The first ruling he made in the first tournament he ever worked is one he won’t soon forget. It came at the boys 4A state high school tourney more than a dozen years ago.

A competitor hit his ball up against a cart path. With the nearest relief, he had a tree that would interfere with his swing. While Montgomery was sorting out the issue, the player’s father was throwing in his two cents regarding the situation. Suffice it to say the two disagreed on precisely how to proceed.

“I said, ‘Sir, I guarantee we’ll get this and get this right,'” Montgomery recalls.

The player, slightly under the tree after taking relief, ended up hitting his shot onto the green.

“I kind of looked at the father and said, ‘I told you we’d get it right,'” Montgomery said.

A little later, the tournament’s chief rules official Gene Miranda, with whom Montgomery was in contact via radio while making the ruling, came to the site and asked what parent he had heard in the background during the ruling. Montgomery said he didn’t know, but after a little investigating, the player with whom Monty was interacting was Kent Denver’s Gunner Wiebe. Miranda then informed Montgomery that he had been arguing with Mark Wiebe, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour.

“That was funny,” Montgomery said in thinking back on the moment.

Such is the life of a rules official. Over the years, there are going to be moments like those that stay etched in the memory.

On Wednesday night, more than 12 years after working that first event, Montgomery (pictured) had another memorable moment. That was when he received the Jim Topliff On-Course Official of the Year Award from the CGA. The honor — named for Topliff, a longtime tournament director for the CGA who passed away in 2007 — is given out annually to a volunteer rules official who typically works quite a few days and makes an impression while conducting his or her duties.

Montgomery, a 69-year-old lifelong Coloradan, put in 31 days of rules officiating in 2018, according to the CGA, making him one of nine people who worked at least that many days this year — out of the 127 officials on the CGA roster. In a similar vein, a Volunteer of the Year Award is typically also given out at what is now known as the CGA Women’s Golf Summit, which in 2019 will be held March 9 at Pinehurst Country Club.

“It’s truly a deep honor to receive this (Topliff Award),” Montgomery said on Wednesday at Pinehurst, where the CGA held a holiday and retirement celebration for three of its staffers — Gerry Brown, Laura Robinson and Anne Bley. “I know what it stands for and what it goes to. I’m honored someone has recognized my efforts. When I go to a golf course, the days I volunteer, whatever assignment they give me that’s where I go. And they always know I’m going to do what they ask me to do.

“I’m not the best rules official they have, but I am one who will work an assignment and work it to the best of my ability — with usually no complaints.”

Making the honor even more meaningful for Montgomery is that he knew Topliff a bit. When Monty was a senior at Bear Creek High School, he said Topliff taught at nearby Bear Creek Elementary. And Montgomery said Topliff helped found the men’s club at Foothills Golf Course and was it first president. Foothills is Montgomery’s home course and he’s twice been president of the men’s club himself (2006 and ’16).

Greg With, a prominent rules official and a past winner of the Topliff Award, serves on the CGA board of directors and chairs the CGA Rules Committee, which decides on the Topliff Award recipients.

“In Monty’s case, I don’t know of many rules officials that connect with players like he does,” With said on Wednesday. “He’s a big guy, but he’s just like a teddy bear on the course. He’s able to administer the rules in ways that players — particularly junior players — understand, and they get it. So we really appreciate that.

“He’s done this for more than a decade, and he’s worked a lot of days every year. He’s well known at the tournaments he works.

“When I called him, he said something like, ‘I didn’t go searching for this award.’ And I said ‘that’s not how it works. If you go chasing it, you’re never going to get it. This award chased you.’ He’s very deserving.”

Approrpriately, With is among the rules officials Montgomery calls his mentors in recent years — along with Mike Rice, Mike Boster and CGA board member Brad Wiesley.

But it was Dustin Jensen — a onetime director of youth programs for the CGA who went on to become the association’s managing director of operations before returning to North Dakota a year ago — who is responsible for getting Montgomery into officiating in the first place.

You see, when Montgomery first joined the Foothills men’s club board 14 years ago, he volunteered to be on the rules committee, which entailed going to a rules seminar. And the next year, he attended the seminar for a second straight year.

“That year I met Dustin Jensen,” Montgomery said. “Dustin said, ‘It’s your second year here. Maybe you should think about coming out with us’ as a rules official. I said I’m not all that good. He said all you have to do is learn how to work a radio. We’ll help you with the rules. You can call on the radio and say you need help. So Dustin talked me into it.”

Nowadays, while Montgomery works the CGA’s most prestigious tournaments — the Amateur and the Match Play, in addition to senior majors — about two-thirds of his officiating days are devoted to junior golf events.

“My best times in the CGA are working with the kids — the Junior Golf Alliance (of Colorado events),” he said. “When they look up at you and say, ‘What do you mean I’ve got to drop my ball on the concrete? It’s a brand-new Titleist.’ I say, ‘Well, son, sorry about that. This is the rule’ and explain it to them. I may take too much time than I should, but with the kids, every situation is an opportunity for education. The parents will come up and say, ‘Thank you.’ That right there, that’s what I work for — the thank yous. You’re helping write my paycheck.

“Some guys say they get their pay by picking up golf balls — they get all their Pro V-1s that way. But to me it’s when a parent or a player comes up and says ‘thank you. We really appreciate the time you took to come out here and volunteer.’ What even means more is when I’m working an adult tournament and one of the players say, ‘Thank you for being here.’ That’s the satisfaction I get.”

While many officials measure their ability as a rules officials largely by how they score on the PGA/USGA Rules of Golf exam, Montgomery fully admits that isn’t his forte.

“The best I’ve ever done is 75 (percent) out of three times” taking test, he said. “I cannot take written tests because I stare at this bright white paper with the bright light up there. After about an hour I can’t read the page anymore. I’m very poor on doing written tests, but on oral tests I’ll hang in there with everybody. I think they’re starting to realize he is smarter than what his scores indicate.”

