Women's Golf Association

Overview

The La Cumbre Women’s Golf Association (WGA) is the most active women’s golf group in the Santa Barbara area. The WGA Tuesday play day is always well attended with between 30 and 40 women teeing off at the 8:30 AM shotgun. The WGA also conducts the Women’s Club Championship, Women’s Senior Club Championship and two other major member-member tournaments. The yearly, two-day Member-Guest tournament and monthly Guest Days are also organized by the WGA.


The WGA is governed by a Board of eleven voting members. Another 25 members volunteer their time to plan and run the many WGA activities throughout the year. In addition, many of the WGA members willingly contribute time and leadership to the La Cumbre Board and its club-level committees.


New members are welcome to join the WGA at any time throughout the year. The WGA’s Hospitality Chair is the point of contact for joining the WGA. The Hospitality Chair also manages the WGA’s “Big Sister” program that assigns an experienced member to assist a new member with the ins-and-outs of becoming active in the WGA.

President: Chris Portney

Tournament Chair: Elaine Laustsen

Handicap Chair: Noel Lucky-Ris

Secretary: Roberta Collier

Treasurer: Chriss Zubas

Hospitality: MJ Baumgartner

Communications

The WGA makes it a priority to communicate with its members. The WGA’s Communications Chair uses six ways to publicize its many activities.


  • The “WGA NEWS” heading under Golf/Associations/Women’s Golf Association on the La Cumbre Website provides up-to-date information about the WGA’s events.
  • The WGA Communication Chair emails to the WGA membership an informative monthly newsletter about recent and upcoming WGA activities. Subscribe
  • The WGA makes extensive use of the Tee Times and Events sign-up on the La Cumbre Website –  Tee Times Reservation - For each WGA Event there is an entry with information about the date, format, and cost.
  • The fourth way to remain current on WGA activities is to check the women’s locker room bulletin board and round table for tournament announcements.
  • The “DIVOT” is a monthly magazine published by the club. It can be accessed through the La Cumbre Website. The DIVOT contains results of recent tournaments and information about future WGA activities. Read The Divot
  • The Calendar with the latest of WGA Tournaments & Events, see below.


WGA Calendar

WGA News

See the Divot and tournament results for the latest updates.
- Nancy Falberg, Communications Chair

History

The WGA has been an important part of La Cumbre’s golfing history since the course re-opened in November 1957. The first Tuesday play day occurred on 3 December of that year. Four months later the WGA conducted its first Guest Day. The WGA has conducted the Women's Club Championship since 1958.

More recent events include a name change from “Women’s Golf Auxiliary’ to ‘Women’s Golf Association” in 2004. The more forward Green Tees were added in 2012. In 2013 the “Red Tees” became the “gender neutral” “Gold Tees”. The Gold/Green Combos tees were identified and a new scorecard with all tees and combo tees was produced.

Past WGA Chairs

Year Name Year Name
Feb 2021 Chris Portney 1988-1990 Gladys Feldman
Jan 2021 Karen Anne Platt 1986-1988 Margaret Zimmerman
2019 / 2020 Annetta Patrick 1984-1986 Ann Marie Yanover
1982-1984 Charlotte Schultze
2017-2018 Lee Drummy 1981-1982 Betty Williams
2015-2016 Kathy Keller 1979-1981 Marie Rey
2013-2014 Chriss Zubas 1977-1979 Margo Console
2011-2012 Sue Vincent 1976-1977 Virginia Shapin
2009-2010 Cynthia Krueger 1975-1976 Georgiana Nammack
2007-2008 June Brusse 1974-1975 Mary Shirvanian
2005-2006 Nancy Falberg 1973-1974 Marge Pierce
2003-2004 Sally Smith 1972-1973 Elizabeth Levy
2002 Nancy Sakurai 1970-1972 Helen Gorton
2001 Jane Atwater 1968-1970 Virginia Stoney
1999-2000 Beverly Mester 1966-1968 Jane Woggon
1998-1999 Joyce Donald 1965-1966 Gloria Johnson
1996-1997 Ann Marie Yanover 1964-1965 Lee Moser
1995-1996 Cheryl Wright 1962-1964 Virginia Stoney
1994-1995 Nancy Sakurai 1960-1962 Patricia Manchester
1992-1994 Nina Faye Podlesny 1957-1960 Hazel Neilson
1990-1992 Marge Pierce

