The transition from what was long known as the CWGA Annual Meeting to what is now named the CGA Women’s Annual Meeting appeared seamless on Saturday at the Hilton Denver Inverness.

To be sure, there were some questions from attendees about how specific things will work now that the CGA and CWGA are one unified organization.

But, generally speaking, longtime CGA executive director Ed Mate seemed to sum up the mood of the day when he noted, “We’re just better together. It’s that simple.”

Saturday’s Women’s Annual Meeting featured many of the mainstays from years past — there were golf worshops, a silent auction to benefit the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado, awards presentations, brunch and plenty of socializing among the 175 attendees, which represented about 90 clubs from around the state.

But the one thing that veered from the normal was a panel discussion featuring CGA co-presidents Juliet Miner and Joe McCleary, with Mate asking questions. (Pictured above are, from left, McCleary, Mate and Miner.) One of those queries was about the integration of the CGA and the CWGA, which became official as of Jan. 1. It’s part of a nationwide effort by the USGA to streamline its relationship with state and regional golf associations by partnering with just one full-service Allied Golf Association in each state or region. 

Subsequently, the board of directors of the two associations have formed into one leadership team — in fact it held a quarterly meeting just after the Women’s Annual Meeting. McCleary, the CGA president for the past two years, and Miner, who  served as the CWGA president for a similar time, are co-presidents of the CGA for 2018. And the staff of the associations have also merged, based out of the current CGA offices in Greenwood Village.

“We love to do course rating, we love to run tournaments, we love to run USGA qualifiers, we love to work with (members),” Miner told the audience at the Women’s Annual Meeting. “It was only obvious to our membership that this (unification) was a good thing because now we’re bigger, better, stronger, richer — and we have lots of staff. If you talk to our staff, each and every one of them loves the synergy of being in that office together. … This is not just to make the best of something that the USGA decided was a good idea for golf, but to make it the best for golf in Colorado, and to be a beacon for golf in the United States of America.”

McCleary feels similary after going through a unification process that lasted more than two years.

“From the beginning I said, ‘Let’s do what’s best for golf and golfers in the state of Colorado,” he told the attendees. “We needed to come together as one organization representing both men and women (in order) to lay the groundwork for the future. Things are changing. It’s incredibly important to do what we’ve done. I think it’s paid dividends and it will pay significant dividends in the future.”

Laura Robinson, former CWGA executive director and current managing director of membership and integration for the CGA, organized Saturday’s meeting and liked the way the panel discussion went.

“I hope the women here who heard Joe, Juliet and Ed talk gained a sense of confidence that this (integration) is really good for women’s golf,” Robinson said.

One way that the inification paid off tangibly was evident on Saturday. Last year, the silent auction at the CWGA Annual Meeting raised slightly under $7,000 for junior golf. This year, more than double that total — $15,365 to be exact — was raised for the cause (left). With increased resources being brought to bear with the merged organizations, close to 100 items were available for auction, and a nearly two-week-long online element was added this year, yielding $7,570 of the $15,365 total.

All in all, Miner saw this year’s Annual Meeting as a valuable tool in more ways than one.

“I think the meeting went as successfully as it has been for the last number of years,” she said. “The difference is that we had all of the (pre-existing) CGA board here, which is comprised of mostly men. They’re all here and they’re seeing what we do. They get to see our product — which before they’d only heard about — up close.”

Saddle Rock WGA Named Women’s Club of the Year: For the second straight year, a Women’s Club of the Year was recognized at the Annual Meeting, and this year the honor went to members of the Saddle Rock Women’s Golf Association (left).

The award is presented to a club that has demonstrated a commitment to golf or their community through innovative programs such as fundraising, programs or competitions.

Saddle Rock WGA stood out in part thanks to a tweak of the traditional member-guest tournament format that led to additional fundraising for a good cause. The club played a “Cha-Cha-Cha for Charity” and members were able to invite multiple guests, which increased participation significantly. That resulted in a donation of more than $1,100 to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Additionally, to support the teaching and development of junior golf programs in the community, money was raised for the Paul McMullen Scholarship Fund. Also, Saddle Rock has long provided volunteers for the annual Grandview High School girls golf invitational, running shuttles, registration, check-in and scoring.

The Saddle Rock WGA has celebrated 20 years as an association, with 10 of its original members still actively participating in league play.

Other nominees for the Women’s Club of the Year were:

— Aurora Hills 9-Hole Women’s Golf Association
— Kissing Camels Ladies Golf Association
— Pinery Ladies Golf Association
— Red Sky Ranch
— Riverdale Women’s Golf Association

Last year’s co-Clubs of the Year were from Patty Jewett and Fitzsimons.

Miner Honored as Volunteer of the Year: Juliet Miner has overseen much in her two  years as president of the CWGA and now as co-president of the CGA. There was the hiring of a new CWGA executive director. There was the CWGA celebrating the centennial of its founding. There was the CWGA joining forces with the CGA in establishing a single USGA-affiliated golf association in Colorado.

