In many ways, the CGA/CWGA and the Colorado PGA are two sides of the same coin, complementing each other in the business of making the game of golf the best it can be in the state.
That was demonstrated again on Monday of this week at the Colorado PGA’s spring business meeting and education seminar at Pinehurst Country Club. There, representatives of the organizations exchanged kind words and the CGA and CWGA presented a check for $115,000 to the Colorado Section.
A large portion of the money will go to the Colorado PGA Foundation, the charitable and philanthropic arm of the association. Beneficiaries include junior golf programs, initiatives for minority and underprivileged youngsters, growth of the game projects and the Colorado PGA Scholarship program.
“We consider the CGA and the CWGA partners in everything we do in golf in Colorado,” Colorado PGA executive director Eddie Ainsworth said. “Their support and partnership mean the world to us. The CGA and CWGA are big contributors to golf in Colorado.”
Monday’s public check presentation by CWGA president Joanne Braucht (pictured, with PGA professional Barry Milstead) and CGA president Jim Magette continues an annual tradition that dates back to 2003, when an agreement was reached between the CGA/CWGA and the Colorado PGA.
That agreement “was all about the spirit of the game and the good of the game,” said CGA executive director Ed Mate, who has worked for the Colorado PGA as well as the CGA. “We support the Section because without them we wouldn’t have anything. As Jim Magette said Monday, the PGA Section golf professional is where the game is launched. Everything we do is dependent on that. We wouldn’t have anything without an advocate at the club level. It used to be that the game was compartmentalized — pros, amateurs, juniors. But the game of golf is not three games; it’s one game. And this partnership is all about working together to improve the game.”
The $115,000 check — the largest single contribution received each year by the Colorado PGA — represents $1 for each of the 65,000 members of the CGA or CWGA, and $50,000 in additional funds that go directly to the Colorado PGA Foundation.
“We share a commitment to each other,” Magette said of the CGA/CWGA and the Colorado PGA.