 Past Club Champions

Year Name Year Name
2021 Noel Lucky Ris 1981-1982 Peggy Timmons
2016-2020 Sue Wilcox 1979-1980 Janet Partie
2015 Karen Anne Platt 1978 Peggy Timmons
2011-2014 Sue Wilcox 1977 Myrte Ferris
2010 Kathy Keller 1976 Delia Forte
2009 Kelley Slaught 1975 Bonnie Orr
2008 Allison Dittman 1974 Delia Forte
1998-2007 Cynthia Navis 1973 Peggy Timmons
1997 Patsy Downing 1972 Betty Rabe
1996 Cheryl Jackson 1971 Peggy Timmons
1995 Kelley Slaught 1969-1970 Helen Gorton
1992-1994 Cheryl Jackson 1967-1968 Peggy Timmons
1991 Melody Levy 1966 Marie Falzone
1988-1990 Patsy Downing 1964-1965 Peggy Timmons
1986-1987 Nina Faye Podlesny 1963 Pat Sartorius
1985 Dusty Parish 1960-1962 Peggy Timmons
1984 Marge Pierce 1959 June Clark
1983 Janet Partie 1958 Hazel Nielsen

Major Tournaments

The WGA conducts four major tournaments every year. The Club Championship and Senior Club Championship are individual gross competitions. The Better Ball of Partners Tournament and the President’s Partners Cup Tournament are member-member net tournaments. Funding for prizes for the Club Championship, the Better Ball of Partners Tournament, and the President’s Partners Cup Tournament is provided from the WGA annual dues. The Senior Club Championship is funded by a fee charged to its participants. Each tournament is directed by a specific tournament chair and overseen by the WGA Board.

The WGA Club Championship determines the Women’s Club Champion. It is a gross competition that has been conducted since 1958. To be eligible to compete in the Club Championship, the player must be a WGA member in good standing with a verified current handicap based on twenty 18-hole rounds and must have played 10 home games with another WGA member during the 12-month period ending the Tuesday before the Tournament begins. 


Flighted competition is also part of the Club Championship with prizes awarded in each flight. Prizes for this tournament are funded by the WGA annual dues. The handicap limit for the flighted competition is 36.


The tournament consists of 3 days of either stroke or match play. A ‘seeding’ or ‘qualifying’ round may precede the tournament. In stroke play, ties for Champion are broken with a sudden death playoff and ties for others are broken by a back nine card-off using the scorecard of each player’s lowest score. In match play, matches continue until there is a winner. 


The Club Champion’s name is engraved on the perpetual trophy. Prizes determined by the Tournament Chair are awarded in each flight. The Club Champion and runner-up are eligible to compete in the SCGA-sponsored Tournament of Champions conducted in November. 

This annual tournament is named in honor of Dr. Georgiana Nammack, a charter member of the La Cumbre Women’s Golf Association. Georgiana Nammack donated the perpetual trophy bearing her name.

To be eligible to compete in the Senior Club Championship, a player must be a WGA member and be 65 years or older. She must have played a minimum of ten (10) home games with another Association member during the twelve (12) month period prior to the event. Competitors age 80 and over are allowed to compete at full handicap. Competitors under 80  play to a maximum handicap of 36. The Senior Club Championship Tournament Chair determines which set of tees to be used. A shotgun start is used for this tournament with a festive lunch following play. 


A fee is charged to each participant for prizes and lunch. This is a gross and net one-day tournament. The tournament is flighted based on the players’ ages: the flights are Silver, Gold, and Platinum.


