RDGA Sets New Course For 2006

Rochester New York April 17, 2006 – The Rochester District Golf Association met at its annual meeting on April 11 at the Country Club of Rochester to discuss the upcoming golf season.  But the discourse was anything but usual.  RDGA President Jim Cook outlined many new initiatives that the RDGA will undertake beginning in 2006, which will affect Rochester Golf, its 65 member clubs and the area’s many amateur tournaments for years to come.

RDGA On-Line

Like most successful businesses today, the website is one of the main tools for disbursing information throughout its customer base.  The RDGA is continuing to upgrade its website with current information that affects its clubs and some 17,000 members.  This year all tournament participants will be able to register and pay their tournament fees on-line thanks to a regional grant from the USGA.  These additional funds have allowed the hiring of a computer programmer who has designed an in-house registration page and has interfaced the RDGA site with Pay-Pal, so all participants can sign-up and pay in minutes.

The USGA’s East Region Director, Ann Guiberson, spoke at the meeting of the benefits of such grants in aiding local associations for projects such as this.  She praised the efforts of the RDGA to streamline its registration procedures and mentioned how pleased the USGA was to be able to help in this way.  On a side note, Ann also mentioned to the delegates how the USGA, this year, will begin emphasizing “pace-of-play” in some of its qualifying tournaments around the country.  The RDGA has recognized the importance of this issue and instituted a system two years ago for all of its events.  “Most competitors at our tournaments and other events have praised the efforts of the RDGA to try and eliminate slow play,” said RDGA President Jim Cook.  “It is something that we are going to stress for many years to come.”

New Permanent RDGA Headquarters

After many years of planning and budgeting the RDGA will, in November of this year, have its own permanent facility.  “This is a long time in the making,” said RDGA President Jim Cook.  “After all the hard work and planning of many boards before us, finally, we have the funds and the opportunity to have our own RDGA headquarters.”  Former president Alan Pritchard brought together all the loose ends back in 2003 and set the course for the final purchase of the new facility which will be located at 2024 West Henrietta Road in the Brighton Campus Park.  “This is a far cry from the days when the RDGA was literally run out of the trunk of the president’s car,” said Cook.

 

New Club Liaison Program

One of the pressing needs that surfaced during the winter meetings was that member clubs could not get quick responses from the RDGA on certain matters.  To address this, the Board has developed a Liaison Program whereby each board member has nine member clubs to which he is responsible. This will increase the response time to the clubs about matters that may pertain only to their club or general district matters that may affect all clubs.  “This flattens the management model so that each one of our 65 clubs can get quicker answers to their questions.  It also puts more responsibility on our board members, which they have graciously consented to undertake,“ said President Cook.

Futures Program Continues to Progress

When young aspiring golfers, who are not members of any golf club, want to play in a tournament, what do they do?  They turn to the RDGA.  For several years now the RDGA has sponsored many young golfers so they can play in sanctioned tournaments and obtain a valid USGA handicap.  This expands the junior golf community beyond those many kids who belong to a club and have had the chance to play organized golf.  Last year one of the futures’ players made it to the finals of one of the RDGA’s junior events and was very grateful for the opportunity to play.  “This is a way of putting a face on our quest to increase junior golf in our district,” said RDGA President Jim Cook. “From many nationwide programs of the USGA right down to our regional program, everyone sees the need to embellish junior golf programs for all participants.”

Additionally, the RDGA Junior Scholarship Program continues to help many young golfers as they move on to college and beyond.  Last year 10 worthy participants were given $1000 toward their college expenses after they applied to the RDGA’s Scholarship Committee and were accepted.  In 2006 ten more scholarships will be given out and there are plans to try and expand the program in the years to come.  All college-bound junior golfers are encouraged to apply at this year’s tournament locations or by contacting the RDGA Office by June 1, 2006.  The deadline for applications is June 15.

