This year, those reflections have particularly come into focus.

With the CGA celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, there’s been a concerted look back on the past century of golf in Colorado. That includes a 10-part series of stories on notable people and events from the last hundred years.

Writing that series was illuminating, which brings us back to Thanksgiving. A better understanding of the past can lead to increased appreciation for all we have to be thankful for in Colorado golf.

To wit, here are 10 things that come to mind:

— Rich History of Golf. The Century of Golf Gala held recently at The Broadmoor particulary brought this home, with Jack Nicklaus reminiscing about his strong links to Colorado over the last 60 years. Nicklaus is one of golf’s all-time pantheon to have won significant tournaments in the state, with others being Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, Kathy Whitworth, Babe Zaharias, Annika Sorenstam, Gary Player, Greg Norman and Phil Mickelson. For much more about Colorado golf history, CLICK HERE.

— Teamwork. Another thing that the Century of Golf Gala — 1,250 attendees strong — and related activities reinforced is that big things can happen when the Colorado golf community joins forces. Teaming up with the CGA in making it all a major success were the CWGA, Colorado PGA and the Rocky Mountain Golf Course Superintendents Association.

— Great Venues. The day of the Century of Golf Gala, a golf outing held at The Broadmoor (pictured) demonstrated yet again what stellar golf courses Colorado has produced. On a mid-November day, temperatures reached the mid-60s, and the setting was enough to make any golfer take pause. The same can be said for countless other courses in the state — Sanctuary, Arrowhead, Castle Pines, Ballyneal, Red Sky, Eisenhower, etc., etc. Golfers in Colorado are indeed fortunate.

— Good of the Game Partnerships. The recent creation of a partnership between the CGA and the Colorado PGA will result in a new Colorado Junior Tour and many other advantages for all levels of junior golfers in Colorado (READ MORE). It’s yet another example of how the game can be well served by constructive cooperation.

— Local Players Who Excel. Colorado has a long history of homegrown players hitting it big — with Hale Irwin, Steve Jones, Dale Douglass, Jill McGill, Brandt Jobe, Bob Byman, Kevin Stadler, Shane Bertsch, Bill Loeffler and to some extent Mike Reid, to name some. It’s always fun for Coloradans to have one of their own to root for on the national or international level. And we also have some very promising young players potentially in a similar pipleline with the likes of Mark Hubbard, Jennifer Kupcho, Wyndham Clark and Hannah Wood.

— Highly Regarded PGA Professionals. There are oustanding PGA professionals throughout the country, but members of the Colorado PGA have proven to be high achievers as the Section or its members have won national PGA of America awards eight times in the last nine years. And highly respected instructor Ann Finke was recently voted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame, along with Colorado-based Champions Tour player Craig Stadler. And Vic Kline was honored as Colorado Golf Professional of the Century during the Century of Golf Gala.

— Foundations to Support Good Causes. Numerous golf foundations in Colorado do considerable and commendable work in bolstering good causes through the game of golf. Among them are the Colorado Golf Foundation, Colorado PGA Reach, the Colorado Open Golf Foundation, and the Rocky Mountain Environmental Golf Institute.

— Volunteers. While the staffs of the major golf organizations in Colorado do yeoman’s work, those organizations would be a shell of what they are were it not for volunteers. Such volunteerism came to the forefront this past year with the passing of Joe Salvo, and the departure from the Colorado tournament golf scene of Rich Langston and Joan Scholes. Each of them made major contributions — in terms of both time and dediction — to the likes of the CGA, CWGA and Colorado PGA over the years. And many, many others do likewise each year.

— Another Senior Major on the Horizon.This year it was announced that the 2018 U.S. Senior Open will be contested at The Broadmoor the year the resort celebrates its 100th birthday. It will mark the third U.S. Senior Open held in Colorado, meaning only Ohio (with six) will have hosted more. The Centennial State also was home to another senior major, the Senior PGA Championship contested at Colorado Golf Club in 2010.

— Good People. I’ve always marveled at the number of good people you meet through the game of golf. Perhaps it’s part of the significant “self-policing” aspect of the sport that tends to attract people of high character. But whatever the case, it’s refreshing.

And yet another reason to give thanks.
 

