Moka Blag-August 04

Why is it so easy? Over 250 women's golf Scholarships went unused last year. There just aren't enough girls applying for them. And many women's golf coaches only work part-time and can't devote much time to recruiting. The best colleges and universities, who do active recruiting, are seeking foreign players to fill the void. It's amazing that more girls are not seeking these scholarships. College golf is fun and rewarding. It gives the player a chance to travel, to compete in tournaments, to be a part of a team, and to be physically fit. The scholarship gives the player an opportunity to receive a college education and a degree without a financial strain on her family. If you are a top junior female golfer anywhere in the world, you're probably already being recruited by one or more universities. If not, read on. But this article is primarily intended for girls who are competent golfers but are not superstars (at least not yet). Only the very best girls are actively sought out and recruited, but the rest of you can get a scholarship if you just let the right schools know you would like to play for their golf team.

How good a player do you have to be? In 1996, the lowest scoring average of any university female player was 73.25 per 18 hole round. Only a few players averaged better than 75. Anyone who averages better than 79 is considered an excellent player. The Tulane University team is ranked about 50th in the nation, and their tournament team (the four best players on the team) last season had an average score of 80.5. Roughly, you need to average at least 85 to play NCAA Division I (major college) golf; and at least 95 to play in Division II. Even a higher average would be good enough to get you a place on an NCAA Division III or an NAIA school team, but scholarships from such schools may not be as readily available.

You need to be able to shoot these scores under tournament conditions on unfamiliar courses averaging about 5900 yards in length. You also need to be able to maintain a full schedule of college courses while competing in as many as 11 tournaments each year.

How good a student do you have to be?

You don't need to be a genius, but you must be a competent student. If your high school GPA in the core courses is 2.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale, to play for a Division I school you'll just need an SAT score of at least 820 or a combined ACT score of at least 68. If your GPA is between 2.0 and 2.5, you can still play Division I with higher test scores, or you can play in Division II. The complete details of academic eligibility requirements are on the Official NCAA Website.

How are college golf teams run, and what is required of the player? Each school is slightly different, but in

general the women's golf team will have between 5 and 10 players. The team will be run by a coach, who in some schools just works part-time. Better programs have at least a full-time coach, and the best programs have an assistant coach or at least a student assistant.

Regardless of the number of players on the team, only 5 will play in each tournament. The coach selects the 5 that play. Most coaches organize an intrasquad qualifying event before each intercollegiate tournament, and the players with the 5 lowest scores in the qualifier get to go play in the tournament. The players who do not qualify for the tournament usually do not travel with the team to the tournament. Some team members may have the misfortune of never qualifying and getting to play in tournaments, so it is quite important to select a school where you have confidence you will someday be one of the 5 best players on the team.

At each tournament, 10 to 20 schools will typically compete. There is always a practice round, followed by 36 or 54 holes of stroke-play competition over 2 or 3 days. All players must walk and carry their own bags. All 5 tournament players on each team play each day, but the worst score of the 5 is discarded for the purpose of determining the team's score. Thus, if the team's 5 players shoot 80, 81, 81, 84 and 85, the 85 is thrown out and the team's score for the round is 326. Any team that can shoot 300 per round will win most of its tournaments.

Each school plays in about 10 tournaments per year, half in the fall semester and half in the spring. Sometimes the team travels across the country to get to an event. Teams typically travel by air to distant events and by van to events within a few hundred miles from the school. The season ends with a conference championship and then, if the team is good enough, the NCAA Championship.

Between tournaments, the team practices almost every day, usually at a local golf course. Practices consist of both hitting balls on the driving range and playing on the course. The coach is available to give golf instruction to her players, but it is OK if the player prefers to take lessons from a pro of her own choosing.

Due to tournament travel, players have to miss quite a few classes. Tutors are available to all athletes, and most professors give special exam schedules and other assistance. Some players find it difficult to get their course work done because of the numerous tournaments and practices, but most have no problem and have time for sororities, clubs, dating and other college fun.

In the next edition of the Blag
part 2: GOLF SCHOLARSHIPS FOR YOUNG WOMEN.

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seniorteam

From Back to Front:
Dion Gonsalves, Carlos Baynes, Raymond Roberts, Ben Martin, Simon Merry, Asraph Ali, Chris Richards (Coach). Robert Costelloe, Pat Suraj, Allan Clayton, Barry Ferdinand, Tracey Clarke, Diana Torry, Michelle Torry, Maria Nunes (Manager)

48th Caribbean Amateur Golf Championships 2004
Our Lucaya, Freeport, Bahamas
August 1- 8

Arthur Zaidie Trophy – 1st Puerto Rico, 2nd Bahamas, 3rd Trinidad & Tobago
Hoerman Cup – 1st Barbados, 2nd Puerto Rico, 3rd Trinidad & Tobago
Ramon Baez Trophy – 1st Puerto Rico, 2nd Jamaica, 3rd Bahamas
Francis & Steele-Perkins Cup – Tied for 1st Puerto Rico & Cayman Islands, 3rd Dominican Republic
Higgs & Higgs Trophy – 1st Puerto Rico, 2nd Trinidad & Tobago, 3rd Bahamas
George Teale Trophy – 1st Bahamas, 2nd Jamaica, 3rd Trinidad & Tobago

Special commendation to 17 year old Simon Merry for an outstanding performance on his debut!! Well done!

