Last year at the CGA Women’s Dunham Chapman Championship, the team of Denise Cohen of Kissing Camels and Ron Irons of Eisenhower Golf Club shot a first-round 83 en route to a third-place finish at Raven Golf Club at Three Peaks.

On Saturday in the same event — but at the River Course at Keystone Ranch — Cohen and Irons posted a gross score nine strokes better to grab a four-stroke lead at the halfway mark of the 12th Dunham Chapman.

The pair played their final five holes in 2 under par on Saturday and finished the day with four birdies and seven bogeys.

The Chapman Stroke Play format calls for two-person teams, with each golfer hitting tee shots, then playing her partner’s ball for the second shot. After that, a scoring ball is chosen, and that ball is played alternately into the hole.

Two teams share second place at 78 in the gross competition heading into Sunday’s final round: former CGA Match Play champion Laurie Steenrod of Saddle Rock Golf Course and partner Bev Hoffenberg of Columbine Country Club, and Sandra Young and Louise Lyle of Eisenhower Golf Club. Steenrod has twice won the Dunham Chapman with current Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Christie Austin, who with Kathy West holds fourth place at 79 after Saturday.

The Dunham Chapman was renamed prior to the 2017 championship as a tribute to Jo Ann Dunham, a longtime CWGA volunteer whose brainchild was the Chapman, which was first contested in 2007. Dunham passed away on Sept. 28, 2016, just shy of her 77th birthday.

For the gross and net scores for all eight flights competing in the 64-team Dunham Chapman Championship, CLICK HERE.

Sixty-four two-person teams are entered in the 12th annual event, with competition in eight different flights.

Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Christie Austin of Cherry Hills Country Club and Laurie Steenrod of Saddle Rock Golf Course won the title in this event twice together (2013 and ’15), and while they’re both entered this weekend, it’s with different partners.

Austin will compete with Kathy West of Castle Pines Golf Club, and Steenrod with Bev Hoffenberg of Columbine Country Club. Also in the seven-team championship flight are Mary Doyen of Foothills Golf Course — winner of the 2011 CGA Women’s Senior Stroke Play and the 2012 senior division of the CGA Women’s Match Play — and partner Jill Kirkpatrick of Broken Tee Englewood.

The Chapman Stroke Play format calls for two-person teams, with each golfer hitting tee shots, then playing her partner’s ball for the second shot. After that, a scoring ball is chosen, and that ball is played alternately into the hole.

The Dunham Chapman was renamed prior to the 2017 championship as a tribute to Jo Ann Dunham, a longtime CWGA volunteer whose brainchild was the Chapman, which was first contested in 2007. Dunham passed away on Sept. 28, 2016, just shy of her 77th birthday.

The Lakewood resident served on the CWGA’s volunteer board of directors from 2004 through ’09, chairing the tournament committee during that period and serving on that same committee for years before joining the board. Besides the Chapman, she was instrumental in the creation of the CWGA Niblick Tournament, another team event.

For Saturday’s tee times from the Dunham Chapman Championship, CLICK HERE.

The people who showed up for the 2018 CGA Season Tee-Off event at Aqua Golf in Denver on Saturday proved adept at following directions.

As one CGA staffer noted when some would-be participants came up to inquire about the proceedings, “Just have fun; that’s all that we ask.”

Mission accomplished.

In the first of what very well might become an annual happening, the Season Tee-Off function drew about 150 people on Saturday, according to CGA manager of programs Matthew Walker, who helped launch the event along with Denver Golf director of marketing Leslie Wright.

Those who came on Saturday had their choice of several free activities — miniature golf at the 36-hole facility, hitting balls into the lake at the driving range and getting 10-minute lessons from PGA and LPGA professionals including Rick Timm, Susie Helmerich, Chris Hamilton and John Cassidy.

There were contests — for holes-in-one in miniature golf, chipping contests to targets in the water, and even for guessing how many tees were in a sealed jar. The stakes were pretty high for the tee-guessing game: tickets to the U.S. Senior Open at The Broadmoor early this summer and free rounds of golf at CGA-owned CommonGround Golf Course.

The day was punctuated by yells and screams and high-fives from people who made holes-in-one on one of the two miniature golf courses at Aqua Golf.

“Everyone had one (in our group) so everyone is leaving happy,” noted Moe Oro, a CGA member who brought his daughter and son and a friend of his son. “My son is always eager to get out golfing, and this was a good way to get my daughter out too and just have some fun today.”

The four-hour-long Season Tee-Off was hosted not only by the CGA, but Denver Parks & Recreation (Aqua Golf is a City of Denver facility, located across Florida Avenue from Overland Park Golf Course.) In addition, the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado held a rules seminar on site that was attended by about 40 junior golfers and their parents.

“I think this is another great example of coming together with the CWGA (which integrated this year with the CGA),” said CGA executive director Ed Mate, who was among those on hand on Saturday. “This is the kind of thing they’ve been more active in — with the golf Experience events — than we have. They have a great relationship with the City of Denver. It’s another example of ‘we’re better together.’ Looking out here today, it’s really gratifying to see families (enjoying themselves) and everybody working together.”

A call from Walker to Wright asking about a possible facility to host a Season Tee-Off led the event taking shape. And with Denver Golf wanting to give Aqua Golf more exposure, it seemed like a win-win.

“I thought this would be a perfect facility because you can teach, do the putting and really get some exposure for Aqua Golf because a lot of people don’t know it’s here,” Wright said of the facility, which is just off Santa Fe Drive, but isn’t readily apparent from the road. “(Staffers) take real pride in how they maintain this facility and keep it pristine.”

Some of the people who came to the Season Tee-Off had heard about it in advance. Others just happened upon the event on Saturday. That included Stephen Dwyer, who showed up with his sister and his young kids, Anne and Beau.

“We just kind of came upon it,” Stephen said. “We didn’t know it was going on today. I used to play at Aqua Golf all the time before they redid it many years ago, but we just happened to come here today. It was great.”

Mate and former CWGA Match Play and Senior Match Play champion Laurie Steenrod, now a CGA Executive Committee member, got into the spirit of the day by competing in a friendly putting contest (below).

Given how the inaugural event came off, the Season Tee-Off might just become a fixture on the local golf schedule.

“It’s a first, but from what I can tell — the driving range is full, there are plenty of people on the miniature golf course — I think it’s something we’ll want to do every year,” Mate said.

The transition from what was long known as the CWGA Annual Meeting to what is now named the CGA Women’s Annual Meeting appeared seamless on Saturday at the Hilton Denver Inverness.

To be sure, there were some questions from attendees about how specific things will work now that the CGA and CWGA are one unified organization.

But, generally speaking, longtime CGA executive director Ed Mate seemed to sum up the mood of the day when he noted, “We’re just better together. It’s that simple.”

Saturday’s Women’s Annual Meeting featured many of the mainstays from years past — there were golf worshops, a silent auction to benefit the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado, awards presentations, brunch and plenty of socializing among the 175 attendees, which represented about 90 clubs from around the state.

But the one thing that veered from the normal was a panel discussion featuring CGA co-presidents Juliet Miner and Joe McCleary, with Mate asking questions. (Pictured above are, from left, McCleary, Mate and Miner.) One of those queries was about the integration of the CGA and the CWGA, which became official as of Jan. 1. It’s part of a nationwide effort by the USGA to streamline its relationship with state and regional golf associations by partnering with just one full-service Allied Golf Association in each state or region. 

Subsequently, the board of directors of the two associations have formed into one leadership team — in fact it held a quarterly meeting just after the Women’s Annual Meeting. McCleary, the CGA president for the past two years, and Miner, who  served as the CWGA president for a similar time, are co-presidents of the CGA for 2018. And the staff of the associations have also merged, based out of the current CGA offices in Greenwood Village.

“We love to do course rating, we love to run tournaments, we love to run USGA qualifiers, we love to work with (members),” Miner told the audience at the Women’s Annual Meeting. “It was only obvious to our membership that this (unification) was a good thing because now we’re bigger, better, stronger, richer — and we have lots of staff. If you talk to our staff, each and every one of them loves the synergy of being in that office together. … This is not just to make the best of something that the USGA decided was a good idea for golf, but to make it the best for golf in Colorado, and to be a beacon for golf in the United States of America.”

McCleary feels similary after going through a unification process that lasted more than two years.

“From the beginning I said, ‘Let’s do what’s best for golf and golfers in the state of Colorado,” he told the attendees. “We needed to come together as one organization representing both men and women (in order) to lay the groundwork for the future. Things are changing. It’s incredibly important to do what we’ve done. I think it’s paid dividends and it will pay significant dividends in the future.”

Laura Robinson, former CWGA executive director and current managing director of membership and integration for the CGA, organized Saturday’s meeting and liked the way the panel discussion went.

“I hope the women here who heard Joe, Juliet and Ed talk gained a sense of confidence that this (integration) is really good for women’s golf,” Robinson said.

One way that the inification paid off tangibly was evident on Saturday. Last year, the silent auction at the CWGA Annual Meeting raised slightly under $7,000 for junior golf. This year, more than double that total — $15,365 to be exact — was raised for the cause (left). With increased resources being brought to bear with the merged organizations, close to 100 items were available for auction, and a nearly two-week-long online element was added this year, yielding $7,570 of the $15,365 total.

All in all, Miner saw this year’s Annual Meeting as a valuable tool in more ways than one.

“I think the meeting went as successfully as it has been for the last number of years,” she said. “The difference is that we had all of the (pre-existing) CGA board here, which is comprised of mostly men. They’re all here and they’re seeing what we do. They get to see our product — which before they’d only heard about — up close.”

Saddle Rock WGA Named Women’s Club of the Year: For the second straight year, a Women’s Club of the Year was recognized at the Annual Meeting, and this year the honor went to members of the Saddle Rock Women’s Golf Association (left).

The award is presented to a club that has demonstrated a commitment to golf or their community through innovative programs such as fundraising, programs or competitions.

Saddle Rock WGA stood out in part thanks to a tweak of the traditional member-guest tournament format that led to additional fundraising for a good cause. The club played a “Cha-Cha-Cha for Charity” and members were able to invite multiple guests, which increased participation significantly. That resulted in a donation of more than $1,100 to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Additionally, to support the teaching and development of junior golf programs in the community, money was raised for the Paul McMullen Scholarship Fund. Also, Saddle Rock has long provided volunteers for the annual Grandview High School girls golf invitational, running shuttles, registration, check-in and scoring.

The Saddle Rock WGA has celebrated 20 years as an association, with 10 of its original members still actively participating in league play.

Other nominees for the Women’s Club of the Year were:

— Aurora Hills 9-Hole Women’s Golf Association
— Kissing Camels Ladies Golf Association
— Pinery Ladies Golf Association
— Red Sky Ranch
— Riverdale Women’s Golf Association

Last year’s co-Clubs of the Year were from Patty Jewett and Fitzsimons.

Miner Honored as Volunteer of the Year: Juliet Miner has overseen much in her two  years as president of the CWGA and now as co-president of the CGA. There was the hiring of a new CWGA executive director. There was the CWGA celebrating the centennial of its founding. There was the CWGA joining forces with the CGA in establishing a single USGA-affiliated golf association in Colorado.

On Saturday, for all Miner has done for the CWGA, she was named the Volunteer of the Year. (She’s pictured speaking to attendees.)

(FYI: A feature story on Miner and her accomplishments will be published later this month on the coloradogolf.org and coloradowomensgolf.org websites.)

Players of the Year for 2017: The CWGA Players of the Year — and the winner of a related award — were announced last fall, but the three honorees were publicly recognized on Saturday.

Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster, the CWGA’s Player of the Year the previous three seasons, was given the President’s Award, the CWGA’s highest honor. Mary Weinsten of Highlands Ranch earned the Player of the Year honor. And Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton won the Senior Player of the Year Award for the eighth time in nine years. Eaton, now an Arizona resident, was likewise named the Arizona Women’s Golf Association Senior POY in 2017, earning that honor for the sixth time.

Kupcho and Weinstein are in the midst of their college seasons — Kupcho at Wake Forest and Weinstein at the University of Denver — and were unable to attend Saturday’s festivities. But Eaton (left) traveled from Arizona for the event.

For information on the 2017 accomplishments of the three players, CLICK HERE.

In Short: A $7,000 check — from money raised at the 2017 CWGA Annual Meeting, was presented Saturday to Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Alan Abrams, president of the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado. … Besides CGA co-presidents Juliet Miner and Joe McCleary and executive director Ed Mate, among those in attendance Saturday were the CGA volunteer board of directors, Colorado PGA executive director Eddie Ainsworth and Colorado Golf Hall of Fame president Scott Radcliffe and executive director Jennifer Lyons. The CWGA is receiving a Distinguished Service Award from the Golf Hall of Fame in May. … Among the announcements to attendees on Saturday was a reminder that the Girls Junior America’s Cup, a tournament featuring many of the top female junior golfers from the western U.S., along with Canada and Mexico, will be played in Colorado for the first time in 18 years. The event is set for July 25-27 at Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen. … Recognized Saturday for its fundraising was the Raccoon Creek Ladies 9-Hole Group, whose 2017 tournament to benefit the Evans Scholarship for caddies led to a $1,200 donation. … Among the former CWGA board members — and current CGA board members — who have accepted chairperson duties for CGA committees are Laurie Steenrod (Course Rating Committee) and Phyllis Jensen (Tournament Site Selection Committee). … Miner said CGA Women’s Annual Meetings will continue into the future “as long as you (attendees) keep coming.”
 

The CWGA Club Team Championship will be held for the 14th time on Monday (Sept. 25), with The Ranch Country Club in Westminster hosting the tournament this time around.

The event features an ABCD stroke play format in which the scores of four players of significantly varying abilities are added up for a gross aggregate team total.

A team from Patty Jewett Golf Course in Colorado Springs will be back to defend its title. Lita Van Cleave will return after playing on the Patty Jewett foursome that won the title by nine strokes last year.

Other former champions in the field including South Suburban (2014 and ’15), Blackstone/Black Bear (2013), Saddle Rock (2011), Glenmoor (2010), The Meadows (2009), The Ranch (2008) and Heather Ridge, winner of the inaugural championship in 2004.

Among the individuals scheduled to compete who have won individual CWGA championships are Laurie Steenrod (Saddle Rock) and Mary Doyen (Foothills). Kelly Martin from Fox Hollow recently teamed up with Deb Hughes to win the CWGA Dunham Chapman title. And Sue Hartwell from West Woods earlier this month made it to the round of 32 at the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur.

For Monday’s pairings at The Ranch, CLICK HERE.

With the annual get-together of members, association leaders and staff “” along with assorted other interested parties “” set for Saturday (March 4) at The Inverness Hotel & Conference Center in Englewood, more than 175 people are expected to attend.

Coming off its 100th-anniversary year in 2016, the CWGA will devote a little time to reflecting on its past, with Centennial Committee co-chairs Nancy Wilson and Phyllis Jensen presenting a scrapbook and compilation from the centennial year festivities to CWGA president Juliet Miner.

As for the present/recent past, the CWGA will recognize some of its best from 2016 with its annual awards. That includes Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster (Player of the Year for an unprecedented third straight season) and Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton (the Senior Player of the Year for the seventh time in eight years). Those honorees were previously announced, but a couple of others will be disclosed at the meeting: the Volunteer of the Year and the winner of a new award, CWGA Club of the Year, in recognition of all the work done at the club level in growing membership, raising money, etc.

But most of Saturday’s proceedings will be devoted to improvement looking ahead. That covers an array of items:

“” The CWGA will present a check for $10,000 to the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado, which is beginning its second season as a one-stop-shop for junior golf in the state. The JGAC is a combined effort of the CGA, the Colorado PGA and the CWGA.

“” Club officials will be involved in an orientation session regarding the new USGA Tournament Management Software (powered by Golf Genius), led by CWGA tournament manager Kate Moore and Golf Genius’ Rory Luck.

“” In breakout educational sessions held opposite of the USGA Tournament Management session, meetings will focus on the Rules of Golf (led by Jan Fincher, Karla Harding and Sandy Schnitzer), handicapping (led by Laurie Steenrod), and a President’s Roundtable (led by CWGA vice president Kathy Malpass).

“” From 7:30 to 11:15 a.m., a silent auction will be held, with the proceeds benefiting junior golf, most notably the programs that fall under the auspices of the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado.

In addition, there will be updates on the impending and recent changes regarding the Rules of Golf (presented by CGA executive director Ed Mate, who sits on the USGA Rules of Golf Committee) and the JGAC.

Overall, in addition to education, training and networking, “the theme (of Saturday’s meeting) is collaboration and community,” CWGA executive director Laura Robinson said. “In order to grow golf effectively in Colorado, it’s important to work hard to collaborate with the various golf organizations and associations in the state, including the CGA, Colorado PGA, the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame, the First Tee, etc. We want to be a strong remember of the community.”

The keynote speaker at Saturday’s business meeting will be Sammie Chergo, the new executive director of the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame. Chergo was head coach when the University of Denver women’s golf team posted fifth- and sixth-place finishes in the women’s NCAA Championships, and she later also coached at Oregon State.

In addition, the CWGA is in the midst of modernizing its logo. The association has opened the idea up to members and 17 new logos have been submitted. The CWGA will get input on those logo submissions at the meeting.

Speaking of new looks, the CWGA launched its new website (coloradowomensgolf.org) about two months ago. The site includes many new resources and features for members and clubs, including how to find a club to join.

For the CWGA Annual Meeting agenda, CLICK HERE.

Let the celebration begin.

On Saturday, just two weeks before the official 100th birthday of the CWGA, the association will throw a wingding commemorating the occasion.

It will be part of a meeting — the CWGA annual meeting, to be precise — which is appropriate because it all started with a meeting, the one that took place on March 14, 1916 that formed the CWGA.

At Saturday’s event at the Inverness Hotel & Conference Center in Englewood, the association will kick off its centennial year with a celebration that will draw many of the most influential figures in the history of the CWGA.

Though association officials want to leave some suspense for Saturday’s festivities, among those expected to be on hand are a Colorado Sports Hall of Famer, seven Colorado Golf Hall of Famers, at least seven past presidents of the CWGA and numerous prominent past staffers. And though World Golf Hall of Famer Judy Bell of Colorado Springs won’t be able to attend due to a recent injury, the former USGA president sent a videotaped message.

“We see this as a very big event,” CWGA acting executive director Laura Robinson said this week. “It’s a great opportunity to celebrate our history, introduce our history to new members attending, and look forward to the next 100 years.”

Also expected to attend are leaders of other major golf organizations in the state, including president Joe McCleary from the CGA, president Leslie Core-Drevecky and executive director Eddie Ainsworth from the Colorado PGA, along with representatives of the Colorado Open Golf Foundation and the LPGA.

“This shows we not only have history, but we have a history of working with partners” within the Colorado golf community, Robinson said. “It’s special that we share this with them.”

In all, the CWGA expects about 230 people on Saturday, with about 120 clubs represented.

During the centennial celebration portion of the annual meeting, a 10-minute video history of the CWGA will be shown publicly for the first time. “It was humbling and touching,” Robinson said of previewing part of the video.

And three groups of outstanding people will be recognized: 10 exceptional volunteers, nine outstanding players who have won at least five major individual CWGA championships, and three especially valued friends of the association.

A “Volunteer of the Century” and “Golfer of the Century” will be singled out.

Also at the annual meeting, three items of CWGA centennial memorabilia will be available for purchase — a ball marker, bag tag and water bottle, all featuring the association’s centennial logo.

A silent auction will be held in conjunction with the annual meeting, with proceeds benefiting LPGA*USGA Girls Golf. Among the more than 50 items that will be up for auction will be an autographed photo of Bronco DeMarcus Ware, a Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado hat autographed by former LPGA standout and current CBS on-course reporter Dottie Pepper (left), a puck from the Colorado Avalanche, and plenty of rounds of golf at Colorado courses.

In addition, the CWGA is inviting people to sign up for its Centennial Club, which will raise fund for the association’s centennial events. In addition to what will take place on Saturday, that will include a celebration during the CWGA Stroke Play at Denver Country Club in early August, and a centennial celebration tournament Sept. 21 at Hiwan Golf Club.

Though the centennial celebration and related activities are a big draw for Saturday’s annual meeting, there are also some things on the agenda that take place every year at this event. Most notably, there’s a business meeting and several breakout sessions planned, including on the Rules of Golf (Karla Harding, Jan Fincher, Sandy Schnitzer), an update on GHIN/Handicapping (Gerry Brown), Test Your Golf Knowledge and Play the Rules Game (Jennifer Lorimor), a Club Presidents Roundtable (Kathy Malpass), and Acupuncture for Golfers.

But put them in team tournaments, and they’re particularly a force with which to be reckoned.

On Sunday, the pair teamed up to win their second CWGA Chapman Championship in the last three years. Combined, Austin and Steenrod have now captured titles in at least 23 CWGA team events over the years — whether it be in the Chapman, Brassie, Mashie, Club Team or the now-defunct CWGA/CGA Mixed.

The two have had several different partners for their many CWGA team victories over the years, but it’s only in the Chapman that they’ve paired together to win. They prevailed by a whopping 20 shots two years ago, and after Austin didn’t play last year, the two added to their trophy collections Sunday at Haymaker Golf Course in Steamboat Springs. (Pictured above, Steenrod is in yellow and Austin in pink.)

This time, though, was a lot — A LOT — closer than in 2013. In this year’s competition, Austin and Steenrod edged first-round co-leaders Deb Hughes and Sue Davis by one and the other first-day co-leaders, Liz Kennedy and Sally Lawrence, by three.

Austin and Steenrod shot an even-par 71 on Sunday — improving on their first-round total by a whopping eight strokes — en route to a 36-hole tally of 8-over-par 150. Hughes and Davis were left runners-up in the championship flight for the second consecutive year despite a 73 on Sunday, which gave them a 151 total. They made three birdies on the day, but a double-bogey 7 on the ninth hole hurt their cause. And in an event in which every championship flight team improved its score from round 1 to round 2, Kennedy and Lawrence used an eagle and a birdie to post a Sunday 75 to check in at 153.

The format for the Chapman calls for both players from a team to tee off, play their partner’s ball for the second shot, then select which ball to play alternately into the hole from there.

Austin and Steenrod made three birdies on Sunday — including one after driving the green on the 221-yard, par-4 eighth hole and two-putting — but better play down the stretch and improved putting helped them knock eight shots off their first-day total.

“Both Laurie and I talked about what happened yesterday. We both sort of lost our focus (at the end),” said Austin, a three-time CWGA senior champion who was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame earlier this year. “We bogeyed four of the last five holes yesterday. When we got to that stretch today, we were 2 under to that point. And we were like, ‘We are not going to lose our focus.’ There are some very difficult holes coming down the stretch. We played really well (today on that stretch). We bogeyed a couple of the holes, but we were proud of the fact that we were still hitting quality shots.”

And the flatsticks were a lot more friendly on Sunday than on Saturday for the pair.

“The big improvement was putting,” said Steenrod, winner of the 1995 CWGA Match Play and the 2011 Senior Match Play. “We (eliminated) the three-putts and we ran in two long ones. That was a big difference. There’s no question we missed greens today, but we got up and down.”

That includes on the last hole, which made the difference between a victory in regulation and going to a playoff with Hughes and Davis.

“We could have easily been under par had a few more little putts fallen,” Austin said. “I think we were very, very happy with the way we played. Our short games were good, chipping was good, putting was good. All in all, the quality of our golf was better.”

For scores from all six flights of the Chapman, CLICK HERE.