The Washington State Golf Association has announced the slate of sites for the 6th season of the popular WSGA Winter Series, which is once again being brought to you by Puetz Golf Superstores. The Winter Series consists of four tournaments, one per month from January through April, and with each being played in a different format.
The series will kick off with a tournament at Meridian Valley Country Club in Kent, Wash. on January 24. This tournament will be played in the individual Stableford format. This is a terrific opportunity to play this private country club, which has hosted a number of Washington State Opens in the past, and was the site of the LPGA Tour's Safeco Classic from 1982-1999. Meridian Valley was also the site of the 2013 WSGA Men's and Senior Men's Best-Ball Championships.
The second leg in the series will be a 2-Person Scramble held at the RMG Club at Oakbrook in Lakewood, Wash. on February 28. Oakbrook, one of three courses owned by Ryan Moore Golf, was the site of the 2013 U.S. Mid-Amateur Qualifier in August.
The Olympic Course at Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton, Wash. will host an Individual stroke play tournament on March 14. Consistently rated among the top public courses in the state of Washington, Gold Mountain holds an impressive list of awards, including being named one of the "Top 100 Courses You Can Play" by Golf Magazine in 1998 and 2006. It was also the site of the 2006 U.S. Amateur Public Links and the 2011 U.S. Junior Amateur Championships.
Rounding out the 2014 Winter Series will be a 2-Person Four-Ball (Best-Ball) tournament at White Horse Golf Club in Kingston, Wash. on April 18. White Horse was the site of the 2010 Washington State Men's Amateur, and will be the site of the 2014 WSGA Men's and Senior Men's Best-Ball Championships, to be held there on May 29-30.
Online entries are now available on the WSGA Winter Series webpage. The tournament series is open to men and women amateurs who are in good standing of a WSGA member club and have a USGA Handicap Index, provided by the GHIN service, not exceeding 36.4 for men and 40.4 for women. Formats include Stableford, Two-Person Scramble, Individual Stroke Play, and a Two-Person Four-Ball (Best-Ball). The four events will take place once a month from January through April.
The entry fee for each tournament will cover green fees, range balls, tee prizes, crystal awards and a $3,000 merchandise payout (based on a full field). The field will be broken into flights based on gender and handicap index, with gross and net prizes.
The "Winter Series Challenge" sponsored by Puetz Golf Superstores is back again in 2014. Contestants will receive participation points for every event they play in and points will be awarded to the top overall gross and net finishers in each tournament. A series-long points list will be kept online and after the final event $1,500 in Puetz Golf Superstores merchandise certificates will be distributed to the top men's and women's points finishers. Each contestant will also receive $10 in "Puetz Bucks" coupons for each event they participate in.
Created in 2009, the WSGA Winter Series offers yet another membership benefit, providing WSGA members of all playing abilities with the opportunity to compete during the winter months, prior to the commencement of the WSGA championship season.