Montgomery, like all rules official, have a big change coming, with the new Rules of Golf modernization taking effect on Jan. 1. Suffice it to say Montgomery knows he’ll be devoting a lot of time to studying the rules between now and the spring.

“I don’t have it down pat (yet),” he said. “I’m pretty apprehensive. I’m signed up for the 3 1/2-day rules school in March. I’ve been to a four-hour (CGA) rules seminar. Now I’m starting to read the book and study the book. Mike Rice is sending me links and saying go to the USGA site. They have all kinds of videos you can watch.

“My objective before the first of the year is to read the rule book from front to back. Everyone I talk to says the hardest thing is finding the rule in the (new) book. Robert (Duke, the CGA’s director of rules and competitions) made a great analogy: You go on Christmas break, come back and somebody has reorganized your filing cabinets. But the more I look at it, it makes perfect logical sense of how the rules have been reorganized. I’m confident I’ll be ready to roll come this spring.”

Montgomery, who retired from the UC Health Sciences Center — where he sold medical and dental instruments to students — about 14 years ago, doesn’t by any means limit his time on the golf course to officiating. For many years in retirement, he’d play roughly 100 rounds of golf annually. And though heart problems have curtailed that somewhat, he’ll still get in almost 50 this year. And while he says he hasn’t played to it in 2018, he owns a 9.8 handicap.

By the way, as you might expect, Monty is Montgomery’s nickname. But it’s slightly more complicated than that. He said everybody outside Morrison — his hometown since 1956 — calls him Monty. But in Morrison, he goes by Gary since his dad is the original Monty.

For the CGA’s part, it can just call him the 2018 Jim Topliff Award winner.
 

The North Dakota pipeline continues to produce for the CGA.

Not only have North Dakotans been a constant presence on the CGA staff in the new millennium, but they’ve become fixtures as managing directors of operations for the association in the last seven-plus years.

First, it was Briena Goldsmith who capably served as the CGA’s managing director of operations from 2011 until late 2014, when she moved back to North Dakota with her husband and kids.

Then there was Dustin Jensen, who returned to the CGA from North Dakota with the same title as Goldsmith had had. Jensen spent three years in that role until moving back to North Dakota at the end of 2017.

And now Ashley Barnhart (pictured) is becoming the latest North Dakotan to earn a similar title. On Thursday (Nov. 1), the current CGA director of junior competitions will be promoted to managing director of golf operations for the association.

“There’s sort of a North Dakota work ethic that I swear is real,” CGA executive director Ed Mate said. “There’s what I would describe as resourcefulness, problem solving, get it done.”

Mate was speaking specifically about common qualities possessed by Barnhart and Jensen, though they same has been true of Goldsmith as well.

In her new role, Barnhart will continue to be a point person for the CGA in its partnership with the Colorado PGA regarding the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado. She’ll also oversee CGA championships, USGA qualifiers, Rules of Golf and amateur status monitoring. Jensen did likewise during his most recent stint with the CGA, though the plan moving forward is that some areas formerly under his purview will soon be handled by another staffer. Specifically, handicapping, course rating and GHIN/USGA tournament management software support will be managed by a future hire.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to really engage with a bigger piece of the golf landscape rather than being solely glued to junior golf,” said Barnhart, who’s been a popular figure as one of the leaders of the Junior Golf Alliance since it was launched about three years ago. “I have a unique opportunity to create some synergy between our men’s, women’s and junior world.”

And Barnhart will take on this greatly expanded role at the age of 24, 2 1/2 years after graduating from college and becoming a full-time CGA staffer. But promoting her to managing director of golf operations at this point is a testament to how highly regarded Barnhart is by CGA leadership.

“I’ve always been a believer that there’s only one way to gain experience — and that’s through experience,” Mate said. “I’m reminded of one of my favorite television shows, ‘The Voice’, which I hate to admit that I watch. Sometimes you’ll have these 13 year olds that come onto the stage and sing and perform as if they’re 30. (Age is) just a number.

“The qualities of the millennial generation that are often cited unfairly are that there’s no loyalty, a short attention span, flightiness … Ashley embodies everything that’s not characteristic of what we mostly think of when we think of millennials. She’s incredibly well organized, she’s incredibly loyal, she’s got extremely high standards. If anything, she sometimes gets in trouble for not wanting to relax those standards. There’s a term in psychology called ‘executive function’, which is basically your ability to organize, plan and execute. Ashley is just a ’10’ in executive function. Organizing, planning and execution — she’s just exceptionally good at those things. To put her in the role of managing the golf operations is putting her in her area of strength.”

For Barnhart herself, a can-do attitude and a strong work ethic are far more important than any consideration of age.

“Twenty-four or 44, there’s work to be done and I think I can accomplish some of that with the help of our management team,” she said.

Barnhart and Jensen, of course, have a linked background that far predates the years they spent working together at the CGA. Barnhart played golf at the University of Jamestown in North Dakota when Jensen was coaching both the men’s and women’s programs at the school.

As noted above, Mate believes the two share the same strong work ethic, resourcefulness, problem-solving ability and get-it-done attitude.

“Those are common denominators, but beyond that, they’re very different people,” Mate noted. “Dustin is more gregarious, more outgoing, definitely an extrovert. Ashley is more introverted. And their strengths and weaknesses are different. But they both share that North Dakota, ‘I’m going to just get this done.’ I love it. You want someone like that where if you give them a task, you know it’s going to get done and there’s not going to be any excuses. That resourcefulness I just love.”

One of the first major items on Barnhart’s to-do list in her new role will be to hire her replacement, specifically a new director of junior competitions. Barnhart has been either a manager or director of junior competitions since the spring of 2016. She also served as a CGA summer intern in 2014 and ’15, and did a lot of part-time work over the 2015-16 school year.

