The annual G4 Summit celebrates collaboration among golf industry leaders in Colorado.

That hits home this year particularly with the recent unification of the CGA and the CWGA. Also, there’s the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado, established by the CGA and the Colorado PGA; the combined effort that’s gone into the Colorado PGA Golf in Schools Program; and the JGAC recently adding the national Youth on Course program to its list of offerings for juniors. And the list goes on.

But the G4 also serves another purpose, which is to bring up pressing issues which golf needs to address to grow the game.

There was plenty of both celebrating the successes and working on shortcomings included on the agenda for the fifth G4 Summit, attended by approximately 175 people Wednesday at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs.

Growing the game of golf in the U.S. is a constant topic of conversation in the industry. That comes with the territory given that there are roughly 20 percent fewers golfers in the U.S. now than when golf was at its peak, popularity-wise, in 2005.

On Wednesday, speakers at the G4 addressed several issues in which golf could help its cause: being more intentionally inclusive when it comes to women and people of color in the industry and the game; more effectively embracing digital media to lure and retain younger demographic groups; and making golf appeal to a broader base by reducing the time commitment to participate and by making clubs places where people love to do everything from socialize to work out, to indoor training and even playing in golf simulators.

Here’s some of what was touched upon at The Broadmoor:

— Diversity. Dr. Michael Cooper, chairman of the Golf 20/20 Diversity Task Force, who appeared recently on Golf Channel to address the topic, cited several statistics that noted the problem. According to the National Golf Foundation, only 19 percent of golf participants in this country are non-Caucasians, and just 24 percent are females. In addition, he said 10 percent of the golf workforce is female and 12 percent minority.

But the goal of the Diversity Task Force is to “make golf look like America,” Cooper said. “Imagine how great the game could be if we caught up to the rest of America.”

“Golf has created enough programs for diversity,” he added during a panel discussion on Wednesday afternoon. “I wish the golf (industry) instead of doing programs FOR these communities would do things WITH these communities” who often have programs of their own in place.

But as things stand now, Cooper encourages golf facilities to hire more people of color and women, and/or do business with more vendors who fall into those categories.

“There are people out there begging to be included,” he noted.

“We heard today that people are just waiting to be asked,” Colorado PGA executive director Eddie Ainsworth said after the Summit wrapped up. “That’s the biggest message for me today. We have the right people to do the asking — with our club managers, PGA professionals and with our (other) partners because we all believe that golf can change people’s lives.”

Added Juliet Miner, who attended Wednesday’s G4 along with fellow CGA co-president Joe McCleary: “What Dr. Cooper brought to my mind is that we need to get more women into pro shops. Every pro shop should have a female in there. It’s up to us to make that move to be visible.”

— Appealing to a Broader Base. The days of golf facilities simply needing to unlock their doors in order to keep their tee sheets full with willing customers are a thing of the past in many cases. But Frank Vain, president of McMahon Group, said that facilities can be hubs of activity and clubs can have golfers eager to become members if they give those customers what the want:

They want activities that make the best use of their limited time. They want facilities that include things like fitness centers, indoor training, golf simulators (even simulation leagues); places they can watch sports on TV, eat, drink and socialize. Places like Topgolf, which has a location in Centennial and another in the planning stages in Thornton. Or, as Vain pointed out, the amenity-filled new clubhouse at Columbine Country Club in Columbine Valley. And a staff that will engage its customers.

“They tie it all together in terms of socialization,” Vain said of such facilities. “And the club of the future has a lot (for members) to do on a year-around basis. Investments in non-golf experiences always lead to more golf.

“Golf is not going away, but you have to be more innovative.”

— Embracing Digital Media. If there’s one thing Joe Steranka learned when he was the CEO of the PGA of America, it was “how to peak around the corner and see what you need to do next.” And one of those things now is for golf facilities to embrace digital media in order to thrive in the 21st century.

