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27 | Four Seasons Hemet Herald | January 2015 | From The President – Gerry Edmonds: As the incoming president, my first order of business is to offer my thanks to the outgoing elected board officials Henry Negrete, Carrie Stevens, Helen Johnson and Joe Richmond for a job well done this past year. I also want to congratulate our other newly elected board members David Cometa, Chaz McManis and Elliot Yaeger. I especially want to express my appreciation on behalf of all the club members to Addis "Scotty" Scott for his tireless work as the Tournament Director. Scotty has been the Tournament Director for eight of the ten years of the club's existence. His contributions to the club's success are not insignificant and should be acknowledged by all members. As my second order of business, I will identify several items that I will address during my term. In the run up to our recent elections, two issues were clearly evident: first, our club is a social organization and second, our members like competition. Unfortunately, some viewed this as a zero sum game in which the club is either social or competitive but not both. The social and competitive aspects of our club need not be exclusive; there is room for both. As we move forward this year, it is my goal to continue the great social aspects of the club while introducing more competition for members desiring it. I will bring several proposals for increasing the opportunities for competition to the board for discussion. I am concerned about the pace of play on our Tuesday outings. It seems that a four and a half hour round has become the norm and rounds of five hours are not uncommon. Discussing this with members prior to the election I was reminded that we are older, retired, and handicaps are higher than they used to be. While all this is true, we can all be mindful of our routines and habits that add wasted time to our rounds such as excessive practice swings and waiting for our partners to hit before preparing our shots and putts. With input from our volunteer marshals, I will discuss initiatives to speed up the pace of play. Let's help our marshals maintain a good pace of play by playing ready golf and keeping in position with the group ahead of you and not the group behind you. Prior to the election, a friend from the golf club expressed concern that we occasionally bend or ignore the established rules of golf. Most of the members surveyed last year said that they were familiar with the rules enough that they would not want to sit through a rules training. I do think that having the membership review the most misunderstood rules is important and I will look for ways to do this throughout the year. The outgoing board of directors noted that the club By-Laws would require a review. I think this concern underscores the need to review all our local rules to ensure they square with the rules of golf. I want the board to begin these reviews and make revisions as soon as possible. If you have any specific concerns with either the By-Laws or our local rules, please contact a board member with any comments or suggestions. Lastly, I want to add to the comments of Henry Negrete and Ellen Walsh in last month's Herald. All our activities and positions are voluntary. Our functions including Tuesday golf, barbeques, and banquets happen because of the committed volunteers that generously give of their time. Throughout the year there will be opportunities to support club activities by volunteering. Please consider being a volunteer this year. Your actions can help make the club better for all our members. From the Tournament Chair – Dave Balser: To play in our Tuesday games, you may sign up at our prior golf event or the sheet located in the Game Room at the Lodge, by Sunday noon. For cancellation or late sign up, please contact David at (760) 436-6139 or by email at on30man@ gmail.com. Our January, 8 am game schedule is: Jan. 6: Individual – Any 3 clubs plus your putter from forward tees – Net score by flight Jan. 13: Partners – Best net score per hole – by flight Jan. 20: Team – Balanced mixed flights – three best net scores per hole Jan. 27: (T) – Low net by flight, President's Cup Qualifier – Post as tournament From the Membership Chair – Ross Thomas: As we begin a new year most things are still very similar to 2014, but 2015 does bring changes within our club. We begin the year with a new board that will guide our club. Although we like things as they have been, as it makes life easy and comfortable, at times it is hard for us to adjust to changes. Some changes hurt as they cause us to reflect and bring back memories of what was. More importantly, it causes us to reflect on those who were our partners in this game we call golf and life itself. The changes that are positive bring us hope and a renewed belief in ourselves and the belief that the game of golf provides a renewed complement of playing partners and friends. As I look through the list of club members who started 2014 and will not be a part of the 2015 membership, I am saddened and it causes me to reflect on the lives of these people. Neighbors, friends and partners in the game we all love to play. Think of them often and God bless them; they touched our lives in ways more than just as golfers. On the positive side, I also count the number of new members, new friends and new playing partners who joined the club during the year. They bring a renewed belief that change is good, it challenges us and it provides new friendships and new partners in the game of golf and in life. I will continue to serve as the membership chair during 2015 and look forward to continuing the good friendships our golf club provides to all the membership. Invite your neighbors and friends to experience what we have. For the most part, change is good. From the Rules Chair – Melody Lewis: As tournament co-chair at the Moreno Valley Ladies club last year I became more familiar with the "Rules of Golf" in a not so fortunate way. Having to possibly DQ two board member due to a rules violation during our Club Championship, I searched for any and all ways to prevent this from happening. My search led me to discovering "The 18 Most Misunderstood Rules Of Golf." These are basic rules, which most likely are called upon with every round that is played. I will discuss a few each month as the year goes on. The #1 most misunderstood rule is the "Red Lateral Hazard" options #1 Play it from the hazard. Do not ground your club while playing a shot within the hazard. #2 Replay the shot from the original position incurring a stroke and distance penalty #3 Draw a line from the hole to where the ball last crossed the margin of the hazard and drop anywhere behind that point keeping the point between you and the hole incurring a 1 stroke penalty #4 Go to the point where the ball last crossed the margin of the hazard and drop within 2 club lengths, no nearer the hole, on either side of the hazard incurring a one stroke penalty. Remember, the rules don't always penalize. If you know the rules they can also be used to your advantage while playing the game.

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