Steve asked to share the below with the league.

Hey gang!

I want to take a few moments to share with all of you some health issues I’ve been dealing with for these last few months.

Back in September I was diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer. Since that time, I’ve taken various chemotherapy measures to fight the disease, but unfortunately, my cancer is of a very progressive nature. 

We’ve recently changed the program to abandon chemo, and I’m now in hospice care. For the most part, I actually feel relatively comfortable, but I’ve lost a bunch of weight and now also deal with fatigue, etc.

Unfortunately, it looks as if my days of swinging the club are over, but I’m still hoping to feel good enough at some point to stop by and say “hello” in person. 

I’d like to make clear just how significant being part of the Brookview League has been over these last 15 or so years. Fantastic competition, lots of laughs, and even a little bit of victory sprinkled on top.

Not sure exactly how much fairway I have in front of me, but those in the know are predicting somewhere between 2 and 4 weeks. 

I appreciate you guys keeping me in your thoughts and prayers. 

-Steve Binenstock

Thank you everyone who was able to attend the 2025 Spring Social. For those who were not in attendance or want to see the presentation, you can find it below.

The annual BMGA Spring Social is right around the corner and league starts the following week.  Here are the details for the upcoming events:

Wednesday, April 16th – Spring Social

This event is open to ALL BMGA MEMBERS!

Par 3 / 3-Club Tournament runs from 3PM to dusk. There is no sign up for this event. Head to the par 3 course and find other BMGA players to play with. Please try to put together three or foursomes. The format for this event is you will play Holes 1, 2, 3, 8 and 9.  Length ranges from 120 to 190 yards.  Each player may bring 3 clubs with them – and yes, your putter counts as a club.

You can play as many times as you like. Report your best score in the ball room.

Be mindful of the time and when the meeting starts. There are some changes for 2025!

Below is the full schedule of all events:

• 5:00 PM to 5:20 PM – WNL Captains Q&A. For WNL Captains only, a quick 20 minutes to quickly review the major changes for 2025 and answer any questions. Sweeny Room (downstairs)
• 5:30 PM to 6:00 PM – Spring Meeting.  Basket Creek Room (upstairs)
• 6:10 PM to 6:40 PM – New Members Meeting. Sweeny Room (downstairs)
• 6:40 PM to 7:00 PM – BMGA Board Meeting. Sweeny Room (downstairs)

First week of league starts on April 23rd. If you are a weekend only player, registration is open for the first three tournaments. Find the calendar and sign-up details here: https://bmga.org/2025/02/24/bmga-2025-weekend-calendar/

We are excited to release our BMGA Weekend Tournament Schedule. We have a new tournament to the schedule this year. We will again be using Golf Genius for all weekend tournament. Golf Genius gives us:

• Online course scoring, live leaderboards and more. During each tournament, you will now be able to see the live scores – including hole-by-hole stats.
• More stats for the tournaments and potentially WNL. More information is coming on this one, but the possibilities are endless.
• Better online payment and registration. We will move to Golf Genius registration for tournament, which will remove the have to chase people down months after the fact!

You can register online at this link: https://www.golfgenius.com/ggid/ryfhdb

Date(s)	Tournament	Notes
May 3rd (Saturday)	True North Greek Scramble	8AM to 10:30 Tee Times
May 10th (Saturday)	Rudy Luther Individual Match Play	7AM to 8:30 Tee Times
May 17th (Saturday)	Grove Outdoor Services 2-Person Match Play	7AM to 8:30 Tee Times
June 7th (Saturday)	Lone Ranger	7AM to 8:30 Tee Times
June 21nd (Saturday)	Rotation	7AM to 8:30 Tee Times
July 12th (Saturday)	Rojo Pink Ball	7AM to 8:30 Tee Times
July 26th (Saturday)	CIT 2-Person Scramble	7AM to 8:30 Tee Times
August 9th & 10th (Saturday and Sunday)	Rojo Club Championships	7AM to 8:30 Tee Times
August 23th (Saturday)	The Stableford	7AM to 8:30 Tee Times ** Backup Weekend for CC if rainout
September 21st (Sunday)	Go-Low Golf Calcutta presented by Mulligan’s	8AM Shotgun / 1:30PM Shotgun ** Wednesday, September 10th Auction
October 5th (Sunday)	Shootout	12PM Shotgun
October 24th (Friday)	Banquet	5:30 Social Hour

Welcome to the start of the 2025 golf season. To help plan for next year we are excited to post the following important dates to take note of.

REGISTRATION FORM FOR NEW BMGA MEMBERS! New members, please use the form below to register for the BMGA either Wednesday Night League (WNL) or Weekend Play. Please note, that there are limited spots available for WNL and we expect the leaguet to fill VERY quickly. You will be contacted in the next couple of days to finalize payment.

