Among the long-held traditions of the holiday season for many is giving and receiving gifts.
But there are only so many socks, pajamas, ties, pullovers and the like that one can fit in the closet or dresser. Gift cards can sometimes fit the bill, as long as they don’t get lost at the bottom of some drawer.
Even in the golf realm, monogrammed balls are a fine idea — until they start really stacking up in the garage.
With that in mind, it’s time for our annual ritual of doling out things that can’t be neatly packaged. Yes, we mean our 2018 edition of Colorado golf-related holiday gift wishes.
To: Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster.
Gift Wish: That your decision to defer becoming an LPGA member will pay off with a second straight NCAA title in May.
To: Exiting CGA co-presidents Joe McCleary and Juliet Miner.
Gift Wish: Satisfaction in knowing that all the work you’ve put in as volunteer leaders of the CGA and CWGA/CGA, respectively, over the last three years has left the new-look CGA on a solid foundation for a long time to come.
To: New CGA president Janene Guzowski.
Gift Wish: Making McCleary and Miner proud in building on their accomplishments.
To: The Colorado PGA.
Gift Wish: That the good work you do as a Section, having won 10 national awards in 12 years from the PGA of America, leads to genuine growth in the game in Colorado.
To: Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado Boys Player of the Year Dillon Stewart.
Gift Wish: A spot in the five-man lineup for perennial college powerhouse Oklahoma State in your first year or two in Stillwater.
To: TPC Colorado in Berthoud.
Gift Wish: Rave reviews in your first year hosting the TPC Colorado Championship at Heron Lakes.
To: Colorado Golf Club in Parker.
Gift Wish: That the U.S. Mid-Amateur coming in September will be the first of many times the course hosts USGA championships.
To: City Park Golf Course in Denver.
Gift Wish: A redesigned layout worthy of the 100-plus-year history of the course, which is scheduled to reopen in 2019 after being closed since the fall of 2017.
To: The Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado.
Gift Wish: Steady growth and innovation for a fourth straight year.
To: Colorado-raised Wyndham Clark, Jim Knous, Jennifer Kupcho and Becca Huffer.
Gift Wish: Rookie seasons on the PGA and LPGA Tours that will guarantee cards on the world’s top golf circuits again the following season.
To: Former CU golfer Robyn Choi, who has qualified in Colorado for the last two U.S. Women’s Opens.
Gift Wish: That the decision to forego your final three semesters of college golf to start your LPGA Tour career at the beginning of 2019 will prove to be the right one.
To: The USGA and the CGA.
Gift Wish: That the inevitable tweaks to the modernized Rules of Golf that will take effect Jan. 1 will be kept to a reasonable minimum, and that the Rules rollout will be relatively seamless.
To: The powers that be in golf.
Gift Wish: That the 1985 PGA Championship isn’t the last men’s major that ever will be held in Colorado.
To: Colorado’s elite golfers.
Gift Wish: That players from the Centennial State win all three of the CoBank Colorado Open Championships in 2019.
To: Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy.
Gift Wish: That the academy’s model is adopted by a national organization so that teenagers country-wide can benefit.
To: Coloradans Caitlyn Chin, Chunya Boonta and Grady Ortiz.
Gift Wish: That one of you will become the first Coloradan to win a national title in the Drive, Chip & Putt Finals at Augusta National in April.
To: Colorado PGA senior players.
Gift Wish: That you take it easy on the young-uns after having won five of the last six Colorado PGA Professional Championships.
To: Topgolf.
Gift Wish: That a second Colorado site — in Thornton — will be a win-win, helping business in the short term and creating additional golfers for the game over the long haul.
To: Denver Golf Expo.
Gift Wish: Attendance exceeding 10,000 for the three-day show for the first time since 2012.
To: Evans Scholarship for Caddies at the University of Colorado.
Gift Wish: That the full-tuition and housing scholarship means a much to recipients in 2019 as it did in for the first “winners” in 1930.
To: Colorado college golf programs.
Gift Wish: A spring season that lasts into the second half of May.
To: Youth on Course.
Gift Wish: That its “sophomore” season in Colorado proves to be one where the program — which allows juniors to play golf at participating facilities for no more than $5 per round — really gains traction in the state.
To: Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton.
Gift Wish: That victory No. 26 — which would establish a record for CGA/CWGA women’s championships — comes your way at some tournament before you turn 60 in 2019.
To: World Golf Hall of Famer Hale Irwin, who grew up in Boulder.
Gift Wish: That golf organizations in Colorado will continue to draw upon your legacy to benefit future generations of golfers in the state.
To: The many Coloradans who volunteer their time in the name of golf.
Gift Wish: A full heart, knowing the game is better because of your generosity.
To: All golfers in Colorado.
Gift Wish: The time and good fortune to be able to get your golf fix in 2019 — or at least come close.
It’s been a year since our last distribution of gifts — Colorado golf-style — and we’re back in the holiday mood.
We’ve studied our naughty and nice lists, and taken time to pick out that perfect something for deserving souls. Of course, given who we are, we’ll stick with a golf theme.