On Saturday, for all Miner has done for the CWGA, she was named the Volunteer of the Year. (She’s pictured speaking to attendees.)

(FYI: A feature story on Miner and her accomplishments will be published later this month on the coloradogolf.org and coloradowomensgolf.org websites.)

Players of the Year for 2017: The CWGA Players of the Year — and the winner of a related award — were announced last fall, but the three honorees were publicly recognized on Saturday.

Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster, the CWGA’s Player of the Year the previous three seasons, was given the President’s Award, the CWGA’s highest honor. Mary Weinsten of Highlands Ranch earned the Player of the Year honor. And Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton won the Senior Player of the Year Award for the eighth time in nine years. Eaton, now an Arizona resident, was likewise named the Arizona Women’s Golf Association Senior POY in 2017, earning that honor for the sixth time.

Kupcho and Weinstein are in the midst of their college seasons — Kupcho at Wake Forest and Weinstein at the University of Denver — and were unable to attend Saturday’s festivities. But Eaton (left) traveled from Arizona for the event.

For information on the 2017 accomplishments of the three players, CLICK HERE.

In Short: A $7,000 check — from money raised at the 2017 CWGA Annual Meeting, was presented Saturday to Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Alan Abrams, president of the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado. … Besides CGA co-presidents Juliet Miner and Joe McCleary and executive director Ed Mate, among those in attendance Saturday were the CGA volunteer board of directors, Colorado PGA executive director Eddie Ainsworth and Colorado Golf Hall of Fame president Scott Radcliffe and executive director Jennifer Lyons. The CWGA is receiving a Distinguished Service Award from the Golf Hall of Fame in May. … Among the announcements to attendees on Saturday was a reminder that the Girls Junior America’s Cup, a tournament featuring many of the top female junior golfers from the western U.S., along with Canada and Mexico, will be played in Colorado for the first time in 18 years. The event is set for July 25-27 at Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen. … Recognized Saturday for its fundraising was the Raccoon Creek Ladies 9-Hole Group, whose 2017 tournament to benefit the Evans Scholarship for caddies led to a $1,200 donation. … Among the former CWGA board members — and current CGA board members — who have accepted chairperson duties for CGA committees are Laurie Steenrod (Course Rating Committee) and Phyllis Jensen (Tournament Site Selection Committee). … Miner said CGA Women’s Annual Meetings will continue into the future “as long as you (attendees) keep coming.”
 

“Our beginning year we were hoping to shoot, using a golf analogy, 1 or 2 over par,” Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Alan Abrams, the president of the JGAC and the director of golf at Indian Tree Golf Club, said at the recent CWGA Annual Meeting. “But we had an incredible sub-par round and ended up winning the tournament. Exciting things happened for us that first year.”

But one thing about setting a high bar is that it’s a formidable standard to meet going forward. That’s the situation that faces the JGAC as it begins season 2 in 2017. The second-year activities have already started with the kickoff last Sunday of the “Off-Season Education Series.” And next weekend (April 8-9) will mark the first JGAC tournaments of the year as a Tour event is planned for the Country Club of Colorado in Colorado Springs and a Spring Series tournament for Pueblo Country Club.

All told, there are about 119 competitions planned for this year, a total which includes Drive Chip & Putt qualifiers but not PGA Junior League events. That’s up a whopping 35 percent from last year’s total.

“I credit the (Colorado) PGA for this,” said CGA managing director of operations Dustin Jensen, a director of the JGAC along with Colorado PGA assistant executive director Keith Soriano. “We have the super-competitive events (for top-level players) covered. We didn’t need more of those tournaments. Where we needed to grow was to engage other junior golfers — not just the high end, but everybody.”

Which led to the decision to create a JGAC Prep League, a pilot program that ideally will include 27 events in 2017, mostly from mid-August to the beginning of October. The idea is that these events would offer competitive opportunities to junior varsity-level golfers and players who haven’t had the chance to compete much. (The fall is the boys prep golf season and the JGAC will partner with high schools in this endeavor).

Another addition to the JGAC agenda this year is a Western Slope swing during the tournament season. A total of six events will be held in western Colorado:

— June 6 at Vail Golf Club.

— June 28 at Battlement Mesa Golf Club.

— July 16 at Willow Creek Par-3 in Eagle-Vail, a team event.

— July 17-18 at Gypsum Creek GC and Eagle Ranch GC, a two-day event.

— July 19 at Bookcliff Country Club in Grand Junction.

— And Aug. 5-6 at Tiara Rado Golf Course in Grand Junction, the Western Junior Championship, which takes the place of the old Daily Sentinel Western Chapter Junior Championship.

“We really made a concerted effort to get events in western Colorado,” Jensen said. “We had the rest of the state covered. We have a huge contingent of kids — probably 30 — who come over from West Slope to play in our events. We needed to make an effort to reach out to them and have some events over there.”

