Board Minutes, August 12, 2024
August 10, 2024 meeting called to order by President Bob Lieb at 1:00. Members present: Bob Lieb, Ed Gooze, Steve Greenbaum, Jan Bernard, Blane Goldwater, Dean Abston, Don Kihara, De Ron Jones, Harvey Goldsmith, Roger Cowan, past-president Saul Isler. Members absent: Larry Tash, Steve Skinner, parliamentarian/volunteer Wendy Furth.
Minutes of previous meeting accepted but not read.
No guests present
President's report: Bob stated fairways not in good condition. Membership is doing
well.
Treasurer's report: Harvey stated we have $13,995 in our account, with $782 on the way from SCGA.
Membership: Dean reported 244 members: 185 Full, 59 Associate with Wally Sweeterman a mew Associate.
Jan has assumed the task of sending out new-member packets. As was reported previously, Jan spends two days after tournaments posting the players’ scores, entering the data in Mulligan Golf so the results and side pots can be determined and, on another day, filling out the envelopes for the winners. As Jan has said, this is a labor of love for the Club.
An incident occurred in which a member handed Jan an envelope which he discovered contained $50. Ostensibly, this was a thank-you for Jan’s hard work. Jan took the $50 put it into a tournament payout.
Tournaments: Jan stated July 22, 76 players, 10 cancellations, 64% winners; August 5, 80 signed up, 1 cancellation, 78% winners. Jan thought this new format, "1-2-3," was fun and would do it again. Jan thanked the excellent marshaling of Yoshi?taka Enoki ("Yoshi") ?who kept accurate data as to the pace of play. Jan distributed a "pace of play" sheet. There was discussion regarding "playing through." The consensus was a request to play through should be honored, especially if the group is more than a hole behind. August 19, 72 signed up, 2 cancellations, 1 on the waiting list. Jan decided this tournament will be lift/clean/place since the Encino fairways are in poor condition. Rake and place in the bunkers, as always.
Check our website for "Pace of Play" suggestions.
Club Championship will be October 21/28. Skinner will decide regarding hats as a giveaway.
Handicap: Bob received Larry’s report: “1. Only one newer member double posted. I contacted him to remind him of our process and the double posting was corrected.
2. For the Encino tournament, we had 22 members who scored lower than their GHIN. None of the scores fell into the exceptional score range.
3. For the Encino tournament we had 17 players who scored lower than their GHIN and Club Index. I have not reviewed this data in the past, but I would suggest that if we have players score lower than their GHIN and Club index for two consecutive tournaments, that I recalculate their Club Index prior to the next tournament. Your input is requested before I move forward with this effort. Several of these members already had Club Index lower than their GHIN, so they are consistently playing below their potential based on the GHIN system.”
Sunshine: Blane reported Wendy is recovering from a back issue, Dean from liver surgery and Taira from shoulder issue. She reminded us many are having tough times.
Niblick: Proofreader Isler stated he was surprised that the editor-- as old as he is (86 August 17) could produce a Niblick with no errors.
Greenbaum encouraged contributions for publication, especially from the board, reminding that all entries must be tasteful, and golf related. Old Business Regarding the December 11th Awards Luncheon, Blane moved and was seconded: "non-golfing" members and guests may attend at a cost of $15 per person - passed unanimously. Players will pay $70 that includes $35 greens fee, $18 mandatory cart, $17 prize money and buffet luncheon. To avoid potential charges, cancellations must be made at least 5 business days before the event: 1. Jan can notify the Golf Division and 2. Blane can notify Mike from dining.
Regarding the format of the shotgun, Jan is considering a scramble or partner better-ball. TBD. He thought offering mulligans would add too much time.
There was discussion of raising the prize money to $3000, distributed to Blane and Dean, with more going to Dean since he deals with the golf items. In this regard, there was discussion about high ticket items such as clubs and bags; however, Dean felt in the past he's done a good job making choices, but he's open to suggestions from the board.
Each member will receive a blue ticket.
There was discussion regarding obtaining donated rounds from various courses. This will be attempted again.
Harvey volunteered to work with Wendy and Jane on the Razzle Dazzle: red tickets, buy as many as desired, a 3, 2, 1 graduated pay-off.
Old Business: Don warned of spam calls requesting money. A number of board members have received such.
Ed wanted the Club to sponsor the installation of tee directional signs. It seems that this is not feasible, but Ed could pursue this with the City.
Meeting adjourned at 2:21. Next meeting September 16 at 1:00
SSGC BOARD MEETING
July 15, 2024
Board meeting called to order by Ed Gooze in the temporary absence of President Robert Lieb at 1:00 p.m.
