A year after the USGA and R&A proposed changes that would modernize, simplify and streamline the Rules of Golf — and after a subsequent six-month comment period — a final set of Rules were announced on Monday that will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2019.

Three current or former CGA staffers serve on the USGA Rules of Golf Committee which played a key role in the Rules modernization process — CGA executive director Ed Mate and former CGA staff members Thomas Pagel and Pete Lis. Pagel is the USGA’s senior director of rules and amateur status, and Lis is the manager of rules and competition for the LPGA.

It turns out that the six-month period of public feedback — which resulted in about 30,000 comments — did have an effect, leading to a few changes to what was proposed on March 1, 2017.

“I think it was handled masterfully,” Mate said of the whole process. “The USGA was in a damned if we do and damned if we don’t situation. But they gave a legitimate chance for people to comment, and they listened and responded (with some alterations). It wasn’t just wink, wink.”

For instance:

— Instead of allowing ball drops from any height — as was proposed a year ago — what will be implemented is dropping from knee height.

“A number of comments we received from all levels of the game wanted to see a certain amount of randomness maintained so that when you drop a ball, you’re not sure what kind of lie you’re going to get,” Pagel said. “But how do you ensure that randomness? Do you take it back to shoulder height? It was really about finding a balance of maintaining that randomness while also allowing the player to identify a relief area, drop there as quick as possible and play on.”

— And instead of taking relief in a given situation based on 20- or 80-inch measurements — which was proposed — the rule will be one club length for free relief and two for a drop with a penalty.

“I think of all the changes, that one is the real concrete example of we listened,” Pagel said. “This feedback period, we were sincere in asking for people’s views. Because the fixed measures, philosophically, make total sense, but from a practical standpoint with people saying ‘I’m scratching my head a little bit. I’m not sure how I’m going to measure this,’ we had to step back and say, ‘OK let’s change.’ “¦ It’s a lot easier if I just use my club length. And so we just went back to the drawing board.”

In addition, there are other tweaks since the proposed rules announcement from last year:

— There will be no penalty for accidentally double hitting a ball on a given stroke — a la T.C. Chen at the 1985 U.S. Open. Instead, the player will simply count the stroke made to hit the ball, and the ball will be played as it lies.

— Also, there’s a new local rule that will be available — but not for professional or elite-level amateur play — in which a golfer can drop a ball in the vicinity of where it went out of bounds or was lost, incurring a two-stroke penalty instead of the current stroke-and-distance. That local rule is designed to speed up recreational play.

“This addresses the issue you hear at the club level about the practical nature of going back and playing under stroke and distance that just doesn’t work. It has a negative impact on pace of play, and so how can we introduce something to resolve that? That’s what this local rule is about,” Pagel said. “You simply estimate where it’s out of bounds or where your ball is likely to be lost, you can go all the way out to the fairway and drop anywhere behind. “¦ But the primary objective here is to keep the player moving forward, and we think that’s the real benefit of this.”

There’s also a new unplayable ball relief option in which a player may take relief outside a bunker by dropping a ball back on the line from the hole through where the ball was at rest in the sand — with a penalty of two strokes.

The biggest topic broached in the public comment period reportedly was golfers asking for relief when their ball is in a divot. But no changes were made in that area.

“One of the primary objectives for the overall initiative is to make the rules easier to understand and apply, but to also make sure we maintained the traditions and principles behind the game,” Pagel said. “And the principles are to play the ball as it lies and the course as you find it. So to write a rule that allows a player to sort of deviate from that was not something we were wanting to do.”

Among the previously announced proposed rule changes that will go into effect on Jan. 1 — part of what the USGA calls the biggest Rules overhaul since at least 1984:

— Searches for a lost ball will be limited to three minutes rather than the current five.

— A caddie will no longer be allowed to line up a player.

— There will be no penalty if a ball you hit strikes you, your caddie, or your equipment.

— There will be no penalty for a ball — struck on the putting green — hitting the unattended flag in the hole.

— Spike marks and almost all other damage on a green can be repaired. But note: existing pace-of-play rules will remain in place.

— A club can be grounded and loose impediments removed in a penalty area.

— Loose impediments can be moved in a bunker;.

— There will be no penalty for accidentally moving your ball while searching for it or for accidentally moving your ball or ball marker when it’s on the putting green.”¨

All told, starting next year there will be 24 rules instead of 34 thanks to this rules modernization process, which began in 2012.

“It was a fascinating process in which I had a chance to provide some input and that I had an opportunity to preview,” said Mate, who noted that he tried to always keep in mind that he served on the USGA Rules of Golf Committee as a representive of state and regional golf associations. “The modernization is still golf. None of the changes that were made fundamentally change the game. Some thoughtful, intuitive things have been added.

