The New Members Guide:

You've received your welcoming letter, and got an email message that led you to this website, and found your way to this page. Hopefully the links on this page will be helpful in your understanding how the club works, and get you playing with us and enjoying it at least half as much as we do. If not, tell us how we can make it better.

About the Tournaments:

Mondays:
These are the weekly biggies, with attendance from 80 to 110, depending on the season and the weather. As you can see from the "Tournament Schedule" on the website Home Page, the format varies from week to week, sometimes with individual games, sometimes with games for twosomes or foursomes. Prizes are awarded in several flights, as well as Closest to the Pin payouts on two of the par three holes.
Wednesdays:
Attendance is much lighter on Wednesday, usually no more than a couple dozen players. The games are more limited, usually a simple Low Net, with only one Closest to the Pin prize. And the prizes are often awarded in only one, or at most two flights.

Making Tee Times:

Mondays:
Tee times are required for the Monday events, but making them is a long term process, and they only apply for foursomes. (Follow the Tee Times link above for more details). An individual can show up at the course and get on the Singles Standby List and wait for a spot, but that is an unreliable method, as the foursomes are motivated to show up with all of their players. Two other methods for Singles are preferred. The first is to get your name added to the Singles List, from which the foursomes are encouraged to contact willing Singles to fill out their groups when they will have absent players. The second and probably most effective is to contact the Pro Shop during the preceding week to see if any of the foursomes have called in to declare an opening in their group. They are required to do this by Friday evening, and any Single can put his name in any of those empty slots. It may take more than one call during the week to time it right with one of those spots opening up. Both of these methods will enable you to know exactly when you will be playing, so you won't have to waste any time waiting around, as you will have to do on the Singles Standby List.
Wednesdays:
No advanced tee times here, but first come, first served. A good way to meet and play with a variety of players, personalities, skill levels, and paces. Players start showing up about 6:30, with the first group going out at 7:30. These are the hard core players of the club.

Rules and Procedures:

Before the Round
Check in at the Pro Shop and pay your greens fees, plus $5 for the prize money fund. Provide the staff with the information about your tee time, your name, etc. Then go out toward the putting green and meet the Greeter of the day (only on Mondays) and sign in on the sign-up sheet (name and handicap). See how to fill out the scorecard for the game of the day (which is posted on the wall to the left of the door to the restrooms). If it is the first tournament of the month, be sure to check your handicap at the Greeter's table, as well as pick up any gift certificates you might have won in the previous month. Your group will be called to the tee.
Out on the Course
We swap scorecards with another member of the foursome. Make sure your Scorecard has the following: the date, your name, and your handicap. Read the official Rules and Procedures pages in the Club Info section of the website. One of them says "No 'Gimmies,' no 'Mulligans.'" We mean it. You are not finished with a hole until you putt the ball into the hole! Play "Ready Golf." See the Pace of Play page. And play Golden Rule Golf. Meaning replace your divots, fix those ball marks, rake all traces of your visits to any of the bunkers. We're proud of the improved condition of the course, and we all want to do our part to keep it getting better.
After the Round
Have your scorer sign your card, and then sign attesting the score . Make sure you have filled the score card completely with your initial and last name clearly legible and your current course handicap entered in the space provided. Then post your score on the computer, and drop the score card in the box next to the posting computer. Failure to do any of the above will result in disqualification. And failure to post your score will earn you a "low penalty score."

Pace of Play:

Shoreline Golf Links believes quite strongly that a reasonable pace of play is a key ingredient in a pleasurable golf experience. The term "reasonable" translates into that pace in which all foursomes play such that none of them are kept waiting to hit their shots while the group in front of them never has to wait. Or put another way, your place on the course is immediately behind the group in front of you, not immediately in front of the group behind you. A significant number of the Senior Club members also serve as Volunteer Marshals at the course, so they have a special sensitivity to slow play. This desire for a 4 hour round is most strongly felt by those with the earlier tee times, and as at most courses, the pace slows down as the day goes on. So if you find that your game prospers with a more "deliberate" pace, we strongly advise that you seek to play later in the morning. Ask any of the members who some of the marshals are, or ask the ones patroling the course if you need a brief lecture on the concept of "Ready Golf." It is the official game of the Shoreline Senior Mens Club. And a slow pace of play will make it that much harder for you to find a regular group.

Finding a Group:

This, along with breaking par, might be your biggest challenge with the Shoreline Seniors. It isn't that we are not a friendly bunch, but rather that the competition for tee times is rigorous. Unless you already know a group, the best method will be to gradually work your way into the swing of things by playing on Wednesdays and playing as a Single on Mondays. Those that are diligent about either or both of those, and who are personable, will soon find a niche. Be sure to read the Tee Times section, as we have recently adopted some new procedures aimed at rewarding the most diligent players with the best choice of tee times. Another option is to start a new group. You might band together with some other new players or some singles. The way the system is set up, if you can get four guys to show up each week for 8 weeks, you will be able to have your choice of tee times. Well, that is not quite true, as at the present time, there are roughly 15+ groups who have perfect attendance figures in front of you. The downside is during those initial 8 weeks, you will not be enjoying an early tee time. Hey, there are 28 other groups out there vying for those times, and you will have to demonstrate more diligence than some of them in order to displace them in the order. But that is what we reward, those players who put the most effort into supporting the club by playing in the Monday tournaments.

Getting Started:

We once tried something new to get our new members over the intitial hump, and that was to offer a couple of New Member starting times a couple of times a month. The notion was to set aside a group or two (depending on demand) that would have a host and three new members so you could get your feet wet, meet some other players, get your questions answered, and maybe even win some prize money. These were to be for the Monday Tournaments -- on Wednesdays anyone who shows up can play, as the rule is first come - first served until we have our 6 or 8 tee times filled. But no one ever took advantage of the offer, so that technique was abandoned. So the best current advice is to contact the Pro Shop in the week prior to a Monday event, and ask if there are any open times. Groups who will have a member absent are required to release that person's time by Friday before the event, so there are often 5-10 open time slots. If you strike out early in the week, try again later in the week, as many of the cancellations come just before the Friday deadline