A New Year

Happy 2009 everyone. Yes, it's been a while, and I do plan on doing a better job keeping up with the blog this year. I was surprised by how many people came up to me to say that they had read it.

Many people probably think the MGA staff and I are sitting around waiting for the snow to melt. While the holidays are a slower time to recharge and spend some time with friends and family, once the new year hits it's off to the races again.

We had a great night on January 8th with our annual Salute to Champions. All the championship winners were given their proper due in front of about 175 people at the beautiful new Wellesley CC clubhouse. The evening culminated with Brian Higgins receiving his Richard D. Haskell Player of the Year Award.

A week later Scott Whitcomb and I delivered a course marking seminar to the Cape Cod superintendents at Southers Marsh GC. It was a snowy forecast, but about 70 supers and turf industry people were in attendance.

Jesse Menachem, our new Director of Rules and Competitions, has already been in touch with some clubs in making preliminary plans for some qualifiers and championships. Jesse, Scott and I had a phone meeting with senior staff at The Country Club to go over many of the logistics for this summer's 101st Amateur Championship. I'm sure that many players are eagerly anticipating a return to this venerable venue. The club is treating this like the major event that it is, and they will be working very closely with the MGA to provide a memorable week.

Yesterday was the first day of online registration at the MGA. We had a total of 257 entries on day-1 of registration, easily eclipsing last year's first day total. Despite the tough economy, I guess this harsh winter has players pining for the spring and summer days out on the course. I know I am.

This is a challenging time for many clubs and courses to say the least. The MGA knows it can't solve the issues that many clubs are facing, but we have set up two one-day seminars in conjunction with the National Club Association (NCA) on March 31 and April 14 for club officials and general managers to discuss the challenges that exist. We are co-presenting these two days with the New England Chapter of the Club Managers Association of America. Two speakers from the NCA will be speaking about trends and issues at clubs along with some marketing stategies. More information will be forthcoming on the MGA web site.

I think we're all awaiting the return of Tiger Woods. The game needs him more than ever, and it seems like he is now practicing without restriction and fine-tuning his game for a return to competition. It's been fun to watch the Tour telecasts to see warm places like Phoenix and Honolulu, and it will be even more enjoyable once Tiger gets back into the mix.

Finally, for those of you who read Golfweek Magazine, you've been treated to some great pieces of late by longtime Boston Globe golf writer, Jim McCabe, who's now crafting his words for Golfweek. Sad news for Globe readers, but good news for golfers who enjoy reading some really good golf writing. Jim will have a much wider audience and he seems to have hit the ground running. Here's a recent piece about the recent passing of literary legend, John Updike, which features a decidedly Massachussetts flavor - http://www.golfweek.com/commentaries/mccabe-020109

Stay warm everybody!