NOTE: We have filled the WNL by 8:00:30 AM this year. We will be contacting individuals over the next few days!

https://forms.gle/pLDHZB2eUwLWFJoFA

Registration Dates

• Registration for returning members will open on Monday, February 3rd at 8:00 AM
• Registration for new members will open on Monday, February 24th at 8:00 AM

Common FAQ Items for New Members

• How many spots do we expect to have this year? We expect under 5 new members this year. Registration is first come, first serve, so be quick on the registration form on February 24th?
• I have buddies and I would like to play with them every week? This is not the league for you then. Our league is a Ryder Cup style system where players are on one of 16 teams. Each team has 12 players, 8 play each week.
• I live in Golden Valley, do I get to jump to the front of the line? Our priority for registration is Returning WNL Players, Returning Weekend Player who wish to join WNL, then new members. Golden Valley residents get a discount on Brookview Member Card but do not jump the line.
• Can I join Weekend play if WNL is full? Yes! This is honestly how most players get into WNL by join the Weekend League first.

Dues and Registration

• Wednesday Night League + BMGA Dues will cost a total of $480 per player.
• BMGA Dues (Weekend Only Players) will cost a total of $75 per player.
• Weekend Tournaments will cost $60 for a one-day event. Club Championship and Calcutta are different rates.

Wednesday Night League Dates

• WNL Draft will be on Wednesday, March 19th at 6:30 PM
• League Social will be on Wednesday, April 16th with Par 3 rounds starting as soon as 2:00 PM. The presentation will be at 6:00 PM for all members. 6:30 PM will be our new player orientation.
• First Week of League will be April 23rd with the regular season ending on August 27th. There is no league golf on July 2nd.
• September 3rd will be our rain-out make up week.
• Playoffs will run from September 10th to October 1st.

Weekend Dates

Please Note: Formats might change but these are the dates of tournaments.

• May 3 (Saturday) – Greek Scramble
• May 10 (Saturday) – Individual Match Play
• May 17 (Saturday) – 2-person Match Play
• June 7 (Saturday) – Lone Ranger
• June 21 (Saturday) – Rotation
• July 12 (Saturday) – Fourball
• July 26 (Saturday) – 2 Person Scramble
• August 9 & 10 (Saturday & Sunday) – Club Championship
• August 23 & 24 (Saturday) – Stableford
  • NOTE: August 24th is reserved as the backup for the Club Championship in the event of a rainout
• September 21 (Sunday) – Calcutta
• October 5 (Sunday) – Shootout

End of Season Banquet

• October 24 (Friday)

We hope that providing these dates early gives you enough time to plan and participant in as many tournaments as possible next season!

The BMGA Board

It was a great evening with nearly 150 attendees. While Howard Hoffman once again won the cub championship, many more awards and recognitions were announced.

See more photos at: https://photos.app.goo.gl/2dec7Lv2V7CA695T9

For those who have registered for the banquet, this is a reminder of the schedule and details.

WHERE? At Brookview Golf Course.

WHEN? The bar will open at 5:30 PM. We anticipate food starting at 6:30 PM. For those who signed up for Background Child Care, that will be available starting at 5:55 PM.

We expect the presentation to start at 7:15 PM and be wrapped up by 8PM.

With the banquet on Friday, this year of WNL is a wrap. Congrats to everyone on another fantastic year of the best league in the metro.

Kudos to the champs Par Then Bar and WNL MVP Steve Couture!

They’re not the only ones going home with some Brookview credits this year though. Below is the list of payouts which should be credited in the coming days.

See you all in 2025!

Conference Team Winners ($40 per player)

Golden Valley Conference: Team Hack Attack

Roster: Brent Nordstrom, Dave Supalla, Kevin Monogue, Lee Hulkonen, Matthew Doherty, Ryan Brunt, Ryan Pula, Brett Notvedt, Brennen Wolter, Steve Bensen, Sam Casey, Chris Reuter

Bassett Creek Conference: I Like Big Putts

Roster: Howard Hoffman, Joe Luchsinger, Joe Minnich, Mike Pokorney, Paul Yakshe, Steve Binenstock, Tom Nestvold, Brian Barlow, Will Rosengren, Sheldon Silberman, Dan Kjorsvik, Patrick Hoffman

Division Team Winners ($20 per player)

Golden Valley East: Who’s Your Caddy

Roster: Steve Shellenbaum, Brent Lindstrom, Chuck Bernardy, Doug Paquette, Mike Manion, Stan Hop, Steve Slivken, Brad Soderling, Peter Steichen, Matt McClernan, Steve Couture, Ben Drews

