Robin Elbardawil has been one of a handful of women’s rules officials at the Masters the last three years, and now she’s breaking new ground, gender-wise, at a golf trade organization with members from all over North America.
The longtime executive director of the CWGA recently was elected president of the International Association of Golf Administrators, a post she will hold for the next year.
Elbardawil becomes just the fourth woman to hold the IAGA president’s post, and the first since 1986. She’s also the first woman president who represents a women’s golf association.
“It’s kind of exciting,” Elbardawil said Thursday. “Golf historically has been predominantly male-dominated. I’ve been going to this (IAGA) conference for 19 years, and the mix of males and females has really shifted. A lot of women attend the conference now. So it’s nice to represent them in such a visible position.”
When Carol McCue of the Chicago District Golf Association was named the first president of the IAGA in 1968, it was a small group that operated on an informal basis. But now the IAGA has grown into an organization that includes more than 250 golf administrators, who represent over 3 million golfers.
The IAGA serves as a means by which golf administrators can exchange information, techniques and data related to the golf business. It also conducts valuable salary and fees surveys related to golf administration.
The IAGA roster includes members of the USGA, the PGA of America, the Royal Canadian Golf Association, Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, Club Managers Association of America, National Golf Foundation and the National Club Association, along with representatives from most state, regional and provincial golf associations throughout North America. Staffers from both the CGA and CWGA are members.
Elbardawil’s election as president was expected as she has risen through the ranks of officers, and she had mostly recently served as vice president. She’s been a member of the IAGA since 1992, when she started as executive director of the CWGA.
“The (CWGA) board has been very supportive that I’m on the IAGA board,” Elbardawil said. “Representing the CWGA while doing that is a feather in the cap of the CWGA.”
Elbardawil will represent the IAGA — along with the vice president — in addressing the USGA Executive Committee at the USGA’s annual meeting in Phoenix in early February. She’ll also attend the annual IAGA conference and possibly the national Golf Industry Show.
Among the items on the IAGA agenda for the coming year is deciding whether the organization should remain an association of individuals or become an entity of golf associations, per se. Also an issue is whether to allow golf-related vendors to have direct access to administrators at the annual IAGA conference.
The IAGA isn’t the only international golf organization in which Elbardawil plays a role. She also serves on several USGA committees, including Rules of Golf, Handicap Procedure, Regional Associations and the Joe Dey Award that recognizes outstanding volunteers.
