Sunday, FEB. 11, 2024
***WINTER MEETING RESULTS***
~NEW SEASON SET TO GO WITH NEW ADDITIONS~
The annual MGA/STATracker Board of Directors meeting was held this past Wednesday, and it was a lengthy one as the board wanted to insure a fantabulous upcoming 2024 golf season here at the Harbour Pointe Golf Club.
MGA president DAVE LANGE led the way and organized a great meeting.
A report by Treasurer JIM ROBINSON displayed that the organization enters the new season on solid ground.
Dues to join the MGA will remain at $30 for the year. Be sure to get with Mr. Robinson at the upcoming general meeting, if you need to make that payment. Also at the meeting, as an observer, is this year’s MGA Vice Presidential candidate, JOHNNY HARRELL. Mr. Harrell brings to the table a wealth of knowledge on the game of golf. It is anticipated that he will be officially elected at the upcoming general meeting which will be held at the HPGC/The Pointe restaurant some time in the second half of February. As soon as that is set up, the date for that general membership meeting will be announced.
And now for some of the other results and new additions for the 2024 season, that were hammered out at the meeting…
The MGA/STATracker season (which also includes the Bald Eagles) will commence its season on Friday, March 1st.
That first round will be a Bald Eagles team event. The MGA has scheduled 17 tournaments for the 2024 season.
The first MGA tourney will be on Wednesday, March 13th… with the annual team net event, the FROSTBITE OPEN.
The full schedule will be handed out at the general meeting later this month.
The first of 5 luncheons scheduled during the season, will follow the Frostbite OPEN. As always, on the Wednesdays, when there isn’t an official MGA tournament, the MGA playdate individual round will be available for participation.
As in the past 3 seasons, all achievements by players during any sanctioned MGA or Bald Eagles round, receive points as listed in the STATracker Outline… and by achievements, that is birdies, holeouts, sandies, 1st, 2nd or 3rd place finishes, etc. For the 2024 season 4 new events will give players additional chances to gain points in the races for the HARBOUR CUP and the TOURNAMENTS Champion Cup.
STATracker is proud to announce the addition of 4 new tournaments to its compilation. These 4 tournaments will be sanctioned by the HPGC itself! The four new tournaments are; The MEMBER-MEMBER tourney scheduled for April 21, the HPGC Club Championship (which will be considered a “major”) scheduled for July 20th & 21st, the HPGC MATCH PLAY (again, considered a “major,”) which is played during the months of August and September, and the MEMBER-GUEST scheduled for October 12th & 13th. Players participating in these events will receive STATracker points for all their reported achievements. In addition, extra points will be awarded per achievement as well as substantial points for placing 1st 2nd or 3rd in these special tournaments.
AND… speaking of achievements… a new category will be added starting in the 2024 season. This new category will be for the achievement that has been named, the “WETpar.” All will be explained at the general meeting.
STATracker Central’s next report will be its annual Pre-Season Preview. There’ll be picks, pans, projections and predictions for the 2024 season. So, keep a look out for that… it’ll be fun.
….Coming up
GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING IN FEBRUARY (tba)
***SEASON 4 SET TO OPEN***
~NEW SEASON FEATURES EXPANSION AND NEW OPPORTUNITIES~
STATracker’s fourth season at HPGC is set to open this coming Friday, March 1st, and with it comes some exciting new additions as the program continues to evolve. This year, the season opens on a Friday so the first round of the season will be a Bald Eagles team event.
As indicated, this season will include some additions to its scope. Starting in 2024, participating players will be able to gain STATracker points for their achievements not only in the Monday-Wed-Friday rounds each week from March 1 to October 30, but also in 4 events sponsored by the HPGC itself. These 4 additional events will be played on weekend dates with 2 of the 4 new events being 2-day tournaments. The 4 new tournament STATracker opporturnity events are as follows… the Member-Member on April 21st, the HPGC Club Championship on July 20 & 21, the HPGC Match Play Championship which typically begins in August and wraps up sometime in late September and finally, the Member-Guest on October 12 & 13.
The big news about these 4 new events is that players will earn their usual points for birdies, holeouts. sandies, etc., that they achieve during these rounds plus big points for finishing 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in the tourney. Then, on top of that, extra points will be awarded for each achievement during the tournament. This construct becomes a “won’t-want-to-miss” chance for the STATracker race for the Harbour Cup. Points earned during these tournaments are awarded in both the Combined standings and the Tournaments Standings. In this way, players who opt to play only in MGA events on Wednesdays and these new weekend tourneys, will still have a great chance of gaining a spot in the coveted end of the season STATracker Playoffs Championship. More on this will be delved into at the upcoming general meeting.
And now for STATracker Central’s season preview…
Of course, with the addition of the new tournaments to be included in the STATracker season, participation in those events will most likely make a difference in what happens come season’s end, however, we can still talk about some of the most likely projections or possibilities for this upcoming season. First question, can STAN KOONCE top what he did last season with his record-breaking 1470 points in 2023. Anything is possible… if Koonce plays in the new HPGC tourneys, it is very possible. He’ll still be bringing a great set of skills to the course each time out. The other big gun that can’t be ignored is PAUL CORMIER. This reporter has had the privilege to play a few times in the off season with last year’s MGA champ, and his game looks to be back in top form once again. Last season’s Tournaments Champion, MARK CARMICHAEL, will still be a formidable player. Carmichael is the only player to score over 1000 points in each of his 3 seasons. He continues to work hard at his game. One can always find him out on the range or on the practice putting green, in between rounds. Rounding out last year’s top foursome is JOE PILLOW. Pillow’s game has always been one of the most consistent. In 2023, his game was evolving to an even greater level of play before a sudden back injury. He was about to win the HPGC Match Play Championship after vanquishing every opponent for two months. In his final duel with rookie sensation JOHNNY HARRELL, is when Pillow got hurt. Pillow will be a force to deal with once again in 2024.
AND… speaking of Johnny Harrell…
Harrell burst onto the scene last year and finished with a top-ten ranking at #9. The talk around the water cooler here at the STATracker Central offices is that Harrell has been dubbed this year’s “dark horse.” He brings a game that features big hits off the tee, very controlled approach shots and accurate putting. He makes very few errors. Notwithstanding Pillow’s injury in their showdown for the Match-Play championship, Harrell had also ripped through all of his opponents. Other players to watch out for this season whose games are evolving are defending BCO champ BOB REIVIK, 2-time major winner MARK NOLAN, and defending STATracker Playoffs champ, KEN PLANTIN.