“Social media is the old word of mouth,” Steranka noted in his presentation. Social media helps a business — golf and otherwise — utilize customers who can often be very effective marketers for that business” and brag on the brand.

That’s especially true of younger customers who tend to embrace social media fully.

But keep in mind, Steranka said, “Content is king, curation is king, and content never sleeps.” In other words, content has to be relevant, has to resonate, and has to be real time.

“People (Generation X and Millennials) like hearing about themselves,” Steranka added, noting examples like someone who won the club championship or made a hole-in-one. “They are the future, and they grew up on this.

“Investing in digital media can help grow the top line” for a golf facility. “You better learn how to embrace social media. That’s a great opportunity for golf.”

All told, G4 speakers provided plenty of food for thought for an industry that would love to bolster its base and remain healthy for decades to come.

“I thought we had a really good range of speakers,” CGA executive director Ed Mate said in looking back at this year’s Summit. “In the past I think we’ve had some redundancy. But there was really no overlap (today). The messages were very distinct.”

Elway Taking Aim at U.S. Senior Open Spot: Among the other topics addressed on Wednesday was one apropos for the site — the 2018 U.S. Senior Open that The Broadmoor will host June 25-July 1.

Doug Habgood, a key event organizer for the Senior Open, noted that 2,412 people have volunteered for the event — and that’s all that’s needed aside from some junior standard bearers. He said there have been tickets purchased from buyers in 48 states.

“We’re seeing a tremendous amount of support and pent-up demand” for a major golf event in Colorado, Habgood said.

Habgood added that John Elway, honorary chairman for the U.S. Senior Open, plans to try to earn a spot in the championship field via a Memorial Day qualifier that’s set for The Broadmoor.

A lifelong golf amateur, Elway has finished as high as 19th in the Colorado Senior Open, has made the cut once in the Colorado Open, and has placed in the top 10 14 times in the nationally televised American Century Championships celebrity tournament in the Lake Tahoe area. He and Tom Hart won the 2009 Trans-Miss Four-Ball at Cherry Hills and tied for second in the 2010 CGA Four-Ball.

Also, a Drive Chip & Putt Local Qualifier is scheduled to be held at The Broadmoor on Tuesday of tournament week (June 26) and the hope is that Elway and/or some U.S. Senior Open competitors will drop by for the event.

In addition, a junior golf tent will be in place all week on The Broadmoor’s West Course. (The Senior Open is being played on the East Course.)

JGAC Plans: Mate gave G4 attendees an update on the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado’s addition of the Youth on Course initiative starting this year. Youth on Course makes golf more accessible to juniors by capping their cost for a round at $5 at participating facilities, possibly with some date/time restrictions. Then a subsidy of a similar amount ($6 in Colorado’s case) per round is paid to the participating course. (READ MORE)

“I really think this is a game-changing program,” Mate said.

Overall, the JGAC had 894 members in 2017 and 110 events were conducted by the alliance.

This year, the JGAC has a three-tier membership — Introductory, Series, and Tour for the advanced players. All come with Youth on Course benefits.
 

And if No. 5 is anything like Nos. 1 through 4, something headline-worthy will occur.

This time around, the G4 will be conducted at The Broadmoor Resort in Colorado Springs for the third time, returning Feb. 28 after being hosted by the Omni Interlocken Hotel in Broomfield last winter.

It’ll be the first of many notable large-scale golf events set for The Broadmoor in 2018, the year the resort celebrates the 100th anniversary of its founding. Of course, things there will center around the 2018 U.S. Senior Open, which will pay a visit June 28-July 1.

The G4 brings together the organizations that make up the Colorado Golf Alliance — the CGA, Colorado PGA, the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, and the Mile High Chapter of the Club Managers Association of America. And many others in the Colorado golf community likewise will be on hand.

Each year, the G4 features discussions of various pressing issues golf faces, tries to be more effective growing the game, shares best practices and emphasizes collaboration among industry leaders.