“It’s been awesome being part of this. When Thomas Pagel called me to serve (starting in the fall of 2015), I would have been thrilled to death if that call came in any year, as someone who’s studied the Rules as long as I have. But to be in the room when those things were discussed, and when the most significant rewrite of the Rules (in a long time) was being done, is incredible. We’re not talking about changing decisions; this was a fundamental rewrite. Everything was being challenged. I much prefer coversations of ‘why’, which is what this was. I’ll always cherish being a part of it.”

For more information from the USGA on the Rules changes, CLICK HERE. And for the USGA Rules page, CLICK HERE.
 

With Wednesday’s joint announcement by the two governing bodies about detailed proposed changes to the Rules that are planned to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2019, Mate could provide an insider’s perspective on the overhaul process that’s taken place.

After all, the CGA executive director — along with former CGA staffers Thomas Pagel and (just recently) Pete Lis — serve on the USGA Rules of Golf Committee, which is on the ground floor of the proposed changes that were announced on Wednesday.

“It’s exciting to finally have the duct tape off my mouth because I’ve been sworn to secrecy the last two years,” Mate said on Wednesday. “This is a lot of fun and pretty cool.”

The initial stages of the Rules modernization project predate Mate joining the USGA Rules of Golf Committee in 2015, but he’s been intimately involved in the process since then.

Among the changes that are proposed for 2019 implementation: searches for a lost ball would be limited to three minutes rather than the current five; players could drop a ball from any height rather than the current shoulder height; a caddie would no longer be allowed to line up a player; there would be no penalty if a ball you hit struck you, your caddie, or your equipment; also, no penalty would result for a ball — struck on the putting green — hitting the flag in the hole; spike marks and almost all other damage on a green could be repaired; a club could be grounded and loose impediments removed in a penalty area; loose impediments could also be moved in a bunker; there would be no penalty for accidentally moving your ball while searching for it or for accidentally moving your ball or ball marker when it’s on the putting green.

For more detail and specifics, CLICK HERE.

“The overriding theme is that we were hearing from golfers at all levels that the Rules were just complex (and) they were hard to understand,” said Pagel, the USGA’s senior director of rules and amateur status. “We are listening. The Rules have become dense and, for many, too confusing.”

Mate likewise welcomes the whole Rules modernization effort.

“I just think it’s really exciting,” Mate said. “This is historic. It’s never happened where the USGA and the R&A have come out and said, ‘What do you think?’ Never has there been a more cool opportunity because the game needs to be more approachable. What better way to do it than say, ‘We want your input.’ The USGA is looking for your feedback — good, bad or otherwise.”

By midday on Wednesday, Mate had already talked to numerous golfers about the proposed changes.

“The excitement people have and the passion they have to know that the Rules are really going to be more approachable … Those people are more engaged,” he said. “It will be interesting to see how much confusion there is over, ‘All right, when do these take effect?’ This is a long time (until 2019). This isn’t (the same as the process that led to the banning of) anchoring. Everybody knew that it was probably a fait accompli that anchoring was going to go away, but it was a way to ease people into it. This is the opposite. (People may think) ‘I don’t want to ease into these; I want to start now.’ So it’ll be interesting to me to see how much pressure the USGA and the R&A get to move up that date from 2019 to 2018. In the meantime maybe what will end up happening, rather than that, is clubs will start adopting them right now. They’ll say, ‘We’re playing by the 2019 Rule book.'”

Overall, what was announced on Wednesday “is unprecedented and it’s in step with the times,” Mate added. “The term ‘modernization’ is a great global label to put on this project. It’s also modern from the standpoint of giving the game a new face. The new USGA (is) more player-friendly and actually cares what you might think. Instead of keeping these things under wraps — secrecy and ivory tower — they’re being brought down to you, every golfer in America. So it’s really cool.”
 

The U.S., Canada, The Bahamas, Brazil, Scotland, England, France, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, China, Thailand and Australia.

And if he’s forgotten a nation or two, that’s understandable. Things can become a bit of a blur when racking up frequent-flyer miles at roughly a six-figure-per-year pace.

But now, his command of the Rules of Golf will bring him back home in a sense — to a place where he laid his foundation in the golf business. You see, for a decade before being hired by the LPGA, Lis worked for the CGA, spending the last seven years of that stint as the association’s director of rules and competitions.

