State of the League - Midyear Review
On behalf of the SGL board I would like to take this opportunity to share our view of the league as we near the half way point of the season. We stand committed to making this the best league possible and the premiere league in the valley. To do so we are constantly evaluating what works, what doesn’t, and what we can do to improve.
We have built on the foundation from the NSGMA and cultivated some great new sponsorships, as well as maintained our past ones. All our sponsors deserve recognition and as fellow members we need to do everything we can to reciprocate their generous sponsorships. Our sponsorships have exceeded our budget for 2021 and has allowed us to increase our prize pool for the majors, championships and playoffs. We have now hit our membership goal of 135 and for every member on average, nearly $300 are returned back to the members in the form of prize funds. Average turnout has been around 64 participants, which is better than expectations and if it continues will further increase the yearend payouts.
We have sold out the road trip and this is going to be a highwater mark for this season. For the lucky 60, there will be more information to follow, but finally we can escape the desert and play 3 fantastic courses including the site of the 2021 US Open. We’ll have 3 separate tournaments with Montlake Financial points and payouts and an overall payout and points for the combined 3 rounds.
This has been an interesting start to the year. High handicappers make up about 7% of the field, have won about 14% of the events, but only place in the top ten 4% of the time. Low handicappers make up about 9% of field and with the recent Bell Stone Short Course championship have won 9% of the events, placed in the top ten 11% of the time and averaged more Montlake points than all other handicaps. It remains to be seen how the season will end up but we’ll continue to monitor the tournament results with the goal to create the best opportunity for all skill levels to compete week in and week out.
So where do we go from here? There are a couple of paths we can follow; grow the membership and increase the tournament size, payouts, etc. or limit the league size, maximize the sponsorships and increase the value proposition to the members. There is merit to both paths and we’d be interested in your thoughts. Be looking for a survey in the upcoming weeks to share your thoughts.
There’s also ongoing discussion about what kind of members we want? As I think about this, the question I ask is what does an ideal member look like? Here’s what I think is important, in no particular order:
- Loves the game of golf and is passionate in their pursuit of improvement
- Enjoys the comraderies and fellowship with the members. Hangs around after the tournaments and socializes and participates in the awards.
- Understand the rules of the game, recognizes there is more to learn and seeks to gain more knowledge.
- Participates in 25+ tournaments a year
- Understands the importance of pace of play, and the impact it has on players behind them.
- Understands the importance of the league’s reputation, and as such, shows proper respect for the clubs and their staff.
Ideally, the tighter the range in indexes, the more competitively balanced we would become. There has been discussions about capping handicaps and while it’s worthy of discussion, its too early in the season to draw any conclusions.
It has been a pleasure serving as President of the SGL. On behalf of the board, I’d like to thank each of them for the tremendous contributions they have made and trust everyone feels the same. Be sure to take a moment and show your appreciation for the hard work and effort they have put into making this league successful.
In summary, we don’t see making major changes midseason. We’ll make tweaks around the edges and keep our eyes and ears open to comments and suggestions from the members and continue to strive to improve the league.
Respectfully,
Michael Radez
President – The SGL