Among the G4 highlights in previous years:

— Pete Bevacqua, the CEO of the PGA of America, was the headline speaker in 2015, also at The Broadmoor. The former USGA executive also has served as the chairman of the World Golf Foundation board of directors.

— Also in 2015, Denver resident and former USGA president Will Nicholson Jr., announced that Jack Nicklaus had agreed to be a headliner at the Colorado Century of Golf Gala later that year at The Broadmoor.

— In 2016, the name and logo for the then-new Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado were unveiled at the G4 Summit. The JGAC, founded by the CGA and Colorado PGA, has proven a big success since being launched.

— Also in 2016, the high-powered speaker lineup included Dottie Pepper, winner of 17 LPGA Tour events and now a golf analyst on CBS, and Rhett Evans, CEO of Golf Course Superintendents Association of America.

Other speakers over the years have included high-level leaders in the USGA and the military.

The lineup for the Feb. 28 G4 will have similar firepower. It includes:

— Joe Steranka, a former CEO of the PGA of America (2005-12) and now chief global strategist for Steranka Sports + Strategy, is tentatively scheduled to speak on “Why Digital Media is at the Center of Golf’s Future.” Steranka was a journalism major at West Virginia University.

Steranka has previously spoken in Colorado at the 2010 CGA Season Tee-Off Luncheon, a predecessor of sorts to the G4 Summit.

— Dr. Michael Cooper, chairman of the Golf 20/20 Diversity Task Force, will address the subject of diversity in golf. Last week, Cooper appeared on the Golf Channel’s “Morning Drive” program.

Also scheduled to speak are Frank Vain, president of McMahon Group, on club industry trends; and Ross Iverson, co-founder and executive director of the Vail Centre, on leadership and staff development.

All four speakers also will take part in an industry discussion panel to conclude the G4 Summit on Feb. 28.

Likewise on the tentative agenda are a JGAC update on the alliance’s recent addition of the Youth on Course initiative (READ MORE); a state legislature briefing from Jennifer Cassell, a lobbyist for the Colorado Golf Alliance; and a few minutes with Colorado Golf Hall of Fame leadership. The executive committees for the allied associations will start the day with a by-invitation-only breakfast meeting.

The G4 Summit has attracted 125 to 300 attendees per year, with about 180 coming in 2017. It was held at Inverness in 2014, The Broadmoor in 2015 and ’16, and The Omni last year.

To register for the G4 Summit or to get more information, CLICK HERE.

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’s also engaged a diverse list of speakers.

And now, it’s spreading its wings in another sense — geographically.

After first being held at The Inverness Hotel & Conference Center south of Denver in 2014, then The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs hosting it the past two years, the G4 Summit will go up north this winter. The Omni Interlocken Resort in Broomfield will be the site for the fourth annual G4 on Feb. 21.

The plan in upcoming years, according to Colorado PGA assistant executive director Patrick Salva, is to rotate the event between the Omni and The Broadmoor, with the G4 returning to the latter site in 2018, the year The Broadmoor will host the U.S. Senior Open.

The G4 brings together many of the industry leaders in Colorado golf — including the CGA, CWGA, Colorado PGA, course superintendents and managers — for a day of meetings, panel discussions and several presentations by notable speakers. The idea is working together to more effectively deal with issues that face golf.

In the past couple of years, the event has featured some newsworthy announcements as well:

— In 2015, former USGA president Will Nicholson Jr., announced that Jack Nicklaus had agreed to be a headliner at the Colorado Century of Golf Gala later that year at The Broadmoor.

— And last year, the name and logo for the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado were unveiled and details of the newly formed entity were announced.

In addition, the G4 has included an array of prominent speakers over the last several years, including former LPGA Tour standout and current CBS golf broadcaster Dottie Pepper, PGA of America CEO Pete Bevacqua, Golf Course Superintendents Association of America CEO Rhett Evans, and several USGA directors.