“Ashley has been the glue that has held the JGAC’s competitive tournament program together and is directly responsible for much of the success the JGAC has realized over the past three years,” Mate noted. “… The JGAC has been recognized as a model of collaboration and strategic alignment and has taken our partnership with the Colorado Section of the PGA to a new level.”
 

It’s the year-ending holiday season, which means different things to different people.

One of the things that comes with this time of year here at coloradogolf.org and coloradowomensgolf.org is a reflection on the past 12 months and compilation of the top stories of the year in Colorado golf. We’ve been doing it annually since 2009, and we’re not about to stop now.

There’s no lack of worthwhile candidates, so in recent years we’ve broken up the list into a two-part series. We go in reverse order, for the sake of preserving some suspense, and add an honorable-mention list that will be included with Part II, which will be published in the coming days.

Today, we’ll cover Nos. 25-13, so without further ado …:

25. Year 2 for Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado: The JGAC, which made quite a splash upon debuting in 2016, continued a significant upward trajectory in 2017. The Alliance — a joint effort of the CGA, Colorado PGA and CWGA — further expanded its reach by creating more tournaments, including several in western Colorado, and adding services. Junior players of all abilities can benefit from JGAC-related programs, including anything from the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy to Colorado PGA Golf in Schools to the Hale Irwin Elite Player Program to Drive Chip & Putt and PGA Junior League competitions.

24. Three Victories by DU Women’s Team: The University of Denver women’s golf team has compiled quite a record from late last season to early this one. In late April, the Pioneers won their 14th straight conference championship, an eye-opening run even if their conference isn’t particularly strong in women’s golf. Then this fall, DU won two tournaments in 11 days — both in Colorado, at the Golfweek Conference Challenge in Wolcott and the Ron Moore Women’s Intercollegiate in Highlands Ranch. For the record, that made for three wins in the course of five tournaments spanning two seasons. Denver, ranked among the top 25 women’s teams in the nation to complete the fall (along with the University of Colorado), was given a boost in the offseason when 2017 CWGA Player of the Year Mary Weinstein transferred in from the Regis University.

23. Eaton’s March Toward CWGA Record: This year, Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton reached 24 CWGA championship victories by sweeping the Senior Match Play and Senior Stroke Play titles. That leaves her just one shy of Carol Flenniken’s career-record total of 25. After her third sweep of the Senior Match and Senior Stroke in the same year, Eaton earned the CWGA Senior Player of the Year honor for the eighth time. She’s also been the overall CWGA Player of the Year four times since 2004.

22. Variety is Spice of Life for Moore: Another Colorado Golf Hall of Famer, Kent Moore, added to a rather remarkable feat that likely will never be matched. With his victory in the Super-Senior Match Play, Moore (pictured above) now has claimed titles in eight different CGA individual championships. Over the last 44 years, he’s won the 1973 Junior Match Play, the 1986 Amateur, the 1989 Match Play, the 1995 Mid-Amateur, the 2006 Senior Match Play, the 2014 Senior Stroke Play, the 2016 Super-Senior Stroke Play and the 2017 Super-Senior Match Play. READ MORE

21. Longmont’s Nygren Inaugural Putting Champ: Longmont’s Cole Nygren, a pro for just a couple of months, earned a nice paycheck ($15,000) and plenty of publicity with his Halloween victory in the All Pro Championship at the inaugural Major Series of Putting in Las Vegas. The most eye-catching part of the win was the fact that it came against a field that featured PGA Tour veterans Brad Faxon, John Cook, Tommy Armour III and Colt Knost. Nygren, who placed fourth in the CGA Amateur in August to conclude his amateur career, beat Knost, the 2007 U.S. Amateur champion, 3 and 2 in the match-play finale. READ MORE

20. Major Changes for Colorado Cup Matches: The Colorado Cup Matches, a Ryder Cup-style competition between CGA/CWGA amateurs and Colorado PGA professionals, have been held annually since 1971. But there were many significant changes implemented in 2017, which will be the last time the matches are conducted until 2019. With no college golfers playing for the amateur team for the first time, the Colorado PGA (left) prevailed 26-14 in the event, which now features open, senior and women players competing for a single Cup. That result came a year after the pros were swept by the ams. READ MORE

19. More National Recognition for Colorado PGA: Mark Pfingston, the PGA head professional at The Golf Club at Bear Dance, this year was named the PGA of America’s national Merchandiser of the Year for public facilities. With Pfingston’s accomplishment, Colorado PGA members continued their roll of the last decade-plus in receiving national recogntion for their work. In the last 11 years (2007 through ’17), CPGA members — or the Section as a whole — have earned nine national awards from the PGA of America. READ MORE

18. Chalk Up Another Honor for Keffer: In the last decade, Geoff Keffer has become one of the most awarded players from the Colorado PGA in the Section’s history. This year, the Lakewood resident received the Section’s Dow Finsterwald Player of the Year Award for the fourth straight season and for the fifth time in six years. To put that into perspective, only one player has been the Colorado PGA’s Finsterwald Player of the Year more times than Keffer, with two others matching his total. And all of the other three members of the five-timers club have all been inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame. Bob Hold owns the record for most CPGA Finsterwald Player of the Year Awards, with seven earned between 1966 and ’74, including six straight starting in ’66. Other five-time Players of the Year, in addition to Keffer, are Vic Kline (1975 to 1981) and Ron Vlosich (1986 to ’91). READ MORE

17. Back to North Dakota for CGA’s Jensen: Dustin Jensen, the CGA’s highly regarded and well-liked managing director of operations, recently accepted a job as associate dean of student engagement at his alma mater, the University of Jamestown in his hometown of Jamestown, North Dakota. Jensen was a key administrator in Colorado golf, particularly playing a pivotal role in the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado getting up and running during its initial years. READ MORE

16. Age No Problem for Schalk: Hailey Schalk (left) of Erie was only 15 years old during the 2017 golf season, but that didn’t keep her from becoming the girls Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado’s Player of the Year. In 2017, Schalk was the first Coloradan to win a title at the prestigious AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior. And in May, she was the first freshman since 2002 to win a girls state high school individual championship in Colorado. In addition, she captured the titles at both of the JGAC majors in which she competed. She also placed 14th individually while playing for Colorado at the Girls Junior America’s Cup. She and Davis Bryant were recently named “Future Famers” by the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame.