Present at the meeting were Ed Gooze, Saul Isler, Dean Abston, Steve Skinner, DeRon Jones, Robert Lieb, Larry Tash
Minutes from the June meeting were approved.
Vice President’s Report: Golf courses seem to be in better shape than last year. However, why isn’t anything done about maintenance of the courses where maintenance is needed.
Budget: The account currently has $14,127.63 as of today.
Discussion regarding the SCGA announcement of dues being increased as of January 1, 2025 by $5.00. We are currently one of the least expensive courses in the area. Is there any reason for changing the dues for our club beginning with the new calendar year? This was presented as a motion and passed with a majority vote to make our club dues $90 beginning with renewals for January 2025. We are always looking at ways to give back to our members to continue to make the club stronger and valuable to the members. Dean Abston will notify SCGA of the increase and the date to put it into effect.
Tournament Report: The first July tournament went well. The pace of play was about four hours for the early groups and the later groups played in about 4 hours and 35 minutes. We have seen improvement over the last several tournaments. There were 74 players and 73% earned some level of winning money. July 22 tournament will be an individual tournament on the Balboa course. August 5 tournament already has ten members on the waitlist, Jan has asked the city for access to one additional tee time. The tournament cancellation policy is now in place. If a member cancels within five days of a tournament, the member may be charged the cost of a green fee if the club is charged by the course. This did occur at our Hansen Dam tournament where the club was charged for four no show tee times. Members must pay the club prior to entering any future club events.
Away Tournament Report:
The Founders’ Cup is moving forward as planned and the finals will be completed prior to our club banquet in December.
Sterling Hills tournament which will be played on July 17 is full with 52 members signed up to play. It is a Partner Best Ball tournament
Olivas Links tournament in August is almost full so if you wish to play, notify Steve Skinner quickly.
Los Robles will be the September location for our away tournament.
Our final away tournament for this year is planned for Westlake GC in October. The arrangements for this tournament are in the process of being finalized.
Jan comments related to our club website:
The golf schedule for 2025 has been approved and finalized by the LA City Golf Division. Away tournaments have not been included in that schedule yet.
The web site is going well with periodic issues that Jan brings to the attention of the system administrators. Golf Genius is available for us to use; however, it would require that a club member be willing to learn the system and take on the responsibility. No one has stepped forward to do that as of yet.
Jan is happy doing all that he does relate to the tournament direction and the club web site, however, we need to give him as much assistance as possible. We need members to step up and take some of the time load off of his plate. For regular tournaments, he arrives at the course at 6:00 a.m. and goes out in the final group then returns home by about 4:00 p.m. To complete the process, he works the next two days on this club event. We are grateful for all that Jan does for our club. If anyone wants to assist Jan, please notify him and be part of the group that will help take some of the time responsibility off of his plate. The Board of Directors have agreed to rotate assisting Jan to the greatest extent possible.
Membership:
Dean announced that we currently have 185 regular members and 54 associate members for a total in our club of 239 members. We had two new members join the club since last month.
Handicap:
Larry discussed two topics with the Board: exceptional scores and modifications of the handicap. The important discussion is that we do not want any changes to be arbitrary, so we will include exceptional score updates within the month that they occur. Modifications for injury or illness require very imprecise decisions that are quite arbitrary so they will not occur.
President’s Message:
Bob Leib restated the dates of the next five tournaments. He is grateful that the pace of play has recently improved.
Old Business:
Bob is asking that by the September Board meeting all arrangements for our shotgun tournament and following banquet be in place. Dean Abston and Blane Goldwater are leading this planning.
New Business:
MGA will be moving forward in 2025 with seven matches scheduled between LA City clubs. The matches will be on Thursdays once per month beginning in March. Bob will be looking for about 20 members to sign up for these matches. More information will be coming out at a later date.
Saul asked to discuss the use of Forward Tees by some members in our tournaments. He sees this as only to be used for individual tournaments, not team events. Decisions as to who could or would play from the forward tees would be determined by handicap, not by age. It would be a player’s choice. The difficulty with offering this is that our system makes it very difficult to run a tournament. If we were using Golf Genius it would be very possible to offer this opportunity.
The Club Championship dates were moved to October 21 and October 28 for this year.
Our next meeting that all members are welcome to attend will be on Monday, August 12, at 1:00 p.m.
Adjourned at 2:37 p.m.
June 10, 2024 meeting called to order at 1:06 by President Bob Lieb. Members present: Bob Lieb, Jan Bernard, Roger Cowan, Steve Skinner, De Ron Jones, Steve Greenbaum, Blane Goldwater, Dean Abston, past president, Saul Eisler, parliamentarian, Wendy Furth.
