OFWW Newsletter      February 2024

 

Message from the President

OFWW 2024 golf is off to a slow start with two weather related Bash delays and a couple of Play Day cancellations having already been required.  Hopefully better days lie ahead, beginning with the re-scheduled January Bash on Tuesday, January 30th!

 

Chris Reiner is transitioning to the Clubs of Kingwood Tournament Director role replacing Tim Lovell.  With any transition there may be a bump or two to start - let’s support Chris as he settles in and works with us to improve the OFWW and Golf Genius experience!  Chris can be reached at 713 647 1779 and his e mail is Christopher.Reiner@invitedclubs.com

 

 

The Play Day payout schedule is now updated to achieve 100% payout of entry fees.  Many thanks to Brent Johnston for his efforts setting up the new schedule! December and January winnings were recently posted to the winner’s accounts.  Be sure to verify credits on your accounts each month and let one of the board members, as well as Chris Reiner, know if you believe there is an error.

 

Finally, the club is scheduling golf course Divot Days again beginning with the Lake Course on February 7th.  These are great opportunities to support the course maintenance efforts as well as meet some of the maintenance crew, club management, and other OFWW members - not to mention enjoying breakfast tacos and coffee!  I hope you sign up for these events - and always be sure to check in with the coordinator before heading to the course, or when finished if you join late, to ensure you earn credit towards participating in the annual Volunteer Tournament.

 

Better weather is on the way!

 

 

David Wenner, OFWW President

 

Guidelines for Managing Playday Sign-Ups, Scoring, Purse Distribution Under Normal and Adverse Weather Events

A)   Normal Weather (Tee sheet “locked” 30 minutes before first Tee time)

Flights set at 6:30 am (players have a chance to cancel tee time before Play starts) 

  • NS (No Show) - player is charged, not eligible for payouts.
  • WD (Withdraws; voluntarily ends play with <18 scores - player is” charged/still qualifies for skins on holes completed; does not qualify for flight Best Net payout
  • DNF (Did Not Finish; for a reason beyond player control) - VP of OFWW to make call whether player is charged (most likely scenario is for this to occur in sudden inclement weather event)
  • NC (No Card) - player plays fewer than 9 holes and is not eligible for Skins competition; No upload to GHIN.

 

Note: per USGA rules, scorecards will be uploaded to GHIN for all completed Playday Rounds as long as at least 9 holes have been played. The score received by GHIN will be based on the number of holes played and an expected Score differential for any holes that were not played. 

B)   Frost or Other Delay - Course not ready for Play (Tee Times Delayed)

Registration remains open to allow players to cancel until the revised start time.

Flights not set until after play is completed.

  • Cancellations (removed immediately creating opportunities for groups to be adjusted (same as regular play); Removed from Roster and Not charged.
  • NS removed from roster at end of Playday and NOT charged.
  • Flights will be rebalanced and adjusted Purse applied at the end of play.

 

C)   Course is open (playable) but inclement weather possible or poor course conditions anticipated.

  • Treat the same a 1B, but VP can make the call to cancel the competition if the expected field is low or expected to have a high number of NS.

 

How to Set Your Default Tee Boxes for OFWW Play Days

 

Default Tees Selection

 

All OFWW players have been assigned Default tees in GG for each of the KCC courses. These tees will be used to calculate the playing handicap for the playdays and any Bashes that have NOT been assigned a specific tee box by the Bash Coordinator based on the format being played in that round.

The current default tees can be viewed in Golf Genius in the “Handicaps Tab” /Current Default Tees. If changes need to be made, use the Form  “Update Default Tee Boxes” in the Handicaps Tab

 

You can also confirm your assigned tee for each round by going to the Tee Sheets & Pairings page (by individual) in the 2024 Event Tab in GG. If this needs to be changed, email Christopher Reiner at christopher.reiner@invitedclubs.com or notify the starter before you tee off if very last minute. It is the player’s responsibility to ensure the tee assignment is correct before starting the round.

