First tournament only a few days away, reminder this year is a new venue at Gleneagles. Sat April 5^th. The April 5th event will have a " snow date" of April 12th. What this means is that if Gleneagles is not open for play on April 5th the automatic rescheduled date is one week later on April 12th. NIMAGA WILL play on the 5th if Gleneagles is open but if not you remain entered on the April 12th date with the same tee time. You would need to withdraw if we did need to reschedule and you were unable to play but we hope it won't be necessary.

Reminder
Reminders that applications for May Jamboree (Sunday May 4^th) are due by April 18^th. NIMAGA Member Guest Tournament is Monday May 20^th, and applications are due by May 2^nd. This year one of our premiere events is again being played at Prairie Landing, one of the best public courses in Chicagoland. Make your plans to bring some guests to this outstanding event. Fee includes diner after golf.

Check your emails from NIMAGA!

Many will have noticed that NIMAGA has been trying to keep our membership notified of special situations via email blasts. Email, unlike snail mail (USPS) can be sent quickly and without cost and much labor, thus we hope to be able to send reminders of upcoming event deadlines and special situations such as weather or tournament changes that would otherwise not be possible. So… we ask that you routinely look and read your NIMAGA emails so we can keep you up-to-date with any new information or changes. Thanks!

The Score 670 am

 A big thank you goes out to Phil Kosin, Publisher of Chicagoland Golf newspaper and the long-time host of the Chicagoland Golf show which is heard on the Score 670 radio on Saturday from 6 to 8 AM. NIMAGA has been promoted on his web site www.Chicagolandgolf.com -See the posting highlighting our group. NIMAGA was also given about 25 minutes of air time on his first program of the season on March 30th. Phil has been kind enough to publish the results of our NIMAGA events for years and we thank him for his interest in our organization.

New Midweek Tournament

After Tax Midweek at a golf course not used by NIMAGA in many years Poplar Creek – in Hoffman Estates. Nice track with some unusual holes. This course runs just north of Golf and just east of Barrington. Get applications in – due by April 4^th

Tournament Applications

 Tournament Applications form links were emailed to all members on Monday March 2^nd. If you didn’t get this email, send a quick note off to admin@nimaga.org. We are only offering a link so that anyone who might go to our web page could fill out a form (and not be a member). So keep the link or ask and we’ll resend it. There will be another email to all members March 10^th or sooner. Deadline for entering April Thaw on April 5 is March 21^st. So get the applications in early so you don’t miss the season kick off.

FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
There is a new FAQ link on the menu. Check it out and hopefully it will help with those common questions that come before the board.

You are putting on a green with a long downhill putt. As your ball misses the hole, you cringe as you watch you ball roll off the green and into a water hazard!

What are your options?

1. Take a drop within two club lengths from where entering the hazard no closer to the hole with a 1 stroke penalty. This option will likely have you dropping your ball off the green and having to chip back to the putting surface.

2. Use the stroke and distance option where you would re-hit from the original spot prior to going into the hazard. As you were hitting the ball on a putting surface, in this specific case you would be required to “Place your ball” not drop your ball. Once again this is a one shot penalty. This time however, pay a little more attention to the speed of the next down hill putt!

"You only have one chance to make a good first Impression" Ready-set-golf!

NIMAGA has always tried to add a few new courses to our schedule each year. For 2008 we have added Gleneagles, Popular Creek, Whitetail Ridge, Carillion and Fox Run. These courses have heard about NIMAGA but are unsure about how we run our events. Slow play is the one thing that will make a bad first impression.

Most Golf Courses have either an 8 or 10 minute starting time (normal time for the group ahead to be out of range) they also look at 14 minutes to play each hole, 14 x 18 = 252 minutes or 4 hr 20 min per round. If your group is 14 minutes behind the group in front, you are a whole hole behind. 20 minutes per hole = 6 hour round -- 50% longer than most courses consider acceptable.

If you fall behind the group in front of you then drop the honors on the tee and play READY GOLF. When looking across the fairway to determine who is away just go -- no matter who might be away. It's the little things that can lead to slow play so be aware of what your group needs to do to catch-up with the group in front of yours. You may not be aware that the group in front of you may have fallen behind. On every tee box assess your groups position and if you need to pick up the pace a bit, make a comment to the group as a whole that you are falling behind and need to pick up the pace.

The NIMAGA group has made it a goal to improve on the average round time.  This can only be accomplished by adhering to the ready golf rule.  This should be extended for the entire round and not just when you fall behind the group in front of you. Ready golf is quite simple when the fairway, green and hopefully not hazard has cleared, be in a position to hit your next shot.  The courtesy of honoring the person who is away is not always necessary and in many cases impractical.

 

Simply put, if all foursomes stay within a shot of the group immediately in front of your group you have done all that can be controlled. Don’t wait until you’re a full hole or more behind to speed up your play.

There is a Pace of Play Rule in NIMAGA.  For 2008, the board has continued with the same policy we have used the past 3 years. The tournament directors have issued only a few penalties since installation of updating this rule, so the policy has worked to keep play moving The Pace of Play Rule is: If a group finishes 14-18 minutes behind the group in front of them, and 26 minutes or more behind two groups in front of them – 1 Stroke Penalty  -- 19 minutes or more behind the group in front of them, AND 26 minutes or more behind two groups in front of them – 2 Stoke Penalty.  Tournament Directors will advise you if this applies to your group.

Groups finishing beyond the above time lines will be brought to the attention of NIMAGA's Board for what ever action the Boards chooses. Please note this rule includes leniency and thus any group which does not finish within these time allowances will be assessed the penalty. Also note this rule is based on the "group", it is not acceptable for the first player of a group to hole out on the last hole and run into the club house. The "group" has not finished until the last player holes out on the last hole.

The only time these criteria will not apply is if the group’s total playing time is 4 hours or less. Please be cognizant of your pace and keep up with the group ahead.

The 2008 NIMAGA golf season is now open. Ready, set…golf!

Members News

Membership

Check out the web site regularly! Many will notice some changes to our web site. A big thanks go out to Shawn Pipes, our tournament director and web guru! In a n effort to go green! And to lower costs (and a bit of work) we have eliminated much of the paper you would receive in the mail. Make a weekly habit of visiting our web site to check out the latest news and information. We still have a few members who either have difficulty in accessing the internet, and we are doing everything we can to assist them. If you know of someone who has this problem let us know and we’ll try and find them an internet friend who can keep them up to date! You will also note that we will be sending out regular email notes to advise members of upcoming events and special news.

 Check periodically over the winter months and check out any new items on the web site. www.nimaga.org

Speaking of special news? Any good stories or information that your friends at NIMAGA should know about? Send us photo’s and articles about what’s going on in the off season or up coming special dates. Any new holes-in-one?

Send them to admin@nimaga.org and we will include them in a future NIMAGA notes.