The (VGA) Veterans Golf Association (Lacassem's Journey & Others)

[Javs]

On 2/8/2023 at 10:51 AM, Lacassem said:

Hey all!

I have been contemplating doing this for years. The VGA for those that have not heard of it is the Veterans Golf Association. They run a ton of tournaments nation wide and have different regions. There are regional leaders and some pretty big competitive championship tournaments all around the world. In 2021 they hosted one in Scotland.

I finally signed up today. There are several tournaments I hope to play in. Even if I play in one I will be super pumped. I am ecstatic to get into some truly competitive golf.

This thread will host my thoughts leading up to tournaments, what I was thinking during the round and how the round went. Maybe get some pointers from the folks on here. Also to provide a space for other VGA members to get involved in one spot.

I am not sure what to expect or how everything works so maybe I can provide some insight as I go along for others that maybe sign up and get into some tournaments!

https://www.vgagolf.org/app/

https://www.vgagolf.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/VGA_2022_Tour_Players_Manaual_20211102v3.pdf

I think my first tournament will be either April 28th or April 30th (28th is in Connecticut and 30th is in Massachusetts)

Congrats on joining the VGA. I have played in a couple events. The experience will vary depending on the effort of your area tournament director. However, I have played a lot of various amateur events and the VGA does a nice job. I enjoyed the VGA much more than the events in the Golf Channel Tour. I found the VGA more relaxed competition. This is a great tour for active military, veterans and their dependents. They break the Divisions by handicap and age. They also have a special Purple Heart Division which I entered. So, there is a place for every level to play and have fun. The courses I have played were all nice and setup very fairly. It should be a great experience. They also run Regional and National level events. Have a blast!

[Subdiver1]

Good data on the FAQ page for anyone who has questions. I second Javs comments as the experience I have matches. I play with another Tour that does a good job keeping the levity and some of the courses are great, but it can get expensive where VGA seems to keep cost reasonable and everything is as you would expect from a bunch of fellow Vets. To all my brother and sister vets, and their supporters God bless ya and keep 'em in the middle.

https://www.vgagolf.org/faq/

[GolfSpy_APH]

Looking forward to following along and seeing how this journey goes for you!

[Shank Aaron]

Welcome to the Tour, brother! This will be my 3rd full season on the VGA Tour. So far, it's been a great experience. It's a great way for Veterans to come together and compete with others who truly get "us". 

 

So far I've met some lifelong friends, reconnected with old buddy's from my days in uniform, won a few tournaments, and feel confident enough to really compete everytime I show up. The Tour is structured so you can literally play any event you can make regardless of your home State/region. And that includes any state championship, which is really cool. 

 

This year I'll get to play Bethpage Black in May, Trump Ferry Point and Bethpage Red (back-to-back) in June, and a host of other courses spread out between Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and maybe even Connecticut. With any kind of luck, I'll be able to play at Centennial later in the summer, and hopefully at Baltimore CC if I can qualify for the Regional Championship in August.

 

Best advice I can give is to just be yourself, play your game regardless of anything, and definitely take it in that you're on a golf course playing a game with others who knows what you've been through. That last one applies big time when you're on a course you wouldn't be allowed to play otherwise, which happens often. Again- welcome, good luck, and have fun. 

 

[Shank Aaron]

Oh, and the Armed Forces Cup. Forgot to mention that.

 

To those who don't know, every branch from every region puts together a team based on a season long points and qualifying tournaments to compete head-to-head in a match play event every season. The last few seasons have been at Pinehurst #2, but this year it's at Champions Retreat (https://www.championsretreat.net/). Definitely an event I hope to play in future. 

[glenmore5]

Hi  Lacassem,

I am from Australia...we have had a VGA for as many years that I can remember....great way of meeting fellow golfers in this category...I have just returned from a 4 day WOG (Week of Golf)...on our South Coast.

 

Enjoy your foray into these events....

[milledon]

Do you think this is good for high handicappers? I'm a 20-21 handicap and don't want to slow the pace of play. 

[Lacassem]

2 minutes ago, milledon said:

Do you think this is good for high handicappers? I'm a 20-21 handicap and don't want to slow the pace of play. 

I can keep ya posted but there are flights for different skill levels much like a league, if anyone were to complain about POP can pound sand in an event like this.

[milledon]

That's what I was thinking but wanted to check. I would to play in a handful of these. Always like hanging with fellow vets. 

[Javs]

13 minutes ago, milledon said:

Do you think this is good for high handicappers? I'm a 20-21 handicap and don't want to slow the pace of play. 

They have different flights to match every skill level. They also adjust the length of the course for each handicap and age groups. Lastly, my experience is: they have local rules they implement to increase pace of play and still keep it competitive. I would recommend trying a local event.

[Shank Aaron]

2 hours ago, milledon said:

Do you think this is good for high handicappers? I'm a 20-21 handicap and don't want to slow the pace of play. 

Short answer is yes! You only compete directly against other players in your flight, and the D flight (15 and higher) you play net scoring and at 20-21 you'll be at the upper edge of your flight. Play an event I'm 10000000% certain you will quickly find out that 1- you aren't as bad as you think you are, and 2- everyone else around you has their fair share of mistakes just like the rest of us.

 

I think that's one major thing a lot of us players contemplating trying one of these amateur tours misunderstand. Playing on one of these tours doesn't automatically make one a better player. My first 3 events were the WORST scores I had ever posted before, or since. Took me that long to figure out I just needed to play golf instead of worrying about POP, or other distractions we all face. At the end of the day, it's still, and just golf. 

Edited February 18 by Shank Aaron

[GolfSpy BOS]

1 hour ago, milledon said:

Do you think this is good for high handicappers? I'm a 20-21 handicap and don't want to slow the pace of play. 