And now, after being named by the LPGA late last year to serve as its liaison on the powerful USGA Rules of Golf Committee, Lis will attend his first committee meeting in about three weeks as part of the USGA Annual Meeting in Washington D.C. And though the business at hand will be very important — with the Rules modernization and simplification project going full throttle — it will be a “family” reunion of sorts. After all, three of the roughly dozen committee members worked at the CGA together a decade ago — Ed Mate (who remains the CGA’s executive director), Thomas Pagel (currently the USGA’s senior director of Rules of Golf and Amateur Status) and Lis (a manager of rules and competition for the LPGA Tour).

“On a personal level, I take great pride in that,” Mate said last month. “For a long time, Colorado has had strong representation with the USGA. And it’s nice because you can be candid with friends.”

Indeed, among the other Coloradans in recent decades who have served on the USGA Rules of Golf Committee are Will Nicholson Jr., M.J. Mastalir, Jim Bunch, Robin Jervey and Christie Austin. Nicholson, Mastalir, Bunch and Austin have all chaired the committee, with Austin being the first woman to have done so.

Both Mate and Lis serve as “advisory members” of the committee, with Mate representing state and regional golf associations and Lis the LPGA.

“It’s a unique and unbeliebable opportunity,” Lis said in a phone interview last month. “I remember when Ed, Thomas and I would talk Rules at a mediocre level (while with the CGA). Now, I’ll be sitting there with those guys and some of the best Rules minds in the world. Hopefully I’ll have an opportunity to provide a little insight and help out.

“I’m excited to do it. I’m sure there will be a little nerves about when to speak up. But I’m there as an LPGA liaison. Hopefully I can help them from the tour’s perspective.”

Lis and Mate, both relative newcomers to the Rules of Golf Committee (Mate joined in the fall of 2015), have come on board at a key time as the USGA and R&A are in the midst of a special project designed to simplify and clarify the Rules of Golf. The new Local Rule that eliminates the penalty when a ball is accidentally moved on the putting green is a working example of the simplification.

For Lis, filling a role on the USGA Rules Committee is a good fit, given his current role with the LPGA, his former role with the CGA, and his long association with the USGA.

What does it say about the CGA to have three current or former staffers now serving on one of the golf world’s top rule-making bodies?

“It goes back to Ed Mate and what a great leader he’s been,” Lis said. “You look at the entire staff and where people have gone. He did a great job challenging us. It was the same with Thomas (Pagel).

“It’s an honor. All of Colorado in general has had good representation on the committee with M.J., Christie, Will and Jim Bunch.”

These days, Lis said he works about 25 LPGA Tour-related events each year, putting him on the road about 29 weeks with the preparation involved. (He’s pictured above, in green, alongside Stacy Lewis at the 2013 Solheim Cup at Colorado Golf Club in Parker.) Last year, one of the events he worked was in Brazil for the women’s Olympic tournament, which (along with the men’s competition) marked the return of Olympic golf after a 112-year hiatus.

“It was much better than it was billed,” Lis said of the Summer Games. “I didn’t see one mosquito. It was cool to be a small part of history. I was fortunate to walk with Shanshan Feng (of China), the bronze medal winner. And I had the distinction of (giving out) the first pace of play penalty in the Olympics — to a Brazilian player, unfortunately. But I managed to get out of there alive.”

All told, Lis doesn’t mind all the travel he does for work.

“I really enjoy going to all the places,” said Lis, who is based in the Milwaukee area along with his girlfriend, Kelley Mawhinney, a former CWGA tournament and junior golf operations manager. “Fifteen hours (traveling overseas) is a long trip, but it’s a pretty special opportunity.

“I love what I do. I love the interaction with players, volunteers and staff. I feel the exact same at the LPGA as I did with the CGA. We’re all brothers and sisters. It doesn’t feel like a job, but kind of a traveling circus.”
  

A year’s worth of golf — and golf-related activities — produces many quotable utterances, even if you limit it to just Colorado and Coloradans.

2013 was certainly no exception. An eventful year yielded a plethora of memorable quotes.

Without any further ado, we present you with a selection of the most notable quotables of the year in Colorado golf:

 — Dustin Jensen, recalling an episode when he and fellow former CGA staffer Pete Lis (pictured above in green) shared an apartment:

“(Lis) was a diehard about the Rules of Golf. He sat out on the patio at our apartment and was reading the original Rules of Golf — or a book like that — and happened to fall asleep. He was catching a suntan and had his shirt off. He fell asleep with the book laying on his stomach, and he ended up having the outline of the book burned into his stomach. We thought that was pretty funny. He loved the Rules of Golf to the point that he would burn them into his chest.”

