Kathy Malpass was in her element on Saturday, which paid dividends for participants and organizers alike in the first CGA Women’s Golf Experience of the year.

You see, the Women’s Golf Experience centers around offering group golf instruction to women as part of socially-oriented half-day events held around the state. And teaching and golf just happen to both be fortes of Malpass, a retired professor who taught sport industry operations at Metropolitan State University of Denver, and a former college golf head coach and assistant coach. And it also doesn’t hurt that she serves on the CGA’s Executive Committee and played a key role in the creation of the Women’s Golf Experience events, which debuted in 2010, when Malpass was Membership Chair at the CWGA.

So Malpass was a natural in her role on Saturday, which was to lead the putting portion of the Experience at Overland Park Golf Course.

“The great thing about these are, the women feel more comfortable in this kind of a setting with other women,” observed Malpass, a two-time CWGA Senior Player of the Year and a 10-time qualifier for USGA championships. “Obviously we want them to have a positive, fun experience with others in their comfort zone. A lot of these gals probably play with a partner or husband who’s already a player, and they’re telling them all these things to do. There’s too much for the head to realize. You can’t have that many swing thoughts when you’re out there playing. So it’s kind of nice to be with other like golfers (at the Experience) and to walk away with a fun, educational experience.

“I think these have been very successful.”

The events have been so successful, in fact, that by the end of this year, 34 Women’s Golf Experiences will have been held since 2010. And this year, a record seven such events are planned, including nine-hole Plays Day at the par-3 courses at Indian Tree and Harvard Gulch.

Besides 3 1/2 hours of group golf instruction from LPGA and PGA professionals — 45 minutes each of full swing, chipping, putting and rules, with a brief break in between — there’s lunch, prizes, goodie bags and plenty of socializing.

On Saturday, despite some threatening weather to start the day, 64 women attended the inaugural Women’s Golf Experience of 2018. It was also the first one conducted since the CWGA and the CGA integrated into one organization at the beginning of this year.

CGA executive director Ed Mate was among those on hand Saturday. He co-hosted the “In the Fairway” radio show with Jerry Walters early in the day at Overland, then observed and took part in some of the Women’s Golf Experience activities. It was Mate’s first time attending one of the Experience events.

Besides being impressed by the turnout on a day that started out less than ideal weather-wise, Mate said the CGA can learn things from such events.

“It just shows how good the Colorado Women’s Golf Association is at these types of engagement that we (the CGA) as an organization have not done,” he said. “These golfers (attending the Experience) are not going to play in the state championship, but they love golf. And it just shows me, ‘What if we did something like this for all of golfers, not just for women, what could we do?’ I can guarantee you there are men that would love to come to something like this.

“That’s the beauty of integration (is seeing) what are the best practices of both organizations. What are the things that need to be customized for that audience? What is the CGA doing that would work well for women and vice-versa?”

Indeed, Experience-like events that include men might be something that develops in the future. Laura Robinson, the former CWGA executive director who now serves as managing director of membership and integration for the CGA, said that that might be a good idea.

“I think there is an opportunity to open this up to everyone — make it co-ed” in addition to continuing to hold women-only events, Robinson said. “I think what I would do is have a mixed event rather than just men only. We’d get more people there that way, I think.”

As it is, the Women’s Golf Experience events typically draw 25-75 participants. Though many of the women are relatively new to the game, there are certainly plenty who have experience. And attendees range from the young to the retired.

There’s also quite a mix of women who are participating in the Experience for the first time, and those who back for more. For instance on Saturday, roughly 30 percent of the attendees had come to an Experience before.

Several members of the CGA’s volunteer board of directors — who played similar roles on the CWGA board — attended Saturday’s Experience. That included Malpass, Sandy Schnitzer, Phyllis Jensen and Amy Turner. Schnitzer was running the Rules portion of the Experience, and she, Malpass and Jensen have helped out at these events many times over the years. But it was Turner’s first time to attend one.

“I wish I had gone to one sooner, to one of the first ones years ago,” said Turner, a CGA Executive Committee member. “The tips from the pros — multiple pros — that’s great. If I were to come here by myself, I would probably walk away a bunch of phone numbers of women I could potentially pull together into a foursome — people I wouldn’t have met otherwise.

“There’s a lot to gain today — and a lot to gain coming out of today. I was very impressed by how robust the program is — all sides of the game plus the rules — and then the social aspect at the end. You can trade numbers and get to know each other better.”