15. Seniors Rule at CPGA Professional Championship: The Colorado PGA Professional Championship is the top tournament of the year for the Section. But this year’s event, held at Red Sky Golf Club in Wolcott, turned into a showcase for the 50-and-over set as 50-year-old John Ogden prevailed in a playoff over 64-year-old Rick Cole, who was ever so close to becoming the oldest winner of this event — by far. As it was, Ogden earned the $8,000 first prize, then promptly donated half of that total to the Colorado PGA REACH Foundation. READ MORE


14. Timely 59 for Sam Saunders: Former Fort Collins resident Sam Saunders picked a good time for his career round. Saunders, grandson of the late Arnold Palmer, opened the Web.com Tour Championship with a 12-under-par 59 in Atlantic Beach, Fla., where he moved from Fort Collins last year. It was just the seventh round under 60 in the history of the Web.com circuit. More importantly, it led to a second-place finish in the Web Tour Championship, which secured Saunders’ fully-exempt PGA Tour card for 2017-18 after he had lost that status late in the summer.


13. Bunch, Harvanek Voted into Colorado Golf Hall of Fame: Two Coloradans whose service in golf has made an indelible impact were voted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame. Jim Bunch of Denver and Danny Harvanek of Littleton will make up the 46th class of the Hall of Fame and will be inducted on May 20 at Sanctuary golf course in Sedalia. Bunch has served in high-powered volunteer roles at the USGA and with the Western Golf Association, including as the chairman of the USGA Rules of Golf Committee, of the WGA and of the Evans Scholars Foundation that awards full tuition and housing college scholarships to high-achieving caddies with limited financial means. Harvanek, a longtime PGA Master Professional in Colorado, has long been touted for his highly-effective instruction work with junior golfers, which helped lay the groundwork for the Colorado PGA Golf in Schools program. READ MORE
   

Golfers are always in need of something, and we’re here to provide. So in the spirit of the season, it’s time to make public our annual holiday gift list for Colorado golfers.

To: Westminster resident Jennifer Kupcho.
Gift: Spots on the U.S. Curtis Cup and Arnold Palmer Cup teams in 2018, along with another run at the women’s NCAA individual title.

To: TPC Colorado.
Gift: Success to match the anticipation leading up to your opening in Berthoud in 2018.

To: The Broadmoor.
Gift: A 2018 U.S. Senior Open to rival the historical impact of the 1959 U.S. Amateur (winner: Jack Nicklaus), 1982 U.S. Women’s Amateur (winner: Juli Inkster) and 1995 U.S. Women’s Open (Annika Sorenstam) you hosted.

To: The CGA and CWGA.
Gift: A successful — and seamless — unification that pays dividends for male and female members across the state.

To: Part-time Colorado resident Kevin Stadler.
Gift: A return to the PGA Tour after battling hand problems for the last three years.

To: Dustin Jensen, the soon-departing managing director of operations for the CGA.
Gift: Happiness and peace of mind in relocating back to North Dakota, knowing you have positively impacted many in the Colorado golf community.

To: Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado.
Gift: Knowledge that imitation around the country is the sincerest form of flattery.

To: Regulars at Denver’s City Park Golf Course.
Gift: That the end product when the course re-opens in 2019 after a redesign is worth the wait.

To: Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Brandt Jobe.
Gift: A U.S. Senior Open victory in your old home state, at The Broadmoor, in 2018.

To: Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy.
Gift: That similar programs will continue to take root around the state, nation and beyond.

To: Davis Bryant, the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado’s 2017 male Player of the Year.
Gift: Advancing to the final four after qualifying for your third U.S. Junior Amateur in 2018.

To: Hiwan Golf Club.
Gift: That the Colorado squad will notch its second team title ever at the Girls Junior America’s Cup, when the club hosts the festivities in July.

To: Former Colorado resident Wyndham Clark.
Gift: Earning a PGA Tour card through your performance on the Web.com circuit in 2018.

To: CU Evans Scholars.
Gift: True appreciation for the opportunity you’ve been given, and that the words “life-changing” when describing the full tuition and housing scholarship for caddies aren’t just trite modifiers.

To: Colorado-based college golf programs.
Gift: Multiple berths in the national championship finals in 2018.

To: Part-time Boulder resident and two-time CoBank Colorado Open champion Jonathan Kaye.
Gift: A Web.com Tour win to go along with your two PGA Tour victories.

To: Kaden Ford of Colorado Springs.
Gift: Making a serious run at the age-group title on TV at the Drive Chip & Putt finals at Augusta National on the eve of the Masters.

To: Colorado PGA Golf in Schools Program.
Gift: That the program’s efforts will eventually pay big-time dividends in growing the game in the state.

To: World Golf Hall of Famer Hale Irwin.
Gift: Continuing to build an enduring legacy in Colorado — and beyond — through things like the Hale Irwin Elite Player Program and the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior.

To: Colorado golf volunteers.
Gift: The satisfaction of knowing the countless hours of work you devote keep the game vibrant in our state.

To: Denver native Mark Hubbard.
Gift: A return to the PGA Tour in 2018-19 after a three-year run on that circuit ended in August.

To: Colorado PGA professionals and local golf course superintendents.
Gift: Appreciation from golfers for the enjoyment you add to the game through your work.

To: Colorado-based First Tee programs.
Gift: Another stellar lineup of tour players for Colorado-based exhibitions in 2018 to provide inspiration for young golfers in the state.

To: Hailey Schalk, the Junior Golf Alliance’s female Player of the Year in 2017.
Gift: A run at the title in the 2018 Girls Junior America’s Cup at Hiwan Golf Club.

