Welcome

We host some of the finest senior players in the world.

The Society of Seniors was founded in 1983 by Dale Morey, Ed Tutwiler, and Ralph Bogart. The purpose was to provide strong competition for the finest senior amateur players, played under the Rules of Golf, as approved by the USGA, on the finest courses available, at a reasonable cost and without regard to handicap allowances. 72 men signed up at the initial meeting at Wild Dunes Golf Club, Isle of Palms, SC.

Today, The Society of Seniors has 864 members and included in the roster are USGA Senior Amateur Champions from 1983 through 2009, 14 Walker Cup Players, over 47 panel members of the Golf Digest and GOLFWEEK Course rating panels, and several international members.

Over the past 26 years, our members have dominated the Golf Digest list of top Senior Amateurs - most years sweeping all 10 places - and every year taking at least 9 of the top 10 positions. Bill Zylstra is the 2008 and 2009 GOLFWEEK Senior Amateur of the Year.

John's Notes

Words from John Harrigan.

Hesler

The second Hesler tournament concluded Thursday, July 22 at the storied Scioto CC in Columbus, OH. The field was fortunate to dodge the many rainstorms circling the area for the first two days and all 54 holes were played in balmy Ohio weather with light breezes. The Donald Ross design course held up quite well against a strong field.

The winner was Mike Rice, the 2005 USGA Senior Amateur Champion. Mike has been playing a limited schedule these days, but came to this storied course to compete against the best. Next month Mike will celebrate his 70th birthday, but he elected to play in the younger division (55-64) to test his competitive skills. After two rounds the leader was Alan Fadel, a strong 55 year old "rookie" at 142. Alan shot the only under par round (70) in the opening round. No other player beat par 71 in three days. Rice's scores were 74-72-71 which earned him a two shot win over Fadel who slipped to 77 in the final round for 219. This was Mike's first Society individual title although he as two Tutwiler wins and several top three finishes in the Dale Morey.

Bill Dorece added the Super Senior Trophy to his Fall Classic win (2008) with a steady 72-71-75=218 and coasted to a four stroke win over Lynn Martin of Findlay, OH. Martin is a former professional and new to the Society. Along the way Bill carded an ace on the 160 yard 17th hole in the second round. Also, eight Grand Masters (75 and up) played in the event and the low score went to 79 year old Paul Cobb of Norcross, GA. Paul shot his age every day (74-79-79 which was four clear of Joe Estes.

The folks at Scioto were gracious hosts and honored to pay tribute to Jack Hesler, one of their long time members and 19 time Club Champion. The Society is honored to be invited to compete there and we hope to return another day. Next year this event will be held at another fine course in Ohio. Get your entries in early as we had a waiting list this year. After several dropouts most players got in anyway. Full field scores are in the events section.

Hyndman Memorial Cancelled

The Hyndman Memorial scheduled for August 25-27 has been cancelled due to storm damage and further course damage from extreme temperatures. The tournament committee concluded that the course could not be brought back to its usual top condition in time for the event. The event should return to the schedule in 2011.

Society of Seniors Championship

Please take a look at the events schedule and see the new format the Board of Directors has set for the Society of Seniors Championship, formerly known as the Dale Morey Championship. The dates are slightly different, as well. Each division will play 54 holes on the same course. There will be a "pro-am" on Sunday afternoon, Nov 7 with 2 SOS members and 2 Quail Ridge members in each group. This has been a popular event in the past. All of you who are willing to arrive a day early please let us know. Practice rounds will be available on November 7 and 8 and the Championships will be conducted on November 9-11 with 54 holes in three divisions: Dale Morey (55-64); John Owens (65-74) and Grand Masters (75 and up).The first two days will be tee times commencing at 8:30 and the final day will be a shotgun start at 9:00.

Bogart Tournament

We have a misprint in the recent newsletter regarding the Bogart Tournament at Old Trail in December. The correct dates are Nov. 30 for practice round, and December 1-3 for the actual competition. We moved the dates to Wednesday-Friday to get away from Thanksgiving Day weekend travel. Sorry for the error, hope to see you at Old Trail.