This year’s speaker lineup promises to likewise cover an array of topics:

— Major General Ryan Gonsalves, division commander for the 4th Infantry Division and Fort Carson. The Fort Carson native, who assumed his current post overseeing all operations at Fort Carson in May 2015, will speak about leadership development: “mentoring those behind us.” The general has served in Germany, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq, in addition to the U.S.

— Sarah Hirshland, senior managing director of business affairs for the USGA. Hirshland will address growing engagement with all golfers and the facilities at which they play. She oversees global distribution of USGA-owned content — both in broadcast and digital media — and manages integrated marketing and communications for the association.

— Aubrey McCormick and Gina Rizzi, principals and founding partners at IMPACT360 Sports. They’ll talk about growing the game of golf while “promoting whole value sustainability best management practices through corporate social responsibility reporting.” McCormick is a former professional golfer who appeared on Golf Channel’s “Big Break Atlantis” in 2012.

— David Phipps, the GCSAA’s Northwest regional field staff representative and a leader in environmental stewardship in the game of golf. Phipps will speak on the First Green Foundation, which promotes environmental education outreach using golf courses as learning labs. Phipps is a winner of the GCSAA’s President’s Award for Environmental Stewardship.

Also on the G4 agenda are an update on the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado, which is entering its second year, and an industry panel discussion.

For more information on the G4 Summit, CLICK HERE.
 

In fact, in the 43-year period from 1972 through 2014, there’s was only one year (2007) that Colorado didn’t host at least one event that fell into the aforementioned category.

The LPGA Tour held tournaments in the state for 16 consecutive years beginning in 1972. The Senior/Champions Tour had a six-year run in Colorado beginning in 1982. And the PGA Tour visited annually from 1986-2006 thanks to The International at Castle Pines Golf Club. In addition, there were numerous USGA championships and other big events held in the Centennial State during that time span.

And since The International exited, Colorado has hosted the U.S. Senior Open and the U.S. Amateur Public Links in 2008, the 2009 Palmer Cup (a Ryder Cup-like competition for the best college players), the 2010 Senior PGA Championship, the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open, the 2012 U.S. Amateur, the 2013 Solheim Cup and Junior Solheim Cup, and the 2014 BMW Championship.

But since September 2014, the state has experienced a bit of a lull in hosting major spectator golf competitions in the state — the kind that draw national or even international attention. That will continue in 2017, but a couple of USGA championships are on the horizon, with the 2018 U.S. Senior Open coming to The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs and Colorado Golf Club in Parker hosting the U.S. Mid-Amateur in 2019.

However, that certainly doesn’t mean the almost four-year period from the 2014 BMW Championship at Cherry Hills Country Club to the 2018 U.S. Senior Open has been/will be without significant golf events in Colorado. Last year, for instance, the NCAA Division II men’s and women’s national championships were held in the Centennial State along with the first four majors in Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado history, and in 2015 Colorado hosted the 100th CWGA Match Play and the Women’s Pac-12 Conference Championships.

Which brings us to 2017. What will the new year hold for golf fans and competitors in the way of significant new, different or otherwise notable events? Here’s a brief rundown:

— Pac-12 Tourney Coming to Boulder: For the first time since 1972, the University of Colorado will host a men’s golf conference championship as the Pac-12 meet comes to Boulder Country Club April 28-30. BCC hosted the women’s Pac-12 tournament in 2015.

The Pac-12 has traditionally been one of the top men’s golf conferences in the nation, winning four national team titles since 2004, including Oregon claiming the crown last spring. The Ducks will defend their title this year, almost certainly with Colorado’s own Wyndham Clark in the lineup.

Going into the spring portion of the college schedule, five Pac-12 teams are ranked among the top 30 in the nation, according to Golfweek: USC (sixth), Stanford (eighth), Colorado (24th), Oregon (28th) and Arizona State (30th).