Members absent: Edwin Gooze, Larry Tash, Don Kihara, Harvey Goldsmith.
The minutes were approved but not read.
There were no guests.
President's Report: Bob urged Skinner to work with Jan to highlight Away tournaments on the website.
Treasurer's Report: Bob, reporting for Harvey, stated we have $13,769 in our account plus an SCGA check of $502 pending, giving a balance of $14,281
For convenience, Harvey directed SCGA to send the checks to his personal P.O. box. Bob will discuss this with Harvey since the Club has its own P.O. box paid for throughout the year and there may be confusion.
Membership Report: Dean stated we have 241members--182 Full, 59 Associate.
It is SCGA policy to notify Dean if an Associate upgrades to Full before renewal. Dean will have Larry included in this communication.
Tournament Report: Jan thanked Skinner and Roger for running the May 13 Hansen Dam 4 player/3 better ball event. There were 80 signed up, 72 played, 8 cancellations, 69% winners. The Club could have been charged for the 8 but were charged for only 4. The club will be reimbursed $22 for the four--either by check or debited from winnings.
May 20 low net/gross. 72 signed up, 63 players, 9 cancellations within 5 days, Club not charged, 60% winners. Balboa 6/17--76 players, 2 on waitlist, two partner better ball; Encino 7/---68 signed up, 4 spots open, two player better ball. Waiting to hear from Golf Division to reschedule Club Championship a week later since Jan and Skinner will be away.
After much discussion, the following was moved by Jan and seconded: “If any player cancels a club event at any City course within five days of the event, said player will be responsible for payment of green fees if the City course charges us for “no shows” or cancellations. If cancellation fees are not paid by a player, that player may not participate in our club events until said payment is made. Any player who cancels any of our “away” events will be responsible for payment of any charges that the club pays for said cancellation.”
Note that as always, Tournament Directors can decide the legitimacy of a cancellation.
Skinner reported re Away tournaments: Sterling Hills July 17 8 openings., Olivas Links August 13, Los Robles September 19, Oct. 17 Westlake Golf Course, tentatively called the “Saul Isler Best-Chance-to Shoot-Your-Age Classic.”
President's Cup will be De Ron versus the winner of Duenas v. Schonfeld/Martinez
match.
Sunshine Report: Blane stated that Wendy is fine. John Wiczek is looking to play again after recovering from surgery. Skinner, now with one ankle (his “kankle”) is looking forward to his winning ways.:
Niblick: Greenbaum thanked Saul for his quick and appropriate entry on turning 90, and always for great proofreading.
Old Business: Bob wants to have finalized by September 1st all decisions re the Dec. 11 Shotgun and Annual Awards Luncheon.
Blane and Dean need to know how much they can spend.
It was agreed that non-playing guests would be welcomed at the luncheon at a subsidized price.
Roger volunteered to attempt to determine the winner of the shotgun at the banquet.
New business: Bob discussed the email sent by Mike Cornner to create permanent plaques for those who shoot a hole-in-one and those who shoot their age, as well as presenting them trophies. Roger moved and was seconded: “A trophy will be given to anyone who has a hole-in-one in a Club tournament.” Passed unanimously.
[N.B. The Club has a policy of paying $100 to anyone who shoots an Ace in a Club tournament.]
Blaine asked if a non-member could play as a guest in a tournament to get the feel of the club before deciding to join. Dean will coordinate with Jan.
Dean stated in the Founders’ Cup match with Leonard Zambito that Leonard created an unpleasant atmosphere due to his emotional and unprofessional behavior. Dean believes Leonard’s behavior “is not good for business and affects the reputation of the Club.” Moved and seconded: “Prior to any further action, a board member will play with Leonard in tournaments to monitor his conduct.” Passed unanimously.
The next meeting will be July 15th at 1 o'clock.
Respectfully submitted, Steve Greenbaum, secretary.
President Bob Lieb called to order the May 6, 2024 meeting at 1:06.
Members present: Bob Lieb, Ed Gooze, Steve Greenbaum, Harvey Goldsmith, Steve Skinner, Dean Abston, De Ron Jones, Larry Tash.
Absent: Roger Cowan, Jan Bernard, Blane Goldwater, Don Kihara, past president, Saul Isler, volunteer/parliamentarian, Wendy Furth.
Minutes: Larry Tash was absent at prior meeting. Minutes not read but accepted as corrected.
President's Report: Bob was pleased with the general condition of courses and Encino restored to 18.
