As we welcome the fall season, I hope your summer was filled with great memories both on and off the course.  Renewal time is just around the corner, but I'm always here to help if you have any questions.  Plus, we’ve got some wonderful fall events coming up, including the Scramble Championship!

Note: This newsletter is sent out only to you as the Club Rep, and we count on you to share this information with any other club admins (membership chair, tournament chair, etc.) or members who might need it.  I’ve indicated in each section who you should share the information with.  New information for Club Reps this month includes:

- NCGA Club Highlight

- Rules of Golf 101

- Congratulations to this Year's NCGA Club Winners!

- Getting Ready for 2026 

- Marketing Templates for Renewal Season

- Did You Know? Member Benefit

- Bryan Rodriguez

NCGA Club Highlight

For the Club Rep

We’re excited to include a segment where we shine a light on clubs in our community to help you with your club operations. 

While all NCGA clubs have free access to Memberplanet’s communications tools, making it easy to connect with your members, share updates, and grow your club community.  Jippy Pang with the Sharp Park Women's Golf Club shared how she uses Slack, a different communications platform, to communicate with the club's members.

Technology is always advancing, so in 2020, during the pandemic, Jippy decided to use technology to still connect with club members. 

Slack uses channel-based messaging, where each channel is a particular topic.  Some channels are continuous, and some are time-based.  Sharp Park's channels include an announcements channel, member trips, and a running Sunday Tee time channel, to name a few.  Members can go to a particular channel and discuss a relevant conversation that is focused on that topic.

All 37 members, with ages ranging from 30 to 80, are part of the club’s Slack community and connect in all sorts of ways.  It’s inspiring to see how technology can bridge the gap between generations and bring the whole community closer together.  Congratulations Jippy and the Sharp Park Women's Golf Club!

Would you like to see your club featured in an upcoming newsletter?  I’d love to hear about any creative ideas or special touches your club has tried—whether it’s a unique tournament format, fresh ways of connecting with members, fun non-golf events, or anything else you’d like to share.  Just reach out and let’s celebrate your club’s story together!

Rules of Golf 101: Model Local Rules

For all Club Members

I never understood why they called it Model Local Rules.  It always sounded to me like the saying "a model citizen."  It turns out this is not too far off.

Model Local Rules are simply templates that can be put into effect for general play on a golf course or for use in a specific competition that provide an alternative to the default position of the Rules.  These templates may be used by the Committee exactly as written or may be used as an example of how to write a specific type of Local Rule.

Read about some of the most frequently used Model Local Rules here.

Don't forget that your club can request a free Rules Seminar to be presented at your club by one of our rules experts. To learn more, please contact me at brodriguez@ncga.org.

Congratulations to this Year's NCGA Club Winners!

For all Club Members

I want to thank all clubs that participated in our NCGA Club Events for 2025!  A big round of applause to our NCGA Club winners: 

58th NCGA Zone Champions

1st - Belmont CC

2nd - Bayonet & Blackhorse GC

3rd - Woodbridge G&CC

43rd NCGA Associate Club Champions

1st - On the Road Again GC

2nd - Dot Squad

3rd - San Jose MAGA

Your passion for the game has earned you a spot in NCGA history!  Celebrate your success, share your story, and inspire fellow members to rise to the challenge next season.  Well played!  

Getting Ready for 2026

For Club Admins

As 2026 approaches, we wanted to highlight some reminders regarding club management for the new year.

- In January 2026, there will be a small member fee increase from $46 to $48 for every active member on your club's roster. The membership fees are the only fees that will be included on your club's invoice.

- If your club is a Calendar Year Club from Jan-Dec. please be sure that new members are not added to your roster until after January 1, 2026. If new members are added before the 1/1/26 date, the club will be charged for both 2025 and 2026 (no refunds available).

- Renewing members are fine to make payments before 1/1/26, and they can remain on the club roster.

- If you're a Calendar Year Club and are interested in moving to a rolling 12-month membership, please feel free to reach out to me. The clubs that have made the change have found it easier to recruit members all year long.

- If you anticipate any changes to your club's roles, please be sure to bring any new club officers up to speed regarding the different club platforms. If you need any refreshers, please visit our Renewal Hub page linked here.

As always, please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions 😊

Marketing Templates for Renewal Season

For the Club Rep/Membership Chair

With renewal season around the corner, don't forget that you have access to marketing templates that you can use for your club.  The templates linked below can easily be edited to highlight your club's information and benefits, along with the NCGA benefits.

Club Marketing Canva Poster Template

Club Marketing Canva Email Template

Canva Beginners Guide

The poster template can be printed and placed at the front of the pro-shop register or even handed out during a club event to prospective members.  Similarly, the email template can be used when communicating with prospective members, such as golfers who play your course but are not members of your club.

Be sure to click on the TN icons on the template for a tip on what club information should be included and the best formatting to use.

Did you know? Member Benefit

For all Club Members

Did you know that all NCGA Members have access to a 20% discount on Greens Guides and Yardage Books from Strackaline? 

StrackaLine’s USGA-compliant Greens Guides offer a level of detail and accuracy not available anywhere else for the most precise green reading.

So if you're terrible at reading greens (like I am) or know a member who can use a boost on the greens, have them check out our Member Benefits page to learn more!

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