To: All in the Colorado golf community.
Gift: Happy holidays and a great year of golf ahead.
 

It’s difficult not to have a sense of deja vu regarding the impending career move of golf administrator Dustin Jensen.

Jensen, the CGA’s highly regarded and well-liked managing director of operations, recently accepted a job as associate dean of student engagement at his alma mater, the University of Jamestown in his hometown of Jamestown, North Dakota.

If that strikes some in the Colorado golf community as vaguely familiar, there’s good reason. In 2011, after spending 10 years working for the CGA (including an internship), Jensen departed for a position at the University of Jamestown. There, he coached the Jimmies men’s and women’s golf teams and served as director of alumni relations and as executive director of the Jimmie Booster Club. (Another current CGA staffer, manager of junior competitions Ashley Barnhart, played golf for Jensen at Jamestown.)

But Jensen returned to the CGA at the beginning of 2015, coincidentally after another staffer, Briena Goldsmith, returned to North Dakota after an eight-year run at the CGA.

And now, Jensen is going home again — again. His final official day of work at the CGA is Dec. 22, then he’ll depart for North Dakota late this month and start his job at Jamestown at the beginning of next year.

“A number of things came together professionally and personally,” Jensen said when asked about his impending exit. “A lot of things aligned.”

The personal part of the equation was the death of Jensen’s younger brother, Casey, in Jamestown in August, and related family matters. The professional part was the high-level opening at the University of Jamestown, which is expected to lead to a dean of students position when Jensen receives a Masters degree, probably in 2-3 years.

According to the university, Jensen in his new role “will be responsible for overseeing and assisting in the development of co-curricular programs, activities and events designed to enhance students’ experiences.”

“Dustin’s leadership and passion for students will be a tremendous asset as we continue to build programs of distinction for future Jimmies,” University of Jamestown president-elect Dr. Polly Peterson said in announcing Jensen’s return to the school.

While Jensen is looking forward to his new job, the situation is certainly bittersweet for him.

“It’s hard to leave the CGA,” said the 37-year-old. “I’ve grown up here (professionally). I grew up in Jamestown, but the other half of my life has been with the CGA. Leaving is tough. The circumstances (with his family) are tough too. It’s really, really hard to go. I’m excited to get back and be around family. But I’ve got my Jamestown family and my CGA family.”

Jensen, who was born in Jamestown, has only lived in North Dakota and Colorado, and will obviously continue in that vein for the foreseeable future.

As managing director of operations, Jensen had a hand in many of the CGA’s programs and initiatives and its running of championships. Given all that, and Jensen’s previous role as director of youth programs, it’s fair to say he’s well known in the Colorado golf community. And very popular too.

“He’s a very selfless person. That’s what I’m going to miss more than anything,” said CGA executive director Ed Mate, who first hired Jensen for the full-time staff in 2002. “We were driving to a meeting once and saw a car on the side of the road. He thought for sure it was one of our coworkers (with vehicle trouble). So we pulled over. I’m thinking, ‘We’re going to be late (to the meeting).’ But he wanted to check, and everything was all right. Dustin is one of the most selfless people I’ve ever known, and you can’t replace that, that spirit of service. He’ll help people out, stop and talk to people on the course. He has people skills you can’t teach.”

Not surprisingly, given his former position as director of youth programs for the CGA, the thing Jensen takes most pride in in his most recent stint with the association is the key role he played in getting the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado up and running, then up to full speed, over the last few years. Jensen and Keith Soriano — the former Colorado PGA assistant executive director who became a Colorado-based PGA of America career consultant — spearheaded the JGAC’s organizational efforts as it was being rolled out.

“I’d almost say it’s more difficult (this time leaving the CGA),” Jensen said. “I moved into a position where I had a hand in anything and everything — and loved it. There’s the integration with the CWGA (where the CGA and CWGA are joining forces) and the Junior Golf Alliance. It’ll be hard to see all that (keep evolving) from afar, but also exciting. The footprint of the CGA in 2011 and now is so much different.

“I’m really excited to see where the Junior Golf Alliance goes. Multiple entities (the CGA, Colorado PGA and CWGA) came together and put kids first. That was the biggest thing I’ve been part of (professionally). The Alliance was good in year 1 (2016). It was really good in year 2 (2017). It’s going to grow exponentially from here on. Like Ed has said, junior golf in Colorado is a North Star for other associations. We get emails from other associations asking how we’ve done it.”

(Jensen is pictured at left with the 2017 boys Junior America’s Cup team.)

Also among Jensen’s big-picture duties were building out future-year championship schedules so as to avoid major conflicts for players, and to serve as a liaison between the CGA and PGA professionals and general managers.

“More than anything, I’m happy for him personally and the (University of Jamestown) job is perfect for him,” Mate said of Jensen. “That’s where his heart is — working with kids (and young adults). That’s where he’s in his element.

“What he brought more than anything (to Colorado golf) is heart — the human side. He’s changed our culture as an organization in a good way. He’s made us strive to be better people. And we’ll try to carry that forward.”

Mate said there are no plans to make a new hire nor to immediately name a new managing director of operations. For the time being, Jensen’s duties will be handled by the current CGA staff, which is growing by several members with the addition of CWGA staffers.

“Given the timing (with the CGA and CWGA becoming one organization), we have a unique opportunity to redistribute the work,” Mate said. “With the coming together of two staffs, we have a young staff. With this and Gerry (Brown, a longtime CGA staffer and the association’s director of handicapping and course rating) retiring at the end of next year, there’s a lot of change coming. Bringing in another body doesn’t make sense. I’d like to let things evolve organically to a certain extent.”
 

Most notably, after the Ryder Cup-style competition between the top amateurs and Colorado PGA professionals in the state was limited to an open division for its first dozen years, it broadened its reach. A senior division was added in 1983 and a women’s division in 2002.