Robinson was in Turner’s shoes a couple of years ago, when she came to her first Experience. And she likewise appreciates how events like this can help grow the game incrementally.

“This is an opportunity for the women to learn some golf and learn how the rules can help them,” Robinson said. “When you put all that together, it really makes for a great experience and it makes it a great way for us to break down the barriers and make golf a more enjoyable sport.”

The folks at City of Denver Golf typically partner with the CGA (and formerly the CWGA) to host at least one of the Women’s Experiences each year, and such was the case Saturday at Overland. The instructors included Denver’s director of golf Scott Rethlake, along with others from Denver and elsewhere: Devon Puleo, Malpass, Kelly Hodge, Nick Johnson, Geoff Strasser, Kirk Mease, Maggie Hartman, Joe Pinson, Susie Helmerich and Steve Kurtz. The idea is to have a good ratio of instructors to participants so that everyone leaves feeling they received some attention and useful tips.

“The student has to get involved and in this kind of setting they have that opportunity because we have enough teachers to get the ratio down and players can practice and get immediate feedback,” Malpass said.

The remaining Women’s Golf Experience events for 2018 are:

— May 19 at Saddleback GC

— June 2 at CommonGround GC

— June 9 at Cheyenne Shadows at Fort Carson

— June 23 at The Bridges at Montrose

— July 14 Play Day at Indian Tree GC

— July 29 Play Day at Harvard Gulch GC

For more information on Women’s Golf Experience events, CLICK HERE or call 303-366-4653.

That’s the first of five years in which Superfly Productions will hold the festival the second or third weekend of September at Overland, a course which dates back more than 120 years.

Denver City Council approved the plan by a 10-3 vote despite opposition by many in the community.

“Just in my gut, it seems like the wrong location to me,” said councilman Kevin Flynn, who voted no on the festival along with Debbie Ortega and Paul Kashmann. “Ultimately it just feels wrong to use a golf course for this.”

But there was plenty of support for the plan as well.

“The community will absolutely be better off,” said councilman Jolon Clark, whose district includes the Overland neighborhood. “The devil is in the details of these plans and that’s what I like about this contract. It doesn’t just say ‘OK, now go do it.’ It says that now you have to prove that every step of the way you understand the concerns, that you’re mitigating the concerns, that you’re rebuilding this community, that you’re engaging this community.”

It’s anticipated that the music festival will draw 30,000 to 40,000 people per day to Overland in 2018. Daily attendance is limited to 80,000, according to the contract.

Superfly will pay a fee of $200,000 to rent the course for the five-week period following Labor Day, with time included for set-up and tear-down. The city will also receive a 10 percent seat tax, with $2 per ticket going to a golf fund and $1 to a community fund. The organizers will pay $90,000 for landscaping repair work and $25,000 that goes toward discounts for Overland golfers who want to play other City of Denver courses.

Under the agreement, Superfly is required to restore all aspects of Overland to its normal condition, including the turf at the course.
 

Mother’s Day isn’t until Sunday, but mother and daughter Honey Goldberg and Dianna May decided to make a weekend of it.

A while back, Goldberg received an email from the CWGA noting that CWGA Golf Experience events — which mix group golf instruction from PGA and LPGA professionals, social interaction, lunch, door prizes, etc., into a 4 1/2-hour outing at a golf course — were on tap in the spring and summer.

Goldberg mentioned to her daughter that it would be fun to go together, so here they were on Saturday — the day before Mother’s Day — spending some quality time at the Golf Experience on a beatiful day at Overland Park Golf Course in Denver.

“When I (first heard about the event), I thought, ‘This sounds really cool,'” Goldberg said.

“I’ve been looking forward to it,” said May. “It’s great. We rarely get to spend this much concentrated time together.”

Added Goldberg: “It was awesome. We both like to play golf (and) we both need help” with our games.

Goldberg and May were two of about 75 women who participated in the first of six Golf Experiences that the CWGA will host in 2017. The one at Overland Park has been sold out for about a month, but there are other Experiences May 20 at Pelican Lakes in Windsor, June 3 at Tiara Rado in Grand Junction, July 8 at (Denver) City Park, July 16 at Harvard Gulch and Aug. 6 at Fossil Trace.

