Torrey Pines Men's Golf Club P.O. Box 722667 San Diego, CA 92172-2667 MEMBER: U.S.G.A - C.G.A. - S.C.G.A.

TORREY PINES NEWS Edited by Martin "Rick" Olivera
NOVEMBER 1999 Election of Board of Director's Officers: The TPMGC Board of Directors met briefly to elect officers for the upcoming year. The elected officers are: Steve Larson, President; Martin "Rick" Olivera, Vice-President; Dale Peterson, Secretary; Henry Johnson III, Treasurer. In addition, Dale was elected to represent the TPMGC in the Golf Advisory Council board. He'll be joining Steve Larson on that board. NOTE: The following is a message sent to all TPMGC members in a Special Newsletter Edition. We are printing it here for those who may inadvertently missed reading this special report from the Board of Directors, and would like to take action to save the existence of organized municipal golf as we know it. Special Edition Message To All Torrey Pines Men's Club Members: The following is of critical importance and requires every member's immediate attention and action: Each of you has probably followed the developments surrounding the City of San Diego's investigation into the access and use by the public of our municipal golf courses. Since the beginning of summer, this investigation has been publicized in both the local television and print media. Initially, the City Attorney's focus was on the propriety of the tee time reservation system and specifically on the tee time brokers. Without going into details, it has become apparent to the TPMGC Board that the City's focus has now shifted toward the SCGA sanctioned Men's and Women's clubs who regularly use the municipal courses. The logic, it seems, is that membership clubs such as ours unduly restrict both visitor and resident use of the municipal courses by virtue of the tee times we reserve for our club's Sunday and Thursday tournament play. As a result, and as of the publication date of this newsletter, the City has not yet renewed the TPMGC's Special Use Permit. This permit guarantees our club's tee times for the next calendar year and is always issued by November 1st of the year prior to the effective year. Although the TPMGC Board is confident the City will issue the permit, the City has indicated to Hal Boston that our year 2000 permit may come with restrictions or conditions which may limit our future access to Torrey Pines. With this in mind, the TPMGC Board of Directors is asking every member to write a letter to both the Mayor and your City Councilmember (addresses provided below). The purpose of your letter should be to inform our City Council about what TPMGC is, who comprises our membership base, request additional tee times for our club, and express concerns about the misinformation being distributed in the press. In order to keep our club's message clear and uniform, we ask that you follow the basic tenets of the sample letter provided here. It is vitally important that we all show respect, clarity and firmness in every letter. It is also crucial that each of you participate in this endeavor. Thank you. The Board of Directors Torrey Pines Men's Golf Club City of San Diego Councilmembers Mailing Addresses Name District Address Mayor Susan Golding mayor@sdmayor.sannet.gov Fax: 619-236-7228 N/A 202 C Street MS 11A San Diego, CA 92101 Councilmember Harry Mathis harry@cd1.sannet.gov Fax: 619-236-6999 District 1 202 C Street MS 10A San Diego, CA 92101 Councilmember Byron Wear bbw@cd2.sannet.gov Fax: 619-236-6996 District 2 202 C Street MS 10A San Diego, CA 92101 Councilmember Christine Kehoe dist3@cd3.sannet.gov Fax: N/A District 3 202 C Street MS 10A San Diego, CA 92101 Councilmember George Stevens cil@cd4.sannet.gov Fax: 619-236-6529 District 4 202 C Street MS 10A San Diego, CA 92101 Councilmember Barbara Warden m8h@cd5.sannet.gov Fax: 619-238-0915 District 5 202 C Street MS 10A San Diego, CA 92101 Councilmember Valerie Stallings vys@cd6.sannet.gov Fax: N/A District 6 202 C Street MS 10A San Diego, CA 92101 Councilmember Judy McCarty judy@cd7.sannet.gov Fax: N/A District 7 202 C Street MS 10A San Diego, CA 92101 Councilmember Juan Vargas juan@cd8.sannet.gov Fax: N/A District 8 202 C Street MS 10A San Diego, CA 92101 ==================== Sunday Turkey Shoot: The rough was high; heck, the fairways were high. The tees were back ... According to Tournament Chairman Hal Boston, only a few players in the entire field broke 80. All those who shot net 78 or better will get a "Turkey Certificate". There will be additional certificates for Low-Gross and Low-Net (two flights). Results will