Editor’s Note: With the CGA celebrating the 100th anniversary of its founding in 1915, this is the seventh monthly installment of a series of stories looking back on the last century of golf in Colorado. All the articles are being published on coloradogolf.org. This chapter focuses on the period from 1975-84. For the previous installments, CLICK HERE. 

Over the last century — actually, just since 1938 — the USGA has held 31 of its championships in Colorado. But no decade-long period that we’re dealing with in our Century of Golf series of stories can match 1975-84 for sheer numbers.

Between national championships and the Curtis Cup matches held biennially between top women amateurs from the U.S. and Great Britain & Ireland, Colorado hosted eight USGA events between ’75 and ’84.

Three were conducted at Cherry Hills Country Club, and an unmatched four were held in a single year in the Centennial State (1982).

There was a U.S. Senior Amateur (1976 at Cherry Hills), a U.S. Junior Amateur (1976 at Hiwan, where Coloradan Steve Jones was a semifinalist), a U.S. Open (1978 at Cherry Hills), a U.S. Women’s Amateur (1982 at The Broadmoor), a Curtis Cup (1982 at Denver Country Club), a U.S. Girls’ Junior (1982 at Greeley CC), a U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur (1982 at what was then Kissing Camels), and a U.S. Mid-Amateur (1983 at Cherry Hills).

Of course, by far the biggest of the bunch was the ’78 U.S. Open, which marked the third and final U.S. Open that’s been conducted in the state to date. Cherry Hills has hosted all three, with the previous ones coming in 1938 and ’60, when two players now in the World Golf Hall of Fame won (Ralph Guldahl and Arnold Palmer).

This time around, a far less prominent player, Andy North (pictured above), prevailed. North had won just one PGA Tour event before claiming the title at Cherry Hills — and would win just one after, though that one was another U.S. Open. North thus has the distinction of winning more majors (2) than non-majors (1) on the PGA Tour.

At Cherry Hills, North tied Billy Casper’s U.S. Open record by needing just 114 putts over the four rounds en route to a winning total of 1-over-par 285. He led outright after the second, third and final rounds.

University of Colorado alum Hale Irwin, the local favorite, was ahead after round 1 and ended up tied for fourth with Tom Weiskopf. Other all-time greats in the top 10 were Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson, who shared sixth place, four behind North.

North wasn’t the only notable winner of the Colorado-based USGA championships during this time period produced. Juli (Simpson) Inkster won her third consecutive U.S. Women’s Amateur at The Broadmoor in 1982. Jay Sigel (1983 U.S. Mid-Am at Cherry Hills), Lew Oehmig (1976 U.S. Senior Am at Cherry Hills) and Heather Farr (1982 U.S. Girls’ Junior at Greeley CC) are also multiple-time USGA champions.

But championships weren’t the only way the USGA and Colorado were linked in a substantial way during this decade. In 1980, lifelong Coloradan Will Nicholson Jr., the son of a former USGA Executive Committee member, became president of the national association for a two-year term. Nicholson (left) was just the second Coloradan to ascend to the prestigious post, and the first in more than 60 years as Frank Woodward served in 1915-16.

Also during this time, another Coloradan, Judy Bell of Colorado Springs, became the first person from the Centennial State to chair the USGA Women’s Committee. She served in that capacity from 1981 through ’84.

Here are some of the other Colorado golf highlights of the decade from 1975-84:

— The LPGA Tour event based in Denver had quite a spectacular run of champions during this decade. These are just the now-World Golf Hall of Famers who won in Colorado during this stretch: Judy Rankin (1975 at Pinehurst CC); JoAnne Carner (1977 and ’81, both at Columbine CC); Kathy Whitworth (left; 1978 at Green Gables CC); Beth Daniel (1980 and ’82, both at Columbine); Pat Bradley (1983 at Columbine, and ’85 at Lone Tree and Meridian); and Betsy King (1984 at Green Gables). For those of you keeping track, that means that in an 11-year span, nine times the Denver tournament was won by a player now in the World Golf Hall of Fame. And if you throw in Sandra Haynie (1974 at Green Gables) and Amy Alcott (1986 at Lone Tree and Glenmoor CC), you have World Golf Hall of Famers winning in Denver 11 times in a 13-year span.

