In at least one respect, and perhaps others, Phil Lane will be that.

Lane — who is about to begin a two-year term as president of the CGA, succeeding Tom Lawrence — resides in Colorado Springs and has for most of his life, which makes him unusual for the golf association’s top volunteer position. Almost all past CGA presidents have lived in the greater Denver metro area, but Lane will be an exception.

“We’re the Colorado Golf Association, not the Denver Golf Association,” noted Lane (pictured above). “So how do we add value to (CGA) member clubs outside Denver and make them feel part of the CGA’s mission and work, and reward them for being associated with the CGA?”

That will be one of many things on the plate for Lane, the CGA Board of Governors and the association staff in 2014 and ’15 and perhaps beyond. COgolf.org discussed such matters recently with Lane as he gears up for his two-year term as CGA president. (Note: A feature story on incoming CWGA president Joanie Ott will be posted on COgolf.org next week.)

Besides the CGA bringing in a new president heading into 2014, it’ll also have four new members of the association’s Board of Governors: Carl de Rozario of Columbine Country Club and Ballyneal, Doak Jacoway of Cherry Hills Country Club, Tom Markham of Valley Country Club, and Chris McClain of Canongate Colorado. Departing the board after years of service are Steve Anderson, Rick George, Jim Hayes and Don Sall. To see brief biographies on all of the CGA’s Governors, CLICK HERE.

Lane, a 48-year-old who owns undergraduate and Masters degrees from Northwestern University, is currently a private investor and businessman. For many years he worked for Pepsi and in his family’s longstanding business as a large Pepsi franchisee in Colorado and surrounding regions. That franchisee business was sold just over five years ago.

Besides the CGA, Lane sits on the boards for the Nature Conservancy and the YMCA, and in the past he’s served on the board for the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs. He’s a member at the Broadmoor Golf Club and Castle Pines Golf Club.

“Phil is really engaged in civic projects,” noted Ed Mate, executive director for the CGA. “He has a very diverse background in civic and community projects. He’s helped guide other non-profits, which is a valuable asset for us. Today’s CGA is no longer your dad’s CGA. We have a far broader and deeper reach in the community.”

As for the CGA work that lies ahead for himself, the board and the staff, Lane foresees several priorities:

— Getting CommonGround Golf Course, owned by the CGA and CWGA and home to many golf-related community outreach programs, back to its former self after suffering significant damage from the September floods. CommonGround is operating as a nine-hole facility — in addition to the nine-hole Kids Course — while the eight damaged holes are restored.

CommonGround is home to the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy, the Hale Irwin Elite Player Program and many other “for the good of the game” and junior development initiatives.

“Getting the course up and running full-speed is clearly a top priority for us,” Lane said. “People have been great, playing the nine-hole course, the junior course, hitting balls and supporting (the golf shop and dining facility), but we have to focus our efforts in getting that back up and running (full-bore) as soon as possible in 2014. Obviously, that was an unforeseen need. The flooding threw us a bit of a curve, but we’re working through the challenges and we’ll come back stronger on the back end.”

— Enhancing the collaboration with the CWGA and other major golf organizations in the state.

Regarding the CWGA, Lane said, “We’re working better than we ever have with the CWGA. We need to continue to find ways to work more closely together and serve members better than ever before.”

— Helping the newly formed Colorado Golf Foundation get its legs.

Founded early this year, the Foundation aims to provide assistance for innovative programs that use the game of golf to instill hard work and self-reliance in young people.

“There are a lot of organizations that want to promote golf,” Lane said. “How do you find a balance between all of them and not have groups pulling on the same rope from two different ends? We want to make sure we’re all rowing together.

“The (lead) gift George Solich gave is fabulous, and under Will Nicholson’s leadership (as foundation chairman), it will take off in 2014. And the CGA will be intimately involved with how it evolves over its lifetime.”

— Celebrating the CGA’s centennial in 2015.

“That’s a huge opportunity to highlight all the great things that have happened over the last 100 years, (and) to have a year-long celebration of the game.”

The CWGA, by the way, will reach its 100-year anniversary the following year, in 2016.

Lane has served on the CGA Board of Governors for more than four years, under the presidencies of Bill Fowler, Jim Magette and Lawrence.

“They all brought great strength and passion and leadership,” Lane said. “I hope I can continue the momentum and continue to strengthen our board. There are always opportunities to find new people and to tap into the talent of the existing board. It’s a personal interest of mine to get the most out of the board. And Ed (Mate) and I also want organizational development to bring out the best in the staff.”