be posted as they become available. (NOTE: Correction from previous posting - net 78's will receive certifictates, NOT net 79's as previously told. This, upon further review of tournament funding by the Tournament Chairman ...) Thursday Turkey Shoot: All those who shot net 76 or better were awarded a "Turkey Certificate". No individual scores were reported. Member Data Verification: As you know, I've been the Membership Chairman for the past two years. One of the painful jobs I had to do was to track down members whose Newsletter were sent back to us by the Post Office because these members moved and never bothered to tell us their new address. Not only it's a pain in the neck, but also a waste of time and money (First Class stamp). Therefore, as of now, I've implemented a Member Data Verification on-line service. You can get to it from a link on the club's home page. This will make our new Membership Chairman's, Ron Bruck, life a lot easier. This on-line service will prompt you for your SCGA number, which you can enter with or without the hyphen after the first two numbers. When you submit your number, your current data (address, phone number, e-mail, SCGA indeces as of the latest database update) will be shown on the screen. You will be able to send changes by clicking on "Membership Chairman" at the bottom of the page, which will open an "e-mail" window for you to use. The "Subject" line is already filled in with "TPMGC - Member Data Changes" so Ron knows what the e-mail is about when he receives it. Please notice that your name does not appear in the data shown to you. This ensures some privacy, in case someone who is not a member enters a random SCGA number who happens to be yours. Also, you'll notice a field called "TPMGC Index". This field is reserved for when the "TPMGC Index" is implemented (see below) next year. Please send me e-mail if you have any questions or suggestions about this service, or about any other feature in the club's web page. General Meeting (11/17/99) Summary John Walter's Report: South Course: Overseeding completed. Cooler weather and rain will generate growth. North Course: back filling construction lines and identifying incomplete areas. Walk-through with contractor scheduled for today (11/18/99). Both courses will be re-rated by the SCGA on December 6th and 7th. Buick Invitational: Scheduled for February 8-13. Divot crews needed for February 3rd and 4th. Tiger Woods confirmed, through his agent, that he'll be back to defend his title. European Tour golfers Sergio Garcia and Jean Van De Velde were extended invitations. Garcia tentatively accepted. Tee Time Broker Issue: The issue was extended into a report to the City Council to be prepared by the City Manager and/or City Attorney. The report (Five-Year Business Plan) will include: actual use by group classification, options which will add more open tee times for callers, raising greens fees to "market rate", establishing a phone number for "visitor" play, increasing the resident play, options on how to eliminate or control tee-time reservation brokers, review of Balboa Park GC operation. Stroke Reduction List: The method implemented by Handicap Chairman Joe Burwell will be phased out at the end of December after the trial period initally voted by the board. Pending a vote by the board, the TPMGC will implement, as of January 2000, a Torrey Pines Handicap Index. This index will be calculated using only scores from club-organized and other official tournaments (City Am, etc). At any given club tournament, a TPMGC member will play with a handicap calculated from his "TPH Index", or with his "SCGA Index", whichever is less. The club purchased a laptop which will be used to manage scores in all our tournaments, even posting the score in the SCGA computer. More information on this will be available as it is implemented. Prize Adjustement: Due to an error at the time of calculating prize money for the Sunday tournaments held in January and July, the amount given to those finishing "in the money" will be adjusted to reflect the club subsidy for such tournaments. Results of Election of Board Members: There were no nominations from the floor, so it was moved that the slate be voted as presented. The motion was accepted and the following members were elected to the board: Walt Block, Ron Bruck, Dan Groszkruger, Martin "Rick" Olivera, Dale Peterson, Bill Pultz, and Jim Kerr. In a related item, a few weeks ago Bill Pultz was elected Treasurer of the SCGA Board of Directors. Good for Bill, and congratulations!! TPMGC Under