— The Colorado Open, which debuted in 1964, started hitting its heyday, drawing thousands of spectators each year to Hiwan Golf Club and garnering local TV broadcast coverage. During the Hiwan days, the tournaments lured contestants which included Sam Snead, Billy Casper, Hale Irwin, Phil Mickelson and Fred Couples, among many others. And then-Colorado resident and PGA Tour player Dave Hill (left) won the Open four times — in 1971, ’76, ’77 and ’81 — which remains a record. The fourth of those victories came in a playoff over then-amateur Steve Jones, who would go on to win the 1988 Colorado Open and the 1996 U.S. Open.

— The Jerry Ford Invitational began a 20-year run in the Vail Valley in 1977. Hosted by the former U.S. President, the charity tournament drew some of the best golfers in the world, along with top-line celebrities. On the celebrity side, that included Clint Eastwood, Robert Wagner (below), Bob Hope, Jackie Gleason, George C. Scott, Michael Jordan, Julius Erving, Bob Knight, Sammy Davis Jr., Glen Campbell, Jimmy Buffet and John Denver. On the Tour pro side, there was Jack Nicklaus (the first champion), Tom Watson, Gene Sarazen, Byron Nelson, Tom Weiskopf, Johnny Miller, Irwin and Ray Floyd. Here are some of the funnier Jerry Ford Invitational moments over the years that I recalled in a 2007 column: CLICK HERE.

— In 1982, the Champions Tour (then called the Senior Tour) played for the first of six straight years in Colorado, with events held at Pinehurst CC, Green Gables CC and Plum Creek. Winners included all-time greats Arnold Palmer (1982) and Gary Player (1986).

— Speaking of all-time greats, some played memorable exhibitions in Colorado during this decade. There was Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and Dow Finsterwald teeing it up at Pinehurst CC in 1981. And Nicklaus and Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Spike Baker played at Baker’s home club, Fort Collins Country Club, in 1978. (Nicklaus is pictured below with longtime Fort Collins CC superintendent Fred Foss, who also helped construct the course.)

— Mark Crabtree, a University of Colorado golfer and an Evans Scholar, won the first of his four CGA Match Play titles in 1975. Two championships came in the 1970s and two in the 1990s. Two future PGA Tour players — Steve Jones (1980) and Brandt Jobe (1984, ’85 and ’87) — also won CGA Match Plays during this time period. Jones (1981) and Jobe (1985) likewise claimed CGA Stroke Play titles.

— Two members of the Colorado PGA — Jim Bailey (1976) and Paul Runyan (1977) — won the PGA of America’s national Horton Smith Award in back-to-back years. The award honors a PGA professional who has made “outstanding and continuing contributions to PGA education.”

— Twice during this decade, Colorado hosted the Pacific Coast Amateur — at Denver Country Club in 1977 and at Hiwan Golf Club in 1983. At the latter, Colorado crowned its only individual Pac Coast champion in tournament history, which dates back to 1967. Mike Mathies of Golden prevailed that year.

— In 1976, Coloradan Bill Loeffler won the first of his three Broadmoor Invitation titles (1976, ’78 and ’87). Loeffler also claimed the CGA Stroke Play championship in ’76.

— Nancy Roth Syms of Colorado Springs won the Women’s Trans National in 1978. The 1981 Women’s Trans was held at the Ranch Country Club in Westminster, where Floridian Amy Benz prevailed.

— The CGA and Colorado PGA separated their administrative functions in 1978 and the first CGA-only executive director was hired, Dave Askins.

— In 1978, Kim Eaton won the first of what would become four CWGA Stroke Play titles over the course of 27 years.

— University of Colorado graduate Hale Irwin won the second of his three U.S. Open titles, this one in 1979 at Inverness in Toledo, Ohio, as he prevailed by two over Gary Player and Jerry Pate.

— Coloradan Gregg Jones finished runner-up in the Trans Miss that Denver Country Club hosted in 1980.

— In 1982, the CGA becqme the first golf association in the nation to rate all its courses in accordance with the USGA’s new Slope rating system. A year later, the CGA joined the USGA’s Golf Handicap Information Network (GHIN) to provide handicap services to its member clubs.

— Denver Country Club hosted the 1982 Curtis Cup, with the Juli (Simpson) Inkster-led U.S. squad beating Great Britain & Ireland 14.5-3.5 in the biennial matches that feature top female amateurs.

— Coloradan Lauren Howe, winner of the 1975 CWGA Stroke Play, notched a victory on the LPGA Tour, winning the 1983 Mayflower Classic in Indianapolis.