Lane didn’t start playing golf until well into adulthood, but he’s certainly dived head-first into the game since. He served as co-general chairman for the 2008 U.S. Senior Open at the Broadmoor, and joined the CGA board the following year. And now becoming the CGA president is another big step in that regard.

“I love golf, and any opportunity to give back to the game in a small way gets me excited,” he said. “It should be a fun, interesting two years.”
 

So now, as the economy has been foundering for several years and the National Golf Foundation reports that the number of golfers has dropped recently, Lawrence would seem to be a good choice to  head up the volunteer leadership of the CGA as the association navigates some difficult waters ahead.

Lawrence, the CEO and president of the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame for almost nine years, became president of the CGA this week, and if form holds, he’ll likely serve two consecutive one-year terms. The 57-year-old Lakewood Country Club member succeeds Jim Magette as president.

“Being involved in sports is a passion for me — especially golf,” Lawrence said Thursday. Leading the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame “is a labor of love. It’s a place where I can leave a mark and give something back to the community. The CGA is very much like that. Golf has been great to me. The friendships I’ve made and the people I’ve met have meant a great deal.”

Lawrence, a lifelong Coloradan aside from a two-year stint (2001-02) as director of golf operations and assistant general manager at Presidio Golf Course in San Francisco, is a good fit for the CGA presidency in several respects. First, he already runs a non-profit organization (the Sports Hall of Fame) and knows the ins and outs of the business and the fundraising challenges involved. He’s also been in the sports game for his entire adult life, first as a member of the Scott Wedman and Dave Logan-led University of Colorado basketball team in the 1970s, then through jobs with the Denver Nuggets, Denver Broncos, the Bonham Group, Presidio and the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame, among others.

“He brings a lot of skills that are valuable for us,”  CGA executive director Ed Mate said of Lawrence. “He’s run a non-profit and he understands fundraising. And from my perspective, Tom oversaw the most important project the association has ever undertaken, CommonGround Golf Course (which is owned and operated by the CGA and CWGA). It’s the defining asset of the association. That’s his baby. He’s always been focused on that.”

Indeed, since 2006 Lawrence has chaired the boards that oversaw the total transformation of Mira Vista Golf Course to the new CommonGround Golf Course — and that now oversee CommonGround’s ongoing operations and some related real-estate. Lawrence said former USGA president Will Nicholson Jr., is expected to take over chairmanship of those boards later this month, and Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Gene Miranda will replace Lawrence on the boards.

Not surprisingly, one of Lawrence’s top priorities as president of the CGA relates to CommonGround — that being the course’s long-term financial viability.

“The CGA is entering into new territory because golf is flat as far as growth and the association has lost some membership,” Lawrence said. “We have to look at new sources of revenue — grants from foundations, donations and sponsorships. That’s in line with how the USGA has done it over the years — with good corporate partners. We have lots of assets sponsors are interested in. Also very important is the long-term growth of the game and what we’re doing with junior golf (and related development programs) at CommonGround. So I think my background will come in handy over the next few years.”

Lawrence is no stranger to helping guide organizations through difficult times. Most recently, he noted that when he took over at the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame, it faced about $250,000 in debt. Nowadays, he said it’s well into the black and has donated about $600,000 to worthy youth sports organizations over the years.

Lawrence has been a member of the CGA Board of Governors since 2005, and he initially chaired the Colorado Junior Golf committee before moving over to the CommonGround boards. And his work at the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame and the CGA have certainly overlapped at times, as the organizations have partnered on several occasions. Just last year the Sports Hall of Fame Museum at Sports Authority Field at Mile High unveiled an exhibit featuring the CGA and CWGA and how golf can benefit youngsters.

“My board (at the Hall of Fame) encourages me to get involved in other organizations, and there is synergy between” the Hall of Fame and the CGA, Lawrence said. “There’s the exhibit at the museum and the CGA has become one of our major partners.”

Lawrence didn’t take up the game of golf seriously until his college years. Growing up in Aurora, he was more into basketball. He was an all-Centennial League player for Aurora Central High School and earned a hoops scholarship to CU.

In the golf realm, Lawrence became hooked on the game while his brother was a golf professional at Heather Ridge, and Tom helped out at the club during the summer.

“I fell in love with the game,” he said. “And I love beating balls (on the practice range).”

Ironically, as he becomes president of the CGA, Lawrence isn’t playing golf these days. A herniated disc at the base of his neck led to surgery on Oct. 21, and though his rehabilitation is going well, he probably won’t be able to hit balls again until March or April.