Attack- These are facts and opinions gathered from various meetings held by the TPMGC board to address this issue in recent days. They are to the best of my recollection. I've tried to summarize what was expressed by members in those meetings. Martin "Rick Olivera.) As you may have read in the newspaper or watched on the local TV news lately, the TPMGC was under attack by the media and some people from the general public insinuating that the club takes too many tee times at Torrey Pines. The attention was diverted from the tee time brokers to our club (the Women's Club and Pro-Shop were also mentioned) after an investigation from the City Attorney found no illegal or irregular activity by tee time brokers. The brokers supply tee times mostly to visitors, and according to John Walter (Course Operations Manager) the courses need 20% of tee times for outside play in order to subsidize the inexpensive greens fees charged to City residents. Per last year's numbers, it costs the City $19.50 per player to maintain Torrey Pines ($15.65 for Balboa), and that's just to break even. In consequence, pending the results of the "Five-Year Business Plan" due in January (see above), the City has yet to renew the TPMGC usage permit for the Torrey Pines Golf Courses for next year. In other words, we are in danger of losing tee times, particulary the Thursday group. One detail that seems to have been overlooked by the City so far is that the Torrey Pines Men's Golf Club IS composed by San Diego golfers. The TPMGC IS San Diego's municipal golf. Our club was funded in 1957, when Torrey Pines opened for play, and has contributed millions of dollars in greens fees to the courses ever since. As Denny Esh, former TPMGC President, recalls: "(year's back) ... At one point the club was asked by the course's management to increase tournament play to, in turn, increase play of the courses by the City residents". Further, the club has NO MEMBERSHIP LIMITATIONS. The TPMGC is open to ANY San Diego County resident, MAN or WOMAN, and even has special memberships for Junior golfers. If anything, the club should be given MORE tee times so more members, the San Diego golfers, can play more often. In spite the over-1200 members the club has had in the past few years, due to lottery-based and rotation-based tee-time designation implemented by tournament chairmen, all members have a chance to play the courses on a regular basis through club-organized tournaments. In addition to providing all San Diego County golfers with a chance to play public tournament golf at Torrey Pines, the TPMGC has made contributions to the courses even before it was deemed mandatory. The current laser-measured yardages on sprinkler head on the North course is paid by the Men's Club, for example. The club also makes donations to Junior Golf, and has been actively involved, through volunteers, in making the Buick Invitational a very well organized event showcasing the City, attended by thousands and watched by millions. In addition, the club is responsible for the designation of the Torrey Pines Golf Courses as parkland. We, the TPMGC, are the "good guys", the San Diego golfers. The City should not consider reducing the amount of tee times given to the club every year. The club, through the Board of Directors, is preparing a response to the insinuations expressed in the newspaper and local TV news. Further, the Board will send a special report to all members, including a form-letter that each member will be able to mail to his City Councilmember. Stay tuned. It ain't over yet.
OCTOBER 1999 Donations for the Hugh Chindlund fund are being requested and accepted. The club intends to use this fund to make a donation in Hugh's behalf, although no definite plans were made yet. You can send your donation to: TPMGC, PO BOX 722667, San Diego, CA 92172-2667. Please write "Chindlund Fund" on the check. Courses To Be Re-rated: Both, the North and South Courses will be re-rated by the SCGA during the first week of December. The new tee boxes have added length to the North Course (6890 yards from "the tips"). In addition, the North Course will have yardage information from sprinkler heads. Sunday Tournament Fields: Hard to believe, but we've had incomplete fields for the latest Sunday tournaments (except for the Club Championships in August). Walt Block has had a hard time completing the field for the Diddle Ball (to be held on October 24th), and there is no waiting list (as of 10/19/99) for the Turkey Shoot (November 21st). September's Stableford was 11 players short of a full field.