— The Colorado Junior Golf Association was created in 1984, thanks in large part to the efforts of Denver resident Gary Potter.

— Future PGA Tour player Duffy Waldorf won the Broadmoor Invitation in 1984.
 

Who would have thought that an event summarized in two newspaper paragraphs — fewer than 60 words — would have such a longstanding and ever-growing impact?

On Aug. 21, 1915, a small item appeared in the Denver Post under the headline, “M’LAUGHLIN HEADS GOLF ASSOCIATION”. The “short” — as it is often referred to by newsroom staffers — notes the events of Aug. 20, detailing a newly formed organization called the Colorado Golf Association and the election of its officers, including president M.A. McLaughlin.

The story further reports on the other officers elected and says, “The organization will control the state tournaments, give the cups and appoint the officers, and the winner will be the recognized champion of the association and state.”

One hundred years after that humble beginning, the CGA’s mission has expanded dramatically over the decades, and the association moves forward as a steward for the traditions and future of golf in the state. And now the CGA is gearing up to celebrate its centennial throughout 2015. That will culminate with a Century of Golf Gala, tentatively scheduled for Nov. 14. At that event, a number of Colorado golf’s all-time luminaries will be honored, and both the history and future of golf in the state will be celebrated.

During the coming year, the CGA plans to unveil a new logo along with artwork that will highlight a century of golf in Colorado. Also on the docket are a monthly series of articles — published on COgolf.org and in the first-of-each-month CGA Revision newsletters throughout the year. A decade at a time since the CGA’s founding — 1915-24, 1925-34, etc. — will be focused on in each of the series of stories, with the last article of the year being a look-ahead.

In addition, the CGA will hold a season-long fundraising event that will support the Colorado Golf Foundation and benefit its many programs that foster youth development through golf. That event will be called “100 Holes for 100 Years”, and participants will raise money through donations pledged for a personalized golf-related activity centering around the number 100. For instance, a person could play 100 holes in a day, or in another set period of time. Or participants can add any twist they’d like to the event, as long as it involves the number 100.

“The goal is to raise awareness and engage the golf community to play golf for a purpose,” said CGA executive director Ed Mate. “It will get the whole state involved.”

The CGA plans to set up an internet portal in which the financial aspects of 100 Holes for 100 Years will be handled. Details about that will be forthcoming.

“Why we’re doing all this is to advance golf in Colorado,” Mate said. “It’s not just a celebration, but that’s the driving force behind it all. We want to seize on the centennial to position the CGA, the community of golf and the Colorado Golf Foundation for the next 100 years. We want to make sure that the game not only will be around, but will be thriving.”

As for the upcoming series of stories focusing on the last century of Colorado golf, there is certainly no lack of history having been made in the Centennial State. Just consider this list of golf “firsts” that occurred in Colorado:

— Arnold Palmer won his only U.S. Open in Colorado, in 1960 at Cherry Hills Country Club. (Palmer is pictured at left tossing his visor in celebration on the 18th green.)

— Jack Nicklaus won the first and last of his eight USGA championships in Colorado, prevailing in the 1959 U.S. Amateur at the Broadmoor and the 1993 U.S. Senior Open at Cherry Hills.

— Phil Mickelson won his only USGA event (to date) in Colorado, the 1990 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills.

— Annika Sorenstam made the 1995 U.S. Women’s Open at the Broadmoor the first of her 72 LPGA Tour victories.

— Frank Woodward of Denver, who won the first CGA championship ever in 1901, was elected the first president of the United States Golf Association from the western U.S.

— In 1959 at Wellshire Golf Course, Bill Wright became the first African-American golfer to win a USGA championship, in his case the U.S. Amateur Public Links title.

— In 1996, Judy Bell of Colorado Springs became the only female president in the history of the USGA.

— And just recently, Colorado Golf Club was the site of the first victory on U.S. soil by a European team in the Solheim Cup.

Winners of big tournaments in Colorado have included a who’s who of golf: Besides Palmer, Nicklaus, Sorenstam and Mickelson, that list features Babe Zaharias, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Kathy Whitworth, Hale Irwin, Greg Norman, JoAnne Carner, Judy Rankin, Juli Inkster, Pat Bradley, Vijay Singh, Ernie Els, Hubert Green, Betsy King, Amy Alcott and Davis Love.

