Long Island Chapter News

Better Than Ever in 2011

The EWGA's (Executive Women's Golf Association) mission is connecting women to learn, play and enjoy golf for business and for fun. 

Embody the spirit of EWGA.

Connect  - Learn -  Play - Belong

Michele Chotkowski

2011 Communications Chair

I know it is hard to believe, but the golf season is just around the corner. The groundhog did not see his shadow so Spring will be early this year. Winter will soon be gone, and in the meantime I hope you are all dusting off your golf clubs and looking forward to another great season as EWGA Long Island Chapter members.

In January, 50 or so members enjoyed a ladies day at the Garden City Hotel for our annual Hi Tee. The women wore winter white and relaxed and enjoyed a day of tea and crumpets. The ladies looked beautiful. It is always nice to connect with the members during the chilly months. Thank you Lynne Nordone and your committee for making it a special day.

During these icy, snowy, and cold days the entire board has been working hard to plan and coordinate all the events that the chapter is offering in 2011. All the chairs and their committees are working behind the scenes (when their meetings are not canceled due to treacherous weather) to put the gears in motion to get you the programs you like.  The chairs are busy managing and delegating the voluminous duties the volunteers take on.

Thank you all for your hard work, we as a chapter benefit and thrive because of your efforts.

This year our Tee Off is going to be very different from any we have had in the past. This will be a night to network with other members, catch up with friends, and sign up for leagues, clinics, outings, and competitive golf in an expo type setting. You will have an opportunity to meet the sponsors, win prizes and find out everything that EWGA LI has to offer. We look forward seeing you all at the Tee Off Event on Tuesday, March 15th.

Stay tuned for more information on the Tee Off, see you there,

Jackie Meli-Rizzo
President

Chapter members welcomed the opportunity to get out from under the oppressive winter weather they've been enduring this year ... and Mother Nature cooperated!

The dusting of snow on the day before Saturday, January 22nd, lent the perfect backdrop for our White Winter Wonderland Hi! Tee event. Gathering for a traditional high tea service at the Garden City Hotel, members donned their best winter white ensembles and/or hats.

Volunteer: Maddy Cangemie; Winners: Lynnette Brown, Amanda  Johnson; Runners-up: Sylvia Santa, Vivian Zaffuto

Ranging from elegant to creative, attendees vying for best dressed votes were introduced and modeled their fashions for the group.  When the votes were tallied, Amanda Johnson won for best ensemble and Lynnette Brown won for best hat. Runners-up were Vivian Zaffutto and Sylvia Santa in respective categories.

The luck of the Year of the Rabbit provided another weather respite for  

members to meet and celebrate the Chinese New Year at Albert's Mandarin Gourmet restaurant in Huntington on Tuesday evening February 8th.

We learned that Albert is not only a connoisseur of good food, but an avid golfer as well. In the midst of our five-course meal, firecrackers exploded and sparked the start of a traditional Chinese new year celebration.

With large drums beating, a grand lion and dragon dance procession by local Tiger Schulmann students commenced, followed by a series of mixed martial arts demonstrations by the students ranging in age from 8 to 18. As is tradition, attendees filled red envelopes with dollar bills to feed the Lions and Dragons to ensure good luck and fortune in the new year.

On behalf of members and the chapter board, president Jackie Meli-Rizzo thanked social events committee chair Lynne Nordone, Hi! Tee volunteers Gloria Bauer, Maddy Cangemie, Mary McPartland and Vivian Zafutto, as well as Chinese New Year volunteers Gloria Bauer and Lissa Mattson for their efforts in ensuring an enjoyable time for all.

Our 2011 Tee-Off Event is designed to provide you with more opportunities to get maximum value from your membership. Learn what's in store for the new golf season - leagues, education, outings and competitive events, as well as business and social networking events, and exclusive sponsor benefits. Enjoy a super-sized, interactive reception with prizes galore!

Registration now open on chapter website!   

We have a great year planned for all our members.  Remember to renew your membership so that you can take advantage of many of our events, leagues and golf outings our Board has designed, especially for you.

There are few EWGA housekeeping issues that need to be addressed, so that you can focus on golf and networking in the coming year.

Renew your membership today

• Many EWGA members are due to renew early in year.  If you are one of these members, you have been sent renewal notices by mail.  Please renew today!
• You may also call in your renewal toll free at 800-407-1477 Ext. 10.  Make sure to tell them you are a renewing member give them your member number, so they reissue it to you.

Dual Chapter Members

• Beginning in 2011, the fee to join a secondary Chapter is $35 (rather than $30 as it was in the past years).  This information will be included on the EWGA website and renewal forms, and we wanted to make sure you were aware of the change. 
• Members are only billed for their primary Chapter each year, and must select and add any additional Chapters as part of their renewal process.

Visit the National website

• All members should take a few minutes to visit and familiarize yourself with the National website.  You never know what savings you might find.
• If you have any difficulty with the www.ewga.com website, please email member@myewga.com for assistance. 

