President's Report

PNW PGA Professionals,

Many of us welcome the winter weather with open arms.  As life starts to slow down, I would like to challenge each of you to devote some time to yourself.  It is often said that golf professionals are humble individuals with servants’ hearts.  Many of us spend the entire golf season doing things for others.  I hope you all can take some time during your off-season to reconnect to your family, your friends and yourself!

The PNW Pro-Amateur Championship was contested on October 3^rd and 4^th at Pronghorn resort in beautiful Bend, Oregon.  The weather was perfect and the scores showed.  Congrats to the team of Derek Berg and John D’Amelio for their victory.  Thanks to PGA Professional Jerrel Grow and the Pronghorn Resort for their hospitality.

The 71^st Hudson Cup matches took place at Arrowhead Golf Club in Mollala Oregon on October 17^th and 18^th.  The matches ended up in a tie for the second consecutive year while the senior amateurs beat the senior professionals 10 ½ and 9 1/2.  The Charles Congdon Award (voted on by the professional team) went to Robbie Ziegler (am) and The Larry Lamberger Award (voted on by the amateur team) went to Brian Thornton (pro).  In the Senior Matches, the Bill Eggers Award went to Tom Brandes (am) and the Bob McKendrick Award went to Brent Murray (pro).  Thank you to Captain John Kawasoe and Senior Captain Mark Keating for rallying their respective troops and to Arrowhead for hosting this prestigious event.  Special thanks to Arrowhead Golf Club, PGA Professional Rob Gibbons and the entire Fisher family for their support of the event.

Your section officers and chapter presidents are headed to the national meeting of the PGA in early November.  Two resolutions will be voted on and discussions will be had regarding the PGA rocker.  Our job is to represent the PNW PGA and, more importantly, make decisions that will grow the game of golf and serve the member.

Your section board will gather in early December for our annual winter planning meeting.  During these two days we use our mission statement as a guide as we develop our 2020 budget and business plan.  I want to personally thank all chapter and section board members for their service and dedication.  If you are interested in serving your chapter or section, please reach out to your chapter president in the coming months.

The 2020 tournament schedule is on the section website. I challenge each of you to start thinking about your playing schedule. Now is the time to start scheduling time to play in a 2020 chapter or section event.

Best,

Sean Fredrickson
Head PGA Professional – Oswego Lake Country Club
PNW PGA President
Callaway Master Staff Professional

Tips on Learning the New Rules of Golf

Tip #11: Rule 7.1: How to Fairly Search for Ball

Molly Cooper, Certified PGA Professional
Director of Tournament & Member Programs

Welcome back to our monthly Rules article to help guide you to a successful 2019 season and beyond. I can’t believe it is winter already! The Section staff is hard at work on the 2020 season.

I chose my eleventh topic to discuss 7.1: How to Fairly Search for Ball, as we have experienced some questions on this rule during Section events over the years. There are some misconceptions/confusion people have on this rule.

Rule 7.1: How to Fairly Search for Ball

7.1a. Player May Take Reasonable Actions to Find and Identify Ball

A player is responsible for finding his or her ball.

The player may fairly search for the ball by taking reasonable actions to find and identify it, such as:

• Moving sand and water, and
• Moving or bending grass, bushes, tree branches and other growing or attached natural objects, and also breaking such objects, but only if such breaking is a result of other reasonable actions taken to find or identify the ball.

If taking such reasonable actions as part of a fair search improves: the conditions affecting the stroke:

• There is no penalty under Rule 8.1a if the improvement: results from a fair search.
• But if the improvement results from actions that exceeded what was reasonable for a fair search, the player gets the general penalty for breach of Rule 8.1a.

In trying to find and identify the ball, the player may remove loose impediments as allowed in Rule 15.1 and may remove movable obstructions are allowed in Rule 15.2.

Actions that are considered unlikely to be considered reasonable to be part of fairly searching for your ball include (and will likely result in the general penalty if there is evidence of an improvement to conditions that affect the stroke):

• Taking an action to flatten areas of grass beyond what is reasonably necessary to walk through or search for the ball in the area where the ball is thought to lie;
• Purposely removing any growing thing from the ground; or
• Breaking a tree branch to allow easier access to the ball when it could have been reached without doing so.