SEPTEMBER 1999 Nick Gotovac & David Hendren are the SCGA Four-Ball Net Champions !! - Nick and David finished with a two-day total 125 (60-65) at the Pacific G&CC to tie for first place with the team from the California CC (62-63). Nick, playing to a 10 handicap, shot 82-88 on his own ball; and David, playing to a 7, shot 87-83. According to Nick, both champs ham-and-egged pretty well throughout the 36-hole event. Their 60 included four net eagles and some clutch putting. They never bogeyed until the 30th hole, where both of them double-bogeyed (so, strictly speaking, they had a bogey-free 36-hole tournament). Congratulations to Nick and Dave for a fine victory !!! They proudly represented our club with a great performance. Stableford Points Tournament - Report: The South Course played shorter and easier with grassless and dry fairways and virtually no rough. In spite of playing at Low Index, top finishers got more points than in previous years, when it was played at Current Index. The results are posted. There was one net double-eagle: Dante Togliatti holed his 160-yard second shot on #1 for a net 1 and +10 points for the hole. Low Gross was Scott Stewart (+9 points, with a gross 69 for the round). First Flight winner was Len Pollack Jr (+15), and Second Flight winner was Jake Johnson (+16). There were 136 players in the field, out of possible 148. I went through the entire waiting list and still had 11 openings by Saturday night. Two walk-on's got to play, but there were two "no-shows" ... Then members complain they can't get in club's tournaments. Also, there were 36 players who did not turn in correctly added score cards. There is no DQ for this type of error (players are only responsible for the score on each individual hole, not for the addition of the scores), but it doesn't take much effort to add up 18 numbers. Some of those 36 players may get penalized for posting the wrong score, though. And some penalized themselves as they posted a lower score than the actual one. Ron Pettit is the Senior Club Champion. He shot a 79-72=151 gross score to finish two shots ahead of second-place finisher Dick Fellman. September has not been good to our club. We lost Hugh Chindlund early in the month. Hugh lost a brief battle with cancer. Later in the month, we also lost Bill Callies, long time member of the club and of "Grady's Foursome" on the Sunday tournaments. Our condolences to friends and families. Mike Hartford became the 1999 Club Champion, when he beat Don Brown 2&1 in the final match. Mike, the 3rd seeded with a 76, also aced the 3rd hole (South) during his qualifying round. Vic Zayas had to forfeit his quarterfinal match against John Wardrup when his wife went into labor. The flight champions (1st through 7th, respectively) are: Mike Cooney, Eric Price, Bradford Bruce, Artie DeBaca, Mark Moede, Reed Mayne, and Mark Russell. Full results and corresponding awards may be viewed in their respective pages. Congratulations to you all, including Vic Zayas and his wife. Nick Gotovac and Dave Hendren played their way into the SCGA Four Ball Net Championship. They represented the TPMGC in the San Diego Regional Qualifier at Steel Canyon. The top-12 teams qualified, and they finished in 3rd place with a net 65 (29-36). The highlight of the round was a chip-in for a gross 3 (net 2) by Dave on the par-5 9th hole. The finals will be held at Pacific Country Club in San Clemente. Sept.27-28.
