CURRENT NEWS

2023 RIGC DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE

 

To all members from the Board of the RIGC:

 

We welcome back all returning and new members of the RIGC for the 2023 golf season! As in previous seasons, it promises to be a memorable one with great golf, funs stories and the crowning of new champions.

 

***IMPORTANT NOTICE***

 

The Board has spent considerable time and discussion in attempt to better streamline our weekly events and competitions, to eliminate a lot of emails, texts, and phone calls and to make it easier for facilitators to fashion an enjoyable experience for all participants at a weekly RIGC event or competition.

 

CENTRAL TO THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF THE ABOVE GOAL IS TO BE FOUND ON THE SCHEDULING PAGE OF OUR WEB SITE. THERE YOU WILL SEE A NEW REMOVAL FORM AND MEMBERS NOT PLAYING FORM.

 

The following will help to understand the new processes:

 

• Each week when creating the pairings, the facilitators will now assume that everyone in the club is playing.  Previously, when a member didn’t want to play, they would send an email to whoever the facilitator was for that event (who was usually Rodney Cooper).  Also, over many years, Rodney Cooper found that many members knew what events they wouldn’t be playing early on.  So, to accommodate both these issues we created two forms, one to remove yourself from any events, and one that would be a one-stop-shop for facilitators to see who would not be playing before they create the pairings.

 

• If you can’t make an event, you will need to complete the Removal Form at least 3 days in advance.  If you removed yourself early and want to change your mind, you’ll need to send an email directly to the facilitator.   And, if you’re scheduled to play and must cancel at the last minute, you’ll need to call the facilitator and let him know.  Not calling creates obvious problems!

 

•  Members need to take this Removal process seriously.  If you know right now there are events you can’t make, go to the website, and fill out the Removal Form.  Once done, press Submit.  An email will go to Mike Whitty where he’ll place that Removal on the Members Not Playing Form, where everyone, especially the Facilitators, can see who’s not playing, and make their pairings accordingly.

 

We all need to consider that facilitators need to send our scheduled golf course our pairings usually a day or two before we play.  What’s equally important is that often our green fees are determined based on how many members we guarantee to play.  When members don’t take the removal process seriously, it puts RIGC in a bad light with any golf course since they’re losing money on a tee time that’s not filled. Such behavior is contrary to our mission statement of support to the courses we play and the game of golf. There will be unforeseen circumstances, but let’s all do our best to make our weekly events and competitions enjoyable for all.

 

Now for a celebration! All should have received or will receive shortly the annual Michigan Links magazine published by the Golf Association of Michigan (GAM). On pages 65-67 there is an article highlighting the forward thinking of GAM’s Type 2 clubs (of which the RIGC was instrumental in creating) that offer fair and friendly competition among those who share similar interests. The RIGC is one of four clubs highlighted. Since our inception as club, the RIGC has been respected and distinguished by GAM for our emphasis on promoting and building the game of golf in Michigan.

 

In other news, the club’s governance has changed to include an expanded and more integral Competition Committee that will be tightly aligned with the Board to help ensure a consistent experience for members from week to week. For example, Committee members along with Board members will help facilitators with handouts showing pairings, local rules in effect for the week, tees to be played, any lift/clean/place in effect, ensure the collection of scorecards, and general troubleshooting.  The newly appointed members of the Competition Committee are Dennis Hansinger, Brian Gromek, F. Safar Shaikh, John Croce, and Craig Viges. It may take a few weeks to fully get the Committee working as planned, so please be patient and feel free to suggest ways the Board and Competition Committee can create a better club experience.

 

As for upcoming events, April 19 is open, not as a formal club event, but as an encouragement for a member or members to arrange tee times at a favorite course and send out a message to all members asking whether they want to play (Ed Phillips has often done this after the end of our scheduled season in October). On April 26, the RIGC begins the season with an annual “warm up” session at a new course for the club, Crystal Lake (formerly known as the Pontiac Municipal course, and now owned by the owner of Atlas Golf Club, a course we enjoy in Davison, Michigan. And then on May 3, our Opening Day is a scramble at Twin Lakes with a RIGC club meeting afterwards.

 

Golf season has arrived! And for those who have played with the undersigned, they have observed that my golf game is not bad, but if I grew tomatoes, they’d come up sliced.

 

Scott Moore, President