Time’s a wastin’, so without further ado …
To: John Ogden, head professional at Cherry Hills Country Club. Gift: Credit where credit is due after you predicted in the weeks leading up to the BMW Championship that the winning score would be 264 to 268. Billy Horschel won with a 266 total.
To: Rory McIlroy. Gift: That no hole ever treats you as badly as the par-3 12th at Cherry Hills did during the BMW Championship. (He four-putted the hole twice in the final two rounds, including from 4 feet on Saturday. The result: triple bogey, double bogey).
To: Phil Mickelson. Gift: The ability to think of a better excuse for withdrawing from a tournament after pulling out of the no-cut BMW Championship before the weekend at Cherry Hills, citing a need “to rest and prepare for the Ryder Cup” — which took place three weeks later.
To: The CGA. Gift: In 2015, an unforgettable 100-year anniversary year worthy of an organization with such a rich history.
To: The CWGA. Gift: See above, except in 2016 in your case.
To: Hale Irwin. Gift: Just as your competitive career winds down, an ever-expanding impact on Colorado kids through the Hale Irwin Elite Player Program, the AJGA Hale Irwin Junior, and hopefully other things to come.
To: Former Coloradan Brandt Jobe, who has finished second four times — but has never won — on the PGA Tour. Gift: That 2015 brings a victory — either on the PGA Tour or the Champions circuit, for which you become eligible in August.
To: Colorado-based Champions Tour player Mark Wiebe, who battled injuries this year. Gift: That 2015 more resemble 2013 (two wins) than 2014 (0 top-25s).
To: New CGA managing director of operations Dustin Jensen, who is moving back to Colorado from North Dakota. Gift: A touch of winter warmth, Colorado style.
To: Officials from Coal Creek Golf Course in Louisville. Gift: A banner season in the summer of 2015 after then being closed for more than 18 months by the September 2013 flooding.
To: George Solich. Gift: A stress-free summer in 2015 after anything but in 2014 as general chairman of the BMW Championship.
To: Doug Rohrbaugh of Carbondale. Gift: After having so much success in Colorado in recent years — including winning titles in the HealthOne Colorado Senior Open (one) and the Colorado PGA Professional Championship (two) — a top-10 finish as a member of the Champions Tour.
To: The University of Colorado women’s golf program. Gift: A top-three finish at the Pac-12 Conference Championship that you’re hosting in April at Boulder Country Club.
To: Wyndham Clark of Lone Tree, the 2014 Big 12 Player of the Year at Oklahoma State. Gift: After a lot of close calls, an individual college victory.
To: Jack Vickers. Gift: In receiving the PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award, satisfaction in the impact you made in graciously hosting a PGA Tour event in Colorado for 21 years, The International.
To: Ross Macdonald (left). Gift: A third consecutive CGA Junior Stroke Play title to match Scott Petersen’s remarkable feat from the late 1980s.
To: CSU-Pueblo golfer Leina Kim. Gift: An NCAA women’s Division II title in 2015 after leading the nation in stroke average so far this season.
To: Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster. Gift: A win in a national event leading into your freshman season at Wake Forest beginning in the fall.
To: Former CU golfer Emily Talley. Gift: After knocking on the door so many times as a professional, an answer in the form of an individual title.
To: Connie Gallagher of Denver, who in October aced a par-4 at Pebble Beach Golf Links. Gift: A return trip to Pebble to relive the moment.
To: Kent and Janet Moore, both Colorado Golf Hall of Famers. Gift: That you both win state senior titles in the same year.
To: Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton. Gift: That you don’t miss a beat in competitive golf next year despite those two recent knee replacements.
To: John Elway. Gift: A shot at winning both a Super Bowl (as Broncos general manager) and a HealthOne Colorado Senior Open (as a competitor) in the same year.
To: The late Jim Moore, former Western Golf Association educational director. Gift: That your ever-present upbeat spirit will live on in the Evans Scholarship program for caddies, including those at the University of Colorado.
To: Sherry Andonian-Smith (left), who almost made the cut in the 2014 HealthOne Colorado Senior Open, and who went 3-0 for the Colorado PGA in the Taylor Cup matches. Gift: Colorado PGA Senior Player of the Year honors in 2015.
To: The guy who eagerly volunteered to caddie for a competitor in the 2014 HealthOne Colorado Women’s Open, only to quit mid-round, saying he had phone calls to make. Gift: That your services are required elsewhere during the 2015 tournament.
To: Leslie Core-Drevecky, the first female president of the Colorado PGA. Gift: A marked increase in play by women and girls golfers in Colorado.
To: Eric Hoos, who got struck in the head by a competitor’s golf ball while picking his ball out of the cup at the 2014 CGA Senior Stroke Play. Gift: A military-style helmet for the 2015 tournament.
To: Part-time Colorado resident Jonathan Kaye, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour. Gift: After competing very little since 2010, some success on the Web.com Tour in 2015.
To: Priscilla Lind, who recently passed away. Lind was the wife of Babe Lind, who was in the first class of inductees for the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame. Gift: Many thanks for sharing some of Babe’s historic golf trophies and memorabilia with the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame and the University of Denver.