Bassett Creek South: Bald Man Brewing

Roster: Bill Wallace, Doug Lang, Doug Zuck, Jim Stetler, Justin Wallace, Luke Fox, Tom Scheunemann, Jeff Gillis, Daniel Jacobs, Theo Scheunemann, John Von Eschen, William Guthrie

Semifinal Champions ($30 per player)

Par Then Bar

Roster: Phil Berndt, Adam Thom, Andy Marten, Gregory Donahue, Kyle Johnsrud, Kyle Spicer, Matthew Payne, Christian Tietz, Brett Mory, Philip Barlow, Tyler Lux, Randy Zejdlik

Bald Man Brewing

Roster: Bill Wallace, Doug Lang, Doug Zuck, Jim Stetler, Justin Wallace, Luke Fox, Tom Scheunemann, Jeff Gillis, Daniel Jacobs, Theo Scheunemann, John Von Eschen, William Guthrie

Team Champion ($35 per player)

Par Then Bar

Roster: Phil Berndt, Adam Thom, Andy Marten, Gregory Donahue, Kyle Johnsrud, Kyle Spicer, Matthew Payne, Christian Tietz, Brett Mory, Philip Barlow, Tyler Lux, Randy Zejdlik

WNL MVP ($250): Steve Couture

Each year the BMGA Board elects three individuals to serve a three-year term to the BMGA Board. Of those elected, in their second year, one of those three individuals must be elected to serve as Vice President and then President in their third year.

This year we are excited to have six candidates for this election. An email will go out by the end of the week with voting details to all current BMGA members. Those elected to the board will be announced at the banquet.

Here is the list of names in alphabetical order, along with their submitted photo and biography.

Brian Beitlich My name is Brian Beitlich (pronounced Bite-Lick). I’ve been in the league for 10 years, and have talked about running for a board position for a few years now. I don’t have a bunch of big ideas or an agenda- I just feel the need to contribute to the league that has contributed so much to me. I always say that the league doesn’t run itself, so I’d like to make good on that and help out. Cheers!
Phil Berndt Looking forward to hopefully helping out the league on the board to support the majority and have a fun and financially sound men’s golf league! I have been in the league since 2014 (possibly 2015) can’t quite remember. Captain for 4 years on Par then Bar (recent champion)!  Would like to be a voice for all and hopefully can continue to improve a great league.
Jimmy Buckingham I’m Jimmy, esteemed member of Brookie Strong, 1-time champion of Wednesday night league, and looking to become a board member of the BMGA. I have been in the league for 3 years and this is the most well run league I’ve been a part of in any sport, and I’m looking to contribute to the BMGA. I’ve been co-running a 100+ player golf tournament for the better part of 12 years, and have gotten to know a lot of the BMGA members over the last few years.
Chris Gaspard Chris Gaspard-Finishing 4th year in the league. Hoping to improve my knowledge of the game. I enjoy the comrade of the league and hope to do my part to improve it.
Luke Rajkowski I am Luke Rajkowski and I just completed my second year in the league. Golf has been a passion of mine since my grandpa put a club in my hand at six years old. I grew up near Brookview and spent so much time there. I have enjoyed being part of the league and would be honored to be part of the board.  Brookview is near and dear to me and I want to be part of keeping this league strong.
Sheldon Silberman My existing three-year term is expiring and I have committed to run for another three-year term.  Over the past three years, my focus has been to step in where my talents and interest can improve our overall league experience. One example is an attempt to improve our pace of play, particularly on Wednesday nights.  I instigated the volunteer spotter program in 2022, and, while it was appreciated by many, it did little to solve the problem.  In 2023 as WNL Director, I added the end time to our scorecards and kept track in each weekly post on our web site.  Drawing attention to this seemed to have some impact.  It is clearly one of the things members seem to want to fix – or at least complain about. I also improved our posting time from “the end of the week” to next day posting of results by streamlining and automating certain aspects of the work. I will continue to look for effective methods to improve on this issue.  We made great strides this past year moving to Golf Genius as our scoring tool.   I helped test and write up a transition guide for the WNL scoring that was implemented.  I provided back-up to this year’s WNL Director. I am also very proud of your boards efforts to discuss and adjust our plans to hold the line on costs as best we can considering what the membership wants.  I would like to continue to work this problem establishing more sponsorship opportunities to help contain our costs while providing a valuable social, competitive league and tournament season.   As a retired “senior” golfer, I believe I represent a significant segment of our nearly 200 members.  I have lived in Golden Valley for more than 40 years and have been a BMGA member for over 20 years.