The overall low gross score across the field determines the Senior Club Champion and her name is engraved on the perpetual trophy. The lowest net and gross scores in each flight determine the net and gross winners of that flight.


In the event of a tie for overall low gross, there will be a playoff, with the starting hole designated by the golf shop. Handicap Indexes are used in order to remove the possibilities of ties. 

The Better-Ball of Partners is a member-member tournament usually played in August. It is a net tournament played in a foursomes (better-ball) match play format.  It is usually a single elimination tournament, with the losers of each round being eliminated. There are four rounds in the tournament; scheduled for a Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Tuesday. 

  

The WGA Annual Dues fund the prizes for this tournament.  There is a perpetual trophy on which the winners’ names are engraved.  This tournament has been conducted since 1988. 


Each team is composed of two WGA members.  The partners’ handicaps must be within 10 strokes of each other.  If the higher handicap is more than 10 strokes, the higher-handicapped player’s handicap is reduced to be within 10 strokes of the lower-handicapped player. The tournament is played at 100% of handicap with a maximum Handicap of 36. 


The match play pairings are determined by a numerical draw that ranks each team based on the sum of the team’s handicaps. Each match starts on the first tee with an assigned tee time. The match winner advances to the next round. If there is no consolation flight, there is a play-off on the fourth day for third and fourth place.

This tournament is played in honor of the WGA’s Chair.  It is usually scheduled for play in October.  It is a member-member tournament that is played over three days using a different format each day. The WGA Annual Dues fund the prizes for this tournament.  There is a perpetual trophy on which the overall winners’ names are engraved.  This is a net-only tournament and is flighted. 


Each team is composed of two WGA members. The partners’ handicaps must be within 10 strokes of each other.  If the higher handicap is more than 10 strokes, the higher-handicapped player’s handicap is reduced to be within 10 strokes of the lower-handicapped player. The tournament is played at 100% of handicap with a maximum handicap of 36. 


The President’s Partners Cup Tournament Chair determines the order in which the three formats played.  Usually, the formats are played in the following order: Day 1–Texas Scramble, Day 2–Modified Chapman (alternate shot), and Day 3–Better Ball of Partners. 

Team Play

WGA members have the opportunity to participate in three types of women’s team play: Inter-city team, SCGA team, and Summer team. The Team Captain, a voting member of the WGA board, manages the Inter-Club and SCGA teams. The Summer Team Captain, who manages the Summer team’s matches, is also a voting member of the WGA Board.

The purpose of Inter-Club Team Play is to provide the women of Birnam Wood Golf Club, La Cumbre Country Club, The Montecito Club, and The Valley Club of Montecito the opportunity to compete in match play for the Santa Barbara Inter-Club Gross and Net Championships. The matches are conducted in an atmosphere conducive to establishing and maintaining women's golfing friendships between the four clubs. Inter-club Team Play is also a good introduction to team play before joining in the more competitive SCGA Team Play matches.


Team Play Format: Each club hosts one team play event per year. The year's first three events are team matches. Two team matches are played on a team match date. For example, at a team play event hosted by Team A: Team A plays Team B, Team C plays Team D.


The year's last team event is a "Play Day". The purpose of Play Day is to have a social event with a mixture of players from all clubs and to recognize the winning clubs for the year's match play competitions. The club hosting Play Day determines the format for that day's competition, including whether the field is flighted, and the composition of each four-person team. Each four-person team has a player from each club.


The rotation for hosting team matches and Play Day has been made so that in every four-year cycle a club hosts three team matches and one Play Day. The assignments of the competing teams for each team’s match have been made so that the club playing a match against the host club changes every year. Also, a club plays only one match against a host club per year. The club hosting Play Day does not play a match against a host club.


Match Format: For each match, each club fields five two-person teams (ten players) plus one alternate two-person team.  A player's current month’s index is used unless the match falls within a three-day period of the index change date, at which point, the prior index is used.  


