Morro Bay
Golf Club

From the President

Sitting here listening to the rain allows me to reflect on the many positive things that our golf club brings to our more than 200 members as well as our community as a whole. Every Tuesday we have this terrific opportunity to play golf in one of the most beautiful places anywhere on earth and at the same time share experiences and good fellowship with our golfing buddies. Life is good.

On a personal note, I want to thank our golf club and many of its individual members for supporting the local high school golf teams. recently assumed the role of golf coach at Morro Bay High School and want to convey how much the players appreciate our golf club's generosity. Personally, I am looking forward to working with some very talented and enthusiastic young men. As we are all very much aware, not only will they be learning how to play the game of golf, but they will also discover in time how closely the game parallels life in general: playing by the rules; good sportsmanship; accepting responsibility as a team member; and developing a good work ethic. Without trying to sound too philosophical, many aspects of sport teach us, the values we so admire and respect.

 Lastly, I would like to comment on the terrific job your Board of Directors have done thus far this year. They have adopted a very "healthy" calendar of events and activities supported by the adoption of a very carefully, defined budget. Our newly appointed treasurer, Norm Williams, has spent a great deal of time developing a new financial format that allows us to thoroughly understand where we are and where we are going. You need not be concerned about any financial failures on the part of this board…they have their act together.

High School Donations

This year as part of our annual renewals we collected optional donations for two local high school golf teams. The donations were earmarked for either Morro Bay, Coast Union, or split between the two. We are happy to report that we collected $300 for Coast Union and $295 for Morro Bay.

Summer Team Play

We are looking for good golfers who love competition and a chance to represent their club. Last year we competed against Chalk Mountain and Hunter Ranch. We will not know this year's competition until late spring. Our first round matches will be played on Thursdays between June 18th and August 20th. Team play offs are August 27th through October 8th and the Championship is October 23rd & 24th. You cannot participate in the play offs it you have not competed in a first round match. Players must have (or play to) a maximum handicap index of 18.4. Our team is open to both men and women, and women play from the forward tees

Please contact Jack Johnson at 239-1600 or Bill McCann at 489-4905 if you would like to play.

Changes in NCGA Events  

There are several exciting changes for the NCGA events we participate in. We can send one additional team (for a total of 2 teams) to both the 4-ball and Senior 4-ball events We can send up to four players to the Net Amateur event The Zone Championship qualifier will be played at Poppy Hills and Bayonet.

              Click on the event for details. The dates for our qualifiers are:

4-Ball	March 31st
Zone Championship	May 19th
Senior 4-Ball	June 23rd
Net Amateur	July 28th

Mixed Doubles Tournament

There will be a Mixed Doubles Tournament on Tuesday, April 21, 2009. This is an opportunity for Morro Bay Golf Club men to play golf with a woman partner from the Morro Bay Women's Golf Club or a woman from our own club. The format will be "Best Ball of Twosome". To add to the fun, the partners cannot be husband and wife. If we cannot get enough women from the women's club to play, we will allow you to ask a woman from another club. All players must have an established handicap. April handicaps will be used. You get to pick who you want to play with, or we will pair you up.

We will be having an 8:30 shotgun start with a luncheon afterwards. The entry fee is $15.00 per person which includes lunch and prize pool. There will be a sign up sheet on the bulletin board in March so start lining up your partners now.

Since this is in our regular Tuesday time slot, we will accommodate those members who do not want to participate in the mixed doubles tournament. You will sign up as a non participant and you will be given a slot in the shotgun start. If we cannot get enough women players for the number of men who want to participate in the tournament, we will pair up 2 man teams and include them in a separate flight. We strongly encourage all women to sign up.

We had this type of tournament in 2007 and it was a great success. All those that participated indicated that they had a great time. If you have any questions or suggestions, call Bill McCann at 805-489-4905.

Member-Guest Tournament

For several years now the board has received suggestions from our members that the Member-Guest Tournament (a tradition for 48 years) be a one day affair. After much discussion and debate, we have decided to change it to one day (September 12th) and expand it to TWO DIVISIONS.

For several years, the ladies golf club has had both a member-guest division and a Guest-Guest division. Last year they had a waiting list for ladies wanting to enter because all 72 teams (144 players) were entered.

Although our past two Member-Guest tournaments were financial successes, we could never get more than 44 teams (88 players) to participate.

Considering all the time, effort, money, and work that go into this event, the board feels that more players will participate if the tournament is held one day with two divisions.

We will try it this year and then evaluate its success. Let's wish our tournament committee the best of luck and support their efforts.

Keep an Eye on Our Bulletin Board

We are going to make every effort to keep our bulletin board up to date so our members can take advantage of all the great things our club is offering. Upcoming tournament information and entry forms are also available along with membership applications.

Beneath the bulletin board are our weekly sign up sheets for Tuesday play. Just a quick note regarding the sign up sheets. If you know in advance that you will not be playing on any given Tuesday and you have previously signed up, it would be very much appreciated if you could remove your name so others might take your place in order to make up foursomes. Although this might be difficult for last minute emergencies, your cooperation would be greatly appreciated.

Membership Promotion

Although our membership is holding steady at 200+ members, we still encourage all of you to invite anyone you think maybe interested in joining our golf club. Membership forms are available on our website and also on the bulletin board at the golf course. You can also find our business card at the starter shack and at the front desk of the pro shop.

Let's make sure that everyone knows about our great club and how easy, as well as, inexpensive it is to become both a member of the Morro Bay Golf Club and NCGA.

Rules Committee

It comes with no surprise that there are still some members and foursomes who are still playing fast and loose with the rules. Some are still bumping the ball and giving each other putts. When some cheat, we all lose. When we see someone who breaks a rule, and we say nothing, we are also guilty of a rule violation.

It has also come to light that we have members who belong to more than one Golf Organization but are not posting all rounds played to all organizations.

All rounds of golf played according to the rules of golf must be posted. All Match Play rounds also must be posted.

If you stop play at the point where a match has been decided, you record a par score plus any handicap stroke you are entitled for those holes not played.

We do not want to get to the point where we have to disqualify players, but we will if needed.

Posting to Multiple Organizations

If you belong to multiple Golf Organizations (such as the NCGA and the SCGA) you should be posting all your rounds to both organizations.

As of a few years ago, you can link your accounts so that when you post once it will automatically be routed to the other organization.

If you would like this feature, or have any other questions on posting your scores, please contact Margaret Breen at  morrobaygc@hotmail.com

Tuesday Shotgun Socials

The Club's Board has decided to try something a little bit new this year. We have allocated some money in our budget in order to host a few Tuesday Socials during the year. Our first one is February 17th and we hope to receive a positive response so we can have others throughout the year. If you happen to attend on the 17th, please give our board members some feedback on what you think about having others.

Pictures Wanted!

Any members with digital pictures that they think would be appropriate for the web site should contact Margaret Breen at  morrobaygc@hotmail.com