NIMAGA Current Newsletter

Message from the President

Well spring is almost here, and most of us are thinking of how we can get out and swing those rusty (or newly purchased) clubs once again. Welcome to all returning members of NIMAGA, and a big howdy to the Newest members. NIMAGA is celebrating it’s 49^th golfing season as Chicagoland's working class amateur organization. Many of our members have been a part of NIMAGA for many years (some decades). If you're new to NIMAGA, be sure to ask your fellow players about their experiences.

New for 2008

A New Tournament was approved by the NIMAGA Board. We’re calling it the “After Tax Midweek” as it falls one day after that eminent deadline we all dread and it’s on a Wednesday. We’ve had a number of our members ask us to increase our tournaments and we continue to look for opportunities to do that. Please give us your thoughts on this as well as other possibilities.

Golf Tec has 8 stores in the Chicago area to help golfers of all levels to master their swing, consistent ball striking, the latest in golf technology and much more. Golf Tec has agreed to provide a free 1 hour lesson to a NIMAGA member in each division of our regular 7 tournaments. Golfers who have entered the tournament will be selected at random from each division and will receive a certificate at Golf Tec. A $165 value. The more tournaments you enter the greater your chance. Please support Golf Tec and visit their web site about all they have to offer. www.golftec.com

New Member Orientation

The NIMAGA Board and many of our regular members will be at White Pines Golf Dome on March 3rd @ 6:30 PM Please block your calendars and join us on this night. We ask the new members to come a half hour ahead of time so we can explain a few items to make your first tournament more enjoyable. We will be bringing in pizza, and will have the entire upstairs hitting area so you can hit all the balls you desire. Meet the Board and some of our regular members. If you can’t make this night and still have questions, please feel free to contact any NIMAGA Board member via email and we’ll make sure you get a response.

Distance Measuring devises can be used for 2008. Please be cognizant of the time it takes you with these new devises. NIMAGA is a strong proponent of quick golf and we have several ways to measure the time our groups finish to help us determine if some groups are slower than others. Just a few quick thoughts on keeping the pace moving:

Honors is an important part of golf, but if the tee is open and no one is hitting or ready to hit when the course in front of you is open, get up and hit.
If you are on the opposite side of the hole and about as close as someone else, get ready and hit your ball. No need to wait for someone as long as your swing will not cause the other to delay.

Always be thinking about your next shot, whether in the fairway or on the putting green. When it’s your turn, be prepared to swing.

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.

The rules of golf can sometimes be a bit confusing. Speaking of confusing, which Ball is mine? I’m pretty sure I used a Titlist 2 when I hit my drive? USGA rules require you to be able to identify your ball. To do this most mark their ball with a unique dot – dash – line or other marking with will distinguish your ball from any other. What can happen if you don’t? 2 golfers approach the same ball thinking that ball was theirs. Both had just hit a Calloway blue #2 and no other marking. After looking for another similar ball in the same area which might be found or might not be found, who gets to hit the ball found first? Unless one or the other golfer can definitively identify the ball first found as his own, both golfers would be required to return to the tee and hit again under a stroke and distance penalty (hitting 3 from the tee) under the lost or unidentified ball rule. It happens, so mark your balls! Duffy Waldorf lets his kids color his balls prior to a tournament. No doubt, in this case, that funny looking golf ball he just hit is his!

For further info on this rule and others go to the USGA website www.usga.org

New Members

Yes once again we have been able to keep our costs in check and the annual fees stay at $50, package memberships at $450 (includes or regular 1^st of the month weekend tournaments). Bring in a friend and save $10 or bring in two friends and save $10 each (your friends also get to save $10). More players, bigger prize pools - let’s make 2008 one of our biggest tournament player levels.

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.