MARCH MADNESS - RETIREES NEWS

 MARCH MADNESS

Nope, not the Basketball March Madness — the weather version. Fresh snow visible out my windows and a forecast for nearly 20° by next weekend seem like madness to me.

ONLINE REGISTRATIONS PAGE NOW LIVE

I have been busy updating the website over the last couple of days. The major improvement is the addition of an Online Registrations Page where you can sign up for ALL of our events as well as most out of town events.

We don't have any prices for entry fees, BUT you can get your name on the entry list now and pay the entry fee closer the deadline for each event.

Look for Online Registrations next to the Event Schedule near the top of the page.

SEASON PLANNING UNDERWAY

(1) eTransfers are still the preferred method for payments, but you will be able to pay in the ProShop with a cheque. So no more having to track down John or Norm — pay online or pay in the ProShop with a cheque.

(2) The important work of getting the monthly meals organized has started. We all know food prices have jumped, so we are in contact with the Bistro to get meals that we can keep within our budget.

We use the Retirees Club fee and 50/50 money to subsidize the cost of the all the prizes and meals in order to help reduce the entry fee for each event.

We spend all the money raised during the year running the weekly events, monthly events, and the year end Championship (any left overs are used to reduce the meal cost and improve the quality of prizes).

(3) Watch for some changes to end of round scorekeeping for our weekly events which I hope will make it easier for updating the results. More on that soon.

(4) In general, all of the Scramble & Brunch events are on the 4th Thursday of each month with the exception of the Championship that has moved to the 3rd Thursday of September.

(5) Reminder to everyone that your handicap must be kept up to date using either Chronogolf or Golf Canada and that all rounds should be entered.

EARLY BIRD FEE RATE AVAILABLE NOW

 EARLY BIRD RETIREES CLUB FEES

Register online and pay your Retirees Club fee before April 30 to get the EARLY BIRD rate of $30 (after April 30 regular price is now $35).

Look for the link under ONLINE REGISTRATIONS and pay with an  eTransfer.  

MORE SNOW AND RAIN FORECAST

Any thoughts of getting on the course early have been dashed by the snow and the rain this week. The weather forecast for the next couple of weeks has a soggy look — good for some things I suppose.

Soggy golf is bad!

PROBABLY NO RETIREES GOLF THIS WEEK

 NOT THIS WEEK

Some days you drive by the course and think, 'We could be playing today!' and then you step out of your car and think, " Ya-a-a-h, nope!'. About 6 weeks to wait, unless you are south for the winter.

EARLY BIRD FEES & REGISTRATION

Register online and pay your Retirees Club fee before April 30 to get the EARLY BIRD rate of $30 (after April 30 regular price is now $35).

Look for the link under ONLINE REGISTRATIONS on our website - pay with eTransfer. 

GOLF CANADA MEMBERSHIPS

So far we have 16 retirees who have chosen to take advantage of the Birchbank Players League pricing (see previous posts and emails) to get or renew a GC membership. We encourage all members to consider taking advantage of this program.

2024 SEASON SCHEDULE

The updated version of the 2024 Retirees Schedule is posted on the website — look for the EVENT SCHEDULE link at the top of the page. 

Going on holidays and not sure if you will miss an event - check the schedule. 

DON'T MISS THE DEADLINE — Signing up for the monthly scramble events can be done online and payment of the entry fee done with eTransfer or by cheque in the PROSHOP.

GOLF CANADA MEMBERSHIP - GET A DEAL

 REDUCED PRICING FOR GOLF CANADA MEMBERSHIPS

UPDATE: Click Here To Use The Online Registration Form

Prior to the golf course being sold, a Golf Canada (GC) Membership was included in your annual Birchbank Membership. The GC membership came with several benefits to you as well as to golf, in general, across Canada — including, most importantly, your handicap factor. 

For those who have been paying their own GC membership or would like to get a GC membership in order to maintain a handicap factor, we have good news!

The following is an excerpt from a notice being sent to all Birchbank members AND is important for those playing in tournaments at other clubs:

'The Ladies’, Men’s and Retiree’s clubs recently joined to form the Birchbank Players League and registered it with British Columbia Golf. There are several advantages for our members as a result:
1. Lower price for your 2024 Golf Canada membership -- $51.40 vs $62.95 (taxes included) with no change to the benefits of that membership
2. Pay your club treasurer vs dealing with Golf Canada
3. Be identified as belonging to Birchbank vs West Kootenay or some other region
4. Have local assistance for any errors or issues with entered scores

Members who have any interest in competing in tournaments at Birchbank or other courses are strongly encouraged to an established handicap. Chronogolf does not follow the World Handicapping System, so is not a replacement for belonging to Golf Canada.
Many of you who already have Golf Canada memberships may have set up automatic renewal, so we wanted to provide time for you to turn off auto renewal  and take advantage of the savings by paying via your Club.