Another new wrinkle this year is a “spring points chase”. The top three boys and top three girls in the points standings after three spring Tour events will earn spots in the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior by Transamerica that’s being hosted by Walnut Creek Golf Preserve (the former Heritage at Westmoor) June 6-8.

And, of course, there’s always a focus on the JGAC majors — the de facto Grand Slam events for junior golf in Colorado, both on the boys and girls side. This year they’re set for Eisenwhower Golf Club at the Air Force Academy (Colorado Junior PGA June 12-14), Legacy Ridge Golf Course in Westminster (Colorado Junior Amateur July 10-12), Black Bear Golf Club in Parker (Colorado Junior Match Play July 31-Aug. 2), and Cherry Hills Country Club (JGAC Tour Championship Oct. 7-8).

The boys and girls Junior America’s Cup competitions also fall under the auspices of the JGAC. This year, the boys tournament is July 25-27 in Dupont, Wash., while the girls tourney is set for Aug. 1-3 in Henderson, Nev.

Beyond tournaments and competitions, another addition this year is the aforementioned Off-Season Education Series, taught by highly regarded instructors and top experts in a given field.

The series includes four sessions in the spring, starting last weekend with the keys to practice and the mental game. And there will be several more in the fall.

Other sessions in the spring are entitled The Road to College Golf (Sunday, led by many of the NCAA Division I head coaches in Colorado); Performance on the Course and in the Gym (April 23, led by Elena King and Dee Tidwell); and Focus on the Short Game (May 7, led by Jerry Walters and Doug Wherry).

For more information about the Off-Season Education Series, CLICK HERE.

All told, JGAC officials are anticipating a 10 percent increase in membership this season compared to 2016.
 

As meetings go, what could be better than an event which features the Rules of Golf being taught Dr. Seuss style — complete with rhymes and big colorful hats — and adds equal doses kids-based philanthrophy, collaboration, awards and learning, with a little frivolity mixed in?

The CWGA Annual Meeting, held Saturday at The Inverness Hotel & Conference Center, included all of the above and more. With almost 200 people on hand, many representing about 75 clubs from around the state, there was a little something for everyone.

CWGA rules officials Jan Fincher, Karla Harding and Sandy Schnitzer set a humorous, yet educational tone by donning Dr. Seuss hats and even writing Seuss-like rhymes for their Rules of Golf breakout session:

Look at the greens. Look ’em over with care. Mark your ball and proceed. Do it with flair.

The rule that has changed is quite fundamental. Just put the ball back. Was it accidental? …

“We do it every year (with an ingenious approach to a Rules breakout session), but we’ve gotten more fun,” noted Harding, pictured below with Schnitzer.

“Every year we have Rules of Golf breakout sessions, and every year Jan Fincher, Karla Harding and Sandy Schnitzer come up with a new educational way to teach the Rules of Golf,” noted CWGA executive director Laura Robinson. “Last year it was a Jeopardy game. This year they came up with the Dr. Seuss adaptation. And they wouldn’t be the three of them without wearing the hats.

“It’s a balance. The Rules are complex and can be overwhelming, and what we’re trying to achieve in these breakout sessions is some education, and we’re going to bring it down to a level that’s easy to understand so that when you’re out on the golf course you have the confidence to apply some of these Rules. We’re not trying to teach all 500 pages of the Decisions book.”

Among those in attendance for the Annual Meeting festivities on Saturday was a who’s who of golf orgnizations from Colorado and beyond: There was representation from the USGA and leaders of the CGA, Colorado PGA, CoBank Colorado Open championships, the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado and the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame. Included was Highlands Ranch resident Mark Passey, a director of regional affairs for the USGA who plans to retire from the national organization on July 1, after more than 27 years.

“Look around the room,” noted Colorado Golf Hall of Fame executive director Sammie Chergo, one of Saturday’s speakers. “You have so many people here from the world of golf in Colorado that want to work together and make golf in Colorado great.”

And much of that effort revolves around building a solid foundation for the future through support of junior golf. So on Saturday, the CWGA presented a check for $10,000 to the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado, a comprehensive set of programs and tournaments led by the CGA, Colorado PGA and the CWGA. In its inaugural year of 2016, the JGAC included 836 members, who played 3,695 rounds in Junior Alliance events. The JCAC also includes such things as the Colorado PGA Golf in Schools program, the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy, PGA Junior League, the Hale Irwin Elite Player Program and Drive, Chip & Putt competitions.

“Our beginning year we were hoping to shoot, using a golf analogy, 1 or 2 over par,” said Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Alan Abrams, the president of the JGAC . “But we had an incredible sub-par round and ended up winning the tournament. Exciting things happened for us that first year.