— Doug Rohrbaugh of Carbondale, after winning the HealthOne Colorado Senior Open:

“I lost my sister in January. Scott Freelove (a Titleist representative and a friend of Rohrbaugh) had some golf balls made up for me. They had her initials on one side and the number 49 for how old she was. That’s the golf ball I was using. So it was kind of a little kiss on the golf ball and looking up at her (after winning).”

— Colorado Springs native R.W. Eaks (left), after, for the second consecutive year, withdrawing from the HealthOne Colorado Senior Open mid-round while being in the top five on the leaderboard:

“I’m just done.” Asked if he was hurt, he added, “No, I’m just mentally ill.”

— Country Club at Castle Pines head professional George Kahrhoff insisted that his two sons, Mitchell and Trey, watch the Golf Channel after he and Collindale Golf Course director of golf Dale Smigelsky earned PGA of America nationwide awards, both for merchandising:

“I said, ‘You guys need to pay attention.’ Of course, they were on the computer and all that. I said, ‘Are you watching?’ and they were like, ‘Yeah, yeah’. All of a sudden my name pops up on the TV, and they said, ‘Hey, that’s you.'”

— Denver’s Jim Bunch, the departing chairman of the Western Golf Association, on participating in interview sessions with Evans Caddie Scholarship candidates:

“It’s the best day of the year without any question — and not just for the Evans Scholars but for me. It’s very rewarding and makes you so glad you’re helping out. It’s a one-of-a-kind event; there’s not another organization that I know that does it like that. I look forward to it.”

— LPGA commissioner Mike Whan, leading up to the Solheim Cup at Colorado Golf Club:

“Colorado (fan support) has been a consistent home run for women’s golf.”

— Meg Mallon, captain for the U.S. team at the Solheim Cup in Colorado, on getting more girls involved in the game:

“My greatest memory in golf to this day is walking nine holes with my mom (while) carrying a bag on my back. I want every kid and every parent to have that experience. I’m biased. It’s the greatest game in the world. It teaches ethics, morals, the right thing to do, how to get along with people. What greater avenue (than) to teach children the game of golf? So we need to, as adults, make sure that that happens. … It’s a hard game. It’s a time-consuming game. You have to give the kids the love of the game so they want to be out there playing. … Make golf fun. It’s not supposed to be like going to the dentist.”

— George Solich (left, in red) on making a seven-figure lead gift to found the Colorado Golf Foundation:

“I love golf and what it can teach kids of all socio-economic backgrounds — good lessons about character and competition. For me, the game has affected my life in so many great ways. When we look back in five or 10 years, I hope we can say, ‘Look at what we started and how many kids we affected.'”

— Hannah Wood of Centennial, after winning the Kathy Whitworth Invitational, an event which featured several players ranked highly on a national basis:

“I knew I could play with them, but I’ve never had the opportunity. I went up against the best today and kept telling myself to play Hannah Wood golf.”

— CommonGround Golf Course director of golf Dave Troyer, characterizing Lauren Harmon, the course’s director of player development:

“She’s a non-stop energy bunny. Her relaxation and enjoyment is to spend more time at work.”

— Former Colorado State golfer Martin Laird, on winning the Valero Texas Open to earn a spot in the Masters the following week:

“I’ve probably been asked 30 times in the last couple of weeks, ‘Are you in Augusta, are you in Augusta?’ Everytime I’d say ‘no’ it hurt me.”


— Coloradan Kaye Kessler, on the attraction of the Masters, a tournament he covered for the 50th time in 2013:

“It’s the first breath of spring. It’s a coming-out party, a rite of spring. And it’s the only one of the majors that’s anchored. The Masters tries to look better every year — and they seem to do it. It’s just kind of an awakening. And I think it’s still the toughest ticket around.”

— Former University of Colorado golfer Steve Jones, on attending the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame banquet instead of competing in a Champions Tour event:

“In the very beginning, yeah (it was a tough choice), but when you really think about it, my parents raised me pretty well to think correctly. And thanks to that upbringing, I made the right decision to come here. There’s no way you can miss something like this. It’s the biggest golf honor in my life that I’ve been given.”

— Tom Glissmeyer, on continuing to try to qualify for the U.S. Open after making it as a 16-year-old in 2003:

“It’s hard to believe that I’ve tried 10 times now. I don’t think I had an appreciation for how tough it is. I just showed up my first time (and qualified). It was like, ‘Oh, it’s no big deal.’ Little did I know 10 years later I’d still be waiting for that return trip.”

— Kala Keltz of Montrose after winning the 4A state high school title:

“I don’t even know what to say right now. I’m kind of in shock, I guess. This means the world. I don’t know what to do I’m so excited. This is something people dream about. It was one of my goals this year to even come close, so I’m stoked.”