But now, the Colorado Cup will undergo changes that make the earlier tweakings pale in comparison.

By agreement of the organizations involved — the CGA, Colorado PGA and the CWGA — the event will undergo the following alterations:

— This year’s 47th annual Colorado Cup, which will be held Oct. 17 at The Broadmoor Golf Club’s East Course in Colorado Springs, will mark the last time it’s conducted on an annual basis. From here on, it will be limited to odd-numbered years — the years the Colorado PGA doesn’t hold Taylor Cup Matches against the Sun Country PGA, based in New Mexico.

— Instead of being three separate Cups being at stake — men’s open, senior and women — the Colorado Cup will now be just a single competition.

— The event also will be streamlined. Instead of each team including a dozen open, a dozen senior and six women players, it will be eight, eight and four, respectively, for each squad.

— The Colorado Cup, which normally was held in mid-season, will be moved to October. In all likelihood, that will mean fewer — if any — college players competing, given that’s in the middle of the fall portion of the college schedule. And with college golfers often being among the best players on the open and women’s amateur squads, that may be a factor in the overall results.

“I love the changes because let’s just go back to everyone working together — collaboration, one big team,” said Dustin Jensen, the CGA’s managing director of operations. “It will kind of re-energize (the matches). That was the hope we had: Let’s have some fun with it.

“When you get to the tournament you’ve got the open division ams sitting here, the open professionals on this side, the seniors separate. Let’s get everybody together to compete. We started to see that in the Junior Ryder Cup: We pulled the girls in and had a great experience with the girls and boys playing together. We pulled the 10-and-unders in last year to get more kids in. Everybody just enjoys it. I think it will revitalize (the Colorado Cup Matches) a little. It should be kind of fun.”

The Colorado PGA and the CWGA second that thought.

“We want to make it more meaningful,” CPGA executive director Eddie Ainsworth said earlier this year. “Having it every other year will add more significance — like the Ryder Cup. And instead of squeezing it in every year for a date in June when everyone is so busy, we can do it at the end of the season.”

Said Laura Robinson, executive director of the CWGA: “We are very excited about the format as I think it will be more competitive all around. We will obviously miss the presence of our college players, all of whom helped the women amateurs to win last year. It was a great experience for them to play against the pros, but we look forward to this new format on such a wonderful course as The Broadmoor.”

The Colorado Cup Matches, which feature four-ball and singles matches held on the same day, are seen by many as a matter of bragging rights between the pros and the amateurs. Last year marked the first time the amateurs have swept all three divisions, prevailing in the open division 13-5, in the senior division 9.5-8.5, and in the women’s division 6-3.

This year will mark a record 13th time the Colorado Cup Matches have been held at The Broadmoor, but the first time since 1989.

Among the players who have competed in the Colorado Cup over the decades are Dow Finsterwald, Steve Jones, Kevin Stadler, Bob Byman, Brandt Jobe and Fred Wampler, all of whom have now won on the PGA Tour and/or PGA Tour Champions. 

“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.
 

Well, the CGA is among those doing something about prolonged rounds of golf, specifically in its championships. And, so far it’s yielding positive results.

In 2010, the CGA implemented a group pace of play policy for its championships — specifically, those now known as the CGA Amateur, CGA Senior Amateur, CGA Mid-Amateur and later the CGA Super-Senior Stroke Play — and has kept yearly records for each event.

And, of the seven seasons since, 2016 produced the best results regarding pace of play. In fact, the average round in the aforementioned four championships was 22 minutes faster last year than in 2015, with the norm for 2016 being 4 hours and 19 minutes in threesomes.

Over a longer term, last season’s average round time was 13 minutes better than the norm for all the championships from 2010 through 2015.

“For us, it’s incredible news,” said Dustin Jensen, the CGA’s managing director of operations. “You always hear that rounds in tournaments take five-plus hours. But this shows you can play high-end, quality golf in under 4:20. It proves this program works. It just needed a little tweaking.”

Jensen attributes the significant improvement in pace of play to two things: expanding tee-time intervals to 10 or 11 minutes, and more stringest standards at the time checkpoints at the ninth and 18th holes.

Regarding tee-time intervals, the CGA in 2015 used nine minutes for all four of the stroke-play events mentioned. But in 2016, 10- or 11-minute intervals were utilized for the CGA Amateur at Boulder Country Club and the Mid-Amateur at Saddle Rock Golf Course. In the final round of those events — after a 36-hole cut had been made — the average round times were 4:11 and 4:07, respectively.

“A nine-minute interval tends to create an accordian effect,” Jensen said. “Ten or 11 minutes is better (and is expected to be utilized again this year). You add a minute or two on the front end, but you get it back in droves at the back end.”

In retrospect, Jensen said the CGA team learned a lesson from the 2014 CGA Amateur at Lakewood Country Club. The CGA typically did nine-minute tee-time intervals in 2014, but because the first hole at Lakewood is a driveable par-4, the CGA went to 10 minutes. The average round time for the championship that week was 4:04.

“There was no backup with a 10-minute interval,” Jensen noted. “Minor tweaks like that can make a 20-minute difference (in round times).”

As for the second reason Jensen believes pace of play has improved, it’s another adjustment the CGA made for these events. Competitors in the championships can avoid receiving a slow-play penalty by completing their rounds in no more than the designated time par matrix for a given venue. But even if they exceed that time, they can still avoid a penalty by completing designated holes (9 and 18 for CGA events) no more than 13 minutes after the previous group finished them. The change Jensen thinks made a difference was lowering that time in 2016 from the previously-used 15 minutes to 13 minutes.

“Those are the standards used nationally and by the USGA,” he said. “That’s pretty much the gold standard.”

“Players want to play fast. It really comes down to holding people accountable. And people understand we’re serious about (pace of play issues).”