To: Golf courses such as Broadlands, Saddleback, Park Hill, Springs Ranch and Eagle Vail which have opened part of their facilities to “footgolf”, an activity in which participants essentially play golf with their feet, using a soccer ball, much shorter holes and large cups. Gift: An “A” for effort in thinking outside the box to generate additional revenue for their golf courses.
To: The golden oldies who play golf at Heather Gardens. Gift: Good health, good friends and great fun hitting the links well into your 90s.
To: All Colorado golfers. Gift: Happy holidays.
But that doesn’t keep thoughts of playing great rounds from dancing in our heads.
With that in mind, it’s time to dole out Colorado golf gift wishes for the third straight holiday season here at COgolf.org. And just to make it easy on the man with the big white beard, we’ve put our list in alphabetical order:
To: Coloradan Christie Austin, who’s moving up the ladder on the USGA Executive Committee. Gift: A stint as officer that she will long treasure.
To: Shane Bertsch of Parker. Gift: Earning at least $241,285 in his first PGA Tour start of 2012 — enough for him to meet the terms of his medical extension and retain his fully-exempt status on Tour.
To: The Broadmoor Golf Club. Gift: An upcoming major championship of one sort or another to follow on the heels of the well-attended 2011 U.S. Women’s Open and 2008 U.S. Senior Open.
To: CGA Player of the Year Zahkai Brown. Gift: Finishing his college career at Colorado State with a bang.
To: Denver’s Jim Bunch, new chairman of the Western Golf Association as of Jan. 1. Gift: An overabundance of donations to the Evans Caddie Scholarship, which the WGA administers.
To: Cherry Hills Country Club and CommonGround Golf Course. Gift: A U.S. Amateur in August that produces a champion like the 1990 Amateur at Cherry Hills yielded — a guy named Phil Mickelson.
To: Wyndham Clark of Greenwood Village. Gift: A freshman season at Oklahoma State that’s as memorable as that 64-64 you shot in winning the 4A state high school title by eight strokes.
To: Colorado golf course operators. Gift: Good weather and a good economy.
To: The Colorado PGA. Gift: A collective toast to the Section for its membership winning a PGA of America national award for the fifth consecutive year.
To: Mark and Lynn Cramer, who run the Denver Golf Expo. Gift: A fitting launch to a stellar golf season in Colorado.
To: Kathryn Davis and Tom Lawrence, new presidents of the CWGA and CGA, respectively. Gift: In their new positions, success befitting two former Division I college athletes.
To: Coloradan Brian Dorfman, a senior at Georgetown University. Gift: Two wins in the spring season to serve as bookends for the two you earned in the fall.
To: Cherry Hills Village resident David Duval. Gift: Your first PGA Tour victory in more than a decade.
To: Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton. Gift: After trips to the quarterfinals of the USGA Senior Women’s Amateur two of the last three years, a run at the national title in 2012.
To: The Golf in Schools program, the joint initiative of the Allied Golf Associations of Colorado that made its debut in 2011. Gift: Reaching ever-more kids in 2012.
To: The HealthOne Colorado Women’s Open. Gift: A tournament as memorable as this year’s, when reigning PGA Champion Martin Kaymer caddied for his girlfriend.
To: Rob Hunt of Highlands Ranch. Gift: A good run at a record-tying third Colorado PGA Professional Championship.
To: Former CU athlete Hale Irwin. Gift: Shooting your age en route to winning a Champions Tour event at age 66.
To: Dustin Jensen, popular former director of youth programs for the CGA. Gift: May you have as big an impact in your new job as you made at the CGA.
To: Oft-injured former CU golfer Steve Jones. Gift: Your first PGA/Champions Tour victory of the new millennium.
To: CU women’s golf coach Anne Kelly. Gift: The Buffs going to the NCAA Finals after qualifying at the NCAA regional tournament CU is hosting in May.
To: Former CSU golfer Martin Laird. Gift: Another major championship for a European-born player — in this case, a certain Scotsman who went to college in Colorado.
To: Pete Lis, director of rules and competitions for the CGA. Gift: A year when all tournament competitors play quickly enough that there’s no need to hand out slow-play penalties.
To: Colorado Golf Hall of Famers Janet and Kent Moore. Gift: Plenty of ongoing satisfaction in your new college coaching gigs in Illinois.
To: Will Nicholson Jr., of Denver. Gift: An April to remember, with your annual trip to the Masters and a well-deserved induction into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame.
To: People who have supported the Eisenhower-Evans Caddie Scholarship at CU. Gift: A house full of young men and women forever grateful for the opportunity they’ve been given.
To: Part-time Lakewood resident Hollis Stacy. Gift: An unforgettable day for you and your family when induction time comes for the World Golf Hall of Fame.
To: The CWGA’s “Three Putt for the Cure” initiative that benefits breast-cancer research. Gift: A lot of donors who don’t putt very well.
To: Coloradan Derek Tolan. Gift: After missing the final stage of PGA Tour qualifying by one stroke, the persistence to finally land a Nationwide or PGA Tour card.
To: Cherry Creek High School junior Dani Urman, who’s battled back from bone cancer. Gift: Being in contention for the individual title at the girls state high school championship.