AUGUST 1999 Other Golf Courses (Unofficial) News Tidbits: The Meadows Del Mar opens on August 28th. Madeira Country Club: Private course in Poway. It'll open in November. Morgan Run: It'll be fully private as of September (about $20K to join). They are looking at buying additional land adjacent to the East Course for nine more holes (and total of 36), Tom Fazio will design. Thursday 8/12 Tournament: There has been a change in the schedule. Due to a previous arrangement between the Pro-Shop and Torrey Pines, this tournament has been re-scheduled as a Shotgun Start - 6:45am. The Pro-Shop neglected to advise Claude and Roger of this change with enough notice, so in compensation there will be free carts for all those who play in this TPMGC shotgun. The tournament has also been changed from Monthly to Regular Sweeps (entry fee: $4.00). The August Monthly will be played on August 26th. GAC Meeting (8/5/99) Summary Torrey North: Construction will be finished one week later than scheduled. Completion is now expected by September 22nd. Last two holes to be worked on are 9th and 10th. There is a proposal by a private firm to develop an 18-hole golf course and an RV park on Fiesta Island (city property). The proposal will be presented to the City Council during a meeting on September 29th, at the City Administration building, 4th floor, 9:00AM. A Deputy City Attorney was present to announce that her office has determined, after careful study, that the City Council MAY regulate the tee time reservation system. A final report will be presented to the City Council after September 13th, and to the GAC on a special meeting on September 16th. A new computerized tee time reservation system will be implemented by December 25th, according to Jane Clark, Golf Courses Operations Business Manager. It'll feature two different phone numbers for Torrey and Balboa, among other features John Walter preferred not to discuss during the meeting. This new system is Y2K compliant. Next regular GAC meeting will be on October 7th, 1999, 7:00pm at Balboa Park Club, Santa Fe Room. September Sunday Tournament: It's a Stableford format ("the points deal", as I heard it described). The sign-up will be on Saturday, August 7th, at 6:00am, Torrey lounge. I'll be there with the sign-up sheet. Renewals Coming Up: If you plan to renew your membership, your may do so during September and October by filling out the renewal application form mailed with the September and October newsletters, or the one we have on-line. Please mail your application and check to the PO Box address indicated in the form. And please wait until next month -- September -- to mail it. Renewing in November will carry an additional late-renewal fee, and after November 30th it will be at the regular new-membership fee ($90).
JULY 1999 Torrey Pines Pro-Shop Sale: Until supply lasts --> Selected Cross Creek shirts -- 20% to 35% off Top-Flite Titanium -- Regular: $28/dozen. Now: $18.00/dozen
JUNE 1999 SCGA Better-Ball Winners - The Sunday team Hendren-Gotovac shot a net 67 and beat the Thursday team Krznaric-Kusiak by one shot. The winners will now play in the pre-qualifier in August. If they do qualify, they move on to the SCGA finals to be played in September at the Pacific C.C. City Amateur: TPMGC best-finishers - In the Men's Open Division: Victor Zayas (6th, Championship Flight), Michael Clar (1st, 1st Flight), Tim Dudek (2nd, 1st Flight), John Sottile (4th, 2nd Flight), Eric Price (5th, 2nd Flight), Tom Richardson (3rd, 3rd Flight), Peter Soracco (4th, 5th Flight), Larry Robertson (5th, 5th Flight), Robert Woersching (3rd, 6th Flight), Paul Yossem (6th, 6th Flight). In the Men's Senior Division: Bob Imlay (7th, Championship Flight), John Sottile (2nd, 1st Flight), Richard Wank (5th, 2nd Flight), Paul Simon (3rd, 3rd Flight), Bruce Andrews (3rd, 3rd Flight), Mayer Hecht (8th, 3rd Flight). And in the Men's Super Senior Division: Ernie Black (2nd, 3rd Flight). New Board Members: At the board meeting of 6/16/99, two new board members were appointed by the board to fill the vacancies left when former Treasurer Denny Esh and former SCGA Delegate Howard DeYoung resigned. The Nominating Committee received letters of intention from 7 members willing to serve. After careful consideration, the board appointed Henry Johnson III to fill the vacancy left by Denny, and Mark Doyle to fill the vacancy left by Howard. Their terms will expire at the end of 2000, when their positions will be open for elections. Next elections to the board will take place at the General Meeting on November 17, 1999. "Can't Get In Any Tournaments": We've heard it before, and we still hear it. For the Sanderson Charity, which took place last month, we only had 112 players in the field (out of 144 available entries). There were open spots to anyone who wished to play. In addition, Dale Peterson, Tournament Chairman of July's Sunday's Pinehurst tournament held a widely publicized special sign-up, which took place at the end of the General Meeting of 5/19/99. He tried this special date to attract more members to the meeting, and to make it easier for those who don't like the 6am sign-ups. Well, at the end of the sign-up (lottery) there were still 40 spots available, 38 of which were filled with stand-by's. As of last night (5/15), there were still two spots available. So, if you don't get into any