“Thanks to all of you (CWGA members) for … the wisdom to (support) junior golf. Obviously, that’s a legacy that you’ll have, and this Alliance covers everything junior golf in the state. Congratulations for giving us this great gift. I promise we will take it and do great things with it.”

(Abrams is pictured at top receiving the check from CWGA president Juliet Miner.)

In addition to the $10,000 — which was raised in 2016 by the CWGA — the association earned another $6,723 for junior golf through a silent auction and other sales held Saturday at the Annual Meeting.

“It looks like the silent auction once again broke the bank so we’re very pleased,” Miner said.

Overall regarding the meeting on Saturday, “In spite of the beautiful weather — it’s hard to compete with 70 degrees in March — we had a great turnout,” Miner noted.

Fitzsimons, Patty Jewett, Heggie Receive CWGA Awards: Saturday’s meeting also recognized the CWGA’s award winners for 2016, including the Club of the Year, which is a new honor.

The women’s clubs from Fitzsimons and Patty Jewett Golf Courses shared the inaugural Club of the Year Award for their work in raising money for charity, growing membership, etc.

Fitzsimons made significant charitable contributions thanks to annual golf events for the Susan G. Komen Foundation and the Colorado chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. And it took pro-active steps to bringing new golfers into the fold, and paid tribute to veterans and their families, which is inherent given the course’s military roots.

Patty Jewett raised almost $10,800 for charity through golf and related events in 2016. In addition to that money, members volunteered for Special Olympics, for cleanup day at the course, and for the CWGA.

“I think what you heard today through our Club of the Year awards and our fundraising efforts is that a lot of women’s organizations are very good at giving back,” Robinson said. “I think what you saw here was reaffirming that it really is about helping others through what we do.

“We tried to tally how much our clubs raised for charity this year through grassroots events and we think it’s well over $100,000, not including what we do in the office.”

Meanwhile, the 2016 CWGA Volunteer of the Year Award went to Vivian Heggie, who worked as a rules official at more CWGA championships and USGA qualifiers last year than any other volunteer. That included a dawn-to-dusk 36-hole U.S. Women’s Open qualifer in very cold and rainy conditions at Heritage at Westmoor.

“Our winner (Heggie, pictured in a yellow shirt-collar with Schnitzer) personifies dedication to the game of golf and dedication to making sure the players are well looked after and that they have a memorable experience,” Miner said. “It takes more than knowledge of the Rules to be a good rules official. It takes tact and the appropriate way to deliver a difficult message at times. Of course, it always helps if you have a delightful English accent (like Heggie). It takes perseverance and patience, and great respect for the players.”

The CWGA Player of the Year and Senior Player of the Year winners, both previously announced, also were recognized on Saturday. Both Jennifer Kupcho (the POY who is competing in a college tournament for Wake Forest) and Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton (the SPOY who is playing in a Legends Tour event in Arizona) could not attend because they’re at tournaments, but sent their thanks. For more on their accomplishments in 2016, CLICK HERE.

“I’d like to thank the Colorado Women’s Golf Association for selecting me for this award,” said Kupcho, who received the POY honor for an unprecedented third straight season. “It’s a great honor to be your Player of the Year … My first time at Denver Country Club (in winning the CWGA Stroke Play) was definitely one to remember.”

Said Eaton, the SPOY for the seventh time in eight years: “Thank you to the CWGA for this honor. I had every intention of being there today, but I received a better invitation — to play in the LPGA Legends Tour event in Arizona. I had a great year and did not want to pass up that opportunity. … I’m very grateful that I continue to play well and enjoy the game so much.”

Also receiving recognition Saturday was the nine-hole women’s club from Raccoon Creek Golf Course, which was the top 2016 CWGA fundraiser for the Evans Scholarship for caddies, bringing in $1,450. Almost 60 caddies currently receive full tuition and housing Evans Scholarships at the University of Colorado, with about a quarter of them being young women.

Chip Shots: Among the speakers on Saturday besides Chergo were CGA executive director Ed Mate and Colorado Open Golf Foundation CEO Kevin Laura, both of whom spoke on topics in the news this week. Mate, who serves on the USGA Rules of Golf Committee, gave attendees an update on the Rules changes the USGA and R&A proposed that are expected to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2019. And Laura noted some big news that was announced on Thursday — that the CoBank Colorado Women’s Open is increasing its purse to $150,000 and more than quadrupling its first prize to $50,000. …

CWGA Centennial Committee co-chairs Phyllis Jensen and Nancy Wilson assembled 357 slides, 511 pictures and a lot of memorabilia from CWGA centennial-year activities and events in 2016 into a scrapbook and a slideshow. On Saturday, they presented their work to Miner for CWGA historical purposes. “I want to thank (Jensen and Wilson) for stepping forward,” Miner said. “They made our centennial a great success.” (Wilson, Miner and Jensen are pictured at left.) …

With the CWGA planning to unveil an updated logo in the near future, 24 proposed logo submissions that the association received were showed off to attendees on Saturday. “Many people have said a woman with a long skirt (as in the current logo) is not representative of golf today,” Miner said. “We don’t want to necessarily change the logo to something that is unrecognizable, but we do want to modernize it.” …

CWGA organizers were pleased with Saturday’s attendance, which was just shy of 200. “We had one of the biggest turnouts, and as a follow-up to the centennial year, that says something,” Robinson said. “Today we achieved our objective by making it educational and giving lots of information, besides celebrating women’s golf in Colorado.”
 

