THE CULTURE OF OUR CLUB
By Verne Smutz, President
May 7, 2010

Every culture which survives over time has at least one thing in common.  The values of the culture are consciously taught to the younger generation by the elders.

So, what are the values of our Club which need to be passed along to the new members?  To focus on our Tournament Program, here are some broad statements with which most of us would agree:

We have a new member orientation program which helps new members get a start with the Club.  It is a 20-30 minute classroom session, and each person is given a copy of our New Member Manual.  But that isn’t enough.  Most of the veteran members play in our Wednesday Tournaments with their own special foursome of friends.  That leaves the new members being placed in the tournaments with each other.  So how do they learn what is expected of them in a tournament?  Who teaches them?

I am going to encourage our Board to develop a Golf Course component of our New Member Orientation.  This program will be designed to allow each new member an opportunity to play with a Board member, a past Board member, or senior committee official.  We might think of it as an “on the job” training program for tournament play.  The “instructor” will have an opportunity to talk with the new members about important rules of play, holing out putts, pace of play, waving up, and being waved up, filling divots, repairing ball marks, raking bunkers, and scorekeeping requirements.  Maybe we should also hold some “review” sessions for some of the veteran members.  J

The following paragraphs are from an article I wrote in January, 2009.  I think they bear repeating.

PRESERVING OUR TRADITIONS    (from an article written in January, 2009)  

Why doesn’t it just happen naturally?  In most societies the traditions of the culture are passed along from the elders to the youngsters, by careful teaching.  One of the things which I believe has developed in this Club is a lack of awareness of the need for this type of teaching.  As time goes by, we form a few close friendships and associate primarily with those individuals.  We play golf with the same 4 to 8 people on Monday, Friday, Saturday, and in recent years, also on Wednesday.  The new members are left to form their own friendships - primarily with other new members.  Then, when they have been in the Club for one or two years, we elect them to our Board of Directors.  Have you noticed that the new members being elected to our Board often have belonged to the Club for no more than a year?  Most of them do not even know the “old-timers”.  Is it surprising that they turn for advice and guidance to their own friends - among the other new members?  Is that why “cherished” traditions seem to just, disappear?

As senior members, if we abandon the field, don’t be surprised if the new members find their own answers - - develop their own traditions.  Bottom Line:  “There are no traditions unless we create an environment which ensures that valued customs will be preserved”.  It turns out that playing golf with the newer members is about more than meeting acquaintances and forming friendships.  It is also an essential element of the teaching process - a vitally important part of preserving the culture of our Club.