— Dean Clapp, after winning his first CGA individual title (the Mid-Amateur Match Play Invitational) following 21 years of competing in Colorado, ironically on the eve of moving to California:

“I’ve always been the bridesmaid but never the bride, so to speak. Last night I was telling my wife, ‘I have a chance to go out with a bang tomorrow. I could end my Colorado golf career with a bang if I can finish it off.’ Lo and behold, I pulled it off. I’m elated. I finally got the monkey off my back.”

— Christie Austin, 56, on her and Janet Moore, 48, coming up short in the CWGA Mashie Championship against Samantha Stancato, 20, and Kathleen Kershisnik, 19:

“We’re like they’re mothers (age-wise). I think they would have been disappointed to lose to the old ladies, to be honest. I think they’re pretty happy that they beat us.”

— Steven Kupcho, whose 63 the previous day was bettered by Derek Fribbs’ 62 in the CGA Public Links Championship:

“He was 9 under through 17; that’s just unbelievable. I can’t even fathom shooting that number after what I did yesterday because I felt like I played about as good as I could.”


— Annika Sorenstam (left, in purple cap), assistant captain for the European squad at the Solheim Cup held in Parker, on potentially bringing her husband, Mike McGee, to the competition:

“My husband is a U.S. citizen. I said, ‘(You can come, but) only if you cheer for Europe.”

— CU’s David Oraee, who beat CSU’s Parker Edens, a fellow Greeley product, in the final of the CGA Match Play:

“Obviously we’ve always gone to rival schools in high school and college. It was fun. It’s fun to play against someone you’ve known for a while. And it’s awesome that we’re both from Greeley. We bring the city name some ‘rep’.”

— Wyndham Clark, who has qualified for three of the last four U.S. Amateurs, on the one he missed, which just happened to be held at his home course, Cherry Hills Country Club, in 2012:

“It sucked. I would have for sure given up one of the other Ams to play in that one. But I told myself last year, ‘I don’t ever want to miss it again.’ I just hated that feeling.”

— Zahkai Brown, on his final-round approach at the HealthOne Colorado Open, where he’s led through three rounds each of the last two years:

“I stayed real aggressive. On No. 18, I was like 305 (yards out on the par-5). I’m like, ‘I’m still going for it. Play aggressive.’ My whole mindset was to stay aggressive.”

— Gunner Wiebe, on finishing fifth following the final round of the HealthOne Colorado Open while his dad, Mark, was in contention at the Senior British Open:

“My mind was really elsewhere today, but I will not apologize for that. I love playing golf myself and I love competing, but it’s hard for me not to” be distracted by what was going on with Mark.

— Fellow competitor Deb Hughes on Kim Eaton, the Colorado Golf Hall of Famer who’s retiring from CWGA championships after 41 years of competing:

“She’s not only a good player, but she’s a good person and I love being paired with her and against her. I learn a lot by playing with her.”

— Beth Clippinger, on trying to qualify for the USGA Senior Women’s Amateur at age 61:

“You always think the young ‘munchkins’ are going to come beat you out. So it is more special (to qualify as a 61-year-old).”

— Pueblo West’s Glenn Workman, on arguably his two biggest golf victories coming in Colorado Springs:

“I like the air up here, the water.”

— Hale Irwin, stopping by the CGA Stroke Play 50 years after posting the first of three straight wins in the tournament, that one by 15 shots:

“That was a lot of years ago, but I remember that first one; that made an impression on me. I was an upstart young guy and then there was the old guard — guys like Les Fowler and Jim English. I was relatively new to Colorado and I happened to have a very good tournament. I do remember playing awfully well.”

— World Golf Hall of Famer Kathy Whitworth after captaining a U.S. team that won the Junior Solheim Cup at Inverness Golf Club:

“I never played on a team, even in high school or later on. So (the Solheim Cup) was a new experience for me. And I was flattered that John Solheim asked me to do this again. I don’t have any experience doing things like this. I was never part of a team. I would have liked to have been, but it wasn’t in the books for me. But I can imagine being part of a team that’s playing for your country.”


— Liselotte Neumann, European team captain, proving somewhat prophetic going into the Solheim Cup in Colorado:

“I said, ‘We need to go to America, we need to make history. No (European) team has ever won here before; let’s do this.’ So that’s our goal and that’s why I took on the job, and here we are.”

