Headline: A Record-Setting Season of Member Days Comes to a Close; Final Event of 2017 Held on October 24 at Pocasset Golf Club

For Immediate Release: October 24, 2017

The 21st and final Member Day event of the season was held on October 24th at Pocasset Golf Club.

Bourne, Mass. – As the Mass Golf calendar turns the page to 2018, many events within the organization are wrapping up their seasons, including the popular MGA Member Day program, which completed its record-breaking season this week at Pocasset Golf Club, where more than 100 golfers took to the links on Tuesday, October 24.

The one-day events, which are open to all Mass Golf members and provide an affordable, casual and fun atmosphere for all, while still providing tournament experience similar to the association’s 12 Championships Proper of the season, celebrated its most successful season to date – with many records broken since the season opener on May 1 at Twin Hills Country Club.

Since then, the program has seen a record 21 Member Day events held across the Bay State, a 50 percent increase from a year ago. In addition, the program welcomed a record 1,960 competitors – an increase of more than 700 participants from 2016.

This past year also marked the first time in the seven years of the program that two double shotgun tournaments were held at both The Cape Club in Falmouth and at The Cape Club of Sharon.

The Member Day at Cape Cod National Golf Club, held on October 16, also attracted a record 479 individual entries for 1,317 cumulative spots – the most the program has ever seen for a single event.

All the new milestones are a welcome sign to new Manager of Member Events and Services, Drew Rosen, who is completing his first year spearheading the program.

“The Member Services department and the entire organization saw significant growth in the area of our Member Day program because we were able to shape the program to the wants and needs of our golfers,” said Rosen. “By offering golfers the opportunity to compete at some of the area’s top courses, we were able to establish a platform for which we hope to build on in years to come.”

With support from club staff and memberships, the Member Service Department was able to secure some of the Bay State’s top spots, including more than half dozen courses who welcomed the program to their club for the first time.

“With the MGA Member Day program still on the incline, we’ve been able to get more and more clubs to open up their sites and welcome golfers who might not otherwise be able to play there,” explained Rosen in regards to the continued increase in the program. “By showing the benefits that an Member Club receives for hosting the one-day program, we were able to demonstrate how this becomes a win-win for all involved. Many have expressed interest in bringing back the program to their clubs in 2018 and beyond."

While there are some elements of tournament that remain the same from day to day, the opportunity to vary the format from tee times and shotguns is an added bonus that appealed to clubs and golfers alike during the 2017 campaign.

In addition to seeking increased Member Day events in 2018, the Member Services Department has announced initial plans to increase the number of divisions for each Member Day event, which in turn will increase the number of the winners from each Member Day outing.

In 2017 and in years past, the program has awarded the lowest scorers in both the men’s gross and net divisions, which played at 6,000 yards, and the women’s gross and net divisions, which played at 5,000 yards. Winners of each division received pro shop credit at each respective club.

Rosen said that plans are in place to open divisions so that all competitors can have the option to play a shorter or longer course, while a third division that plays at roughly 5,500 yards will also be added to the 2018 docket. All changes reflect the feedback that golfers provide following their round.

Although the MGA Member Day program will see some new changes to its lineup in the current year, changes to the program aren’t the only thing that will be of focus going forward for the Member Services department.

As a result of the impending merger between the Massachusetts Golf Association and the Women’s Golf Association of Massachusetts, becoming official on January 1, 2018, many of the single-day tournaments previously hosted by the WGAM will fall under the organization of the Member Services department, while five of the major championships previously hosted by the WGAM will fall under the leadership of the MGA Championship department.  

For more information on the work of the MGA Member Services Department and the popular MGA Member Day program, visit mgalinks.org.