The CWGA has held Experience events since 2010, but this year there’s a noticeable uptick in the program. The six Experiences planned for 2017 are the most ever, it’s been several years since one has been held on the Western Slope, and never before has there been a play day associated with the Experience like the one planned for the par-3 Harvard Gulch facility on July 16.

“I’m hoping in some way that this is helping appeal to (a certain group of women) and giving them more confidence to go out and play in a nine-hole league or to play with their husband,” said Sandy Schnitzer, chair of the CWGA Rules Committee, who on Saturday was helping provide a basic overview of the Rules of Golf and etiquette. “It’s hard to know what’s causing the increase (in demand for these events). I hope there’s a ladies’ sense of, ‘I can do this. It’s not intimidating. I have a place on the golf course.’ 

“I think part of it is meeting other women — that whole networking and camaraderie and friendships that you develop. For me, that’s a big part. The other part is getting some one-on-one time with a pro at a phenomenal price. You’re spending the whole (three-plus hours) getting instruction from really good people that really know what they’re doing. I think that’s invaluable.”

Experience attendees spend about 45 minutes at each of four stations, rotating among full swing, chipping, putting and the Rules overview/etiquette, before wrapping up the day with lunch. Most of the golf instructors on Saturday were from City of Denver Golf, which co-hosted Saturday’s Experience. Overall, the PGA and LPGA professionals on hand included City of Denver director of golf Scott Rethlake, along with Kirk Mease, Andrea Nemier, Devon Puleo, Geoff Strasser, Becky Clark, Nick Johnson, Chris Hamilton, Joe Pinson, Kyle McGee and Kristin Moreland.

“The instructors were terrific and they work well together,” said Goldberg, who was attending her second Experience.

As for the 75 or so participants, they ran the gamut from young women to the more elderly, from beginners to tournament players, and from being existing CWGA members to the newly added.

Events like the CWGA Experience have become more and more a priority for CWGA leadership.

“It’s to grow the game of golf,” said Schnitzer, who serves on the CWGA Board of Directors and was attending her fourth Experience on Saturday. “Not every woman out here is a brand-new golfer. There are some women out here who have a lot of tournament experience. They also get some good instruction — some fine-tuning, which is what they need — so I think it fills the needs of women at a lot of different levels. (The Experience) is non-threatening, a great opportunity, and you can come with all your friends so you don’t have to be here by yourself. I think it gets everybody off on a good start.”

As a first-timer to the CWGA Experience, May certainly sees the value, both in the obvious sense and in the big picture.

“I just have such a steep learning curve” as a person who plays little, she said. “I improved my grip, my swing on the driving range, I learned a lot about the importance of distance on the putting green. And chipping is really challenging. But I picked up stuff at every station.

“I’m pretty new to it. My husband is an avid golfer, my kids are better than I am. But obviously it’s a great activity. My father-in-law worked six days a week, so his important family time with his sons was on the golf course. That’s what we’re trying to create with our boys is family time, away from screens, outside, where you can just talk and be together.”

For more information about the CWGA Golf Experience, CLICK HERE.

Editor’s Note: With the CGA celebrating the 100th anniversary of its founding in 1915, this is the second monthly installment of a series of stories looking back on the last century of golf in Colorado. All the articles will be published on ColoradoGolf.org. This chapter focuses on the period from 1915-1924. For a list of all installments to date, CLICK HERE. 

While there were certainly very notable happenings in the history of Colorado golf prior to 1915, the decade starting then marked a watershed for the sport in the Centennial State.

After all, that period included the founding of both the CGA and the CWGA; the first USGA presidency held by a Coloradan; the opening of a club that’s gone on to host more major championships and USGA championships than any other in Colorado (Cherry Hills Country Club) and of another club that’s been home to the second-most USGA championships in Colorado history (the Broadmoor); and the debut of what would become one of the country’s top amateur tournaments (the Broadmoor Invitation).

That’s what you call laying a strong foundation for golf in the state.

But before we continue with that, let’s briefly note what preceded the CGA’s founding.

A half-dozen golf courses in Colorado that opened prior to World War I remain vibrant to this day. That list includes Overland Park in Denver (left, circa 1895), Denver Country Club, Patty Jewett in Colorado Springs, Pueblo Country Club, Lakewood Country Club (then known as The Colorado Golf Club), and City Park in Denver. And there’s been some indication that other courses can trace their lineage back to pre-World War I, including perhaps Greeley Country Club.