The centennial series will explore all that and much, much more. After all, a lot has happened, golf-wise, in Colorado since that two-paragraph story appeared in the Denver Post during World War I.
 

And, mind you, the event is still more than six months away.

With the Solheim Cup — a biennial Ryder Cup-like matchup between the best female golfers from the U.S. and Europe — being held in America just once every four years, there’s nothing held back.

The Solheim Cup staff estimates that the total economic impact for this year’s event at Colorado Golf Club in Parker (Aug. 13-18) could approach $30 million. And they’re hoping for total attendance of 110,000-120,000 at the golf course and for perhaps the best TV ratings of the year for a women’s golf tournament.

As LPGA commissioner Mike Whan noted earlier this week, “Colorado has been a consistent home run for women’s golf” in terms of fan support.

“This event doesn’t just happen,” said Pepper, the former NBC golf broadcaster, in an interview with COgolf.org on Friday. “You need community support and you need corporate support and you need awareness.

“It’s an event that although it’s over 20 years old now, it’s still gaining its traction, so everything we do is about awareness of the event, getting people involved, and telling them how great it’s been. The whole mantra has been, ‘Don’t wake up on Monday, the 19th of August, and say, ‘Oh man, I missed it.”’

Just this week, LPGA and Solheim Cup officials have gone on another publicity tour for an event that has already generated plenty of buzz with close results in recent years, including a 15-13 European win in Ireland in 2011.

Mallon and Pepper, who have won 35 LPGA Tour events and six major championships between them, and Whan led a contingent to Colorado. Among other stops, they promoted the Solheim Cup at the Denver Golf Expo, where between 100 and 200 people watched a Friday Q&A involving Mallon and Pepper and they later signed autographs. (Pepper, left, and Mallon are pictured above on Friday.) They and Whan also attended Thursday’s Denver Nuggets game, and all three made the rounds with numerous media outlets during the week.

This week was Mallon’s fourth Solheim Cup-related visit to Colorado since being named U.S. captain. She said she’ll probably make four more stops in the state before the week of the event. In addition, she said she’ll probably go on five or six other trips this year to promote the Solheim Cup and attend to various details of her duties.

As for Pepper, she indicated she’ll make six or seven Solheim-related trips leading up to tournament week.

“The event is so big,” said Mallon, whose promotional efforts take up much of her time as U.S. captain, particularly at this point. “It’s our biggest event on tour. It’s every four years that it comes to the United States and there’s an awful lot of planning that goes into it. So it’s just making sure we’re prepared for an incredibly hectic (tournament) week and trying to eliminate as much of the potential problems as possible so we can have a pretty smooth week.

“It’s eye-opening. Being the home captain is a lot of work and a lot of travel, and it’s good that the staff involves the captain. But it’s not something the everyday (tour) golfer does. Instead of being just in charge of your own life, now you’re in charge of 12 lives and trying to logistically make things happen. Not only 12, right now I have 30 people on my email list because I don’t know who’s going to be on the team.”

And the same is certainly true for European captain Liselotte Neumann and everyone assisting her. But the pressure is particularly intense for the Americans, who have never lost a Solheim Cup competition held in the U.S. And, of course, regaining the Cup after a close loss will be a high priority.

“Since they lost in 2011, we have a highly motivated group coming to Colorado,” Mallon said.

And Mallon and Pepper want to capitalize on that motivation by doing their part to assure the Americans play their best in mid-August.

“We want (the players) to know that we have their interests at the forefront,” Pepper said. “We want to make their week is as great as it can be, and as simple as it can be so that they can just go play great golf. The more we can get across to them — give us your junk (problems), we’ll take care of it, we’ll make it go away or we’ll deal with it. That’s what they need to know from us.”

Notable: World Golf Hall of Famer Kathy Whitworth, the captain for the first two U.S. Solheim Cup teams (1990 and ’92), will be the American captain for the Junior Solheim Cup that will be held Aug. 13-14 at Inverness Golf Club in Englewood. Scotland’s Janice Moodie will captain the European squad. Each team will be made up of a dozen players ages 12-18. … Pepper said Friday that the seventh hole at Colorado Golf Club, which normally plays as a par-5, will be a par-4 for the Solheim Cup.