On Sunday, two of the most prominent success stories from Colorado junior golf over the last several decades showed their stuff on national stages.

Mark Hubbard, winner of the CGA Junior Stroke Play and Junior Match Play in 2007, finished 26th in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, marking his fourth top-30 showing of the season on the PGA Tour.

And Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Brandt Jobe, who likewise won the CGA Junior Stroke Play and Junior Match Play, finished sixth in just his third start on the PGA Tour Champions circuit, at the Chubb Classic.

With that as a backdrop, Colorado junior golf took another big step forward on Tuesday as details of a new alliance were announced at the G4 Summit of industry leaders at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs.

The CGA and Colorado PGA, which last fall announced plans to join forces to bolster junior golf in the state, unveiled the name for their joint venture — the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado — and the alliance’s logo and tagline (#jackedforjrgolf). In addition, the alliance’s website, juniorgolfcolorado.org, will be fully launched early next month, though some relevant basic information is on the site currently.

The alliance also opened tournament registration for the junior golf schedule which for the first time features four major championships and more than 70 events overall (CLICK HERE for schedule). The first events on the 2016 schedule are set for April 16-17 in Colorado Springs. With the help of the CWGA, a contributing partner for the alliance, the four junior majors will feature divisions for both boys and girls.

Golfers must be a member of the JGAC to sign up for events. A membership costs $100. Some of the benefits of that membership include a GHIN handicap number, college preparation counseling, volunteer opportunities, and rounds of free golf.

The junior alliance will have events both for top-level players — including a Junior Tour which will feature the four junior majors — as well as for up-and-coming golfers through the development Junior Series. In short, there will be tournaments and events for players of all ages (starting at 6) and abilities.

“This is going to be huge,” said Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Alan Abrams (left), the first president for the alliance and a past recipient of the national Junior Golf Leader award from the PGA of America. “This is going to be great for our juniors, parents and grandparents. It’s going to be great for the game. And it’s going to be a win-win for those of those in golf.

“This is very historic for the state of Colorado. … I’m jacked for junior golf.”

Several Colorado junior golfers from years past who have gone on to success professionally will be lending their names to the JGAC cause, including Hubbard; Becca Huffer, a former CWGA Player of the Year and three-time Junior Player of the Year who went on to win the CoBank Colorado Women’s Open; and Kelly Jacques, a two-time CWGA Junior Player of the Year who competed in five events on the LPGA Tour in 2013. Both Huffer and Jacques qualified for and played in the U.S. Women’s Open in 2012. Huffer has played on the Symetra Tour in recent years, while Jacques works for Golf Channel.

The new Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado website, juniorgolfcolorado.org, will, when fully functional, include registration for Junior Tour and Junior Series events, and information on the PGA Junior League; the Colorado PGA Golf in Schools program, which exposes school kids to the game through P.E. classes; the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy; the Drive, Chip & Putt Championship; the First Tee and much more. Basically, it’s a clearinghouse for all things junior golf in Colorado.

The alliance also offers a “player development pathway” which can help a junior golfer identify more playing opportunities based on his or her skill level. That includes programs such as Golf in Schools, PGA Junior League, Drive Chip & Putt, instructional camps, clinics and more.

All in all, the idea is to streamline, improve and expand the junior golf experience in Colorado.

A further rollout of the junior golf alliance to the general public will take place this weekend at the Denver Golf Expo, set for Friday through Sunday (Feb. 19-21) at the Denver Mart (58th and I-25).

The logo for the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado was designed by Adrenalin, the same company that came up with the logos for the CGA that were unveiled a year ago. Adrenalin, Inc., a branding, marketing and design agency based in Denver, has also done logos and other services for the Phoenix (now Arizona) Coyotes of the NHL and the University of Denver.
 

Editor’s Note: With the CGA celebrating the 100th anniversary of its founding in 1915, this is the ninth monthly installment of a series of stories looking back on the last century of golf in Colorado. All the articles are being published on coloradogolf.org. This chapter focuses on the period from 1995-2004. For the previous installments, CLICK HERE.

There have been many groundbreaking and pivotal moments for women in the history of golf in Colorado and beyond, but it hasn’t gotten much bigger in the Centennial State than in the mid- and late-1990s.