Denver Country Club was one of the original 15 clubs in the Trans-Mississippi Golf Association (as was the Town & Gown Golf Club of Colorado Springs), and in the early years DCC hosted the Trans-Miss Championship in 1910 (won by a gentleman by the name of Harry Legg) and 1921 (George Von Elm). DCC was also the site of the 1912 Western Amateur won by Chick Evans, now best known as the founder of the Evans Scholarship for caddies. Evans would go on to capture eight Western Amateur titles in addition to two U.S. Amateurs and the 1916 U.S. Open.

Even though the CGA wasn’t founded until 1915, the tournament now known as the CGA Match Play dates back to 1901, making it the oldest continuously held state golf championship in Colorado. Frank Woodward, who played an exhibition match at Overland against the famed Harry Vardon during Vardon’s nationwide tour in 1900, captured the first Match Play title. (Keep his name in mind for a little history he’ll make later.)

Walter Fairbanks (pictured at top), also part of the Vardon exhibition, strung together four consecutive Match Play titles from 1902-05, a feat that remains unmatched in tournament history. But by far the most successful performer overall in the Match Play was Dr. Larry Bromfield, who won eight titles between 1912-28.

As for the specific decade at hand (1915-24), here are some of the highlights:

— The Colorado Golf Association was formally founded on Aug. 20, 1915. A two-paragraph Denver Post story noted that 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.”

M.A. McLaughlin of Lakewood Country Club was elected the first president. That same year, coincidentally, McLaughlin won the first of his two CGA Match Plays, this time defeating Bromfield. McLaughlin had been the Match Play runner-up the previous three years.

— The following year, on March 14, 1916, the Colorado Women’s Golf Association came into being when eight women met and elected a president, adopted a constitution and bylaws, and delineated the association’s objectives and purpose: to promote and maintain the best interests of the game of golf; to hold golf tournaments; and to promote good fellowship among member clubs.” Mrs. Olyn Hemming was named the CWGA’s first president.

In September 2016 the first CWGA Match Play Championship was held, with Mrs. M.A. McLaughlin of Lakewood prevailing for the title.

During the period from 1915-21, the McLaughlins won five CGA/CWGA Match Play titles between them.

— Meanwhile, at this same time, a Coloradan was making some history nationally. The United States Golf Association was founded in 1894, and from then through 1914, all the presidents of the organization had come from the East or Midwest. But Denver Country Club founding member Woodward, winner of the first CGA Match Play 14 years earlier, in 1915 became the first USGA president from the western U.S. He served a two-year term during which the USGA in 1916 stripped the amateur status from 1913 U.S. Open champion Francis Ouimet because Ouimet intended to open a sporting goods store. Ouimet wouldn’t be reinstated until 1918. The next USGA president from Colorado wouldn’t take office until 1980 (Will Nicholson Jr.).

During the period from 1909-20, Woodward would be president of Denver Country Club for five years. He was also a chairman of the Western Golf Association and the Trans Mississippi Golf Association.

— During the period from 1915-24, two of Colorado’s most famous courses opened, with the Donald Ross-designed Broadmoor Golf Club coming online in 1918 and William Flynn-designed Cherry Hills in 1922. Between them, Cherry Hills and the Broadmoor have hosted 16 USGA championships and 10 major championships (PGA, LPGA and Champions tours combined).

— In 1921, the Broadmoor debuted the Broadmoor Invitation (sometimes referred to as the Broadmoor Amateur Open in the early years), which would become one of the most prestigious amateur tournaments in the country. From 1921 to ’95, the tournament built a reputation for crowning top-notch champions. Among the winners of the tournament over those years — the event returned in 2014 as a scratch four-ball — were Hale Irwin, Lawson Little, Tom Purtzer, Grier Jones, Duffy Waldorf, Bob Dickson, John Fought and Willie Wood — all of whom went on to win on the PGA Tour — as well as Charlie Coe and locals N.C. “Tub” Morris (his 1922 Broadmoor Invitation medalist honor is pictured above), Bill Loeffler and Jim English.

As for the Broadmoor Ladies Invitation, its most famous champion would be Babe Zaharias, who won the event three consecutive years beginning in 1945.

All in all, the decade beginning in 1915 — along with the period leading up to it — had Colorado golf off to a rousing start through the first quarter of the 20th century. But many ups and downs awaited in the years to come.

Next up: 1925-34.