Bolster served as president, the CWGA’s top volunteer position, in 1992. She played a key role in the hiring of Robin (Elbardawil) Jervey as executive director, leading the search committee. Jervey, who succeeded the CWGA’s first executive director, Maggie Giesenhagen, went on spend 22 years as the association’s top staffer, by far the longest tenure of anyone in that position. (Bolster, at right in photo, is pictured in 2014 with Jervey.)

Bolster, who was elected CWGA president in November 1991, was a strong leader of the association. Besides being president, she was a vice-president, chaired the association’s Rules Committee and served on the Course Rating and Handicap Committee at various times. She proudly volunteered for the CWGA until she and husband Bill moved to Arizona in 1998, and a CWGA necklace was her pride and joy.

While in Colorado, Bolster was a longtime member and ardent golfer at Fox Hill Country Club in Longmont.

Bolster grew up in Huntington, W. Va., and attended Marshall University. Hannah and Bill married in 1961 and spent the next 17 years in Saginaw, Mich., before moving to Colorado. Bill predeceased Hannah.

Until Monday, that is.

That’s when Laura Robinson, who has served as the acting executive director for the last five-plus months, had the “acting” portion of her title officially removed. So she becomes the fourth E.D. in CWGA history, joining Maggie Giesenhagen (1988-1991), Robin Jervey (1992-2014) and Ann Guiberson (2014-15).

“I feel like the luckiest person,” Robinson said Monday, when she was serving as a starter at the U.S. Women’s Open qualifier at Heritage at Westmoor. “This is a dream job. It’s sports. It’s golf, which I love. It’s non-profit. It’s working with women and goals. It’s working with a great group of volunteers and the staff — Kate (Moore) and Matthew (Walker) and Aaron (Guereca); they’re a wonderful group to work with. So it just feels like a dream job.”

The volunteer CWGA board, which leads the organization, was impressed with Robinson’s work over her time as acting executive director.

“We’re proud and pleased and so excited” with Robinson’s appointment, said CWGA president Juliet Miner. “When you’re looking for an executive director for a golf organization, you really need someone with business experience and background, and she has that. She’s challenged the staff, and they’ve blossomed under her.”

Robinson has a Masters degree in Business Administration from the London Business School. In addition to her duties at the CWGA, she’s been teaching at Colorado Women’s College at the University of Denver as the chair of the information technology studies program.

So what are Robinson’s priorities now as the full-fledged executive director of the CWGA?

“My objectives in any job I’ve had have always been to work very very hard to deliver great products and services, and to have fun,” she said. “And that hasn’t changed. I think the goal for right now is to make sure this (centennial) season comes off successfully. All of us in the office want to make sure that we’re serving our members, we’re adding value, and we’re running great tournaments.”

Robinson has been an avid sports participant for her whole life. She’s skied, run (finishing both the New York City and London Marathons), played squash, and been a cyclist.

She gave golf a go about a decade ago, participating in a “Get Golf Ready” session at Hiwan Golf Club, where Robinson and her husband, Paul, have been members since 2004 — and live nearby. Given how she’s picked up sports relatively easily in the past, she thought it would be the same for golf.

But suffice it to say that things didn’t go quite according to plan.

“I was completely humbled and went back to cycling,” recalls Robinson, who at the time served on the board of directors for Team Evergreen Cycling.

But in 2009, while living in Evergreen, she was cycling near Soda Creek during rutting season for elk. A bull started to charge, which she noticed out of the corner of her eye. Going about 35 mph down a hill, she hit the brakes and took a nasty fall, breaking her pelvis and some ribs. Evergreen Fire and Rescue transported her to St. Anthony’s Trauma Center, where she spent the next three days.

Robinson got back in the saddle — literally and figuratively — for the 25th Ride the Rockies the next year, but shortly after that, she went to the driving range at Hiwan. And with that, she was hooked on golf for good.

“It was time to learn something new,” she said. “I’m one of those people who focus and set goals. And to become good, you really have to pick your sport.”

And now, somewhere around 500 rounds of golf later, Robinson finds herself as the executive director of the CWGA.

Robinson first played a role for the CWGA in the summer of 2014, when she volunteered to help Guiberson develop an IT strategy at the association. Then she joined the CWGA’s volunteer board of directors more than a year ago. (CLICK HERE to see all the board members.)

Robinson and her husband moved to Colorado in 1998, after she spent much of her early life in the greater New York City area before she and Paul relocated to London for eight years.

“The culture shock of moving from New York City to London is not nearly as great as it was moving from London to Evergreen,” she notes.