Save the Date

• This year's Tee-Off Dinner will be held on Tuesday, March 15^th.  More details will follow.  This event is your opportunity to:
• sign up for leagues (they fill up quickly)
• bring friends you think would benefit from joining our chapter
• learn about all the fun activities planned for the year

by Chris Sedlacek

Now matter how you choose to measure time , the Chapter Championship is ~ 6 months away , or ~26 weeks away or ~182 days away or ~ 4,368 hours away or ~262,080 minutes away! While that may seem like a long ways off with lots of time to practice, as we all know, time flies by very quickly. Before you know it, the email announcement for the Chapter Championship will be sitting in your email in box. By the time the email arrives, you'll have about 6 weeks to get ready. Don't wait for the email announcement to come out - use these cold, winter weeks to get your Chapter Championship game & strategy in place. Get your Golf Game On!

What is the Chapter Championship?
The EWGA Championship is the largest women's amateur golf tournament in the world. The Championship creates an opportunity for personal growth in a competitive yet fun environment and provides members at all skill levels the opportunity to compete in tournament golf. Members may compete in the Stroke Play Competition or Inter-Chapter Team Scramble. Start forming your scramble teams now!

Who can participate?
ANY EWGA LI Member with an official USGA Handicap Index CAN PLAY. And yes - that also includes someone with a high handicap. Members of all skill levels are encouraged to compete - so give the Championship a try and put your game to the test!! Many members hold off because they think they aren't good enough. Don't put it off another year - This could be your year!
 

What's the format?
The Championship, by design, offers two different competitive formats: Stroke Play and Inter-Chapter Team Scramble Competition. You select the competitive format that best fits your game, personality and skill level. You can choose Stroke Play Division where eligible participants are flighted based on their handicap index or Four-women Team Scramble that consists of 4 participants from the same Chapter. Stroke Play Division Players are grouped into one of five flights at each level of Championship competition based on their official USGA Handicap Index in effect as of mid-June.  Both Low Gross and Low Net winners in each flight will advance to the next level of competition. Last year, flights were determined based on the index ranges below. This year, these ranges may change slightly for 2011 based on the official Chapter Championship manual which we will receive in the next few weeks.

Handicap Index Flight
0.0 - 12.0 Championship
12.1 - 19.0 First Flight
19.1 - 25.0 Second Flight
25.1 - 32.0 Third Flight
32.1 - 40.4 Fourth Flight  

When is the Chapter Championship?
We are currently "targeting" Thursday, July 14th as the potential date. Stay tuned for details!

How do I get ready?
Start practicing! It's a little difficult to start playing with lots of snow on the ground, but there are several indoor heated driving ranges you can go to. Sky Drive on Route 110 in Farmingdale or Spring Rock on Denton Avenue in Garden City Park. Make a commitment to go to the driving range at least once a week. Set up putting practice on your living room carpet. Get on your treadmill, start doing yoga or pilates or any type of exercise to get your body moving. Pull out those golf books you've been meaning to read that contain all of those great "how to" golf tips.

I would also recommend wearing your favorite golf hat everywhere you go to remind you that golf season will soon be here, especially when you're shoveling snow! (only kidding) 

Get your Golf Game on! Countdown to the Chapter Championship! 15,724,800 seconds to go!  15,723,799 seconds........

Posting in the Off Season
  
 A reminder from the Rules and Handicap Chair...

Just because it's blizzarding in New York on a regular basis - doesn't necessarily mean you can't play golf.  You just need to find a flight to someplace warm!  Now, that might be easier said than done, since the La Nina pattern is bringing record cold to the south, but the most recent weather forecast for Orlando has the temperatures hitting 70 degrees next week!!! 

If you are among the lucky ones who do get a chance to play, just remember, you do need to post your golf scores for handicap purposes when playing in a warm location that doesn't go to an inactive season.  So, don't post those rounds you play with pink balls in the snow here in New York (ha ha), but make sure you post the rounds from Florida, Myrtle Beach, Puerto Rico, Nassau (Bahamas), etc. 

Stay warm, enjoy the rest of the winter and pray for a heat wave and sunny skies!

I'm a member of the Executive Committee of the Metropolitan Golf Association (MGA) and the Board of the MGA Foundation. I'm attaching a job description for a newly created position. In addition to this job there are a couple paid internships posted on our website at www.mgagolf.org. The internships are normally 6 months and as such are often filled by recent college grads rather than as summer positions during school.

I've copied below a brief description of the organization. I'll add this: we have about 20 employees, it is a wonderful organization and a great place to work characterized by a high degree of professionalism and team work.

If you know of any interested candidates, please feel free to forward this along.

ABOUT THE MGA:  The Metropolitan Golf Association, founded in 1897,  is one of the nation's oldest and largest golf organizations, serving more than 550 member clubs and 140,000 golfers in the greater Metropolitan New York Area. The MGA is a not for profit organization offering its members a wide range of core services such as handicapping, course rating and measuring, and insurance programs; and it conducts some of the nation's oldest and most prestigious regional championships.  The MGA also has a charitable Foundation, founded in 1992, which conducts a wide variety of youth and educational programs.  For more information on the MGA and MGA Foundation go to www.mgagolf.org.

Thank you and best regards,

Doug

Douglas W. Vergith

Christine McInerney is the EWGA LI Chapter Member contact.

christinemcinerneyesq@gmail.com