It started with The Broadmoor Golf Club in Colorado Springs hosting the 50th U.S. Women’s Open in 1995, marking the first time arguably the top championship in women’s golf has come to Colorado — or the Mountain time zone, for that matter. And though no one realized it at the time, one of the sport’s all-time greats was to emerge, as Annika Sorenstam made that tournament the first of what would become 72 LPGA Tour victories before she unexpectedly retired in 2008.

In the first of her 10 major championship wins, Sorenstam (below) finished a stroke ahead of Meg Mallon and two in front of Pat Bradley and Betsy King at The Broadmoor’s historic East Course. That was the first year the U.S. Women’s Open featured a purse of at least $1 million.

While all that was huge from a historical perspective, the next year was even more unique.

That was when Colorado Springs resident Judy Bell was elected president of the USGA, becoming the first female to hold that post. In fact, Bell’s two-year term beginning in January 1996 remains the only one in which a woman has served as USGA president since Theodore Havemeyer became the first president of the association in 1894.

“I bet that’s the first time the incoming president kissed the outgoing president on the way to the dais,” Bell memorably joked after it was announced she would succeed Reg Murphy.

But, as former USGA president Stuart Bloch noted, “Judy’s gender, I don’t believe, was a consideration in her election. Her abilities, I think, were the consideration that caused her to be selected as the first woman president. If she were a man, she would have been elected.”

Overall, Bell was the third Coloradan to become USGA president, following Denver residents Frank Woodward (1915-16) and Will Nicholson Jr. (1980-81). (Bell is pictured at top in a USGA photo presenting the low-amateur award to Cristie Kerr at the 1996 U.S. Women’s Open.)

During Bell’s presidency, the USGA started the “For the Good of the Game” program, a $50 million initiative which aimed to increasingly spread the game to groups such as youth, minorities and the disabled.

Bell had had a long, distinguished career as both a player and a volunteer golf administrator leading up to her presidency. She had served on the USGA Women’s Committee starting in 1968 and chaired that committee from 1981 to ’84. Then in 1987, she became the first woman elected to the USGA Executive Committee.

On the playing end, Bell won three Kansas women’s amateurs, starting at age 15, and three Broadmoor Ladies Invitation titles, competed in 38 USGA championships and was both a player and captain on U.S. Curtis Cup teams. And in 1964, she shot the lowest round in the history of the U.S. Women’s Open, a 6-under-par 67, a standard which stood for 14 years.

For all this and much more, Bell was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2001.

But Bell wasn’t the only woman from Colorado in USGA volunteer leadership roles around this time. Colorado Springs’ Barbara McIntire, winner of two U.S. Women’s Amateurs and a British Ladies Amateur, served as USGA Women’s Committee chair in 1995-96, and Denver’s Joan Birkland, another accomplished athlete, followed McIntire in that role in 1997-98.

On a more local level, 1995 marked the debut of the Colorado Women’s Open.

Here are some of the other Colorado golf highlights of the period from 1995-2004:

— Steve Jones (left), who grew up in Yuma, Colo., and played golf at the University of Colorado, won the 1996 U.S. Open, overcoming runners-up Davis Love and Tom Lehman. The victory culminated a remarkable comeback after Jones was off the PGA Tour for almost three years following a dirt-bike accident in November 1991. The victory gave former CU golfers four U.S. Open titles — three for Hale Irwin and one for Jones.

— In 1996, the CGA entered into an agreement with the Lowry Redevelopment Authority to purchase the former Lowry Air Force Base golf course. The CWGA became partner with the CGA in the purchase of the course. The site is now home of CommonGround Golf Course, which is owned and operated by the CGA and CWGA.

— From 1996 to ’98, Ken Krieger won three consecutive Colorado PGA Professional Championships, becoming the second player in the 1990s to do so, joining Ron Vlosich (1991-93).

— In the five-year period from 1997-2001, an amazing 42 courses opened in Colorado.

— Cherry Hills Country Club hosted the 1998 Trans Miss, won by Dan Dunkelberg. Coloradan John Olive was the runner-up.

— CU graduate Hale Irwin won two U.S. Senior Opens in three years, in 1998 and 2000. That gave the former Buff a total of five USGA championships, including his three U.S. Opens.

— In 1998, The Broadmoor hosted the biennial PGA Cup matches, which pits the top club professionals from the U.S. and Great Britain & Ireland. In Colorado Springs, the U.S. defeated GB&I 17-9.

— In the period from 1999 to 2002, Kevin Stadler won the CGA Match Play title twice, along with the 2002 Colorado Open championship in his pro debut. During the decade 1995-2004, Stadler and Jonathan Kaye (1996) won the Colorado Open en route to becoming PGA Tour champions.

— John Olive, winner of the 1977 CGA Match Play, became one of the top senior players in Colorado history. In addition to claiming titles in five CGA Senior Stroke Plays and four Senior Match Plays during this decade, he won the inaugural Colorado Senior Open (1999) and remains the only amateur to earn the title in that event.

