NCGA Talking Points
General
- Founded 1901
- More than 160,000 individual members from 1,190 Member Clubs
- 392 Regular (green grass)
- 774 Associate
Newer Benefits, Discounts and Programs
The process has begun to obtain permits for a complete golf course and clubhouse renovation at Poppy Hills. Once the permit is submitted, the best case for approval would be the fall of 2011. The project is anticipated to start in February of 2013. The forestry report has been completed – the health of the forest is in decline meaning the project is not significantly detrimental to the health of existing trees. The archaeological report is complete with no anticipated disruption of preserved or known sites that would require protection.- New in 2011 – American Airlines: NCGA members can save 10% off their next trip for up to six people on American Airlines
- Fill Your Foursome promotion initiated during 2010 Annual Fall Renewal. Current members recruit three members new to the NCGA and receive a free foursome at Hills or Ridge
- New branding introduced in 2010. New NCGA, Foundation, Hills and Ridge logos unifying around the poppy (NCGA logo pictured right)
- Introductory membership program debuted in 2010; $36 rate created for new members, or lapsed members of three years or more. New members then funneled into existing clubs
- NCGA Member Advantage – Benefits and discounts at nearly 90 affiliated courses. The benefits include free lessons, discounted green fees and merchandise savings, preferred tee times and much more. Benefits and services vary by facility
- Complimentary lessons and clinics at Poppy Hills and Ridge and most of the more than 90 Member Advantage facilities.
- Free club fitting program at Hills and Ridge and many of the more than 90 Member Advantage facilities
- More than 25 NCGA Member Outings in 2011 at private clubs/resort courses such as Mayacama, TPC Stonebrae and Sonoma. Included on the schedule is the Pebble Beach/NCGA Members Invitational, a three-day event held over July 4th weekend at Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill and Poppy Hills
- Members are offered discounts to select hotels throughout the region, including Inns by the Sea’s nine properties, Larkspur Hotels and several properties on the Monterey Peninsula. View a complete list
- Pebble Beach gate fee waived: NCGA members playing at Poppy Hills enter 17 Mile Drive and the Pebble Beach area free of charge. As a further benefit, on the days NCGA members play Poppy Hills, Pebble Beach’s Peter Hay Course can be played for $10, a 50% savings
- Members now enjoy a 10% discount on shoes, bags (excluding Ping) and apparel at all Golf Marts, Roger Dunn and Van’s Golf Shops in Northern California
- Discounted tickets to select Warriors/Sharks games
- Free putter fitting and adjustment via Hot Styx in Palo Alto
Benefits and Services
USGA official Handicap Index – revision on the 1st and 15th of each month- Member rates at Poppy Hills and Poppy Ridge. Rates at Poppy Hills are nearly 75% less than the public green fee (which is already the lowest public green fee of any course in the Del Monte Forest). Poppy Ridge’s member green fees are 40% lower than the public rate
- Members receive a 20% discount on all merchandise at the award-winning Poppy Hills and Poppy Ridge golf shops and via the NCGA Online Store, and a 10% discount in the restaurants
- Handicap certification seminars. Each club must have at least one member on its roster who has attended a certification seminar. An online seminar was initiated in 2010
- Eight eClubs in major metro areas – official associate club designed to attract new members with an easy, online way to join. The eventual goal is to spin eClub members into regular and existing associate clubs
- eClubhouse – a new online club administrative tool that allows club officials to manage club information more efficiently. eClubhouse has an online payment option, supports broadcast e-mail and works seamlessly with the Tournament Pairing Program
- Assistant Superintendent Boot Camp, a program started in 2001, is offered to train future head golf course superintendents.
- Hole-in-One Sweepstakes: All members who have made a hole-in-one which has been reported to the NCGA receive a medal, their name on the website and are entered in a year-end prize drawing
- Course rating & measuring service – allows golfers to use their handicap anywhere they play
- Rules expertise – Rules of Golf seminars
- Education Department has developed programs to assist clubs:
- Seminars-to-go
- Forums for Regular/Associate Clubs
- Regional club representative meetings
Tournament Program
Tournament program – most comprehensive tournament program in the nation
- 350 tournament days/year (multiple events per day)
- 50 championships, including four women’s championships – Stroke Play, Net Amateur, Women’s Four-Ball Net encompassing all three Nor Cal associations and a Mixed Team
- Online registration for all events
- Net Score Database – created to store and analyze all net scores from NCGA competitions to ensure equitable handicapping. Four scores produced over a three-year window that exceed set odds trigger a handicap adjustment
- Began Junior Tour in 2008 to foster player development and provide more competitive opportunities for kids. Combined with Northern California PGA to form Junior Tour of Northern California in 2011
- State Amateur now moves to locations around the state. This began with Monterey Peninsula Country Club in 2007. Moving away from Pebble Beach allows the tournament to:
- Have stroke-play qualifying and match play at one location
- Maintain a better pace of play
- Take advantage of the breadth and quality of championship courses throughout the state
Website and NCGA Golf magazine
Quarterly NCGA Golf magazine including NCGA Golf Course Directory Edition – most comprehensive golf facility directory- Magazine reader survey statistics indicate NCGA Golf is the most popular golf magazine in the region – View complete stats
- Charity events page created in 2011 to promote worthy charity events in our area
- NCGA.org traffic has grown 30% in the last several years, receiving more than 5,500 visits per day
- Foundation debuted new website in 2011. The updated look and functionality focuses more on testimonials, photography and interactive features and now includes a section on donors
- NCGA Facebook/Twitter feeds offer greater interaction and promote member engagement. Foundation and Poppy Hills Facebook pages added in 2011
- The recently-renovated mobile site has a course directory where users can get directions to golf courses, a rules link to look up a ruling and users can post a score right from the parking lot with the post a score feature. The site is accessible via www.ncga.org on a mobile phone
- Online store created in late 2008, selling merchandise with all four corporate logos
Other Talking Points