tournaments is simply because you forget to sign-up. Fellow club member Jim Hartley just had his book "Smart Golf" published. He co-wrote the book with Senior PGA TOUR player Hale Irwin and Golf Magazine's Robin McMillian. Look for a copy at your nearest bookstore, or order one on-line at Amazon.com. For more details, you can visit www.smartgolf.com Congrats, Jim, on your book! More on the Points System -- Clarification Joe Burwell clarifies some of the questions asked at the General Meeting of May 19th: During the general meeting held on May 19 some questions were asked and responses given regarding the SCGA/USGA Handicap system and the newly implemented TPMGC Point System that bear repeating and expanded upon. Q: "How often should a person be able to score to his handicap." A: According to studies by the USGA, an average player plays to his handicap 1 in 5 times and his best score in 20 should be only 2 shots better than his handicap. The probability of scoring 2 shots better twice in 20 rounds is 1 in 50. To score an exceptional round of -8 for example, the odds would be 1138 to 1 and to beat it twice in 20 rounds is 14,912 to 1. Q: "How often should a player win?" A: This is a complex question and there is no simple answer. Theoretically, if 100 properly handicapped players played 100 events against each other, each player would win 1 event. Obviously that kind of perfection cannot be achieved but the point system we have implemented helps in that direction. Q: "Players do much better in competition, why penalize them?" A: If a player does better during competition his handicap is not a true reflection of his playing ability when it counts. That being the case, to make it fair to the whole field, such players should play with fewer strokes in competitions or else they will win more than their share of events. The point system takes this into account.
MAY 1999 The club is implementing a Point Handicap System retroactive to January 1st, 1999. The system is a "watered down" version of the system developed by Dean Knuth of the USGA Handicap Research Team. Similar point systems are presently in use by other Southern California golf clubs.
APRIL 1999 NOTES from the Board Meeting of 4/20/99: John Walter could not make the meeting, so there was no Manager's Report. Two important changes in tournament policy were approved by the board: Thursday Group: See the Notice. Subsidized Tournaments: As you all should know. There are two club-subsidized tournaments each month, one on Thursday, and one on Sunday. Prizes for these tournaments are issued from tournament entries and also from the club funds. In the past, these two tournament were of identical or very similar format, and the rule was that no player could enter BOTH subsidized tournaments in the same month. Right now, since both subsidized tournaments in the same month sometimes have different format, some members sign up for, and play, in both. The argument in favor of this so-called "double-dipping" is that the format is different so signing for both events does not violate the "double-dipping" rule. However, the spirit behind the rule against "double-dipping" was that by not allowing a member play in both subsidized tournaments in the same month, it gives other members the chance to play in at least one subsidized tournament in that month, which is only fair. As of today (4/20/99) we are 1152 members and making the field of any club tournament is already difficult given the volume of entries tournament chairmen get every month. For example, this month the subsidized tournaments were the President's Cup (Sunday), and the Spring Fiesta (Thursday). There were 102 members on the stand-by list for the former, and over 70 for the latter. Yet, there were 18 members who signed up and played in both tournaments. Not fair. It was not those 18 member's fault, but the fault in the not-very-clear policy that allowed them to sign up. This now has been corrected. With only one opposing vote, the board decided that with the exception of the Club Championship (now played in August, with the "Par-3 Challenge being the Thursday subsidized tournament that month), no player will be allowed to sign up for both subsidized tournaments in the same month. If there is not enough players to fill the field of a certain subsidized tournament, the tournament chairman will be able to add players who are already signed up for the other subsidized tournament in the same month. Torrey Pines Pro-Shop Special: Finally !! As of April 16th, the driving range at Torrey Pines offers a Warm-Up Bucket. It'll be 20 balls for $2.00. NOTES from the Golf Advisory Council Meeting of 4/8/99: Computer Reservation System Report: Jane Clark, business manager at Torrey Pines, indicated that the City is looking into upgrading or replacing the current computerized reservation system for Torrey Pines and Balboa. The present one is not "Y2K compatible". Among the features they'd like to see in the new system is an activation of TWO telephone numbers for make tee time reservations: one for Balboa, and one for Torrey Pines. In addition, the GAC and the City are looking into some of the delicate issues presently inherent in the current system, namely: the perception that tee time brokers are using sophisticated systems to call and book most tee times available; the high volume of callers trying to get