When in doubt, play two balls under Rule 20.1 and make sure to tell the Committee before you turn in your scorecard what you did so they can determine the proper score for the round!

To continue learning more about the new Rules of Golf, go to www.usga.org.

Please download the new Rules of Golf App on your phone. I cannot stress how convenient it is and how easy it is to use. The search engine on the App is amazing! You just type in what you are looking for and you immediately have the answer at your fingertips.

Let me know if you have any questions!

71st Hudson Cup and 28th Senior Hudson Cup Matches

By Molly Cooper, PGA - Director of Tournament and Member Programs

The 71^st Hudson Cup and 28^th Senior Hudson Cup Matches were an amazing week at Arrowhead GC in Molalla, OR. After the first day of the Hudson Cup Matches, the amateur team had a narrow lead with 5 ½ points to the professional team’s 4 ½ points. The Senior Hudson Cup matches went into the final round with the professionals leading 4 ½ to 5 ½ points. Going into the singles matches on Friday, the matches were still up for grabs.

As the Hudson Cup matches progressed in the single matches, many matches kept flipping back and forth between the professionals and the amateurs. When the end results were posted, the professionals and amateurs tied (with the professionals retaining the cup after winning the matches in 2017 and tying the matches last year).

“The 71st Hudson Cup Matches were very competitive... but in the end the Professionals had the moxie to pull out the final 3 matches to earn the tie and retain the cup,” said Professional Team Captain, John Kawasoe.

In the 28^th Senior Hudson Cup Matches, the amateurs bested the professional team with a narrow win of 10 ½ to 9 ½ points after the last putt was holed.

“There was so much back and forth during the round.  As it came down literally to the final two putts, I really got my money's worth,” said Senior Professional Team Captain, Mark Keating.

The illustrious event pitted 10 of the best amateur and senior amateur players from Washington and Oregon against the top 10 Pacific Northwest Section PGA professionals and senior professionals. Each player competed in three matches during the two-day Ryder Cup-style competition, including a foursome match, a four-ball match, and a singles match.

We had five players undefeated this year. Congratulations to PGA Professional Brian Thornton of Meridian Valley CC, PGA Professional Brent Murray of Oswego Lake CC, amateur Reid Hatley of Hayden Lake CC, amateur Robbie Ziegler of RedTail GC and amateur Tom Brandes of Glendale CC.

Congratulations also to the award winners this year for their spectacular play! The 55^th Chuck Congdon Award went to Robbie Ziegler; the 45^th Larry Lamberger Award was presented to Brian Thornton. In the Senior Matches, the 28^th Bill Eggers Award was won by Tom Brandes and Brent Murray was bestowed the 28^th Bob McKendrick Award. The awards are presented to the outstanding player on each team as decided by votes of the members of the opposite team. They honor Chuck Congdon, Larry Lamberger, Bob McKendrick and Bill Eggers, four great players with outstanding Hudson Cup records.

Thanks to the captains John Kawasoe, Mark Keating, Scott Hval and Gay Davis for their part in making this year such an exciting and historical event! The PNW PGA would also like to thank the entire staff at Arrowhead GC, headed by General Manager Bryce Fisher, Director of Golf Robert Fisher and Head PGA Professional Rob Gibbons, for rolling out the red carpet to our 40 Hudson Cup participants.

Kass and Johnson Win PNW Pro-Vendor Invitational

2020 Tournament Schedule

Assistant Player of the Year Points

1. Colin Inglis - 587.5

2. Ryan Malby - 517.5

3. Shane Prante - 492

OMEGA Player of the Year Points - FINAL

1. Russell Grove - 480

2. Derek Berg - 470

3. Corey Prugh - 417.5

OMEGA Senior Player of the Year Points - FINAL

1. Jeff Coston - 542.5

2. Joe Carranza - 405

3. Tom Sovay - 290

Holk's Highlights: John Kawasoe & Mark Keating

This month we interview John Kawasoe and Mark Keating, the captains of the 2019 Professional Hudson Cup teams.