Paul’s Corner

The truth & consequences of green speed
Reprinted from: Resources - Golf course facts

The truth & consequences of green speed - Years ago, there was a man named Edward Stimpson who loved golf and craved to create more fairness in the game. To further his passion, he invented a device intended to ensure that all the greens on a course were of relatively equal speed. The idea was to give superintendents (then, greenkeepers) a way to compare the speed of the 4th green with the 13th and take steps to equalize them. This was, no doubt, a sound and noble idea. But sometimes bad things happen to good ideas.

Today, his simple tool, the Stimpmeter, is often misused to compare the speed of greens from course to course and unfortunately, to establish a benchmark of putting difficulty. Golfers are sometimes heard to say, “Hey, Hickory Hills was ‘stimping’ 13 last week.” This essentially means that the greens were as fast as the linoleum on most kitchen floors. From a purely competitive standpoint, that’s OK.

However, this quest for fast greens has serious consequences in terms of cost, environmental quality and the long-term health of the green. In short, speed can kill. Here’s why: A healthy, vigorous green can be maintained at a very short cutting height (as low as 1/8-inch) for short periods of time without serious consequences if it’s been prepared properly and weather conditions are acceptable. Courses hosting tournaments often take months (and spend significant extra money) to bring greens up to an ultra fast speed for PGA Tour players. For example, the greens at Augusta National or Oakmont may “stimp” up to 14 when properly prepared and dry.

However, fast greens are extremely fragile. If you compared them with human beings, it would be fair to say that their immune systems can be very weak. They become susceptible to diseases and pests, and therefore may require more chemical treatments. Weather can also quickly destroy the health of an ultra fast green. High temperatures and lack of moisture in the air are deadly to greens that are maintained at very short cutting heights for any length of time. The risks of maintaining fast greens — even with the best professional management by superintendents — were apparent in the summer of 1995 when golf courses across the eastern United States lost greens during an extended period of drought and high temperatures. Many of the world’s best-known courses suffered serious damage and were essentially unplayable for the last half of the year. Many of these had to be reseeded or completely rebuilt at a cost that was high in terms of budget, playability and reputation.

The solution to the dilemma of fast greens is twofold. First, the golf industry is sponsoring and promoting research and development of new grasses that are more tolerant of fast speeds under adverse conditions. Organizations such as the USGA and GCSAA are investing millions of dollars in this effort. On the other side, golfers should understand and accept the limitations of these living systems we call greens. Golfers should also heed the advice of superintendents who manage, nurture and protect these ecosystems. And finally, many golfers must change their attitudes about the competitive aspect of green speeds. They should, in the footsteps of Mr. Stimpson, strive for fairness, not fastness.

Paul Sheppard is our Golf Course Superintendent and is a member of the GCSA

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Notes From The Captain - LEARN YOUR INDEX

In the good old days we all knew our Handicap, nowadays we must get to know our Handicap INDEX. This index is the figure ( it is a range eg. 15.7) that makes all handicap golfers world wide able to compete fairly on any golf course.

Every registered Golf course has a Course and Slope rating as authorized by the USGA. We are then able to match our INDEX to the course rating and we will see our handicap for that course, so will other players that have a handicap INDEX.

Each persons INDEX is in fact a mathematical representation of a mythical standard, so it makes sense that wherever we play we must make an adjustment. Upon grasping that concept it really makes sense that we need to adjust for the different course rating before we can have an equitable match. But that is only if both are playing on the same courses and from the same tees.

Here is something else: If two players are playing off two different tees (that constitutes to playing two different courses) the course rating will have to come in to play.

Take this example, our Blue course is rated 72.8 and our White course is rated 70.4, a difference of 2.4, what this means is that the Blue is 2,4 strokes more difficult than the White, so, one player competing off the Blues with another off the Whites should give him 2.4 strokes, which we round off at 2. This

assumes that both players have received their relevant handicap off the course they are playing using their INDEX.

It is important to note that each persons INDEX can change at the beginning if every month when the Indices are adjusted by the handicapper, even if you only put in 2/3 scores, your INDEX may change slightly, even by .3 which would be enough to move your handicap up or down, so check your INDEX early every month. Remember it is the players Responsibility to play off your correct handicap.

SOME NOTES

To receive a Registered handicap INDEX a player must have completed 20 rounds. Not all must be on the same course. A player may play off the whites, the blues in Trinidad, the whites in Tobago or any other course, but you must turn in your scorecard to our handicapper to enter into the system.

It is important to remember that a player does not develop a Handicap INDEX form a specific set of tees, because all scores are mathematically calculated so they can be compared. Once a score has been turned into a differential, it does not matter from where it was played. It gives you one INDEX which you transcribe into a handicap for the course you are playing.This is now the International Standard of allowing Handicap golfers to compete fairly. As designed and promoted by the USGA.

Important Notices to Members

1) Please note: - If you wish to change your membership status you must inform the office in writing by January 31 of the year in question.

2) We have been working on updating our historical boards. In this process we have found some important information missing. We are appealing to anyone who can give us information on the following:
· The winner of the Men’s Medal in January 2001
· The winner of the Men’s Medal in December 2002

Mid Year Meeting Reminder

The Mid Year Meeting will be held on Monday September 27, 2004 at 5pm at the Clubhouse.

St. Andrew’s
Golf Club
P.O. Box 3403
Moka, Maraval
Trinidad, WI

Office:
868-629-0066/
6187-8
Fax:
868-629-0411
Starter/ After Hours
868-629-2314