— High-Country Golf: Both the CGA and the Colorado PGA will hold major championships in the mountains this year.

The 81st CGA Amateur is set for Aug. 3-6 at the Sonnenalp Club in Edwards, west of Vail, marking the first time the tournament has been contested in the mountains since 2003, when Kane Webber won at River Valley Ranch in Carbondale. Meanwhile, the Colorado PGA Professional Championship will be hosted by Red Sky Golf Club at the Fazio Course in Wolcott Sept. 11-13.

Other 2017 CGA championships scheduled for the mountains are the Parent/Child (June 3-4 at Frost Creek Ranch & Club in Eagle) and the Mid-Amateur (Sept. 8-10 at Keystone Ranch Golf Course).

The CWGA also will on the Western Slope or in the mountains for several events in 2017: the Brassie Championship at Rifle Creek Golf Course Aug. 5-6; the Chapman Championship at Raven Golf Club at Three Peaks in Silverthorne Sept. 16-17; the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur qualifying at Pole Creek Golf Club in Tabernash Aug. 1; and the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur qualifying at Vail Golf Club Aug. 28.

The CWGA two-person Chapman Championship, by the way, is returning after a one-year hiatus.

As for the biggest CGA championships, in addition to the Amateur at Sonnenalp, the 117th Match Play is set for June 19-23 at The Club at Ravenna in Littleton.

On the CWGA side, the Stroke Play is scheduled for June 19-21 at Lone Tree Golf Club and the 102nd Match Play for July 17-20 at Buffalo Run in Commerce City.

Overall, the first CGA championship of 2017 will be the Senior Four-Ball May 1-3 at Broadland Golf Course in Broomfield. The CWGA will open with the Mashie June 6-8 at Todd Creek in Thornton and Saddleback in Firestone.

— USGA Qualifiers: Colorado once again will host two final-stage qualifying tournaments for USGA open championships.

U.S. Women’s Open Qualifying is scheduled for May 24 at Riverdale Dunes in Brighton, while U.S. Senior Open Qualifying is planned for June 8 at Meadows Golf Club in Littleton.

And while no final-stage qualifiers for the U.S. Open are set in Colorado, the state will host three Local Qualifiers: May 8 at Heritage at Westmoor, May 15 at CommonGround and May 16 at Collindale.

— Colorado Open Championships: This year’s schedule for the CoBank Colorado Open Championships at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in northeast Denver will be similar to last year’s, with the Senior Open set for May 31-June 2, the Open scheduled for July 20-23, and the Women’s Open planned for Aug. 30-Sept. 1.

— Junior Golf: On the junior golf end of things, not all the sites for the four Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado major championships have been set, but Eisenhower Golf Club at the Air Force Academy will be a host for a JGAC major for the second time in two years.

Here’s the JGAC major schedule as it stands:

June 12-14 — Colorado Junior PGA Championship, Eisenhower GC

July 10-12 — Colorado Junior Amateur Championship, site TBD

July 31-Aug. 2 — Colorado Junior Match Play, Black Bear GC

Oct. 7-8 — JGAC Tour Championship, site TBD

Meanwhile, Heritage at Westmoor in Westminster will be the new host of the AJGA Transamerica / Hale Irwin Colorado Junior June 6-8, beginning at least a three-year run at the course.

— Winter Events: While the statewide tournament golf season won’t begin until spring, there are several significant events in the interim that can serve to whet the appetite.

The Denver Golf Expo will be held Feb. 10-12 at the Denver Mart. The G4 Summit, which brings together many of the leaders in the Colorado golf industry to hear about and discuss key issues facing the game, is set for Feb. 21 at the Omni Interlocken Resort in Broomfield. And the CWGA’s annual meeting is scheduled for March 4 at the Inverness Hotel & Conference Center in Englewood.
 