 

Use of Forward Tees (White/Silver Combo and Silver)

The OFWW by-laws state that for play days  "The primary tee will be the white tee markers. The primary Tee will be the white tee markers. Island Silver Tees are allowed for all Members. Members may play from any Tee and elect to play from the forward tees (White/Silver Combo and Silver) in Playdays and Bashes if they are at least 70 or if Age plus Handicap Index totals 90 or more. Playing handicaps for each course are automatically calculated by the USGA handicap system when playing from different tees.

 

 

February Bash

Flyer to be issued shortly.

 

Please check in with Tim when you arrive so we can be sure we have complete teams or adjust as needed.

If you need to cancel during the signup period, you can go into Golf Genius during the signup period and cancel.   If you need to cancel after the signup period, please send an e mail to both Tim and Stan letting them know as soon as possible including the night before Christopher.Reiner@invitedclubs.com or Stancoburn20@Gmail.com

If you don’t cancel you will still be charged the registration fee.

Sign up will be using Golf Genius.   Please look for the mail with the sign-up link or you can go to KCC-OFWW.GolfGenius.com.

Please feel free to send Stan a note with any comments or suggestions.  Stancoburn20@Gmail.com

 

2024 Preliminary Bash Schedule

The monthly bashes are a team event and a great way to meet new people and compete for slightly higher cash prizes.

The bashes are generally held the 2nd Tuesday of the month at 9am except for January (3rd Tuesday) and December (1st Tuesday).

 

February 13 - Forest

March 12 - Island

April 9 - Lake

May 14 - Marsh

June 11 - Lake

July 9 - Forest

August 13 - Island

September 10 - Marsh

October 8 - Forest

November 12 - Island (Breakfast, Meeting & Draft Before)

December 3 - Lake (1st Tuesday and Social After)

 

 

A social with beer and soft drinks is usually planned after the bash in the scoring area for all bashes except for November and December.

Please remember that this is a preliminary schedule and subject to change.

 

January 2024 Bash Results

 

The January Bash was rained out twice and will not be rescheduled.

 

 

 

Play Days

The play days are a great way to have a tournament type competition and win some money.   Stroke play in one of 3 flighted fields for a very small entry fee.    You sign up for any available tee time and you can meet other golfers by signing up to play with different golfers each time.

You can also find the results for each play day under the results tab on the OFWW website.

Couple of things to note:

You do not need to check in at the pro shop before the play day.   The starter notes the information for billing.

You must enter your score in the Golf Genius app.   You do not need to turn in a paper scorecard.

You do not need to enter your score into the GHIN system.   The pro shop transfers it over.

Payouts for winning are credited to your golf shop credit book account once a month.  Players should check the amounts to verify they are correct.   Questions about the amounts should go to Chris Reiner.

The play day participants are sorted into 3 nearly equal groups based on a handicap ranking for skins game and for performance payouts.  

We are playing lift clean and place for all rounds between November 1 and March 31.

 

If you sign up for a play day but then find you will not be able to play, we are asking that you cancel your teem time.   No shows result in having less than a foursome, cause us balancing problems with the flights and create unequal payouts.   To help with this problem and to make things easier for you to cancel at the last minute we are implementing the following procedures:

 

The sign-up sheet will now stay open until 6:30 am the day of the playday.  

If you can’t play, please cancel before that time.   This will also allow players to sign up until that time as well.

Flights will be balanced at that time and will not be adjusted once the round starts.

If a player is a no show, or does not finish the round, they will be charged the $3 fee.

 

We are hopeful these changes will help you and help the play days run smoother.

 

The play day schedule for February is:

 

Thursday February 1st- Marsh OFWW Play Day

Tuesday February 6th- Forest OFWW Play Day

Wednesday February 7th- Lake Divot Day

Thursday February 8th- Lake OFWW Play Day

Tuesday February 13th- Forest OFWW Bash 

Thursday February 15th- Marsh OFWW Playday

Tuesday February 20th- Forest CPO OFWW Playday 

Thursday February 22nd- Lake OFWW Playday 

Tuesday February 27th- Marsh OFWW Playday

Thursday February 29th- Forest OFWW Playday

 

 

 

We are continuing the OFWW policy of allowing any member to play the forward tees on the Island course without any restrictions.   Please make sure you indicate that on the tee sheet when you sign up.