— U.S. Solheim Cup captain Meg Mallon, after a day in which Europe’s Anna Nordqvist made a hole-in-one to win a match at Colorado Golf Club:

“I’m standing there on 17 tee and looking at Anna Nordqvist’s shot in the air, and I’m thinking, ‘That’s going to go in the hole.’ And it did. Things like that just don’t happen. But today for the Europeans, it was a magical day.

— Veteran Suzann Pettersen, on being on the first European Solheim Cup team to win in the U.S.:

“It’s massive for women’s golf, it’s massive for the Solheim Cup, for us to be historic and win on American soil, in Colorado, in front of a pretty much all-American crowd We took it to them and they couldn’t answer.”

— U.S. Solheim Cup captain Meg Mallon after the Americans’ historic loss to the Europeans:

“We really got our butts kicked this week.”

— Haymes Snedeker, an older brother of six-time PGA Tour winner Brandt Snedeker, on holing out for eagle from 90 yards on the final hole at CommonGround to qualify for the U.S. Mid-Amateur:

“Sometimes it’s supposed to be. Sometimes it’s meant to be and sometimes it certainly isn’t. I’ve been on both sides of it.”

— Vail’s Harry Johnson on becoming, at age 63, the fifth player to sweep CGA match play and stroke play senior championships in a calendar year:

“These guys (his fellow competitors) make me play better than I can play. It’s really an interesting phenomenon. It’s one reason I play in these events. I don’t have that type of game when I play Saturday with my friends, but in a tournament the focus is there and I can make it happen.”

— George Solich, who with brother Geoff are the namesakes for the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy, which produced more than 1,000 caddie loops in 2013 at CommonGround Golf Course:

“I feel like we’re really hitting it on all cylinders right now, and I think people get what this is about.”

— Doug Rohrbaugh (left) after a season in which he won the HealthOne Colorado Senior Open, the Colorado Senior PGA Professional Championship, and the Colorado PGA Professional Championship:

“The only thing I keep saying is, ‘Why did it take me 50 years to figure this out?’ There’s definitely something to be said for older and wiser, but who knows?”

— George Solich figures there are two ways to approach his job as general chairman for the 2014 BMW Championship at Cherry Hills Country Club:

“You can be a figurehead and let everyone else do all the work, or you can dive in — and I’ve dived in and it’s been really fun. There are a lot of balls in the air, but it’s been fun.”

— Ernie Els, noting his attachment to Colorado in receiving the Will Nicholson Award:

“I made so many great friends here. I was this close to buying a house at Castle Pines about 10 years ago. I used to stay with a heart specialist here in town — he’s an ex-South African — and he had a house on the 11th tee. (My) whole family came every year; we’d come on a Sunday and stay until Tuesday (of the following week). “I saw his kids grow up and he’s seen my kids grow up. He lives near Cherry Hills here now. I said to Liezl (Els’ wife), ‘You know, next year we’re going to come to Cherry Hills (for the BMW Championship) and maybe I’ll still buy that house.'”

— DU men’s golf coach Eric Hoos, on the Pioneers winning CSU’s home tournament by a stroke over the Rams as a one-stroke penalty incurred on the final hole by CSU freshman Jimmy Makloski loomed large:

“You hate to see that. Honestly, I would much rather have had a tie and go into a playoff. But that speaks volumes about the character of Jimmy and to their program that he called (the penalty) on himself. That’s what this game is about. I don’t think that always happens out there. Class kid, class program. I’m sorry for him.”

— Keith Humerickhouse, on winning a record-matching four straight CGA Mid-Amateur titles:

“I feel like it’s my niche. I really like it. I feel comfortable out here. I feel like I can actually compete. The Publinks and the Stroke Play, it’s not that I don’t feel I can compete, but basically I’m playing a college golf tournament. These (college-age) kids are playing every day. You feel like you’re going to have to shoot 10 to 15 under to even sniff the lead. That’s how good they are.”

— Spencer Painton, on claiming the 5A state high school individual title and helping his Regis Jesuit squad land its fourth consecutive team championship:

“I’m happy to contribute to hopefully (Regis eventually winning) six in a row. I wish I could come back again next year, but I went out with a bang. That’s all I can do.”

— Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton, on retiring from CWGA championship competition:

“It’s tough because the CWGA is a great organization and I love the way they run all their tournaments and I love all the people. Everybody that’s been involved in the CWGA in the 41 years I’ve played has somewhat been involved in raising me or making me a better person or making me the person I am today. And that’s hard. But sometimes you just have to move on. … You know what they say: It’s better to go out on top because you all know when I’m not on top I’m not going to be a very happy person. It’s been a great run.”
 

Now it’s the CJGA’s turn.