RDGA, Rochester’s Definition of Golf

Most know that the RDGA runs many amateur golf tournaments throughout the year but that is not the essence of what the RDGA really is all about.

Since the RDGA established its charter in 1929 with 12 original member clubs in Monroe County, it had one mission—to protect the integrity of the handicap system in the greater Rochester region for all of its members.  It seems like a small mission, but really it is bigger than any could imagine now that there are 65 member clubs in a nine county area.  Simply put, every golfer is equalized by the handicap system.  That means that Tiger Woods could play John Kircher on rated course and each would have an equal chance to win the match.  Saying it is rather easy, getting there is anything but.

The RDGA is an Authorized Golf Association, that has jurisdiction in the Rochester region and has been licensed by the United States Golf Association to utilize the USGA Handicap System and/or the USGA Course Rating System in its district, region or state through its member golf clubs. 

The first responsibility for the RDGA is to rate every course.  That means that a par four hole really is a par four, and so on.  This process needs to take place on a regular basis to assure fair play and appropriate scoring on every golf course.  Because there are new courses in the area and new holes on the established courses, the rating responsibility is a large undertaking that needs to be addressed each year.  In 2006 about ten courses will be re-rated in the Rochester area.  Dick Frank (a former RDGA president) and his wife Judy, will head up this very important function for 2006

That leads to the GHIN (Golf Handicap & Information Network) system, which is the official mission of the RDGA.  As was noted before, the purpose of the handicap system is to make the game of golf more enjoyable by enabling players of differing abilities to compete on an equitable basis.  Currently there are some 17,000 members of the RDGA’s GHIN system.  They are administered by the individual PGA club pro and the handicap chairman at each of the member clubs.  When a player posts a score from an officially rated course (and does so 20 times) he/she gets an official GHIN handicap that can be used to play in officially sanctioned tournaments.  That means a golfer with an official handicap can play in all the USGA events, even the biggest one of all the US Open.  When it comes to RDGA events, only those with official handicaps can compete.

Historically, having a legitimate handicap was not a problem, but recently maintaining its integrity has become more challenging.  “If we don’t have proper handicaps, then we don’t have fair competition,” said Jim Cook, RDGA President.  “It is our job to guarantee everything about the game is fair so that our tournaments and their champions are above reproach.”

Protecting the rules of the game is also a key responsibility for the RDGA.  Just this year the USGA has allowed Distance Measuring Devices to be used, but has required local associations to determine how they will be implemented.

Following is the RDGA’s suggested wording for member clubs who choose to adopt their local rule governing Distance Measuring Devices:

In this competition, a player may obtain distance information by using a device that measures distance only.  However, if, during a stipulated round, a player uses a distance-measuring device that is designed to gauge or measure other conditions that might affect his/her play (e.g., gradient, wind-speed, temperature, etc.) the player is in breach of Rule 14-3, for which the penalty is disqualification, regardless of whether any such additional functions are actually used.  NOTE:  The distance between any two objects on a golf course is considered public information.  The Distance-Measuring Device, and/or any information obtained from it, may be shared with other players.

It should be noted the the RDGA Board has decided not to allow distance measuring devices for any of its 2006 tournaments, but that could be changed in future years.

Finally, the RDGA marshals all of its 26 tournaments and helps with others as well.  The education of all of its rules officials is under the auspices of the USGA, and each year a contingent of officials travels to different locations to be schooled in the latest interpretations of the Official Rules of Golf and to help with specific USGA tournaments.  Jim Cook, the RDGA president,  will be traveling to San Francisco this summer to help officiate a USGA junior event.

Locally, Wilson Fitch, a former RDGA President heads up the Rules Education Committee and offers rules seminars and tournament administration to all club officials and club members from the Rochester District who want to attend.

Encl.     2006 RDGA Directory, to include Board of Directors, Member Clubs,     

            Tournament Schedule and other information.

For Further Information Contact:     Jim Cook, RDGA President

                                                               585-292-5950

                                                               rdga@frontiernet.net