Overview | Officers and Directors | History | Past Directors | Board of Directors’ Strategies | Courses Played

Overview

The Michiana Seniors Golf Association (MSGA) began existence in 1999, the result of many conversations by Bob Brady, John Pavlos and many others about creating an organization dedicated to the promotion of golf for amateur senior players who reside in the Michiana area. The MSGA is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to promote the best interests of golf for senior players and to encourage friendly competition for its members. The organization is governed by a Board of Directors consisting of seven members who serve three-year terms. Each year the MSGA schedules ten tournaments to promote good fellowship among the membership through participation in the golf tournaments and concurrent social events. The tournaments are known as the Michiana Senior Tour. Michiana Senior Tour events are played at both private and public courses throughout the Michiana area. The general format is Individual Medal play within flights (determined by handicap), except the MSGA Championship which is a Two-man Two-Day Match Play event played in August each year at Plymouth Country Club in Plymouth, Indiana.

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Officers and Directors

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History

The concept of the Michiana Senior Golf Association (MSGA) was born in the spring of 1998 when Bob Brady received his 1998 schedule from the Indiana State Seniors Golf Association (ISSGA).  Bob, a member of the ISSGA for many years, noted that again there were few tournaments to be played in Northern Indiana.   This issue, along with the fact that the ISSGA had a long waiting list for membership, had been a topic of discussion among Bob and his friends for many years.  It was under these circumstances that he began to think seriously about creating a similar organization whose territory would include Northern Indiana and Southwest Michigan.  The area was noted for many high quality private, resort and public golf courses, a requirement to attract the type of membership required to launch a successful organization like the MSGA.

With the help of John Pavlos, plans were made to launch the organization for the 1999 season.  Five additional Board members were added to make up the first Board of Directors.  They were Ed Kuehl, Dick Trout, Joe Deming, Richard Gosswiller and Chris Condes.  John Pavlos was elected President and Bob Brady Secretary-Treasurer and Director of Golf.

Seven tournaments were held in 1999 with the inaugural event at Bent Oak C.C. in Elkhart, IN.  Through word of mouth and the efforts of the Board members, membership grew to 125 by the end of the season.

In 2000, the schedule was increased to eight events, and in 2001, a Pro-Am event was added to the schedule for a total of nine events.  A computer was purchased to increase the efficiency and accuracy of the scoring at each event.

In 2002, the MSGA website was first setup to communicate with the membership and visitors, and in 2003, the MSGA engaged an outside handicap service, Handicomp, Inc. to provide USGA recognized handicaps for members who are not affiliated with a club.  For 2003, the schedule included nine events, but the Pro-Am event was replaced with a Two-Man, Two-Day Best Ball Match Play Championship played at Plymouth C. C.  The Championship continues at Plymouth C. C. each year.

At the beginning of 2008, the Board appointed Bill Murray as the new Director of Golf.  Bill is a retired PGA Professional and brought significant experience to the organization in setting up and running MSGA events.  Bob Brady continued in the capacity of Secretary-Treasurer.  For 2008, an additional event was added to bring the total to ten.  After the season, the Board engaged Catalyst Marketing Innovations, LLC to redesign and host the website.

Prior to the 2009 season, John Pavlos, co-founder of the MSGA died unexpectedly at home.  The Board has honored his memory by naming the first event each year, the John Pavlos Memorial Classic and naming the permanent Championship trophy, the John Pavlos Memorial trophy.

For the 2009 season, the Board established the Brady Cup to provide a year-long competition similar to the “Charles Schwab Cup” on the PGA Champions tour.  The Board will continue the Brady Cup for 2010.

In the years that the MSGA has existed, membership has grown from 125 in 1999 to a high of 210 in 2005.  Membership decreased over the next three years to 172 at the end of 2008, but rebounded to 177 at the end of the 2009 season.  Over the eleven year period, 519 different players have been members of the organization.  Average tournament participation has been as high as 100 in 2005, with 2009 averaging 89 players per tournament for the Individual Medal play events.

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Past Directors

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Board of Directors’ Strategies

The Michiana Senior Golf Association is an organization dedicated to providing competitive golf tournaments for its membership.  Members are amateur senior players (age 50+) interested in playing the game of golf and generally reside in Northern Indiana or Southwest Michigan. The Board of Directors’ primary function is to provide the best opportunity for its members to play and enjoy the game of golf in settings conducive to good fellowship and sportsmanship. Over the MSGA’s years of existence, the Board of Directors has developed strategies to allow the organization to grow and prosper in meeting its’ goals.  Those strategies include, but are not limited to the following:

• Provide a competitive format for each tournament by dividing players into flights determined by handicap index so all players are competing against similarly skilled players. 
• Tournaments include prizes for low gross, low net and skins by flight, and closest-to-the pin and hole-in-one contests for all players.
• For Individual Medal Play, awards are limited to one per player to allow for additional winners.
• Schedule tournaments at both private and public courses throughout the Michiana area.
• Generally play at one or two courses new to the MSGA each year.
• Play tournaments within approximately one and one-half hour driving distance of Michigan City, Indiana.
• Generally do not play tournaments at courses in consecutive years, except for the MSGA Match Play Championship which is played at Plymouth C.C. each year.
• Schedule ten events per year including a Two-man, Two-day Best Ball Match Play event known as the MSGA Championship.
• Schedule approximately two events per month from May thru September.
• Schedule Member/Guest events to allow potential members to get to know the MSGA and experience the competition and fellowship.
• Limit the number of players for each event to 120 to minimize slow play.
• Subsidize the higher cost of some private club events by adjusting the cost of other lower cost events.  Provide the best overall value for the cost.
• Schedule some events with lunch only and others with dinners after completion of play to match the varied preferences of the membership.
• Provide an outside handicap system for members who do not have a USGA approved handicap from a golf or country club.
• Honor the two founders of the organization, Bob Brady and John Pavlos by naming the year-long competition the Brady Cup and the last event as the Brady Challenge and naming the first event each year the John Pavlos Memorial Classic and the Championship trophy, the John Pavlos Memorial trophy.

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Courses Played

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