He will continue to work with GAC on attempting to get a 3rd time each month. He will work on a letter presenting our strongest case.
He's also working with Leonard Zambito on MGA. There will be MGA tournaments in 2025.
He also stated the Golf Division is looking for volunteers for the City Golf Championships at Griffith Park in June and July.
Bob also urged Skinner to connect with Jan to publicize the Away tournaments.
Treasurer's Repot: Harvey reported our present balance is $12,184.04 with 2 checks--one for $925 (stop payment made for this missing check) and another for $414. Once all are deposited our balance will be $13,523.04--with continual monthly SCGA dues deposits
Tournaments: Skinner indicated the Founder's Cup will start June 3rd on Encino.
Away schedule--primarily on Wednesdays--will be as follows:
July--Sterling
August--Olivas Links
September--Los Robles (scramble)
October--Westlake (drivable par 4's and best opportunity to shoot your age)
It was noted that board members Dean and De Ron are in the final four of the President's Cup.
Sunshine: Skinner is recovering well from total ankle replacement.
Membership: Dean stated we have 241 Full members, 81 Associate. Jonathan Pascal and Byron Smith, associate, Ken Merchant, Full.
Handicap: Larry reported 25 shot below their handicap at Woodley, including one who shot 10 under handicap. This caused an "exceptional" score--meaning his handicap is immediately lowered 2 points and remains for 20 rounds and the creation of a new handicap.
Niblick: Greenbaum thanked Mike Cornner, Saul Isler, and Roger Cowan for their contributions. Larry said he would write a piece about the technology--including golf--in China's schools.
Old Business: Awards Luncheon with shotgun start on December 11th at Encino will continue to be discussed--including format.
New Business: None
Next meeting: June 10, 1:00
Meeting adjourned at 1:50.
Respectfully submitted, Steve Greenbaum, secretary
April 22, 2024 meeting called to order by President Bob Lieb at 1:06.
Members present: Bob Lieb, Ed Gooze, Steve Greenbaum, Dean Abston, De Ron Jones, Jan Bernard, Don Kihara, past president Saul Isler, volunteer/parliamentarian Wendy Furth, Larry Tash.
Absent: Roger Cowan, Harvey Goldsmith, Steve Skinner, Blane Goldwater
Minutes were accepted, though not read.
Guests: none present.
President's Report: Bob stated all is good. The courses are in better shape and Encino is back to eighteen holes.
Bob stated he will devote his energies to 1. obtaining three tee times per month, (Rancho has three: two Wednesdays and a Saturday; Jan had tried with the City’s Golf Division) and 2. dealing with MGA’s requests for volunteers for tournaments on City courses (Larry Cloud is contact person).
Treasurer’s Report: Harvey texted Bob that the Club has $13,153 in the bank. We receive between $600 to $900 monthly from SCGA memberships—Full and Associate.
Any fine money coming from reservations goes to the City.
Membership Report: Dean stated we have 240 member--186 Full; 54 Associate, including Eric Panuncialman and William Wood. Good to see we have been continually growing.
Handicap: no report.
Tournament Report: Jan stated March 8th, 66 players, 6 cancellations, 42 people earned money; March 29th, 80 signed up for Woodley; May 13th, Hansen, 80 signed up.
Don stated the President's Cup is moving along well. Third-round play should be finished by the end of May.
It was reported that Steve Skinner has three away tournaments booked and looking to see if the ever-challenging Westlake links is available.
Sunshine. Jan reported he lost his brother, age 73, and his mother-in-law, age 100. She passed quietly in her sleep.
GAC: no report.
Niblick: Greenbaum thanked Mike Cornner, Nelson Samesi and Roger Cowan. Mike will have the third part of his 2018 trip to Scotland in the upcoming issue. Ed said might write a short story.
Old business: December 11th Awards Luncheon with shotgun start will continue to be discussed.
New business--See President's Report regarding three times a month and MGA. .
Bob commented that perhaps one time from our two Monthlies can be used to resume league play.
Next meeting: May 6, 1:00.
Meeting adjourned at 1:50
Respectfully submitted, Steve Greenbaum, secretary
March 18, 2024, meeting called to order by President Bob Lieb at 1:03. Members present: Bob Lieb, Ed Gooze, Steve Greenbaum, Jan Bernard, Steve Skinner, Blane Goldwater. Roger Cowan, De Ron Jones, Larry Tash, and Dean Abston.
Absent: Don Kihara, Harvey Goldsmith. past-president Saul Eisler, volunteer Wendy Furth.
Minutes were accepted though not read.