Last year at the G4 Summit, former USGA president Will Nicholson Jr., announced that Jack Nicklaus had agreed to be the featured guest at the Century of Golf Gala, which turned out to be arguably the highlight of the year in Colorado golf.

Next week at the third annual G4 Summit — set for Tuesday at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs — more significant news is on the agenda. And considering the Summit is all about leaders in the Colorado golf industry joining forces to deal with issues that the game faces, the news is particularly fitting.

One of the first orders of business at the event deals with the junior golf collaboration that was announced last fall by the CGA and the Colorado PGA. Since then, with the help of the CWGA and other golf organizations, the 2016 schedule has been released (CLICK HERE). And on Tuesday, the name of the new junior golf organization will be revealed, along with a logo designed by Adrenalin, a tagline and possibly information regarding a new website. Also, registration for 2016 tournaments will open that day.

In addition, several Colorado junior golfers from years past who have gone on to success professionally will be lending their names to the cause.

The junior organization will have events both for top-level players — including a Junior Tour which will feature four junior majors for both boys and girls — as well as for up-and-coming golfers through the developmental Junior Series. In short, there will be events for players of many ages and abilities.

The inaugural tournaments on the schedule are set for April 16-17 in Colorado Springs at the Country Club of Colorado and Valley Hi Golf Course.

When the new junior golf website is launched, it will feature 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 and much more.

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

“We’re really excited,” said Dustin Jensen, the CGA’s managing director of operations, who has helped spearhead the collaborative organization along with Keith Soriano, the Colorado PGA’s assistant executive director/Foundation programs. “It’ll be fun to get things kicked off.

“It’s significant that we’re doing this at the Summit. The Summit signifies unity. That’s what the Summit is, and it’s what the alliance is. It’s a coming together of the game.”

And the announcements at the G4 Summit will be followed in a major way at a further rollout of the junior golf organization at the Denver Golf Expo, set for Feb. 19-21 at the Denver Mart (58th and I-25).

While the junior golf announcements will be a key part of the G4 Summit on Tuesday, there’s much, much more to the event that brings together all the allied golf associations in the state — the CGA, CWGA, Colorado PGA, the Rocky Mountain Golf Course Superintendents and the Mile High Chapter of the Club Managers Association — in an effort to address key issues facing golf. There will be speeches given by industry leaders, panel discussions, meetings, a legislative update, social functions and announcements, with the G4 Summit theme this year being “The Changing Landscape of the Game of Golf”.

The speaker lineup certainly doesn’t lack firepower. It includes:

— Dottie Pepper (left), who won 17 LPGA Tour events, including the Nabisco Dinah Shore twice in the 1990s. Pepper served as an assistant captain for the U.S. team at the Solheim Cup matches at Colorado Golf Club in 2013. Since 2005, she’s been a prominent on-course reporter on TV, working for NBC, the Golf Channel, and now ESPN and CBS, where she’ll be part of the Masters and PGA Championship broadcasting teams. Pepper, who replaces David Feherty at CBS and becomes the network’s first female golf analyst, recently spent three years on the board of directors for the PGA of America.

Pepper will also be the keynote speaker for the Colorado PGA’s Teaching and Coaching Summit on Feb. 17 at The Broadmoor, addressing what players look for in a coach.

— Rhett Evans, the CEO of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, who will be delivering the keynote address. Evans was well received as the keynote speaker at the CWGA annual meeting last March.

— Rand Jerris, the USGA’s senior managing director for public services, who is also an author (or co-author) of three golf books, speaking on building a sustainable game.

— David Lorentz, senior research manager for the National Golf Foundation, a trade assocation which provides market research, information and insights about the business of golf. Lorentz will be speaking on “golf and the millennial generation”.

All four of the speakers will also participate in an industry panel discussion.
 

The choice of Pete Bevacqua as keynote speaker for the second annual G4 Summit wasn’t just serendipitous, but in some ways it seemed ideal given the nature of the gathering.