Your renewal date will remain the same, but you are encouraged to pay earlier, especially this year as we get set up to ensure you are renewed properly

If you don't have a GC membership, you may decide this is the right time to get an established handicap with GC.

The following are each clubs’ contact for payments of $51.40:

Men’s Club: Derrick Simister at simmer49@hotmail.com
Retiree’s Club: John Lattanzio at birchbankretirees@gmail.com

If you are a member of both Clubs, you only pay ONCE and choose the ONE you will register with — it does not matter which club you register with.

We will also set up a Handicap committee who will be available for assistance if required. More information on that committee will be available at the start of the season. If questions arise you can contact your club captain or Jeri Santarossa.'

Feel free to ask questions about the information — handicaps are good and saving money is better.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT - 3 PUTTING 

FOOD FOR THOUGHT - 3 PUTTING CLICK HERE

CHANGES COMING FOR 2024 SEASON

GOLF CANADA STUFF

1. UPDATES FOR HANDICAP SYSTEM

"The R&A and the USGA announced the first update to the World Handicap System™ (WHS™) as part of an ongoing review of the Rules of Handicapping™ and Course Rating System™ with a continued emphasis on accuracy, consistency and equity."

Some of the changes will make it easier for players to include scores for 9 holes, shorter courses, and rounds interrupted by weather. 

READ MORE HERE

2. BDO NATIONAL GOLF LEAGUE

"..BDO National Golf League, a nationwide, season-long competition created by Golf Canada to enhance the league experience for men, women, and junior players."

If you enjoy competing this program might be something you should look at and it has an added benefit of a reduced Golf Canada Membership fee.

The Ladies Club has invited the Men's and Retirees Clubs to join their application into the National Golf League so take a look at the information on the Golf Canada website and watch for an email with more details coming soon.

READ ABOUT NATIONAL GOLF LEAGUE HERE

TWO MONTH COUNTDOWN - No golf today

NEW PGA TROPHY FOR 2024

We have opened the bank vault and purchased a new trophy for the 2024 Retirees PGA Championship. 

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE FOR 2024

ONE MORE KICK AT THE CAT

 OCT 30

I am watching the weather reports for tomorrow and hope that it is just warm enough to get in a final round (or 9 holes) on the last day of the season. 

I think that a 10AM tee time is a bit optimistic given the overnight low is forecast for -6°, but 'mostly sunny' sounds nice. Maybe a thermos of hot chocolate would be a good addition to the bag.

RETIREES WRAP UP THE 2023 SEASON

 RETIREES CHAMPIONSHIP AND CLOSING EVENT

The season has formally come to an end for the Retirees Club at Birchbank GC with the FEDEX Cup decided and the Club Champions crowned.

FED EX CUP

The season long race for the FEDEX CUP concluded with Richard Dewdney as the top point getter for the season, narrowly beating Paul Troseth for the title. 

I was able to get a photo of Richard with the Cup before he headed back to the lake to celebrate.

CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP

Perfect weather conditions, fast greens, and dodgy fairways marked this year's Championship as 46 players competed in the final official event of the 2023 season for the Retirees Club.

Huge shout out to all the volunteers who stepped up to help with this event as well as throughout the season. Thanks go out to those individuals & businesses who donated door prizes for our Invitational and Championship tournaments this season.

Congratulations to Ray St.Jean for repeating as Overall Low Gross Champ and to Albert Holm for winning the Overall Low Net title — complete results below.

Overall Winners - Ray St.Jean OLG - Albert Holm OLN

'A' Flight - Kimba McLean 1st - Jim Park 2nd

'B' Flight - Stan Trozzo 2nd - Norm Moll 1st - Wayne Shubert 3rd

'C' Flight - Tom Stevens 2nd - Dave Wray 1st - Phil Molloy 3rd

RETIREES CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS : SEPT 14, 2023

---

OVERALL LOW GROSS: RAY ST. JEAN (68)

OVERALL LOW NET: ALBERT HOLM (68)

FLIGHT ‘A’ - LOW NET

1ST:   KIMBA MCLEAN (73) via tiebreak

2ND: JIM PARK (73)

3RD: BRAD HARDING (74)

FLIGHT ‘B’ - LOW NET

1ST: NORMAN MOLL (70)

2ND: STAN TROZZO (72) via tiebreak

3RD: WAYNE SHUBERT (72)

FLIGHT ‘C’ - LOW NET

1ST:   DAVE WRAY (71)

2ND: TOM STEVENS (73)

3RD: PHILL MOLLOY (75) via tiebreak

KP 2:  TOM STEVENS
KP 7: BRAD HARDING
LP: 9: BRAN HARDING KP 14:       DAVE MUIR
KP 17:      PAUL TROSETH
LP: 18:      BOB DAVISON