Starting this year, 14-18-year-old golfers will be permitted to use distance-only measuring devices in CJGA tournaments, as well as in the CGA and CWGA Junior Stroke Play and Junior Match Play Championships.

In other words, many of the state’s top events for junior players will feature a lot more golfers lasering the distances of their shots, and a lot fewer pacing off the yardages from sprinkler heads and the like.

“We traditionally follow the AJGA (American Junior Golf Association) lead on policy changes, and they’re allowing (distance-only range-finders) in all their events in 2013,” said Eric Wilkinson, the CGA’s director of junior competitions. “We want to stay consistent with national junior tours and other (golf organizations) around us. A lot of other state and regional junior golf associations are allowing them, and we didn’t want to be in a position where players in our events weren’t allowed to use them.”

Added Kelley Mawhinney, tournament and junior golf operations manager for the CWGA: “We wanted to be on the same page (as the AJGA). We don’t want to confuse players” with varying rules.

The AJGA allowed range-finders on a trial basis in four tournaments in 2012. Distance-measure devices are already permitted in college events, but the USGA doesn’t allow them in its national championships or its qualifiers.

Wilkinson was quick to note that the CJGA allowance applies only to 14-18-year-olds in the association’s tournaments, and not to younger players. Also, devices measuring only distance will be permitted; those that gauge such things as slope, wind speed, elevation, temperature, etc., are forbidden, even if such functions are turned off or ignored. So are the use of smart phone apps.

“It’s up to fellow competitors to police it themselves, but we’re trying to educate players in advance,” Wilkinson said. “We know we’ll get a lot of questions at our first event, so we want to be proactive.”

The first tournament in which the distance measuring devices will be allowed is the CJGA Spring Series event this weekend (April 27-28) at Walking Stick Golf Course in Pueblo.

While the increased affordability of the devices have made the Colorado associations amenable to permitting them for juniors, the organizations are still sensitive that some teenagers may not be able to afford range-finders. For that reason, distance information can be shared among players. For example, a competitor without a range-finder can get the distance to the pin from a fellow player, or can borrow such a device.

The approval of the use of such devices — which came from the CGA Junior Tournament Committee and the CWGA Rules and Tournament Committees — will affect many events, but most notably the CGA and CWGA junior state championships. Those tournaments are among the most prestigious in Colorado, with both the CGA and CWGA Junior Match Play dating back to the early 1950s, and the boys and girls Junior Stroke Play originating in the late 1970s.

Although CJGA officials discussed the possibility of the use of distance measuring devices speeding up play — especially among players with a higher handicap — Wilkinson said that wasn’t a major reason the association’s policy was changed.

Indeed, Pete Lis, who just left his job as CGA director of rules and competitions to become an LPGA Tour rules official, said he isn’t convinced that range-finders speed up play.

“At the end of the day, I don’t think it makes any difference,” Lis said recently. “I’ve seen some players pace off the yardage and shoot it too, so I think an argument can be made that it worsens pace of play. But I don’t think it makes that much difference.”
 

So much that he once had them ingrained on his chest.

Well, sort of.

When Lis and Dustin Jensen first worked for the CGA, they shared an apartment. Even now, Jensen can’t help but chuckle when recalling one episode regarding Lis.

“He was a diehard about the Rules of Golf,” said Jensen, now the golf coach and associate director of alumni relations at Jamestown College in North Dakota. “He sat out on the patio at our apartment and was reading the original Rules of Golf or a book like that and happened to fall asleep. He was catching a suntan and had his shirt off. He fell asleep with the book laying on his stomach, and he ended up having the outline of the book burned into his stomach. We thought that was pretty funny. He loved the Rules of Golf to the point that he would burn them into his chest.”

Considering Lis’ deep involvement with the Rules, who could be surprised that after being highly respected in his seven years as the CGA’s director of rules and competitions, he’s earned his way onto a bigger stage?

After wrapping up an almost-decade-long stint with the CGA on Friday (April 19), Lis will go to work — starting Monday — as an LPGA Tour rules official. In fact, he’s scheduled to make his debut at next week’s North Texas LPGA Shootout in Irving.

So how well does Lis (pictured) know the Rules of Golf?

He has gotten ever so close to perfection — without quite reaching it — the last couple of times he’s taken the PGA/USGA Rules of Golf exam.

He said he’s scored 99 on the test twice, tantalizingly close to perfect scores. Considering a 92 or better is good enough to qualify for officiating at a U.S. Open, a U.S. Women’s Open or a U.S. Senior Open, a 99 is pretty rarefied territory.

