Tough economic times are never fun, especially if you’re going it alone. But teamwork often can make the challenges more surmountable.
Over the years, the various golf associations in Colorado have learned that lesson, and more and more they’re finding that collaborative efforts may be the answer to some of the big-picture problems the sport faces.
That’s one of the reasons the Season Tee-Off Luncheon, which has been a CGA function since it made its debut five years ago, is becoming an event that’s presented by all of the Allied Golf Associations of Colorado.
The CGA, CWGA, Colorado PGA, Colorado Open Golf Foundation and the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America all will be represented when the 2011 luncheon is held Feb. 12 in conjunction with the Denver Golf Expo at the Denver Merchandise Mart.
“There’s absolutely a spirit of cooperation,” CGA executive director Ed Mate said. “It’s like in 2002 when a drought threatened a lot of golf courses, and that was the catalyst that led to the economic impact study (regarding golf in the state). This is a similar time, but the catalyst is not a drought, but the economy and the overall lack of growth in the game. Crisis creates cooperation.”
That cooperation will be particularly evident at the Denver Golf Expo. The CGA/CWGA and the Colorado PGA have their own exhibit areas, but not only is there the sharing of the Tee-Off Luncheon, but the Allied Associations plan to roll out a major joint growth-of-the-game initiative. There’s also the joint-effort Colorado Junior Golf Experience (pictured), an interactive exhibit for youngsters now in its third year at the Expo. And there’s a hospitality room, co-sponsored by the Allied Associations, where Expo exhibitors can meet and chat with key representatives of the various golf organizations.
Another area where the Allied Associations combine efforts is for the one-stop Colorado junior golf web site coloradojuniorgolf.org. They also cooperate in helping to run the Colorado Open Championships, and they jointly support the Colorado Golf Carbon Project, an initiative designed in part to recognize the ecological value of golf courses and to fund golf-related environmental research. In addition, the allied organizations provide financial support for one another’s charitable foundations.
“We consider the (associations) partners in all that we do,” Colorado PGA executive director Eddie Ainsworth said. “We can accomplish more as a team than as individuals.”
In the future, cooperative efforts may include undertaking an updated golf-related environmental impact study, and having a program whereby students can learn about agronomy, wildlife and the environment through first-hand experience at golf courses.
Among those Mate credits with helping the Allied Golf Associations work more closely together are Pat Hamill and Mark Cramer. It was Hamill who resurrected the Colorado Open and established a strong structure for the Colorado Open Championships by assembling all the state’s key golf organizations within the Colorado Open Golf Foundation. And Cramer, who owns and operates the Denver Golf Expo along with his wife Lynn, likewise has been a major conduit for joint-effort initiatives.
“When we join forces, we get better mileage,” Mate said. “It’s not about the CGA, but about working collaboratively.”