After all, this was an event designed so that Colorado’s top golf organizations could join forces to combat issues that keep golf from realizing its full potential in the state.

And who better to talk about what can be achieved by teaming up than someone who has held major leadership positions at both the PGA of America and the USGA? Bevacqua has seen the game from both sides — as well as from having been a caddie, a caddiemaster and a golf shop attendant.

Especially given his background, he realizes that organizations staking out territory often is counterproductive, especially when they share the overarching goal of growing the game of golf.

Bevacqua (left) has noted the possibilities when groups such as the PGA of America, the USGA, the PGA and LPGA Tours, and Augusta National collectively attack an issue.

“We all come at it from slightly different angles, but the similarities so vastly outweigh the differences, so what we can do is profound,” he said Tuesday in a speech at the Broadmoor Resort in Colorado Springs. “And I think collaboration is at an all-time high.”

While Bevacqua, now the CEO of the PGA of America, was speaking about the national golf organizations, his words fit just as well on a local level in Colorado.

At the Broadmoor, representatives from the CGA, CWGA, Colorado PGA, the Rocky Mountain Golf Course Superintendents and the Mile High Chapter of the Club Managers Association came together in an effort to help make the game in Colorado take a step or two in the right direction.

And certainly something must have struck a chord for those in the golf industry as about 300 people — up from a little more than 125 last year — attended the second G4 Summit.

“The collaboration is better than it’s ever been,” noted Eddie Ainsworth, executive director of the Colorado PGA. “We’re in control of our future, and I’m excited about it.”

Asked his reaction to how the day played out, CGA executive director Ed Mate said, “I would just say ‘home run’. You plan a day like today — it’s a team effort; it was truly the G4. Really what it shows is when you work together you get better results. … It’s going to be a tough act to follow, frankly, for future years. It was an A-plus.”

The main speakers covered a wide variety of topics, all very important to golf’s future. Hunki Yun, who as director of strategic projects with the USGA helps oversee pace-of-play issues for the organization, detailed that problem and ways to combat it. “The more (data) you have about what’s happening, the better,” he said. “It’s crucial to have control over the system.”

Sandy Cross (left), senior director of diversity and inclusion at the PGA of America, discussed the importance of understanding generational attributes in trying to attract young, middle-aged and older players — as well as both women and men — to the game. “It has dramatic implications for what (golf) is trying to accomplish,” she said. “Marketing must evolve. We have to adapt.”

And some ingrained ideas are simply outmoded, Cross said, citing for example the idea of selecting tee boxes based on gender rather than ability. “That’s deeply flawed. It’s denigrating and not welcoming.”

And Bevacqua not only spoke about the PGA’s strategic plan, but in steps the organization has taken recently to grow the game and become more inclusive. He cited Suzy Whaley becoming the first national female officer of the PGA of America, working with the LPGA to create the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the national PGA being more open to ideas emanating from the PGA Sections, and PGA programs such as Get Golf Ready, PGA Junior League and the Drive, Chip & Putt Championship.

“It was a great day of education and exchanging information and best practices,” said CWGA executive director Ann Guiberson, who was attending her first G4 Summit after being hired early last spring. “It was very informative, with some top speakers. And I think the mix of speakers appealed to a wide audience.”

Given that nationwide, the National Golf Foundation reports that only about 21 percent of all golfers are women, the CWGA was especially interested in getting Cross’ perspective on growing the game among females. To that end, the CWGA leadership met with Cross to exchange information, ask questions and “get some more ideas as to what we can do to grow women’s golf in Colorado,” Guiberson said.

In addition to the presentations, there was a panel discussion in which Bevacqua, Yun, Cross and J.D. Dockstader, chief business development officer of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, addressed a wide variety of golf industry-related topics (photo at bottom).

While many major hurdles remain for golf, they don’t seem quite as insurmountable when the golf industry throws its collective weight behind trying to implement solutions.