But in 1998, after having been to Colorado just a few times, Robinson and her husband were on a ski trip with friends and decided to stay.

“I saw blue sky, sun and mountains,” she said, recalling her thinking.

Since becoming a resident, Robinson has worked as a principal consultant at CSC Consulting, as a senior program manager at McData, and as director of product management at MX Logic before becoming a co-owner at PWR Consulting and teaching at Colorado Women’s College at DU.

And, as noted, Robinson loves golf. In her first round of nine holes, she shot a 74 in 2010. But she’s been devoted to improving, and those hundreds of rounds over the last six-plus years seem to be doing the trick. At Hiwan, she was named most improved golfer twice — for the nine-hole group in 2011 and for the 18-holers in 2012.

“And I’m really disappointed I haven’t won it again (since),” she said with a chuckle.

Robinson also received a “rising star award” from fellow Hiwan member — and current CWGA vice president — Kathy Malpass in 2014. Robinson regularly competes for the B team at Hiwan in interclub competitions.

Administratively, Robinson has served as the tournament chairperson for the Hiwan Women’s Golf Association.

“I love golf in Colorado,” she said.

And now Robinson will have a role in helping shape it.

Ed Mate had been to Augusta National Golf Club during Masters week once before, about a decade ago. But that was as a spectator for the practice rounds.

This time around, the CGA’s executive director left feeling like he’d wrung the whole nine yards out of the Masters experience.

“I did take full advantage of being there,” Mate said on Monday after serving as a rules official for the four rounds of the Masters. “The whole thing was a lot of fun. It was a lot more enjoyable and less stressful than I anticipated.

“I would describe everything about the tournament as welcoming. They’d ask, ‘Do you have anything you need?’ ‘Is there anything we can do for you?’ They appreciate you being there, and anybody there will tell you that. They just make you feel good. And if everyone around you treats you courteously, you can’t help but reciprocate.”

As with former CWGA executive director Robin Jervey from 2008-11, Mate earned the chance to be a Masters rules official by virtue of serving as an advisory member of the powerful USGA Rules of Golf Committee, representing state and regional golf associations. Mate, the CGA’s executive director since 2000, joined the Rules of Golf Committee last fall, and figures to serve up to four years on it.

According to the Augusta Chronicle, while dozens of people served on the Masters Tournament Rules Committee in 2016, the only representative from Colorado this year was Mate, though former Coloradan Thomas Pagel was also on the committee.

In his rules official role, Mate said he worked the par-4 17th hole on Thursday, the par-3 sixth on Friday, the par-4 ninth on Saturday, and the par-4 third on Sunday. He said he had just three interactions with competitors overall — with Charl Schwartzel on Friday, Dustin Johnson on Saturday and low-amateur Bryson DeChambeau on Sunday.

“It was very simple stuff, but enough to make you feel you contributed,” Mate noted.

Schwartzel’s ball at No. 6 on Friday ended up right next to a pair of sunglasses, leading to an interaction with Mate, though Schwartzel was just confirming how to proceed. He marked his ball, moved the sunglasses and played on.

As for Johnson, after he hit his approach on Saturday right of the hole on No. 9, he couldn’t get his ball to stay in place on the sloping green when he tried to replace it in front of his ball mark, and asked Mate about the proper procedure. Mate told him to find a spot as close as possible where the ball would stay put, and Johnson did just that.

On Sunday, DeChambeau hit his ball behind a temporary immovable obstruction on No. 3, and Mate helped him find his point of relief.

“I felt comfortable” overall, Mate said. “All the rulings I had were so straightforward. I’ve worked a couple of U.S. Opens, and it’s still just golf. I didn’t think of the potential of everyone watching. And I knew if I did have any doubt (about a ruling), I’d just go on the radio.”

Indeed, this certainly wasn’t Mate’s first rodeo — which is to say, major championship. He worked the U.S. Open in 2009 and ’10, and has also served as a rules official at U.S. Women’s Opens and U.S. Senior Opens. He likewise had the opportunity to work this year’s U.S. Open at Oakmont, Pa., but can’t commit to that one.

At Augusta National, Mate also enjoyed interacting with — and picking the brains of — rules officials who have worked dozens and dozens of major championships over the years. Also memorable from last week was just the general feel of being at the Masters.

“It was amazing — everything you’ve heard about the Masters,” Mate said. “From the experience standpoint, it’s unlike anything, so unique. It’s like you’re in a time warp, with no cell phones (allowed for fans on the grounds) and the food costs ($2.50 for a Masters club sandwich, $2 for a soft drink and $1.50 for a Georgia Peach ice cream sandwich). It’s the spirit of Bobby Jones and Cliff Roberts: They don’t measure themselves against what everyone else is doing. They do stuff their own way. It’s not a coincidence they’re viewed the way they are.