Scoring: For each gross match, 1 gross match point is awarded to the winning club. For each net match, 1 net match point is awarded to the winning club. If a match is tied (halved), each club is awarded 1/2 match point (net or gross). Each club has the potential for 5 gross match points and 5 net match points for each club-to-club match. For a club-to-club match, the club with the highest gross match point total is awarded 1 gross win point. For a club-to-club match, the club with the highest net match point total is awarded 1 net win point. If for a club-to-club match, the gross match points are tied, then each club is awarded 1/2 gross win point. If for a club-to-club match, the net match points are tied, then each club is awarded a 1/2 net win point. The year's gross winner is the club with the highest gross win points (maximum is 3 points) accumulated over its three club-to-club matches. The year's net winner is the club with the highest net win points accumulated over its three club-to-club matches.

If there is a tie for the overall category (net or gross) winner, the winner is the club with the highest number of category match points (maximum of 15 match points) over the club's three matches. If there is still a tie, the winner is determined by the club with the highest number of category match points in the match against the other tied club.


If a club has the highest gross and net win point totals, that club is the gross and net winner. 


Trophies: The four clubs have provided funds for purchasing two perpetual trophy plates. The name of the year's winning gross club is engraved on the gross trophy, the winning net club's name is engraved on the net trophy.  The winning clubs are responsible for having the plates engraved and retain the trophies until the next year's Play Day.


The club hosting the upcoming Play Day is given the historical silver trays for display. The historical silver trays honor the former winners (1963- 2010) of the inter-club matches.

The WGA has participated in the SCGA Division I, City Team play for many years – frequently winning in its local group and going into the SCGA Team play-offs. In 2018, the WSCGA became part of the SCGA. At this time, La Cumbre joined with fifteen other clubs to form the Gold Coast Affiliation (GCA). GCA Team Play is conducted as net and gross competitions. The net GCA winning team continues on to represent the GCA in the SCGA team play-offs. The GCA clubs are grouped by geographical area. The northern area clubs are San Luis Obispo, Santa Maria, The Mission Club, and Alisal Ranch. La Cumbre is in the Santa Barbara area along with Birnam Wood, The Montecito Club, and The Valley Club of Montecito. The Camarillo geographical area is composed of Spanish Hills, The Saticoy Club, Las Posas, and North Ranch. Porter Valley, Wood Ranch, Sunset Hills, and Calabasas are in the southern area. Every year, each club in the GCA plays team matches against three other GCA clubs based on that year’s group assignment. La Cumbre, being in the Santa Barbara Group, will play one club from the northern area, one club from the Camarillo area, and one club from the southern area. The clubs to be played vary every year. This provides the La Cumbre players an opportunity to play many different courses and meet a variety of players from the local areas.

The WGA began participating in Women’s Summer Team League starting in the summer of 2013. The Summer Team League (also known as ‘B’ Team) has been active on the Central Coast for a number of years. Summer Team is designed to give higher-handicap (18 and higher) ladies an opportunity to participate in team play against other clubs in the area. Each club plays one home match and one away match against five other clubs in the league. Five two-person teams representing each club play in a match. The match schedule is coordinated each year in January.  The matches occur in June through August of that year. The Summer Team Captain manages the schedule and activities of the Summer Team.

Other Activities

A WGA member has the option to sign-up for a Spring / Fall Ringer (or both) at a charge of $10 for each Ringer card. The amount of prize money for each Ringer (Spring or Fall) is determined by Ringer Chair. The Ringer Chair works with the Golf Shop to produce the Ringer cards and determine the winners. 


The Spring Ringer is held March 1 to April 30 and the Fall Ringer is held September 1 to November 15. 


Participants strive to achieve their best “virtual” 18-hole score by tracking their best hole-by-hole score during a maximum of twelve recorded rounds.


