IT’S ALMOST TEE TIME

The 2019 Men’s Club season is about to begin, thank goodness. These March snows have got to go. Despite the weather, weekend events will start in three weeks and the Opening Event will be in a little over a month. So dust off the clubs, maybe do a few stretches, and get to the range for that winter bucket that you said you were going to hit.

2019 will be transitional for the Men’s Club due to the overhaul of the rules. Tapping down spike marks, moving loose impediments in the haz…ooops, in the penalty area, and putting with the flag in the hole–all violations previously–are now perfectly legal. While the Men’s Club will adhere to all of the mandatory new rules, we do not accept one of the optional local rules. That is the new Lost Ball/Ball OB option, Local Rule E-5. If you lose a ball, or hit one OB, proceed as you always have. Don’t try marching down the fairway and dropping one for two strokes. The Men’s Club does not accept that option and will DQ you in stroke play or assess you a loss of hole in match play.

We suggest a thorough perusal of the new rules Rules of Golf or maybe a visit to the USGA website, which extensively covers the major changes. You should also visit our own website–updated to reflect all of the local rules that we have adopted. If you choose not to familiarize yourself with the changes, please try to avoid bickering with your playing partners. We don’t want to see fights or bloodshed out there. Our goal is fun, fair competition for all.

We have 22 weekend events lined up for this year and 10 larger tournaments. That’s a lot of golf. You can participate in as much or little as you like.

Here’s a quick look at some of the benefits that membership offers you:

–Handicap and GHIN #
–Access to $20,000 in prize money throughout the year
–Member-Member and Member-Guest Tournaments
–President’s Cup and Vice President’s Cup
–Governor’s Cup
–Club Championship
–Season Opening and Closing Events
–Interclub (Sterling v Hubbard) and Shoreline (Sterling v other area courses)
–Sentinel Maintenance Player of the Year competition
–Access to CSGA, MGA & WGA events
–Free subscription to Golf Digest
–And much more

Once again this year, Sentinel Maintenance will sponsor our season-long Player of the Year race. Please thank Marc Schultz and his entire team at Sentinel for donating the prize money. And remember, you want to rack up as many POY points as possible throughout the season in order to make it to the Final 8 and have a shot at the big prize.

For all you new guys or singles, we offer a New Member’s/Single’s List designed to help you connect with other golfers. Simply ask to have your name and email address added to the list and we will send them out to all the other guys on the list. That way, if you’re looking for a game or someone is looking for a player to fill a slot, you can easily make arrangements.

Golf season is almost here, thankfully. If you haven’t signed up to the Men’s Club yet, please do so now. You can sign up in the pro shop or at sterlingfarmsmc.com.

We hope to see you soon.

Jeff Mayfield
President, Sterling Farms Men’s Club