October 18, 2002

Eagles Club

The first ever Bro Golf Club meeting was held Friday, October 18, 2002. In attendance were Houndy, Fro, Mae Mae, Kid, Chewby, Strokedogg, G-Man and Jake. Each member first secured a cocktail or two from the bar and the meeting was brought to order in the back card room. Most members passed on the $3 pot luck dinner being served up in the main dining room.

The purposes of BGC, its aim and mission, were described and agreed upon. The following actions/decisions were then taken:

• The Bylaws of the BGC, having been reviewed and approved by the General Counsel, were unanimously approved by the membership.

• The Board of Directors was unanimously approved.

• Additional cocktails were obtained.

• The issue of new members was discussed. The President stated his intention that the BRO Golf Club should be open to "Bros and people with whom more than one Bro has a reasonable and likely chance of golfing on a routine basis." Therefore, a member should not bring forth for membership a friend from work who’s looking to keep a handicap. All new members must be reviewed and approved by the Board of Directors. The idea was then put forth that perhaps the BGC should have two classes of memberships: "full members" and "handicap only" members. Handicap only members would fall outside of the category described above and would only be members for purposes of keeping a handicap (i.e., they would not attend meetings, be invited to tournaments, etc.). These members would be charged a fee above and beyond the $25 SCGA fee and the extra money would go toward the BGC operating budget. It was determined this idea should be tabled until more information on how much additional administrative hassle is involved for each new member.

• The controversial issue of female members was debated. Specifically, the issue of wives, girlfriends, and fiancés. It was decided to allow such members on a "handicap only" basis, but that in the proud tradition of August National, tournaments, meetings, and other functions would be male only.

• Given the heated nature of the previous issue, an additional round of cocktails was necessary before proceeding.

• The general approach for a tournament schedule was discussed. It was agreed that at least for the first year there will be two "Majors" in the BGC—one in the Spring and one in the Fall. The Majors will be considered mandatory tournaments and will be one-day events held locally to encourage full participation. One of the Majors will be the end of season BRO Golf Championships. The second Major will be a Ryder Cup format pitting half of the BRO Golf Club against the other half. The criteria for dividing the membership into two teams has yet to be determined—any suggestions from the membership will be welcome.

• In addition to the two Majors, various other BGC golf competitions will be held throughout the year, but will not be considered mandatory. Among those in the planning stage, is the BGC Kickoff Classic, to be hosted by Chewby at the PV Country Club in either December or January; and the Nato Invitational to be hosted by Nate in the Bay Area. In addition, team competitions in which the BGC plays against other clubs will be scheduled.

• It was agreed that to participate in any BGC event, the participant must be a BGC member with a valid index. It was noted that a minimum of five valid posted scores is necessary to have an index.

• More cocktails.

• The SCGA now allows internet posting of scores. This allows members to post scores via the internet in case they forget to post at the course. The club must inform the SCGA whether they will allow their members to post over the internet. The issue was voted on and it was decided to allow internet posting of BGC member scores on an interim basis. If any abuses of the system are found, this decision may be reconsidered.

• An informative discussion of the Index and Handicap system was held while at the same time additional cocktails were ordered. The difference between an "Index" and "Handicap" was described along with proper Equitable Stroke Control. All members are expected to be educated on these issues.

• The meeting was adjourned and most of the membership headed to Critter’s for additional cocktails.