Ringer Rules:

  1. The entry fee is $10, billed through the LCCC office. 
  2. All ringer games must be played with an active WGA member who must attest and date a participant’s Master Ringer card at the end of the round.
  3. Ringer games must be played from the designated tees, as appropriate.
  4. For the gold tee ringer, the first game must be an 18-hole round. For the initial Ringer round, all putts must be putted out. Subsequent games must also be 18-hole rounds, with improved holes putted out.
  5. For a Gold Tee Ringer, only a score from a Gold Tee round may be used, i.e., a score from a Gold/Green Combo Tee round may not be used. 
  6. For the green tee ringer, the initial game may be either an 18-hole or a 9-hole round. All putts must be putted out. Subsequent games may be 18-hole or 9-hole rounds, with improved holes putted out.
  7. A maximum of 12 games may be recorded during the tournament on each Ringer card.

The WGA’s Rules Chair provides a variety of information on the Rules of Golf through presentations at the WGA General Meetings, postings in the women’s locker room, match-play seminars with team players, and rules clinics. 

The WGA maintains a photo wall in the Ladies’ Locker Room. Each member has her portrait taken and then added to the photo wall.  The wall also displays portraits of the current board members and tournament chairs.

A WGA member may sign-up at any time to join the Hole-in-One (HIO) club for the current year. The club is free to join but each member gets charged $5 each time a hole-in-one is made by one of the club’s members. When a hole-in-one is made, a sign is posted in the women’s locker room showing the two-week period when a club member can have a “hole-in-one drink” to celebrate. The club member indicates that a drink is a “hole-in-one” drink by drawing a ‘1’ in a large circle on the drink charge slip. On the La Cumbre bill for that month, there will be a $5 charge for the HIO club and a -$5 charge for the drink. When HIO Club members do not use their hole-in-one drink, their unspent $5 charges are placed into a La Cumbre account that is split among the club members who had a hole-in-one during the past calendar year. 


The HIO information is posted on the SCGA website.  The SCGA can send the player a paper certificate to commemorate the event. 


If the hole-in-one is made on the La Cumbre course, the player’s name is engraved on the perpetual Hole-in-One plaque that hangs in the women’s locker room.


The member scoring the HIO can receive a special bag tag to commemorate her Ace. 

The WGA plays a one-day Ryder Cup team tournament every even-numbered year (e.g., 2014, 2016) to celebrate the PGA and European Tours' playing of the Ryder Cup. Starting in 2015, the WGA initiated play of the one-day Solheim Cup team tournament to recognize the LPGA and Ladies European Tour (LET) competition held every odd-numbered year. The WGA members who sign-up for this event are divided into two groups, the USA and the European teams. The team captains then match the players against each other based on current handicaps. Each two-person team then plays two nine-hole matches. The format for the two matches is 9 holes of alternate shot (foursomes) and 9 holes of the better ball (fourball). Points are accumulated for each match and the team with the most points is the winning team - earning bragging rights until the next Ryder Cup or Solheim Cup. Two perpetual trophies record the winning team's name for each year a Cup is contested. The WGA Cup is usually played on a Tuesday in September, to coincide with the playing of the actual professional cup match.

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The Big Sister program is administered by the WGA’s Hospitality Chair. Under this program, an experienced WGA member (the Big Sister) is assigned to any WGA member requesting assistance in participating in the WGA activities. The following list of guidelines/suggestions may be used by a Big Sister: 


  • Contact your new member as soon as you receive her paperwork.
  • Have the conversation as to what she is expecting as a new member. 
  1. Does she have a handicap?
  2. How long has she played golf, etc.?
  3. Would the 9-holers be a good fit for her?
  • Invite her to play.
  • Introduce her to the locker room attendant and other WGA members.
  • Show her how and when to sign-up for WGA Tuesday play and tournaments. 
  • Stress the importance of establishing a handicap and explain the different tees that are available and show her how to post accordingly.
  • Describe the various WGA and couples tournaments and help her to find partners and/or guests.
  • Tell her about the different types of Team Play that are available.
  • Make sure she receives a WGA Directory/Calendar for the current year.
  • Inquire if her husband plays and would they like to participate in Kouples' Kapers, Sunday Play, or our various holiday tournaments.
  • Ensure that she knows how to make tee time reservations with the Golf Shop and online.

WGA Roster