“He’s as good as I’ve ever seen in a Rules situation — and I mean that,” said CGA executive director Ed Mate. “He’s like a five-tool athlete; he can do it all. He understands the Rules and the principles behind them. He’s a people person and he works well in a group. And he’s level-headed.

“It’s tough to lose him, but it’s gratifying to see people like Pete and Thomas Pagel (a CGA staffer from 2003-08 who is now senior director, Rules of Golf & Amateur Status, for the USGA) achieve their goals. It says a lot about them, and about the CGA.”

With Lis not being officially hired by the LPGA Tour until April 1, Mate said that the current CGA staff will handle his tournament and related duties during the 2013 season. CGA director of operations Briena Goldsmith will take the lead in that regard, but Mate and other staffers will be juggling tasks also this year. Then Mate will look to fill Lis’ position in the 2013-14 off-season.

As for Lis, he’ll be one of eight regular LPGA Tour rules officials. In that regard, he’ll be fulfilling a longtime professional aspiration.

“My career goal has been to work on a tour,” the 32-year-old said. “It’s bittersweet (leaving the CGA) but it’s the perfect time in my career to have this opportunity, especially as a single guy. But the Colorado golf community has been great to me. (The CGA staff) is like my family. I’ve gotten to know them not only professionally but personally. I owe this opportunity to the CGA and USGA for taking a chance on me as a Boatwright intern in 2003. They taught me so much.”

As with the majority of the CGA staff, Lis came on board as a USGA P.J. Boatwright intern. The internship “is designed to give experience to individuals who are interested in pursuing a career in golf administration, while assisting state and regional golf associations, as well as other non-profit organizations dedicated to the promotion of amateur golf, on a short-term, entry-level basis.”

Before he received the internship at the CGA, Lis had been an assistant golf professional in Massachusetts, and he had never before been to Colorado. But of the five or six state and regional golf associations he was interested in for a Boatwright internship, the CGA was the one that responded to his queries.

So Lis started his year-long internship in February 2003, and late in 2004 he joined the CGA’s full-time staff as assistant director of course rating and handicapping, a post held held until 2006. Then he took took over the rules and competitions job he held for seven years.

“Every event I was doing what I love to do,” he said. “On the golf course is my favorite place to be, talking to players and hearing stories.”

But it certainly wasn’t all easy. After all, Lis often had to make the final call regarding enforcement of the Rules and handing out penalties. Lis wasn’t afraid of making those tough calls, even if it involved penalizing a defending champion at the HealthOne Colorado Open, or some players in contention at a CGA championship.

Although Lis sometimes received “blowback” in such situations, he knows it comes with the territory.

Overall, he’ll look back on his experience with the CGA very fondly. And based on the feedback Lis has gotten since telling people he was leaving to take the LPGA job, the feeling is mutual.

“I’ve heard from staff, rules officials, players, and they’ve all been very supportive,” Lis said. “It’s been overwhelming. They’ve thanked me for my time here, and I’ve thanked them for helping me learn. I’m going to miss everyone in Colorado, though I’m going to be around for a while.”

Indeed, Lis said he plans to live in Colorado until probably the late summer or early fall. And, yes, he said he is scheduled to work the Solheim Cup Aug. 16-18 at Colorado Golf Club, where the best female golfers from the U.S. and Europe will square off in their biennial matches. Sometime after that, Lis plans to move to the Orlando area, where he has some family, and which isn’t far from LPGA headquarters in Daytona Beach.

In the meantime, given that he has off weeks here and there, Lis said he may even volunteer for a CGA championship or a USGA qualifier sometime this year.

Speaking of tournaments Lis has worked over the years, some have left an indelible memory. Eric Wilkinson, now the CGA director of junior competitions, remembers Lis getting his Rules cart stuck in the mud at Heritage Todd Creek Golf Club during the 2010 CGA Senior Match Play.

“I think in his efforts to get the cart out, he completely caked himself in mud,” Wilkinson recalled.

Wilkinson also remembers working the 5A boys state high school tournament with Lis at Eisenhower Golf Club in 2008. When the two arrived at the gate to the Air Force Academy, the sentry wouldn’t let them pass since the tags on the CGA van had expired. The guard didn’t believe Lis when he said they were there to run the tournament, so one of the club professionals came to the gate and drove Lis and Wilkinson in so Lis could conduct the rules meeting a day before the tournament started.

Wilkinson recalls Pete saying, “How the (heck) are you supposed to convince a guard with an M-16 that you are there to run a golf tournament?”

To avoid another problem when they returned for the first day of the tournament, Lis drove all the way back to Greenwood Village that night to switch out the vans.

It’s all in a day’s work for a person who lives by the Rules.