through a system with few incoming phone lines; callers getting through after 5:15am (15 minutes after the system is available) only to find out that there are no tee times left. Therefore, here's a list of options that could be implemented or required from the new reservation system: More incoming lines to reduce the amount of busy signals. The standard in the industry is four lines per golf course. Torrey Pines alone needs 8 to 10 incoming lines, and Balboa needs 3 to 4 lines. Split up Balboa and Torrey Pines into two different systems. A queued system could be implemented whereby every caller is put on hold and waits in line for his/her turn on a first-come-first-served basis. The tee times available could be released out over an entire day for callers using the current system. Balboa Park Master Plan: There was a presentation by the company that built the clubhouse at Coronado G.C. Several options were presented, and two main issues were raised by some of the attendants to this presentation: the total cost (too high, at $3 to $5 million), and the fact that the a portion of the 9-hole course closer to the present driving range will have to be modified to accomodate parking. The tee-box of the first hole on the 18-hole course would also need to be moved, and the 18th green may need modification. The next GAC Meeting will take place on June 3rd, at 7pm, at Balboa Park Club, Santa Fe Room, by the Aerospace Museum. City Amateur News: The 1999 San Diego City Amateur will take place between June 5th and June 13th. According to John Walter, Golf Courses Manager and City Amateur Tournament Director, one interesting item for this year's tournament is that the maximum USGA index for the Men's Open Championship Flight will be lowered to 2.5. The intention is to lower it even more, to 2.0, by next year. "We would like to see that the (San Diego) City Amateur Champion gets an exemption to play in the Buick Invitational," said John Walter. "One of the PGA TOUR requirements for any qualifying tournament for a TOUR event is that the maximum USGA index should by no higher than 2.0. We are aiming at that." Further details will have to be worked out with the Century Club, which organizes the Buick Invitational, so there is no confirmation yet that future City Champs will get to play in the Buick. "The City Amateur has become very popular among local top amateur golfers, so we won't have any problems having a full field of scratch players from around the (San Diego) County," added Walter. The City Amateur is open only to San Diego County residents. Hal Boston, current TPMGC President and Assistant Tournament Director of the City Amateur said that "(the City Amateur) is played over four rounds at both Torrey Pines golf courses, so the champion is someone who beat the field over 72 holes. It'd be a very fair qualifying tournament (as compared with other 18-hole qualifiers)." Perhaps the reason the City Amateur is so popular among top local amateur golfers is that, with the exception of the Buick Invitational, is the only 72-hole stroke-play tournament played regularly at Torrey Pines.
MARCH 1999 NOTES from the Board Meeting of 3/16/99: Report by John Walter, Golf Courses Manager: North Course Construction started. The contractor has 120 days to finish the work. The finishing date may NOT exceed September 15th in order to comply with other course maintenance scheduled work. All areas torn up by contruction will be considered, at player's discretion, Ground Under Repair. There will NO construction going on during the City Amateur and the Junior World tournaments. City Amateur entry forms will be available as of May 3rd at Torrey Pines, Balboa, and over 20 other golf courses in the county. Pat Segawa is the new Balboa Park Golf Course Manager. He brings to this city course his experience with Balboa Park, SD Stadium, and Coronado Golf Course maintenance. GAC Greens Fee Proposal: On March 4th, the GAC met and voted on a greens fee proposal to the City. The GAC sub-committee in charge of this proposal included John Hoffman, Susan Casagranda, and Hal Boston. They took into consideration the input of everyone who cared about this issue and that came to the meetings leading to the March 4th vote. Here is the proposal: Increase the City Resident fee $2.00/year through 2002. Establish a County Resident greens fee at $5.00 over the City Resident rate. Visitor greens fee: $55.00 for weekdays and $60.00 for weekends. Senior Monthly Ticket: Increases discounted fees to 60% of City Resident rate. Senior Daily Fee: 50% of City Resident rate. The Sanderson tournament to be held in May will have an entry fee of $20. Half of that fee will go to Junior Golf. It'll be a stroke play event. The original date of May 16th may move. It's a "mail-in" tournament, so the definite date and entry form will be included in the April newsletter. The sign-up for the Pinehurst Sunday tournament will be held at the end of the May 19th General Meeting. We're hoping to bring more than the usual 35 to 40 members to this meeting. Come on guys, we're almost 1,200 members and only 35 to 40 come to the General Meetings, and NONE to the board meetings every 3rd Tuesday of the month. Telles Gallegos - Long time member at Torrey Pines and regular of the Thursday Group up until a year ago. Telles passed away last week at his Clairemont home. He was 85.