How serious? The CGA does, on occasion, issue slow-play penalties. There were 10 given out in the four 2016 championships, including five in the Mid-Amateur on day 1 at Saddle Rock and four total on days 1 and 2 at the CGA Amateur at Boulder CC — though some penalties were successfully appealed.

Of course, the average round length at championships can be affected by the venue being used. In 2016, besides the CGA Amateur at Boulder CC and the Mid-Amateur at Saddle Rock, the other stroke-play sites were Heritage Eagle Bend for the Super-Senior Stroke Play and the Club at Rolling Hills for the Senior Amateur.

For the record, here’s the average annual round times at these four CGA championships over the last seven years: 4:32 in 2010; 4:34 in 2011; 4:31 in 2012; 4:32 in 2013; 4:21 in 2014; 4:41 in 2015; and 4:19 in 2016.

Given the significant improvement last year, the CGA will go with the same plan in 2017 championships. The association leaves the door open to other tweaks that might speed up rounds further, but officials like the way things are trending.

This year, the schedule for the four CGA championships will be: CGA Amateur Aug. 3-6 at Sonnenalp Golf Club in Edwards, CGA Super-Senior Stroke Play Aug. 22-23 at Buffalo Run Golf Course in Commerce City, CGA Mid-Amateur Sept. 8-10 at Keystone Ranch Golf Course, and the CGA Senior Amateur Sept. 19-21 at Meridian Golf Club in Englewood.
   

Tuesday’s G4 Summit was a good example of the ever-evolving, ever-changing business of golf.

Most of the topics discussed at the annual get-together of leaders in the Colorado golf industry almost certainly would not have been on the agenda in the 20th century:

The most effective strategies for engaging the millennial generation. The importance of courses issuing “corporate social responsibility reports”. Environmental sustainability. Using golf courses as science learning labs for kids.

“I genuinely believe — and I’ll go to my grave saying — that we are part of a moment in time in a sport that has hundreds of years of history and will survive for hundreds of years beyond all of us,” said Sarah Hirshland, senior managing director of business affairs for the USGA, who was one of the speakers Tuesday at the event at The Omni Interlocken Resort in Broomfield. “I hope everybody feels as privileged to be a part of this as I do because at some point they will look back and say that was a decade-ish where the golf world changed and evolved, and it’s a really fun thing to be a part of. I hope all of you appreciate that. You may not yet, but one day I know we all will.”

Such is part of the reason for the G4 Summit, which brings together leaders of the CGA, CWGA, Colorado PGA, course superintendents and club managers for a day of meetings, panel discussions and several presentations by notable speakers. The idea is to keep abreast of — and effectively deal with — issues that face golf, preferably on a collaborative basis.

And so it was that the roughly 180 people who attended Tuesday’s fourth annual G4 Summit learned about all of the aforementioned topics — and others.

As Colorado PGA president Ty Thompson noted, “Today we were learning things outside of our wheelhouse.”

Aubrey McCormick and Gina Rizzi from IMPACT360 Sports spoke about the importance of environmental sustainability practices by golf courses — in areas such as water and energy use, health and safety, and community engagement, among others. The idea is not only to implement such practices as good business, but then to issue corporate social responsibility reports and spread the word so that governmental leaders and millennials take a more favorable view of golf, and the game has a better chance of growing.

“It’s worth investing in that care for the environment,” Rizzi said. “That resonates with millenials” and helps with government relations.

In a similar vein, but engaging a different audience, David Phipps from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America spoke about the First Green program, in which kids go on superintendent-led field trips to learn about the ecosystem of golf courses and perhaps hit a few balls or putts. The goal is to demonstrate the environmental benefits of golf — and maybe grow the game a little.

“My takeaway is we need to make golf courses an integral part of the community,” CWGA executive director Laura Robinson said later. “The First Green is a huge step toward that by bringing the kids on. The (corporate social) sustainability report shows all the ways a golf course can be part of the community. That’s a trend we can really focus on in making it happen. Golf courses are more than a place to hold a wedding. They can be such an integral part of the community.

“It’s such an obvious resource — this big, open green space that’s quite often underutilized during school hours that has so much to offer kids in terms of the environment and animals and getting out to get fresh air. It’s great to see there’s a way we in the golf industry can take advantage of that and make it part of the community.”

Overall, with the game of golf facing significant challenges, a little innovative thinking can’t hurt. And there was certainly a fair amount of that on display at the G4 Summit on Tuesday.

“I think we once again covered a great array of topics — something for everybody,” CGA executive director Ed Mate said. “I thought it was great content. And I’m excited to apply the First Green to our (Colorado PGA) Golf in Schools model.

“(The G4) was another great event. I always want to see more participation, but mission accomplished once again.”

Several of the national G4 speakers applauded the allied golf associations of Colorado for assembling annually and addressing such issues.

“This doesn’t happen everywhere and I applaud you for this,” Hirshland said.

Which puts a smile on the face of leaders in the Colorado golf industry.

“It’s great for all of us in Colorado golf to hear from these national governing bodies that Colorado is leading, that not everybody does this, (and) that really there are very few states that do this,” said Eddie Ainsworth, executive director of the Colorado PGA. “That’s never our intent with what we do — to be a model for anybody else. But if others can learn from our example — with what we’ve done with our Junior Golf Alliance (of Colorado) and our Colorado golf alliance, more power to them. We’re glad to help. Overall, it was a tremendous day.”

119 Tourneys on Tap for Junior Golf Alliance: Speaking of the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado — a joint effort of the CGA, Colorado PGA and CWGA — it will be expanding in its second year.

Twelve months after the name, logo and details for the JGAC were announced at the 2016 G4 Summit, organizers made it clear they aren’t resting on their laurels.

A year after conducting 81 tournaments, the alliance plans 119 this year. Many of the additional events will be part of the new JGAC Prep League, which will give competitive opportunities to junior varsity golfers and players who haven’t had the chance to compete much. In all, 27 nine-hole Prep League events are planned for boys and girls.

Also on the JGAC schedule this year will be tournaments in western Colorado.