— Colorado PGA members received four more PGA of America national awards in this decade: Alan Abrams (1997 Junior Golf Leader), Mike McGetrick (1999 Teacher of the Year), Charles “Vic” Kline (2000 Golf Professional of the Year) and Russ Miller (2003 Resort Merchandiser of the Year).

— In 2000, Coloradan Kaye Kessler won the PGA of America’s National Lifetime Achievement Award for Journalism.

— Also in 2000, Warren Simmons retired as CGA executive director, with Ed Mate succeeding him. Mate continues in the position to this day.

— Nicki Cutler won the CWGA Stroke Play three times in a four-year period from 2000-03.

— Rick DeWitt, the 1999 CGA Stroke Play champ, won the last of his record seven CGA Mid-Amateur titles in 2002 before being inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame and later turning pro. He was named CGA Player of the Year a record six times.

— With financial issues and mismanagement burdening the Colorado Open, the 2003 championship was called off during tournament week. Thanks in large part to developer Pat Hamill, the event was resurrected in 2004.

— The International at Castle Pines saw two future World Golf Hall of Famers — Phil Mickelson (1993 and ’97) and Davis Love III (1990 and 2003) win the PGA Tour event for the second time.

— Les Fowler, a Colorado Golf Hall of Fame player and a former CGA president who had a key role in the CGA acquiring the golf course at Lowry, passed away in 2003.

— In 2004, Steve Irwin, a former pro who regained his amateur status, joined his father Hale (1966) as a winner of the CGA Match Play.

— Jamie Lovemark won the prestigious 2004 Western Junior at Denver Country Club. Lovemark later became the No. 1-ranked amateur in the world.
 

The Colorado Golf Hall of Fame, which inducted its first class 40 years ago, is taking its show on the road.

The first stop was last weekend’s Denver Golf Expo, and after flying under the radar for much of its four decades of existence, the CGHOF is hoping that’s a springboard toward taking on a higher profile in the future.

The Hall of Fame recently purchased a large touch-screen monitor, and the organization has streamlined biographies of all its 128 inductees and has added narration provided by CGA communications director Aaron Kellough — all so a Hall of Fame kiosk can easily be set up wherever it’s appropriate for golf functions around the state.

“Our whole goal here is to help us get exposure to the golf community regarding what the Golf Hall of Fame is all about,” said Keith Schneider, who serves as the volunteer president of the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in addition to being the general manager at Castle Pines Golf Club, where he’s been a fixture since the early 1980s.

Schneider, himself a Colorado Golf Hall of Fame inductee, and several of his cohorts manned the Hall of Fame’s exhibit last weekend at its coming-out party at the Denver Golf Expo at the Denver Merchandise Mart. (Schneider is pictured above at the Expo.)

Besides the new touch-screen monitor that provided information on all the Hall’s inductees, there were placards detailing some history of the Hall, its mission, prominent members, and who’s going in this year. Also on display were Dale Douglass’ golf bag from the 1969 Ryder Cup, and one of the oldest golf trophies in the country, the 1897 Overland Cup (pictured at left).

The 2013 class of inductees will be enshrined on June 9 at Cielo at Castle Pines in Castle Rock. The following day, the Hall will hold its annual pro-am tournament, this year at the Country Club at Castle Pines.

This year’s three inductees are Colorado PGA professionals Tom Woodard (pictured below last weekend at the Expo) and Alan Abrams, and Jimmy Vickers, one of the state and region’s finest amateurs from the late 1940s into the 1960s. For more information on the impending inductees, CLICK HERE. 

“We want people to be aware of who is in the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame,” Schneider said. “The response (at the Expo) has just been fabulous. It’s been a lot of fun just talking to people who come up and say, ‘Gosh, I know so and so. What year did he get in?’ And we’ll go in (on the touch-screen monitor) and pull up the name. It’s been great exposure for us.”

The CGA and CWGA’s web site, COgolf.org, has long served as the on-line site for the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame’s inductee biographies (CLICK HERE). And the Hall of Fame’s museum has been prominently displayed at the Riverdale golf courses in Brighton for the last decade. But the idea of the traveling kiosk is to expose the CGHOF to people who otherwise might not be aware of it.

The first class of the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame was inducted in 1973, with Babe Zaharias, Dave Hill and Babe Lind going in. Besides Zaharias — a co-founder of the LPGA and a three-time U.S. Women’s Open champion — the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame includes three other people also inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame: three-time U.S. Open champion Hale Irwin, former USGA president Judy Bell and twice PGA Championship winner Paul Runyan.

In addition, more than a dozen members of the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame are also Colorado Sports Hall of Fame inductees: Bell, Joan Birkland, Dale Douglass, Dow Finsterwald, Irwin, Lind, Barbara McIntire, Tubb Morris, Will Nicholson Jr., Thayer Tutt, Jack Vickers, Starr Yelland and Zaharias. And 1996 U.S. Open champion Steve Jones will join that heady company in two months when he’s enshrined into the CSHOF.

