniors Rules Exception for eliminating the distance penalty from a Lost or Out of Bounds shot was not intended to eliminate Rule 27-2 regarding playing a Provisional Ball, but only to improve our Pace of Play.  Metro Seniors players must adhere to the USGA Rule, except for the distance penalty.

  1. MS Rules Clarification

A provisional ball may be played according to the USGA rule 27-2a. A provisional ball may be played after any errant shot, not just a tee shot. It must be announced and played from its original position before moving forward to search or the player waives their option to hit a provisional ball. If the player elects to play a provisional ball according to the USGA rule and then goes forward to search for and finds his original ball in-bounds and within our 3-minute search time, the player must abandon the provisional ball and continue playing the original ball without penalty.

  1. The Search

Another clarification is when the 3-minute search limit starts. Since we have shortened the USGA search time from 5 to 3 minutes to improve our pace of play, the “search” begins when the player moves to the point where the ball is thought to lie.

  1. USGA Rule

27-2. Provisional Ball

  1. a. Procedure

If a ball may be lost outside a water hazard or may be out of bounds, to save time the player may play another ball provisionally in accordance with Rule 27-1. The player must:

(i)      announce to his opponent in match play or his marker or a fellow-competitor in stroke play that he intends to play a provisional ball; and

(ii)     play the provisional ball before he or his partner goes forward to search for the original ball.

If a player fails to meet the above requirements prior to playing another ball, that ball is not a provisional ball and becomes the ball in play under penalty of stroke and distance (Rule 27-1); the original ball is lost.

  1. b. When Provisional Ball Becomes Ball in Play

The player may play a provisional ball until he reaches the place where the original ball is likely to be. If he makes a stroke with the provisional ball from the place where the original ball is likely to be or from a point nearer the hole than that place, the original ball is lost and the provisional ball becomes the ball in play under penalty of stroke and distance (Rule 27-1).

If the original ball is lost outside a water hazard or is out of bounds, the provisional ball becomes the ball in play, under penalty of stroke and distance (Rule 27-1).

Exception: If it is known or virtually certain that the original ball, that has not been found, has been moved by an outside agency (Rule 18-1), or is in an obstruction(Rule 24-3) or an abnormal ground condition (Rule 25-1c), the player may proceed under the applicable Rule.

  1. c. When Provisional Ball to be Abandoned

If the original ball is neither lost nor out of bounds, the player must abandon the provisional ball and continue playing the original ball. If it is known or virtually certain that the original ball is in a water hazard, the player may proceed in accordance with Rule 26-1. In either situation, if the player makes any further strokes at the provisional ball, he is playing a wrong ball and the provisions of Rule 15-3 apply.

Note: If a player plays a provisional ball under Rule 27-2a, the strokes made after this Rule has been invoked with a provisional ball subsequently abandoned under Rule 27-2c and penalties incurred solely by playing that ball are disregarded.

  1. Metro Seniors Tournament Rules Summary

LOST BALLS or OUT OF BOUNDS BALLS

USGA Rules of Golf require replay (or provisional ball) plus penalty stroke for and Out of Bounds or Lost Ball.  Metro Seniors allows for playing within 2 club lengths from the crossing of OB or probable Lost position plus a penalty stroke.  Limit ball searches to 3 minutes maximum.

Thanks for reading our blog post.  Let’s all get out and enjoy this wonderful game we play.

Gary Brown

Rules Committee