“Combined, we can make golf all it can be,” noted CGA president Phil Lane, who served as an unofficial host at his home club at the Broadmoor.

All in all, what came to fruition Tuesday gave the organizers a sense of satisfaction in taking a noteworthy step forward.

“This is something Ed Mate and I have been passionately working on (along with the CWGA, superintendents and club managers) for several years now,” Ainsworth said. “We are singularly focused on moving the needle together.”

Notable: The CGA provided a sneak preview of its new logo to those in attendance at the G4 Summit. The full-scale public unveiling will be coming shortly. … The Colorado PGA reported the Golf in Schools Program, a joint effort of the Allied Golf Associations in Colorado, has now reached 30,000 kids through P.E. classes over the last five years. … To date, 29 Colorado golf facilities have signed up for PGA Junior League Golf, where the idea is to bring a Little League atmosphere to junior golf competition for boys and girls of all skill levels. … Local qualifiers for the 2015 Drive Chip & Putt Championship will take place in June and July, with a sub-regional planned for CommonGround Golf Course on Aug. 30. The competition is open to boys and girls age 7-15. For a list of the Colorado qualifying sites, CLICK HERE.

The day-long series of functions involves some of the biggest players in the Colorado Golf Industry — including the CGA, CWGA, Colorado PGA, the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, and the Mile High Chapter of the Club Managers Association of America. The event addresses challenges golf faces and how to be more effective growing the game, shares best practices and emphasizes collaboration among industry leaders.

This year’s Summit will certainly have a big-time feel to it, and it is all open to the public. (See below for registration information.)

It doesn’t hurt that the event will be held at the Broadmoor, which last year was named the top resort in North America in Golf magazine’s biennial rankings.

But beyond that, the event has attracted several notable speakers, headlined by PGA of America CEO Pete Bevacqua (pictured), who will give the keynote address. Bevacqua, who came to the PGA in 2012 after a 10 1/2-year stint with the USGA, in 2010 was named one of the 40 most influential people in golf under 40 years old. He’ll speak on the PGA of America’s Strategic Plan.

“Having Pete Bevacqua here is a big deal; he’s the CEO of one of the major golf organizations,” noted Ed Mate, executive director of the CGA. “The goal is to get people (to attend the G4 Summit) and have great content there. That starts with Pete.”

But it certainly doesn’t end there. Also among speakers from national organizations are Hunki Yun, director of strategic projects at the USGA (on the science behind pace of play), and Sandy Cross, senior director of diversity and inclusion at the PGA of America (on how understanding generational attributes and diversity and inclusion can attract more golfers).

Bevacqua, Yun, Cross and J.D. Dockstader, chief business development officer of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, will participate in an industry panel discussion moderated by golf strategist Jim Keegan.

Also at the Summit, the CGA plans to unveil its new logo as part of the association’s centennial celebration. The formal public debut of the logo will take place at the Denver Golf Expo Feb. 20-22.

And though it’s not technically a part of the G4 Summit — just held in conjunction with the event — two-time PGA Championship winner and putting guru Dave Stockton will be the headliner for the Colorado PGA Teaching and Coaching Summit that will take place Feb. 11 at the Broadmoor. Entry to that event is limited to PGA and LPGA professionals.

Last year marked the debut of the G4 Summit, which is billed as “a coming together of the golf industry in Colorado”. (For the purposes of the Summit, the CGA and CWGA together are considered one of the four founding participants in the event.) More than 125 golf industry leaders attended the 2014 Summit, and organizers hope for a marked increase this year.

The G4 Summit features a state of the industry update, thematic speeches, roundtable meetings, a panel discussion and the annual public golf operators meeting, with all the sessions designed to bolster the game of golf in Colorado.

“Last year was great, exactly what we wanted — a coming together of the golf industry,” Mate said. “We want to make sure we’re good stewards of the game.”

To register for the G4 Summit or to get more information, CLICK HERE.