JANUARY 1999 NOTES from the General Meeting of 01/20/99: Report by John Walter, Golf Courses Manager: Both courses fertilized last week. TPMGC Divot Crew: Thursday 2/4, Friday 2/5. 8AM start. Buick Invitational: Courses close at 1PM on 2/3/99. Volunteers needed (call 281-4653). There is a $25 charge and they get a uniform, hat and jacket, free meals, luncheon day at Sea World. Monday 2/15. Open play day: first come, first served. North Course Construction: Starts on 3/1/99. It consists of new irrigation system, cart paths and 6 additional tees. Sunday Tournaments Changes The March tournament (Two-Man Scramble) will be a mail-in. The change (from sign-up) was made because the sign-up date would have been on Saturday 2/13 (Buick Invitational ... And we don't want the PGA Tour pros to sign up to play in it ... just kidding). Howard DeYoung will chair the President's Cup (not Ron Bruck), and Ron Bruck will chair the SCGA Better Ball (not Dan Groszkruger). Changes on the TPMGC Board: Treasurer Denny Esh and Saturday Team Play Chairman Hugh Chindlund have resigned from the board. Assistant Treasurer John Hoffman will take over the Treasurer's duties until a proper replacement is found. Claude Gigoux was brought in as board member to carry out the Thursday Tournament Chairman duties. Seniors Inter-Club: The Torrey Pines team of the S.D. County Seniors Inter-Club League needs more members. If you are over 55 years old, a current member of the Men's Club with a current index of 18.0 or less, and are interested in playing 14 different county courses on a "home" and "away" format, please call either Charlie Todd at 619-226-8226 or Bob Noble at 619-755-5501. Golf Advisory Committee: Next meeting will be on Thursday, February 4th, 7PM, at Balboa Park (Santa Fe Room, by the Aerospace Museum). This meeting is VERY IMPORTANT and one you MUST attend if you want to have say or at least find out WHAT, WHY, and HOW MUCH in regards to the proposed 3-year greens fee schedule for Balboa Park and Torrey Pines. If you care about our Muni golf, then you should attend. Handicap Procedures: You MUST turn in a score card EVERY TIME you play a round a Torrey Pines (home course). Just posting the score is NOT good enough. Score cards are used to audit our membership handicaps, which is required by the SCGA and is a very important aspect of the handicapping system. Also, DO NOT post a score as a Tournament Score unless it's so specified by the Tournament Chairman. Only a few tournament scores in our annual schedule are posted as Tournament. Most of them are just home scores. If you have any questions call Joe Burwell, our Handicap Chairman, at 619-755-8706. FYI: The TPMGC Board meets on the third Tuesday of every month at the lounge at Torrey. Everyone is welcome to attend and provide insight or suggestions in regards of club procedures and management. Bring your ideas to the board and get involved. As of today, 1/21/99, we are 1081 members ... only 35 members showed up at last night's General Meeting ... Pathetic, really. Next Board Meeting: Tuesday, February 16th.