“Year 1 was a success. Year 2 is going to explode,” said Dustin Jensen, managing director of operations for the CGA.

Numerous junior programs — both tournament-oriented and not — fall under the auspices of the JGAC. Among them: Drive, Chip & Putt Championship; PGA Junior League; the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy; Colorado PGA Golf in Schools; the Hale Irwin Elite Player Program; and Colorado competitors in the the boys and girls Junior America’s Cup.

For 2016, Colorado PGA junior golf director Holly Champion noted the following participation levels in the JGAC progams:

— 3,695 total junior rounds played.
— 836 JGAC members.
— 10,844 kids in Colorado PGA Golf in Schools.
— 1,184 kids at 88 facilities in PGA Junior League.
— 47 Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy caddies accumulating 1,444 loops.
— 950 competitors in Drive, Chip & Putt in the Colorado PGA Section.

All in all, that’s what you call collaboration for a good cause.
 

It seems to be a simple, yet effective formula for the Denver Golf Expo: Show dates in the first half of February, avoid conflicts with Valentine’s Day and the Super Bowl, and hope the weather cooperates.

When it works out, like it largely did this year, the result is a solid turnout for the show.

This year’s three-day Expo, which concluded on Sunday at the Denver Mart, drew 9,136 people, the most for the show since 2014. The total was more than 1,000 up from last year’s 8,130 and marked nearly a 2,000 increase from 2015, which was a low-water mark for the DGE.

“It feels great,” said Mark Cramer, owner and operator of the Expo. “I’m very happy the number got over 9,000. When I opened the last cash box and (exceeded 9,000), I let out a huge primal scream.

“Now, next year we’ll shoot for over 10,000.”

Added Dustin Jensen, managing director of operations for the CGA: “It’s exciting to see so many people out there and engaged for golf. To hear how well facilities were doing was exciting. It’s nice to see the success not only we had, but everyone had.”

From 2009 through 2014, the Denver Golf Expo drew between 9,000 and 11,000 attendees each winter, so the 2017 show was back in that range after a couple of down years.

The most people the show has ever attracted was 11,202 in 2008, prior to the recession.

“A lot of exhibitors have figured out how to monetize (this show), which is awesome,” Cramer said. “This year they were walking on the ceiling with the turnout they were getting.”

Perhaps not coincidentally, this year’s 24th annual Expo was the first with dates in the first half of the month since 2014.

“I love the dates,” said Cramer, whose 2018 show also is set for the weekend after the Super Bowl, Feb. 9-11. “Football is over and it’s usually about two weeks after the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando where they introduce (new equipment and the like) and we can get it in people’s hands here.”

This year, Cramer even made it a point to set a different tone for the show by starting out each day by having a Scottish bagpiper, accompanied by a drummer, play as he walked from the back of the show to the entrance, then serenaded attendees for about five minutes as they came into the Denver Mart.

“People could hear the pipes coming,” Cramer said. “It created such an energy. Obviously, there’s something about pipers and game of golf. To those who play (golf), listening to bagpipes played well does somthing. The energy on the floor was just fabulous this year.”

Also giving the Expo a shot in the arm was a significant event within the event that returned to the show after an absence of six years. That was the case with the two-day Colorado Rules of Golf Workshop, which was conducted in conjunction with the Expo for the first time since 2010. In addition, there was a USGA Tournament Management Software Seminar — which helped clubs and PGA professionals transition to the USGA’s new software — and a Handicap Certification Workshop.

Those three events together attracted about 350 people over the weekend.

“We used to do everything under the roof of the Expo, including what used to be our annual meeting and our Season Tee Off (luncheon) and our Rules seminar,” noted Ed Mate, executive director of the CGA. “Then we felt it was just too much. But I think it was a good decision to bring (the Rules workshop) back. You just kind of keep evolving, but it’s funny: Sometimes the best ideas were already invented. Somebody said the only thing you don’t know is the history you haven’t read. We read our own history and that worked pretty well. It’s very satisfying to see those forum rooms filled with interested, bright-eyed people who are here for education. It’s great.”

The Rules of Golf Workshop, a project chaired by longtime rules official Brad Wiesley, was sold out far in advance. Besides eight rules instructors from the CGA, also leading the Rules seminar at various times were Mark Passey from the USGA and Karla Harding from the CWGA.

“What a great thing for us to get all those people there,” Jensen said. “It was a great team effort” by all the allied golf associations in Colorado.

As for other numbers from the Denver Golf Expo, Keith Soriano, an assistant executive director for the Colorado PGA, reported that Section professionals gave 306 free 10-minute lessons to Expo attendees (left), and that 216 kids went through the Drive, Chip & Putt-themed Junior Golf Central. Both of those numbers were down somewhat from 2016.

And Cramer said the number of Expo exhibitors — about 115 — was about a dozen less than last year. But with attendance up by 1,000, there was the potential for more bang for the buck this time around.

Colorado PGA professionals also conducted most of the educational seminars during the Expo, supplmented by a CGA Rules seminar.

Junior Golf Central falls under the auspices of the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado, a joint effort of the Colorado PGA and CGA, with help from the CWGA. The Alliance is entering its second year in 2017.

Both the CGA and CWGA also used the Expo as an opportunity to roll out efforts to engage members and prospective members. Both associations have launched new-look websites this winter.

The CGA introduced its new online “Member Zone”, which gives members access to discounts and special offers related to golf, travel, and business products and services.

And the CWGA is attempting to bring more women into the game with an expanded lineup of CWGA Experience events, where female golfers receive high-quality group instruction from LPGA and/or PGA professionals in a friendly and welcoming environment. Six or seven Experiences will be held statewide in 2017 (CLICK HERE for the current lineup), including a play day at the par-3 Harvard Gulch Golf Course in Denver on July 16. Most Experiences feature separate sessions on full swing, chipping, putting, and basic of the Rules of Golf, along with lunch.