ASGC HISTORY

Posted 1/15/2024

Arlington Seniors Golf Club: Who We Are

The Arlington Seniors Golf Club (ASGC or Club) is now 285 strong; an interesting assortment of men and women at least 55 years of age. We are mostly retirees, with a wide range of experience including ex-military, attorneys, school administrators and teachers, plumbers, a bricklayer, restaurateurs, a couple of spies and scientists, management consultants, government workers, newsies, lobbyists, Beltway Bandits, and many more. We’re mostly a bunch of duffers, although a few of us are very good golfers.

We’ve been around for more than 40 years. Our history is full of exhortations about slow play, occa­sional holes-in-one, sterling awards banquets, and expectations of a fun summer of golf for a bunch of sen­ior men and women who like to get out and hit ‘em long and straight . . . mostly!

The Club is organized as an adjunct of the 55+ Programs of the Arlington County’s Department of Parks and Recreation. To help organize our golf outings, the County hires a part-time coordinator.

The current coordinator is Robert “Bob” Odmark. Mr. Odmark’s “real” job is as a French hornist with the Washington National Opera. Mr. Odmark (ODE-Mark, is how it is pronounced), in addition to being an accomplished musician, is a University of Michigan fanatic as well as a licensed Class A and Class B contrac­tor in Virginia, all of which attest to his multiple and enviable talents.

The Club has an ambitious golf schedule. We play twice a week from late March to early November at more than 20 local courses, usually on Tuesdays and Thursdays. In recent years we have sponsored a Scramble in the spring and a Club Tournament in the fall. Club dues finance prizes for scramble and tourna­ment winners as well as door prizes for many other participants.

The Club is governed by a Board of Directors comprised of five elected officers: a president, two vice -presidents, a secretary, and treasurer as well as standing committee chairs for membership, tournaments, nominations, information technology, and historian. The Board tends to meet monthly during the season. The Club stages two general membership meetings during the off-season, one in January when officers are elected and the other in March, both at a county facility. Pizza, salad and soft drinks are served at both gen­eral meetings to stimulate participation and ensure quorums.

Members of the Board of Directors and others involved with various Club activities are all volun­teers. In 2022 volunteers put in nearly 1500 hours on behalf of the Club. In 2023, volunteer hours exceeded 1,600.

Dues for the Club for 2024 will be $25 per year. In addition, two fees are payable to the County — a 55+ fee of $20 for Arlington County residents ($45 for nonresidents) and a Senior Golf Program fee — $25 for Arlington County residents ($50 for non-residents). The 55+ fee enables participation in a wide range of activities at a number of facilities across the county. And the Senior Golf Program fee helps to pay for the coordinator.

Individuals must apply to become a member – a Wait List application is available on the ASGC website. We often have had a waiting list for membership which is testimony to the Club’s appeal. County rules require at least 50 percent of our members be County residents. Throughout the season, the Membership chair tracks membership to meet the County resident requirement. The Club’s finances are audited annually and that report is made available to the County.

Local Economic Impact

The Club exerts a significant economic impact locally. With as many as 150 golfers participating weekly over a period of roughly 30 weeks, we pump $10,000 or more every week of the season into the local economy in the form of greens fees. And that does not count what our golfers spend on the day of play —for food, beverage, and golfing supplies. Nor is there any accounting for the many dollars we expend on wardrobe and equipment to make fashion and prowess statements aimed at their fellow golfers, many of whom apparently think that ability to play is reflected in one’s dress and equipment!

How We Started

Sixteen golfers, twelve women and four men, took part in that first outing in 1982 — at Pinecrest for nine holes. The group subsequently played Algonkian, Hains Point, Jefferson, Greendale and Leesburg in that initial season. During a meeting in the Jefferson Room of the Quality Inn on November 2 in Leesburg, the Club was officially organized. The first membership meeting was held in January, 1983 in the basement of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, and “Mr. Henry Seymour teaching pro and golf professional from the Northern Virginia Golf Center” was the featured speaker.

For more ASGC history check out How We Got Here! (coming soon)

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