Happy New Year 2024

2023 was another successful year for CTGA as we…..

• Ended the year with more active members than 2022.
• We welcomed 54 new members, also an increase over 2022.
• For the 2nd straight year, we had no cancelled events.
• Pace of Play had it’s ups and downs, but we feel our members are fully conscious of the need to meet our 4:30 goal.
• We now have a 50 year member in Carl Givens, who joined in 1974, the then Motorola Golf League.
• Although the COVID pandemic continues to linger at times, it appears to be more of an afterthought.  Its presence, however, has increased golf popularity and decreased available tee times for the general public.

I wanted to get our 2024 Tournament Schedule out before now, but had some difficulty with a number of courses.  The primary issue was getting the dates we wanted from the courses and avoiding their seasonal maintenance schedules.  Many weekend events are being booked 6+ months out, which is something we will take into account for 2025.  Secondly, the cost to play golf is rising as well and a number of courses are restricting weekend tournament play while others are limiting weekday play to Monday’s only….a fallout of the COVID revolution.

Persistence paid off for the most part as our attached schedule is now almost complete.  Note the highlighted dates…they are still open or in the process of date changes…..

• I finally got a proposal from Winstar Casino and will address this in a separate email.
• Our Fall Classic is currently scheduled for October 12-13 at Cowan Creek.  However, I’ve requested a date change to October 5-6 to avoid the Texas – Oklahoma game on October 12.  I should hear back from Sun City this week.
• Our Thursday, November 7 date may be changed to a weekend event.  Plum Creek has changed their tournament play policy to a minimum 80 players and Wildflower now allows tournament play only on Mondays.  I may look at other upscale courses over the next week or two.
•  Our December 7 date might possibly be Double J Ranch in Wemberley or Rebecca Creek in Spring Branch.  Will advise.
• Trying to schedule CTGA events around UT football is always a challenge.  This year we have only 4 UT Saturday conflicts and none against the powerhouse teams.

We will continue to use our Pay Online system for our events.  All members have bought in to the process and we thank you.

As we saw with the Sun City issue this fall, acceptable course Pace of Play is now required by most golf courses.  To ensure CTGA will comply with these expectations, we will address excessive slow play at all tournaments and hold players accountable.  We have no choice and are confident that all members will work hard to meet our objectives.  Our 2024 Pace of Play Policy will be sent to all prior to our first event on January 21.

We continue to encourage all members to not hesitate to address issues, concerns, complaints, etc., with us.  It’s the only way we can continue to improve the quality of CTGA.

Lastly, I personally want to thank our 2023 Directors for their commitment to help make CTGA the best golf league in the greater Austin area.  Sean has the all-important task of keeping our league finances in order, including collecting tournament fees, managing member personal accounts and paying golf courses.  Steve, John, Scott, and Bill are usually the first to arrive on tournament day and last to leave the course.  It’s a great leadership team.

Again, Happy New Year and we look forward to seeing all your friendly faces often.