Sunnehanna Senior

SOS members are invited to enter the Sunnehanna Senior Invitational, September 13-15. For those who have not received an invitation in the mail, applications and tournament information can be found and downloaded at sunnehannacountryclub.com.You can also reach Phil Saylor, an SOS member at 814-244-1653.

Rich Anderson

Rich was diagnosed with brain cancer just prior to the Senior Masters and was operated on about 3 weeks ago. The operation was not able to remove all the cancer and it quickly spread where the doctors were unable to control it. Rich passed away on Friday, May 7. He was 70. Many of you will fondly remember his dedication to the Society and to the Game of Golf. He was the Golfweek Super Senior Player of The Year in 2008 and 2009 and won many titles as a senior golfer. His funeral will be in Minneapolis on Wednesday. For the full obituary go here.

Schedule Changes

The Board of Governors of the Society has made some changes to the schedule for 2010.

The Hesler event in July will be an individual 54 hole medal play competition with divisions for seniors, super seniors and grand masters. It was previously set up as a four-ball, but that has been changed. Application will be made to GOLFWEEK for points recognition and we expect a very high valuation.

The Fall Classic at Spring Creek in Gordonsville will be modified to add a division for 55-64 year old competitors as well as the regular classifications of 65-69, 70-74, 75-79 and 80+. The date will be moved up one day to Sept. 27-29 so competitors can make it to the Senior Amateur practice rounds later that week.

Finally, the Bogart will be moved to December 1-3 for this year to encourage greater participation.

Honor Roll

We play at some of the finest clubs in the world.

  • Admirals Cove Golf Club
  • Amelia Island Plantation
  • Atlantic City Country Club
  • Barnsley Gardens
    • The General
  • Belfair Golf Club East & West
  • Bonita Bay Club
    • Bay Island Course
    • Creekside Course
    • Cypress Course - Bonita Bay East
    • The Club at Mediterra
  • (The) Bridges at Casino Magic
  • Brights Creek Golf Club
  • Bulls Bay Golf Club
  • (The) Club at TwinEagles
  • Colleton River Plantation
  • (The) Daniel Island Club
  • Delray Dunes Golf and Country Club
  • Desert Mountain Golf Club
    • Conchise
    • Geronimo
  • Dataw Island Club
  • DeBordieu
  • Emerald Dunes Golf Course
  • Fiddlesticks Golf and Country Club
  • Flint Hills National Golf Club
  • Forest Creek Golf Club
  • Foxfire Golf & Country Club
  • (The) Golf Club at Indigo Run
  • Golden Hills Golf and Turf Club
  • Hermitage Courses - Nashville
  • Haig Point Club
  • (The) Honors Course
  • Harbour Town Golf Links
  • Kiawah Island Ocean Course
  • Kiawah Island River Course
  • Lake Nona Golf Club
  • Lochinvar
  • Lookout Mountain Golf Club
  • (The) Long Cove Club
  • Loxahatchee Club
  • (The) Majors Golf Club
  • Mediterra Golf and Country Club
  • Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club
  • Miromar Lakes Golf Club
  • Moss Creek Golf Club
  • (The) Oaks Golf Club
  • Old Marsh Golf Club
  • Old Trail Golf Club
  • Orchid Island Golf & Beach Club
  • Pensacola Country Club
  • Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club
  • QuailRidge Golf & Country Club
  • Rancho La Quinta
  • Rancho Santa Fe Farms Golf Club
  • Reynolds Plantation
  • Riverwood Golf Club
  • Southern Dunes Golf & CC
  • Spring Creek Golf Club
  • Squire Creek Golf Club
  • St. Andrews CC (Boca Raton)
  • Turtle Point Golf Club-Kiawah
  • (The) Virginian
  • The Verandah Club (Old Orange)
  • (The) Windsor Club
  • World Golf Village
    • The King and the Bear
    • The Slammer and the Squire