I've played with plenty of high-cappers who are absolutely not an issue when it comes to pace of play.  Sure, a high handicap player is literally taking more shots to finish, but I don't think that means one can't keep up.  

Sounds like you should give it a try! 

[glenmore5]

Absolutely....we play stable ford events most times..just play to your ability

[Subdiver1]

On 2/16/2023 at 12:29 PM, Shank Aaron said:

Oh, and the Armed Forces Cup. Forgot to mention that.

 

To those who don't know, every branch from every region puts together a team based on a season long points and qualifying tournaments to compete head-to-head in a match play event every season. The last few seasons have been at Pinehurst #2, but this year it's at Champions Retreat (https://www.championsretreat.net/). Definitely an event I hope to play in future. 

2nd the AF Cup tournaments. I've played in the Ranier Cup version up in WA and it is a great 3 day format. Although I think we need to keep a closer eye on the Air Force players and double check any Army math

Edited February 18 by Subdiver1

[Subdiver1]

7 hours ago, milledon said:

Do you think this is good for high handicappers? I'm a 20-21 handicap and don't want to slow the pace of play. 

Milledon my friend I have played with some 20+ handicappers that I would choose to play with ANY day over some of the "low" handicappers I've played with who think they need to mark and line up EVERY frickin putt and who wait until everyone else is done putting to walk around their putt 3 frickin times. I get having a routine, but walk around while.others are doing so, pick you line and frickin putt the ball. There isn't some $1M purse on the line and if your really stressing a 3 footer that much your probably going to miss it anyway after all of that.Then there are the "better" players that take themselves so seriously they have to have everyone standing 8 feet behind and to the left or they can't take their shot, God forbid you walk, shift your weight or cough while they are lining up their approach shot across the fairway. Give me a group of high handicappers who are there to PLAY any day brother. I'm pretty competitive, but give me a frickin break already. Come on out and have fun my friend. 

[milledon]

2 hours ago, Subdiver1 said:

Milledon my friend I have played with some 20+ handicappers that I would choose to play with ANY day over some of the "low" handicappers I've played with who think they need to mark and line up EVERY frickin putt and who wait until everyone else is done putting to walk around their putt 3 frickin times. I get having a routine, but walk around while.others are doing so, pick you line and frickin putt the ball. There isn't some $1M purse on the line and if your really stressing a 3 footer that much your probably going to miss it anyway after all of that.Then there are the "better" players that take themselves so seriously they have to have everyone standing 8 feet behind and to the left or they can't take their shot, God forbid you walk, shift your weight or cough while they are lining up their approach shot across the fairway. Give me a group of high handicappers who are there to PLAY any day brother. I'm pretty competitive, but give me a frickin break already. Come on out and have fun my friend. 

Thanks for the encouragement Subdiver. You a submariner? My son is on the USS North Carolina in Pearl Harbor. 

[Shank Aaron]

On 2/18/2023 at 6:20 PM, Subdiver1 said:

Milledon my friend I have played with some 20+ handicappers that I would choose to play with ANY day over some of the "low" handicappers I've played with who think they need to mark and line up EVERY frickin putt and who wait until everyone else is done putting to walk around their putt 3 frickin times. I get having a routine, but walk around while.others are doing so, pick you line and frickin putt the ball. There isn't some $1M purse on the line and if your really stressing a 3 footer that much your probably going to miss it anyway after all of that.Then there are the "better" players that take themselves so seriously they have to have everyone standing 8 feet behind and to the left or they can't take their shot, God forbid you walk, shift your weight or cough while they are lining up their approach shot across the fairway. Give me a group of high handicappers who are there to PLAY any day brother. I'm pretty competitive, but give me a frickin break already. Come on out and have fun my friend. 

I could not agree with this anymore. The guys I prefer to play with are all in the 19+ range and we group up every event we play. We just have a good time together, and it makes for a very enjoyable round. 

 

And if I'm being perfectly honest here, I have my share of holding up our group just as much as anyone on the course for any number of reasons. Lost tee shot, multiple chip shots, hit a tree or 5, or (my personal fav) the 4 shots it took me to get out of pot bunker. Dont let that kind of stuff stop you from trying it out. You'll for sure be surprised at how easy and fun the round is regardless of how you played/finished. 

[Lacassem]

Well first tournament round in. Was a small field and chilly!

Met a few great folks including the state rep John. Great guy and talked about the league and how today was going to work. Mentioned a few tournaments he travels to and more then welcome to tag along. Was really great.

I dropped the MGS line to him and mentioned this thread. He knows of the site and was ecstatic and thanked me for starting it. Hopefully it can get some folks through here as I post on instagram.

Looking forward to the next one! Hopefully a few degrees warmer.

[Subdiver1]

5 hours ago, Shank Aaron said:

I could not agree with this anymore. The guys I prefer to play with are all in the 19+ range and we group up every event we play. We just have a good time together, and it makes for a very enjoyable round. 

 

And if I'm being perfectly honest here, I have my share of holding up our group just as much as anyone on the course for any number of reasons. Lost tee shot, multiple chip shots, hit a tree or 5, or (my personal fav) the 4 shots it took me to get out of pot bunker. Dont let that kind of stuff stop you from trying it out. You'll for sure be surprised at how easy and fun the round is regardless of how you played/finished. 

You caught me there; the one that a slows me down, for myself or anyone else is looking for that "lost" ball.  I HATE losing a ball or seeing one get lost.  But then there is that one time when someone finds mine and I get look at where it is and start wishing I never even bothered to look ; insult on top of injury is never a good spot to be in.

 

[ltc.dan]

Lots of veterans here, it is great to see! I hope any that are retired know about the National Retired Military Golf Classic, held annually at Myrtle Beach. Come play!

nrmgc.com