“There was a great quote (uttered) at a rules meeting: ‘We strive for everything to be the best, and if it’s not, we’ll figure out how to make it the best.’

“And then when you come up to 9 and 18 (greens), there are no corporate sky boxes. On 9 you’re struck by the fact the only things around the green are a bunch of chairs. It’s like a well-attended CGA Stroke Play.”

Mate took advantage of being situated on hole 17 Thursday to take in the experience of the ceremonial opening tee shots by Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, with Arnold Palmer also on hand.

“That was a highlight to be there,” Mate said. “How many other times are you going to get to see (those three greats together)? It was packed. And (Masters chairman) Billy Payne exudes charisma. He’s very impressive, so well spoken and gracious. He didn’t drone on (in introducing Palmer, Nickland and Player), but said just enough.”

All in all, suffice it to say Mate is looking forward to a return trip to Augusta National next spring. After all, as they say, it’s a tradition unlike any other.
 

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.)

As birthday bashes go, this was one to be remembered. It marked a major milestone, plenty of people were in attendance, and some of the biggest names in the history of Colorado women’s golf took part. And, for good measure, there were some oversized birthdays cards and, of course, a cake commemorating the occasion.

Such was the scene at the Inverness Hotel & Conference Center on Saturday as the CWGA kicked off its centennial celebration as the centerpiece of its annual meeting.

More than 230 people attended the event, with at least 125 clubs around the state represented. Those on hand included at least eight current or past presidents of the CWGA (pictured below, from left: Juliet Miner, Jan Ford, Robin Bartlett, Joanne Braucht, Kathryn Davis, Pat Kuntz, Joanie Ott and Mary Lee Browne), one Colorado Sports Hall of Famer (Joan Birkland), several Colorado Golf Hall of Famers (Birkland, Kim Eaton and Maggie Giesenhagen), and the first two CWGA executive directors (Giesenhagen and Robin Jervey). Also in attendance were leadership from the CGA, Colorado PGA and the Colorado Open Golf Foundation.

“It was so much fun,” said Miner, the current president of the CWGA, which serves about 17,000 members. “We were so happy to have everyone here. The best part was watching the past (CWGA) presidents sit together and talk about old times, even though many of them didn’t serve that long ago. And the people who couldn’t be here like Judy Bell and Lynn Zmistowski, they were in our videos, so that was so great. People were inspired by the presentation. I think everyone enjoyed reflecting” on the last 100 years.

That reflection took the form of a 10-minute video that was shown publicly for the first time at the annual meeting. Besides featuring some historical highlights of the CWGA and noting what the association does to fulfill its mission, the video included some thoughts by women who have played major leadership roles over the years. Most notable was World Golf Hall of Famer Judy Bell of Colorado Springs, the first female president of the USGA.

“The CWGA is one of the most respected women’s golf associations in the United States,” Bell noted. “Its reputation has grown over the years right along with its membership. In all my years with the USGA, I was always very proud of the Colorado Women’s Golf Association.

“Happy birthday, CWGA. I wish I was there to blow out the candles.”

One of the centerpieces of Saturday’s centennial celebration was honoring key volunteers, outstanding players and other exceptionally “valued friends”. Receiving the highest awards were Lynn Zmistowski (volunteer of the century), Carol Flenniken (golfer of the century), and Bell, Giesenhagen and Jervey (centennial honorees). (Jervey and Giesenhagen are pictured at left.)

Zmistowski has served more than 30 years on the Course Rating Committee and in 2009 she received the USGA’s Ike Grainger Award for more than 25 years of volunteer work on USGA committees. “Lynn Z”, as she is known, represented Colorado on the USGA Handicap Procedure Committee for 25 years. She was the first captain of the Colorado’s Girls Junior Americas Cup teams, serving in that capacity in the late 1970s and early ’80s. In addition, she’s been an outstanding player, having captured five major individual CWGA championships. She’s been inducted into both the Colorado and Minnesota Golf Halls of Fame.

Flenniken has won more major CWGA individual championships than anyone (15), with eight Stroke Plays, four Match Plays and three Senior Stroke Plays. Before becoming a mainstay in Colorado, she won the 1960 U.S. Girls’ Junior, the 1962 Women’s Western Amateur and the 1964 British Ladies Amateur.

“Thank you to the CWGA for this great honor,” Flenniken said via messenger to annual meeting attendees. “Golfer of the Century, Wow!. … I have fond members of playing in CWGA championships over the years and I cherish the many friendships I have made along the way.”