John Kawasoe

Facility: Astoria G&CC

Hometown: Gearhart, Oregon

PGA Member Since: 1998

Hudson Cup teams: 1991, 1998, 1999

Hudson Cup awards won: 24^th Larry Lamberger Award (1998)

Favorite Hudson Cup moment?

From all four matches I’ve been part of there is one common theme: camaraderie.  Each of the four matches I’ve made friends with players that have lasted a lifetime.  With golf being an individual sport, I think it’s great for the players and captains to come together to support each other through victory and defeat.  The Hudson Cup matches are the greatest experience a PNW golfer can have.

Mark Keating

Facility: OGA Golf Course

Hometown: Moscow, Idaho… home of the Moscow Bears and the Idaho Vandals.

PGA member since: 1987

Hudson Cup teams: 1991, 1996

Senior Hudson Cup teams: 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017

Hudson Cup awards won: 21^st Bob McKendrick Award (2012)

Favorite Hudson Cup moment?

My favorite Hudson Cup memory is from 1991 when I got to play alongside longtime friend Doug Hixson and against longtime friend John Kawasoe. John had a tough run in the foursomes and fourball as I drew very strong partners in Chris Mitchell and Doug Campbell.  I was using the Wilson Whale driver at the time and it was working nicely that day.  As we neared closing out John and his partner in the fourball, I filled my mouth with water prior to teeing off and when the shot was on it’s way, I spewed the water into the air exclaiming, “The Whale has spouted!”  We all laughed.

Pros on the Move

by Robin Lindsey, Tournament & Membership Coordinator

Employment Changes

• Russell E. Einspahr, PGA (A-8) - from Mount Si GC to Snoqualmie Falls GC
• Thomas A. Kollasch, PGA (A-9) - from Northwest Golf Range to Fircrest GC
• Brian L. Weaver, PGA (A-4) - from McNary GC to RedTail Golf Center
• Eric E. Stevens (B-8) - from West Seattle GC to Interbay Golf Center

Class Changes

• (none)

New Associates

• Ryan K. Byrne (B-8) - Whidbey G&CC
• Logan S. Moses (B-8) - Royal Oaks CC
• Joshua D. Starr (B-8) - Tokatee GC
• Trevin A. Williams (B-1) - Loomis Trail GC

Newly Elected Members

• Richard W. Olson, PGA (A-8) - Mill Creek CC

Transfers INTO the Section

• Jennifer L. Dolph, PGA (A-13) to Twin Lakes Village GC from Georgia Section
• Eliot R. Gouveia, PGA (A-8) to Tetherow GC from Aloha Section

Transfers OUT of the Section

• Jordan L. Benoit, PGA - from Rock Creek Cattle Co. to N.California Section
• Andrew J. Lettrich, PGA - from Glacier View GC to Philadelphia Section
• Robyn L Lorain, PGA - from Willamette Valley CC to Southwest Section
• Tyler A. Martin, PGA - from Village Greens GC to Southwest Section
• Ty J. Stephenson - from University of Idaho GC to Rocky Mountain Section

New Quarter Century Members

• Ralph Lotspeich, PGA

Deceased Members

• Bob Aliment, PGA - read obituary

Social Security and Non-Working Spouses

Blake Parrish, CFP®

“Relax? How can anybody relax and play golf?  You have to grip the club, don’t you?” – Ben Hogan

• Social Security rules favor one-income households
• A beneficiary is entitled to the larger of their own benefit or one-half of their spouse’s benefit

We often get asked by clients how to maximize Social Security benefits based on the ages and relative retirement benefits of each spouse in a dual-income couple relationship, which is a typical client profile today.  But for much of Social Security’s 84-year history, one breadwinner families with a stay at home spouse were the norm, and the program’s benefit structure still favors this style family.

"Certified Financial Planner Boardof Standards Inc. owns the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, CFP® (with plaque design) and CFP® (with flame design) in the U.S., which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements."