As meetings go, what could be better than an event which features the Rules of Golf being taught Dr. Seuss style — complete with rhymes and big colorful hats — and adds equal doses kids-based philanthrophy, collaboration, awards and learning, with a little frivolity mixed in?

The CWGA Annual Meeting, held Saturday at The Inverness Hotel & Conference Center, included all of the above and more. With almost 200 people on hand, many representing about 75 clubs from around the state, there was a little something for everyone.

CWGA rules officials Jan Fincher, Karla Harding and Sandy Schnitzer set a humorous, yet educational tone by donning Dr. Seuss hats and even writing Seuss-like rhymes for their Rules of Golf breakout session:

Look at the greens. Look ’em over with care. Mark your ball and proceed. Do it with flair.

The rule that has changed is quite fundamental. Just put the ball back. Was it accidental? …

“We do it every year (with an ingenious approach to a Rules breakout session), but we’ve gotten more fun,” noted Harding, pictured below with Schnitzer.

“Every year we have Rules of Golf breakout sessions, and every year Jan Fincher, Karla Harding and Sandy Schnitzer come up with a new educational way to teach the Rules of Golf,” noted CWGA executive director Laura Robinson. “Last year it was a Jeopardy game. This year they came up with the Dr. Seuss adaptation. And they wouldn’t be the three of them without wearing the hats.

“It’s a balance. The Rules are complex and can be overwhelming, and what we’re trying to achieve in these breakout sessions is some education, and we’re going to bring it down to a level that’s easy to understand so that when you’re out on the golf course you have the confidence to apply some of these Rules. We’re not trying to teach all 500 pages of the Decisions book.”

Among those in attendance for the Annual Meeting festivities on Saturday was a who’s who of golf orgnizations from Colorado and beyond: There was representation from the USGA and leaders of the CGA, Colorado PGA, CoBank Colorado Open championships, the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado and the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame. Included was Highlands Ranch resident Mark Passey, a director of regional affairs for the USGA who plans to retire from the national organization on July 1, after more than 27 years.

“Look around the room,” noted Colorado Golf Hall of Fame executive director Sammie Chergo, one of Saturday’s speakers. “You have so many people here from the world of golf in Colorado that want to work together and make golf in Colorado great.”

And much of that effort revolves around building a solid foundation for the future through support of junior golf. So on Saturday, the CWGA presented a check for $10,000 to the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado, a comprehensive set of programs and tournaments led by the CGA, Colorado PGA and the CWGA. In its inaugural year of 2016, the JGAC included 836 members, who played 3,695 rounds in Junior Alliance events. The JCAC also includes such things as the Colorado PGA Golf in Schools program, the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy, PGA Junior League, the Hale Irwin Elite Player Program and Drive, Chip & Putt competitions.

“Our beginning year we were hoping to shoot, using a golf analogy, 1 or 2 over par,” said Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Alan Abrams, the president of the JGAC . “But we had an incredible sub-par round and ended up winning the tournament. Exciting things happened for us that first year.

“Thanks to all of you (CWGA members) for … the wisdom to (support) junior golf. Obviously, that’s a legacy that you’ll have, and this Alliance covers everything junior golf in the state. Congratulations for giving us this great gift. I promise we will take it and do great things with it.”

(Abrams is pictured at top receiving the check from CWGA president Juliet Miner.)

In addition to the $10,000 — which was raised in 2016 by the CWGA — the association earned another $6,723 for junior golf through a silent auction and other sales held Saturday at the Annual Meeting.

“It looks like the silent auction once again broke the bank so we’re very pleased,” Miner said.

Overall regarding the meeting on Saturday, “In spite of the beautiful weather — it’s hard to compete with 70 degrees in March — we had a great turnout,” Miner noted.

Fitzsimons, Patty Jewett, Heggie Receive CWGA Awards: Saturday’s meeting also recognized the CWGA’s award winners for 2016, including the Club of the Year, which is a new honor.

The women’s clubs from Fitzsimons and Patty Jewett Golf Courses shared the inaugural Club of the Year Award for their work in raising money for charity, growing membership, etc.

Fitzsimons made significant charitable contributions thanks to annual golf events for the Susan G. Komen Foundation and the Colorado chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. And it took pro-active steps to bringing new golfers into the fold, and paid tribute to veterans and their families, which is inherent given the course’s military roots.

Patty Jewett raised almost $10,800 for charity through golf and related events in 2016. In addition to that money, members volunteered for Special Olympics, for cleanup day at the course, and for the CWGA.

“I think what you heard today through our Club of the Year awards and our fundraising efforts is that a lot of women’s organizations are very good at giving back,” Robinson said. “I think what you saw here was reaffirming that it really is about helping others through what we do.

“We tried to tally how much our clubs raised for charity this year through grassroots events and we think it’s well over $100,000, not including what we do in the office.”

Meanwhile, the 2016 CWGA Volunteer of the Year Award went to Vivian Heggie, who worked as a rules official at more CWGA championships and USGA qualifiers last year than any other volunteer. That included a dawn-to-dusk 36-hole U.S. Women’s Open qualifer in very cold and rainy conditions at Heritage at Westmoor.

“Our winner (Heggie, pictured in a yellow shirt-collar with Schnitzer) personifies dedication to the game of golf and dedication to making sure the players are well looked after and that they have a memorable experience,” Miner said. “It takes more than knowledge of the Rules to be a good rules official. It takes tact and the appropriate way to deliver a difficult message at times. Of course, it always helps if you have a delightful English accent (like Heggie). It takes perseverance and patience, and great respect for the players.”

The CWGA Player of the Year and Senior Player of the Year winners, both previously announced, also were recognized on Saturday. Both Jennifer Kupcho (the POY who is competing in a college tournament for Wake Forest) and Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton (the SPOY who is playing in a Legends Tour event in Arizona) could not attend because they’re at tournaments, but sent their thanks. For more on their accomplishments in 2016, CLICK HERE.

“I’d like to thank the Colorado Women’s Golf Association for selecting me for this award,” said Kupcho, who received the POY honor for an unprecedented third straight season. “It’s a great honor to be your Player of the Year … My first time at Denver Country Club (in winning the CWGA Stroke Play) was definitely one to remember.”

Said Eaton, the SPOY for the seventh time in eight years: “Thank you to the CWGA for this honor. I had every intention of being there today, but I received a better invitation — to play in the LPGA Legends Tour event in Arizona. I had a great year and did not want to pass up that opportunity. … I’m very grateful that I continue to play well and enjoy the game so much.”

Also receiving recognition Saturday was the nine-hole women’s club from Raccoon Creek Golf Course, which was the top 2016 CWGA fundraiser for the Evans Scholarship for caddies, bringing in $1,450. Almost 60 caddies currently receive full tuition and housing Evans Scholarships at the University of Colorado, with about a quarter of them being young women.

Chip Shots: Among the speakers on Saturday besides Chergo were CGA executive director Ed Mate and Colorado Open Golf Foundation CEO Kevin Laura, both of whom spoke on topics in the news this week. Mate, who serves on the USGA Rules of Golf Committee, gave attendees an update on the Rules changes the USGA and R&A proposed that are expected to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2019. And Laura noted some big news that was announced on Thursday — that the CoBank Colorado Women’s Open is increasing its purse to $150,000 and more than quadrupling its first prize to $50,000. …

CWGA Centennial Committee co-chairs Phyllis Jensen and Nancy Wilson assembled 357 slides, 511 pictures and a lot of memorabilia from CWGA centennial-year activities and events in 2016 into a scrapbook and a slideshow. On Saturday, they presented their work to Miner for CWGA historical purposes. “I want to thank (Jensen and Wilson) for stepping forward,” Miner said. “They made our centennial a great success.” (Wilson, Miner and Jensen are pictured at left.) …

With the CWGA planning to unveil an updated logo in the near future, 24 proposed logo submissions that the association received were showed off to attendees on Saturday. “Many people have said a woman with a long skirt (as in the current logo) is not representative of golf today,” Miner said. “We don’t want to necessarily change the logo to something that is unrecognizable, but we do want to modernize it.” …

CWGA organizers were pleased with Saturday’s attendance, which was just shy of 200. “We had one of the biggest turnouts, and as a follow-up to the centennial year, that says something,” Robinson said. “Today we achieved our objective by making it educational and giving lots of information, besides celebrating women’s golf in Colorado.”
 

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.

While Lynn Zmistowski insists she never viewed herself as a volunteer in what she’s done for the game of golf, let it never be said that she was anything but dedicated to the task at hand when a duty was given to her.

Case in point: When she chaired the CWGA Course Rating Committee in the late 1970s and the early 1980s, the USGA created a “Slope” rating system in which golf courses would be rated according to their relative difficulty for players of varying ability. The CWGA and CGA were tasked to rate all of Colorado’s golf courses in accordance with the new Slope system.

In order to get the job done right — and consistently — Zmistowski felt she personally had to participate in every course rating the CWGA conducted. So over the course of less than five years, she played every hole of every golf course in Colorado at the time, giving her a distinction not many people can claim. The state had about 120 golf courses at that time, so that was no small feat.

“For consistency, I made it my mission to go on all the ratings,” Zmistowski said this week. “It was a lot of work, but a lot of fun. I’d play one week in Rangely, the next in Lamar. We had a great committee and always thought being on the committee was an honor. We loved being able to travel together and see the beautiful state of Colorado.

“I think you have to play the course to understand the course, and you have to understand the course to rate it. Colorado was a leader in the whole (Slope rating process). Most of the other states were looking to (the CWGA and CGA).”

It’s that dedication that earned Zmistowski a remarkable honor on Feb. 27 at the CWGA annual meeting — that of CWGA Volunteer of the Century.

With the CWGA leadership wanting some suspense for its centennial celebration at the annual meeting, Zmistowski didn’t find out she had received the award until the day of the event. She was competing in a couples club championship at her home course of Alta Mesa in Mesa, Ariz., that weekend, but had seen the program on the eve of the event. She noticed “Volunteer of the Century” by her name, “but I thought there must be a typo,” she said. But during the annual meeting, fellow Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton texted Zmistowski the news.

“The shock was amazing,” said Zmistowski, who now splits her time between Colorado (Boulder specifically) and Arizona. “I said to my husband (Bill), ‘You’ll never believe this.’ It’s obviously an amazing honor. I never thought of myself as a volunteer. I viewed anything I did related to golf as a passion. It’s just a way to give back to the sport that has given me so much enjoyment.

“I never thought my name would come up under ‘volunteer.’ There are a lot of people who have been outstanding volunteers. I guess I just did it for more years. And I’ve enjoyed it.”

Zmistowski has been a golf volunteer for more than 40 years — ever since Joan Birkland called her in 1975 and asked her to join the CWGA’s Course Rating Committee. Birkland, a standout in both golf and tennis, is a longtime Colorado Sports Hall of Famer. For her part, Zmistowski is a member of the Colorado and Minnesota Golf Halls of Fame, and the Rochester (Minn.) Sports Hall of Fame.

Zmistowski’s volunteer duties have included 30 years on the CWGA Course Rating Committee, including five as chair; more than 25 years on the USGA handicap procedures committee, for which she received the Ike Grainger Award in 2009 (left); six years as the first captain of the Colorado Girls Junior Americas Cup team and working on the GJAC handbook. Zmistowski took her daughter, Kim, on all the Junior Americas Cup trips, and still remembers her doing cartwheels on the practice range.

As recently as last year, Zmistowski volunteered to answer handicap-related questions that the CWGA received. And for the last eight years or so, she’s served on the handicap procedures committee for the Arizona Women’s Golf Associaton and has been the handicap chair for Alta Mesa Golf Club and helps run a major women’s invitational at the course.

“I have all this knowledge and can be helpful to people,” Zmistowski explained. “I feel I can contribute.”

As CWGA Centennial Committee co-chair Nancy Wilson said of Zmistowski at the annual meeting, “It certainly shows her dedication to this organization and to the game of golf. … Lynn Z, as she is affectionately called, has performed each task that she accepted with focused dedication and is very deserving of the Volunteer of the Century award.”

But the Volunteer of the Century wasn’t the only honor Zmistowski was awarded at the CWGA annual meeting. She was also one of nine outstanding players in the history of the association, all of whom have won at least five major CWGA individual championships. Zmistowski, who earlier had claimed titles in two CWGA Match Plays and two Senior Stroke Plays, last year at age 70 earned the senior championship at the 100th CWGA Match Play. (Above, finalist Kathy Malpass congratulates the champion.) In all, Zmistowski has captured 15 individual state amateur titles in Minnesota, Colorado and Arizona.

Zmistowski was the only person to be included on both the CWGA’s “Notable Volunteers” of the century and the “Outstanding Players” of the century.

Overall, Lynn Z has many fond memories of her years in Colorado and volunteering for the CWGA. Here are a couple:

— On the first time she met former longtime CWGA executive director Robin Jervey, with a group at a Denver Nuggets game:

“I had laryngitis and could not say a word,” Zmistowski said. “Robin got the impression I was pretty quiet but once I got my voice back she said, ‘Lynn never shuts up.'”

— On meeting Birkland as the two squared off in the 1971 CWGA Match Play at Denver Country Club, where Zmistowski would go on to earn the title:

“After we teed off and were walking down the first fairway, Joanie said to me, ‘Well, Lynn, who are you and where did you come from?’ We proceeded to play the next 17 holes chatting so much that on the 17th green I said to Joanie, ‘How does our match stand?’ and Joanie said, ‘You’re 1 down.’ We have been very close friends ever since.”

Zmistowski, who considers Willis Case in Denver her home course in Colorado, calls the late Katie Fiorella, a fellow Colorado Golf Hall of Famer and a longtime fixture at Willis Case, her best friend. Fiorella served on the CWGA Course Rating Committee for more than two decades.

“Katie loved every last thing there was to love in Colorado, and she passed that love to me,” Zmistowski said.

(Above, Zmistowski is pictured with Birkland, center, and Fiorella.)

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.

It would be another four years before ratification of the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution gave American women the right to vote, but on March 14, 1916, a group of eight women from five clubs made a pre-suffrage statement that still resonates a century later.

At a meeting that day, the CWGA was formed, with Mrs. Olyn Hemming being elected the first president. The group settled on this purpose for the association: “To promote and maintain the best interests of the game of golf; to hold golf tournaments; and to promote good fellowship among member clubs.”

Six months later, in September 1916 at Colorado Springs Golf Club (what is now Patty Jewett Golf Course), the CWGA held its first champonship, with 28 women competing in what is now known as the CWGA Match Play.

Plenty of water has gone under the bridge since then, bringing the CWGA to a major milestone in its history. This year, the association will celebrate its 100th anniversary, and the festivities will be spread out over the course of 2016.

“I hope the celebration of the winners, players, volunteers and leaders from the past 100 years will be inspiring,” said Laura Robinson, acting executive director of the CWGA.

Over the last two years, plans have been in the works for the centennial, with association board members Phyllis Jensen and Nancy Wilson co-chairing the Centennial Committee.

Most notably, three events are planned that will commemorate the CWGA’s first century:

— The CWGA’s annual meeting, set for Feb. 27 at The Inverness Hotel & Golf Club in Englewood, will feature a video history of the CWGA likely lasting 6-8 minutes. Among other things, it will include sections on tournaments, the rules and the Girls Junior Americas Cup. Several current and recent volunteer leaders of the CWGA have been interviewed, along with Jan Ford, who chaired the CWGA’s 75th-anniversary celebration, and Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Lynn Zmistowski. Organizers are also hoping to have World Golf Hall of Famer and former USGA president Judy Bell of Colorado Springs contribute the introduction and summary for the video. Also planned are unique time-lapse shots from a camera placed at a CWGA championship last year.

Three groups of people — to be announced — will receive centennial honors at the annual meeting: 10 CWGA volunteers who have gone “above and beyond” over the years; nine players who have won at least five major CWGA individual championships (Match Play, Stroke Play, Senior Match, and Senior Stroke); and three exceptional friends of the CWGA.

And beginning at the annual meeting, and for the remainder of the year, three items of CWGA centennial memorabilia will be available for purchase — a ball marker, bag tag and water bottle. Each will feature the association’s centennial logo. In addition, the CWGA will be awarding a special medallion to selected honorees in the course of 2016.

— The CWGA Stroke Play Championship, set for Aug. 2-4 at Denver Country Club, will include centennial-related festivities, though the details are still being finalized. Jensen said the centennial video will likely be shown again.

Denver Country Club is certainly a historic venue from the CWGA’s perspective, having hosted the CWGA Match Play in the association’s 25th anniversary year and the CWGA Stroke Play in the 50th, 75th (and now the 100th) anniversary years. The first CWGA championship held at the club was the 1917 Match Play.

— And on Sept. 21 at Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen, the CWGA will host a centennial celebration tournament to which some of the most dedicated volunteers and top champions will be invited. A luncheon will follow.

The idea is a take-off of the “medallion mixers” the CWGA used to hold for current and former association board members. “It’ll be called ‘Winners and Workers’,” Wilson noted.

“That will be a neat event,” Jensen added. “And if you can’t play golf, you can come to the luncheon and see people you may not have seen in a while.”