 

 

Golf Genius OFWW Member Portal

All of the content for the OFWW is in the  Golf Genius Member Portal. Please visit the site at WWW.KCC-OFWW.Golfgenius.com or using the GG App every once in a while.   Lots of good information, play day and bash results, event sign up and other information. Updates and Training materials, including FAQs to help with the complete transition to Golf Genius (GG) can be found under the “News” tab.

 

OFWW Interclub

The Kingwood OFWW has two teams that participate in the "North Houston Retired Senior Men's Golf Association".  Each team plays home and away matches at other participating clubs, usually on Thursdays.  It is a great way to meet people, participate in exciting competitions and play different clubs for just a cart fee.   You do not have to play every week.

From the end of February  to mid October, the teams play weekly matches with 11 other country clubs in the North Houston and Montgomery County area. The clubs include April Sound, Atasocicta, Bentwater, Elkins Lake, Hearthstone, Lake Windcrest, Northgate, Panorama, River Plantation, Walden Lake Conroe and Walden Lake Houston. It is a great way to play these other courses for just a cart fee. 

The 2024 season will start at the end of February. To join a team contact:

Joe Blankenship - Captain Marsh Team  (joeblankenship54@gmail.com)

or

Patrick Freeh - Captain Lake Team  (execgolfer@yahoo.com)

Or reply to OFWWkingwood2022@Gmail.com and one of the captains will contact you.

 

 

 

 

 

OFWW Member Hole-In-One

 

Congratulations to Harry Burris for his hole in one on #8 of the Marsh course on 11/28/2023.  Harry’s hole in one was witnessed by his playing partners Joe Baehl, Charlie Devoe and Dick Ellis.

 

To join or resign from the Hole in One club please go to Golf Genius using this link Join HIO Pot  https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/8279458090852566906  

If you get a hole in one during a playday or Bash to please notify Tim Lovell at Tim.Lovell@Invitedclubs.com and Jack Alexander at Jalexand76@Aol.com about that. The Golf Genius system doesn’t necessarily flag your hole in one, for example if your score on that hole is tied with somebody else. Please tell Tim the hole and course, witnesses, club used, enclose a picture if you took one etc..  If you are in the hole in one pot Tim can get the payout process started.

Please do participate in the HIO pot and win some money to buy your playing partners drinks.

2024 OFWW Officers

Please feel free to reach out to any of the officers with your questions, comments, and suggestions.   The board works hard with the club pros, primarily Tim, to run the play days, bashes, and other events. 

2024 OFWW Officers

President                             David Wenner                   david.wenner@icloud.com

VP                                         Alex Mentakis                   mentakisa@gmail.com

Secretary                             Jack Alexander                  jalexand76@aol.com     

Treasurer                            Marty Blick                          martinsblick@gmail.com

Tournaments                     Stan Coburn                       stancoburn20@gmail.com

IT Support                         Brent Johnston                 oedude@suddenlink.net

Lake Team Captain          Patrick Freeh                     execgolfer@yahoo.com

Marsh Team Captain       Joe Blankenship                joeblankenship54@gmail.com

Member at Large              Gilles de Beaumont         gdebeau@gmail.com

 

Treasurers Report January 2024

The OFWW is currently tracking closely to budget.  

Please feel free to contact David (President) or Marty (Treasurer) if any questions about the financials.

 

Course Updates

The Club will no longer send out the daily text messages in the morning with the course updates.   To get the course updates you can go into the Invited Club app, click on the + sign, then click on Book a Tee Time and you will see the current day course update in the middle of the screen.

In Memoriam

 

Former OFWW member Tom Schafer passed away on 1/13/2024.  Tom was 89 years old.