Schneider said the Hall of Fame’s new computer kiosk often will be housed at the Hall’s home at Riverdale, but “the idea is to get a second kiosk that can travel around to member-guests, to dinners, etc.; we’ll have it at our (June 9) dinner. This is kind of a road show that will give us exposure.”
 

Indian Tree Golf Course head professional and operations manager Alan Abrams, Foothills Park & Recreation District director of golf Tom Woodard and Jimmy Vickers will be inducted on June 9 as the 41st class of the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame.

The Hall of Fame also will present annual honors to several individuals on that night. Cherry Hills Country Club head professional John Ogden, the host pro for this year’s U.S. Amateur, is Golf Person of the Year. Gail Godbey, a former executive director of the Colorado Open — and founder of the Colorado Women’s Open — as well as being a dedicated volunteer in the game, will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award. And Rich Langston, who donates many, many hours as a rules official, and Denver Post sports writer Tom Kensler, a respected golf reporter in the state for a couple of decades, will be honored with Distinguished Service Awards.

The three impending inductees will join the 128 people currently in the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame.

“I’ve been in Colorado since I was 10 years old, and if I went down the list of those inducted I bet I’d know 90 percent of them,” Woodard said Wednesday. “And I (previously) served on the Hall of Fame selection committee for four or five years, so I know what it takes to get in. It’s one of the biggest accomplishments of my golfing career. To me it says, ‘Job well done’ and that’s huge. It’s outstanding news, and I can’t tell you how excited I am.

“And it’s high cotton (to be voted in with Abrams and Vickers).”

It’s been a big year from an honors standpoint for both Woodard and Abrams. In March, Woodard joined the likes of Charlie Sifford, Joe Louis, Jackie Robinson, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Jim Brown and Lee Elder in the National Black Golf Hall of Fame. And on Friday, Abrams will join Danny Harvanek (1990-92) as a three-time Colorado PGA Golf Professional of the Year, the Section’s highest honor.

Woodard, 56, was elected based both on his playing record and for working in the game. As a tournament player, he competed for 2 1/2 years on the PGA Tour, qualified for two U.S. Opens and a PGA Championship, and twice was the Colorado PGA’s Player of the Year. He also won a national professional tournament on the United Golfers Association tour in 1979.

Since becoming a club professional in 1986, Woodard has made an impact all around the Denver metro area. He’s served as head professional at City Park (1987-89), Littleton Golf Club (1990), South Suburban (1991-95) and at Buffalo Run (where he was the first head pro in 1996). He was director of golf for the City of Denver from 1997-2006, and has been in the same position at the Foothills District since then.

During his time working for the city of Denver, Woodard co-founded The First Tee of Denver and he served on the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame board.

As a young man, Woodard was one of the first African-Americans to receive the Evans Caddie Scholarship and one of the first to earn Division I All-American status (he was an honorable mention choice at the University of Colorado).

Abrams is well known for his service to the Colorado PGA. He’s a former president of the Section and he currently serves as the chairman of the Colorado PGA Foundation.

The Colorado native, 58, has been a mainstay at Indian Tree since 1980 — initially working for current Hall of Famer Vic Kline — and he’s been head professional at the facility since 1991. During all his years at Indian Tree, Abrams has been one of the state’s leaders in the area of junior golf.

In fact, Abrams is so highly respected in the realm of junior golf development that he was voted national Junior Golf Leader by the PGA of America in 1997.

He was one of the first Colorado professionals to utilize a golf in schools programs to introduce kids to the game during physical education classes. It’s estimated that he’s taught the game to more than 10,000 elementary school students through the program.

And in 1988 his junior golf program at the course was named by Golf Digest to be the best among municipal golf facilities in the nation. Indian Tree’s junior program has been a model for many other facilities in Colorado.

In addition, Abrams was also a lead instructor at national PGA Junior Academies.

As for Vickers — the brother of Jack Vickers, founder of The International PGA Tour event held in Colorado — during the late 1940s and well into the 1960s, he was one of the finest players in the state and region.

Jimmy Vickers won the 1949 and ’50 CGA Match Play Championships while at Regis University, and he claimed the NCAA individual title and the Western Amateur Championship in 1952 while playing for the University of Oklahoma. He also won the Kansas state amateur in 1964 and competed in 15 USGA championships, including several U.S. Opens. He placed fifth in the 1965 U.S. Amateur. Vickers won the World Seniors Championship three times and claimed the pro-am team title — with Leonard Thompson — at the Bing Crosby National Pro-Am in 1977.

On the administrative side, Vickers served as a director for the Western Golf Association, the Evans Scholars Foundation and the Trans-Mississippi Golf Association.

And Vickers, now 82, also played a major role in devising the scoring system used for 21 years at The International PGA Tour event in Castle Rock.