Happy Holidays from Interbay Golf Club! We are grateful for all of our members, and wish you and yours a wonderful holiday season!
As we pass by the shortest day of the year and head into the new year, we wanted to celebrate a great season for both our Men’s and Women’s leagues, and share some exciting news for 2024!
Firstly, congratulations to Bo Lewis and his promotion to General Manager at Jackson Park as of February! A remarkable ascent for former League member to Head Pro and now GM. Premier/Troon Golf will identify a Head Pro replacement as soon as possible, and while we’ll miss Bo at Interbay, we’re very excited for his next great opportunity!
Additionally, we welcome Serafine Parrish as Assistant Golf Manager to the team. Serafine joins us from California where she most recently was working at Callaway Golf. She will be working alongside Josh Scothorn (our General Manager) and helping in all facets of the facility operations, including our social media channels. Welcome to the team Serafine!
2023 has been an amazing year for our membership, growing to over 625 members. That’s a 75% increase from where we were just a couple of years ago – with our women’s league jumping by an incredible 380% since 2021, becoming one of the Top 10 in the state!
This growth has been great for the club – more people means more chances to meet new golf friends. However, it also means that we have to work harder to make sure that we communicate with (and hear from) all of you, so we can keep the great Interbay club vibes going. This is a big focus of the club now and into next year, so expect to see a lot more communications from the club to keep you posted on league news and updates, as well as your feedback on how the club can continue to improve.
Women’s League
With so many more women players for league night, we’ve worked out an agreement for next season to have Women’s League play on Wednesday. We want to celebrate the continued growth of the Women’s League by eliminating conflicts for league play with observed holidays.
Men’s League
Our new playing divisions (Gross, Net, and SuperNet) have increased the ability for all players to remain competitive in a division that offers them an equitable chance to win prize money. We’re planning on continuing this for 2024, with some modifications based on player feedback.
Finally, for both leagues, we’ve reviewed and updated our tiebreak algorithm. Tiebreaks will still be used for purse payouts, however, for the Season Points race, all ties will be awarded equally. This will help the Golf Shop remain efficient while rewarding Season Play with equal distribution.
World Handicap System
As you may have heard, as of January 1st, there are some significant revisions coming to the World Handicap System. This is the overall handicap governing system that we use to post our scores to GHIN. You’ll hear a lot more about the details of the changes as we head into the new year, but the most impactful change for us is that Interbay will finally have an official handicap slope and rating! The rating process has begun, and we expect to have more information to share prior to the start of the 2024 WA Golf posting season on March 1. Short story is that you’ll post all of your Interbay rounds in GHIN, just like you do for other 18 hole courses.
Club Operations
As we close out 2023, we are happy to report that the club (a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization) is in a very strong fiscal position, and well positioned to continue to serve our mission of developing programs, tournaments, and events to foster, coordinate, and conduct all matters of social, recreational, and athletic activities attendant to the game of golf, while promoting and fostering a spirit of cooperation and fellowship among members.
We are also pleased to announce that there will be no dues increases for the 2024 season. Additionally, WA Golf is eliminating their $5 transaction fee on online transactions, so you should end up paying less to be an Interbay member this year!
Other items
- Beverage Cart service – we are working with our Cafe team to see how we can continue to help your on-course hydration needs during league play.
- CPR Training – we’re very interested in sponsoring a CPR/AED training course at Interbay, and will send out a poll soon to gauge interest and timing.
- Trophy Plaques – we’re updating our trophy plaques to honor our champions and make space for future winners.
- Bylaws Review – we’re reviewing our bylaws to ensure they reflect our club’s evolving needs and standards.
Got ideas, feedback, or just want a chat? As always, the board is always open to your thoughts. Don’t hesitate to reach out – you can reach us at communications@interbaygolf.club
It was another fabulous year at The Bay! We appreciate all of you and look forward to seeing you in 2024!