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INFORMATION FOR NEW OR POTENTIAL MEMBERS
If you have recently joined the Chicago Lithuanian Golf Club (CLGK) or have expressed
an interest in knowing more about our club, the following will give you an overview
of its operation. This will enable you to become familiar with the club and fully
enjoy your membership.
The CLGK has been in existence for more than 50 years. It is a non-profit social
club with the purpose of promoting golfing competition among golfers of Lithuanian
Heritage residing in the area. is open to
men, women and juniors who have Lithuanian heritage through birth or marriage.
Presently, we have approximately 98 members, 18 of whom are women. The present annual
membership dues are $40 for adults and $10 for juniors ages 15 to 18 years of age,
and free for those juniors under 15 years. Dues must be paid prior to June 1st and
are a one-time annual payment which includes all tournament fees, prizes, membership
card, club mailings, and a USGA golf index, which you can use to determine your
golf course handicap.
CLGK presently schedules nine golf tournaments a year, beginning in April and ending
in early October. Tournaments will be either one- or two-day events and are mostly
scheduled for Sundays, starting between 9:00 am and 11:00 am, on courses throughout
the Chicagoland area. One of the tournaments we hold is a two-day get-a-way Memorial
Day Weekend tournament in the south-western Michigan area. On this or any two-day
tournament you can play either one or both days.
Members are not required to golf in any specific number of tournaments. It is hoped
that members will participate frequently, but participation in tournaments is not
a requirement for club membership. If you plan on participating in a tournament,
you must register no later than 8 days prior to the tournament by calling or e-mailing
a Tournament Director, or you can register at a tournament for the next upcoming
tournament. This will enable us to reserve sufficient tee times since participation
at tournaments ranges from 40 to 56 golfers and the golf courses require an accurate
count as to the number of tee times we are reserving. If you know what foursome
you want to play in, tell us when you register and, if possible, we will accommodate
you. If you register as a single or a couple, we will set up a foursome for you.
This is a great way to meet other club members. For non-club members, there is a
tournament fee of $5 for guests, which is collected before each tournament and entitles
the guest to participate in the golf speciality holes only.
The formats of the tournaments CLGK conducts will vary, although stroke play net
competition by class is the most popular. In addition, two person best ball, four
person best ball, low team net, pro-am and the yellow ball designator are some of
the tournament formats we may play during the year. When competition is by class,
the grouping is by handicap and the size of class and number of prizes awarded may
vary depending on the number of golfers and their handicaps in order to make the
competition as fair as possible.
Communication is done primarily through e-mail and all members will receive an e-mail
reminder announcement before a scheduled tournament. Our club's web page will have
the foursomes and tee times listed at least two days prior to the tournament, as
well as current golf indexes/handicaps. This will enable you to plan your arrival
at the course since there can be an hour and a half spread in the tee times. Our
web page address is www.CLGK.org, which has current
CLGK information.
After attending one tournament, the new member will receive a modified golf index/handicap
and after 5 rounds are posted, the golf index/handicap issued will be in accordance
with USGA rules. Our Club handicaps can range up to 36 for men and 54 for women.
New handicaps will be produced every 3 weeks during the golfing season. We will
post your tournament golf scores for handicapping, but you are required to post
all other golf scores of 18 holes played elsewhere. Not to do so is a violation
of the handicapping rules. You can post these scores by recording the adjusted score,
course name, tee box color/name, course rating and slope in the book we keep at
the Silver Lake Pro Shop, by phone, or preferably by e-mail to
ArunasD@sbcglobal.net. You can also bring the completed card to the next
tournament. Any club member can explain to you how scores are adjusted for posting.
Our web page also explains this adjusting. If you already have a golf handicap,
please give this information to Arunas Dagys.
While we are a golf club, we are also a social organization. There are some excellent
golfers in the club, but if you will look at our web page and note the handicaps
of the men and women golfers, you will see that there is a wide range of golfing
skills among the members. We say this so that potential members won't be reluctant
to join the club because of their perceived golfing skills. The social aspect of
golf and the comradeship among the members is a big reason the club has prospered.
For those who wish to participate, the club conducts a yearly match play tournament.
After paying a nominal entry fee, a match play pairing is published for head to
head net match play competition. The winner receives the total of the entry fees.
In addition, there is also an annual North American Lithuanian Golf Tournament,
commonly referred to as "SALFASS", which is held over the Labor Day weekend. Locations
alternate annually between the 4 host cities of Chicago, Toronto, Cleveland and
Detroit. There is team and individual competition by class and all of our club members
are invited and eligible to attend. Details for registration are communicated as
soon as the host city advises us.
Our golf year comes to an end with our annual awards dinner, which presently is
held immediately after our last golf tournament of the year. The cost is reasonable
and awards are given to our club's individual class winners, match play champion,
most improved golfer and golfer of the year.
This explanation should give new and prospective members an insight into CLGK. Please
peruse our web site for further information about our club. We would like all members
to become as active as they can, thereby making the club more viable. We would also
hope that in time, all club members will assume a leadership role by becoming a
club officer, which has a term of two years.
If you are not yet a member and qualify to join through your Lithuanian heritage,
please send your check (made payable to "CLGK"), along with a completed registration
form (on our web page), which contains your name, address, phone number and e-mail
address to:
Chicago Lithuanian Golf Club
Chester Baksys
8111 Wheeler Dr.
Orland Park, IL 60462
And remember, head down and hit them straight!