Bell was the first female president in the history of the USGA (1996-97), was selected the Colorado golf Woman of the Century, and has been inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame, the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame and the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame. She competed in 38 USGA championships and shot a then-record 67 in the 1964 U.S. Women’s Open. She both played on and captained U.S. Curtis Cup teams. And in June, Bell will receive the USGA’s highest honor, the Bob Jones Award.

Giesenhagen served as the first executive director of the CWGA (1988-92) before spending 19 years working for the USGA. A U.S. Girls’ Junior runner-up and the 1965 Big Ten champion, she played in three U.S. Women’s Opens and nine U.S. Women’s Amateurs and claimed the 1974 CWGA Match Play title. She was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2002.

“I had the pleasure of following the incomparable Maggie Giesenhagen (as CWGA executive director),” Jervey said. “She was an outstanding golfer, a pioneer for women’s golf. She was a Rules expert and basically phenomenal at everything she did. I just want to commend Maggie for the influence she had on golf in the state — and for what everyone around the country tried to copy.”

Jervey was the executive director of the CWGA for 22 years (1992-2014), was a rules official at the Masters, U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open, U.S. Senior Open and other USGA national championships, and served as president of the International Association of Golf Administrators before taking a job as director of event management for JBC Golf — and the Legends Tour, the 45-and-over LPGA senior circuit. Jervey, who served on the USGA Rules of Golf Committee, received the 2015 Distinguished Service Award from the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame.

“The CWGA has been a fabulous organization and Robin took it to new heights,” Giesenhagen said. “She came in at the right time for the CWGA. She took the CWGA right into the 21st century.”

In addition to Zmistowski, the CWGA recognized longtime stellar volunteers (pictured above, from left) Jan Ford, Georgene McConagle, Juna Orr, Jan Fincher, Ouida Neil, Karla Harding and Braucht. Volunteer honorees not pictured are Joan Scholes, Sally Lou Schultz and Zmistowski.

Besides Flenniken, outstanding players who were honored Saturday included Eaton, Lynn Larson, Birkland, Marcia Bailey, Phyllis Buchanan, Zmistowski, Janet Moore and Sally Hardwick. (Pictured at left are, from left, Birkland, Eaton and Larson.)

All in all, the centennial event “was very impressive,” Jervey said. “It was a great celebration. I loved the video they put together. It was nice to hear from people who are still involved and those who have been involved in the past.”

Jervey, who oversaw 23 annual meetings in her time as executive director, admitted it was an unusual feeling to return to the event. It was the same for the former CWGA staffers and interns who were on hand Saturday: (pictured with Jervey from left, Dawn McConkey, Ginger Washco, Kim Schwartz, former USGA P.J. Boatwright intern Bridget Coulton, Jennifer Cassell and Edie Bell.)

“I was telling the (old) staff, ‘Did you guys have deja vu on your drive into Inverness this morning?'” Jervey said. “I’m not wearing a (CWGA) blazer and I didn’t have to be here in the dark setting up, so that part was nice. But it definitely felt like old times.”

The annual meeting was the first of three events during the year in which the CWGA will celebrate its centennial. Others will come during the CWGA Stroke Play at Denver Country Club in early August, and a centennial celebration tournament Sept. 21 at Hiwan Golf Club.

Handing Out Accolades: In addition to its centennial activities, the CWGA on Saturday gave out several annual awards.

The volunteer of the year honors went to CWGA board members Phyllis Jensen and Nancy Wilson, who are heading up the association’s centennial-year activities this year. (The two are pictured at left.)

The previously announced CWGA players of the year for 2015 were Jennifer Kupcho (Player of the Year), Kim Eaton (Senior Player of the Year) and Mary Weinstein (Junior Player of the Year). For more on their accomplishments last year, CLICK HERE.

Receiving the President’s Award on Saturday was Chad Leverenz, who’s played a key informaton technology role as the CWGA set up its new offices at the end of 2014 and beginning of 2015.

Also, the CWGA noted the contributions of retiring board of director members Joanie Ott, Patricia Latta and Patrish Bergamo.

In addition, the association recognized the Raccoon Creek Golf Course’s women’s nine-hole group for selling more than $1,000 worth of Evans Scholars bag tags, helping caddies receive college scholarships. That amount was the highest for any women’s golf club in Colorado. Overall, CWGA clubs raised in excess of $4,000 for the Evans Scholars in 2015, almost $1,000 more than in 2014. Among the Evans Scholar chapter houses is one at the University of Colorado.

Auction Raises $7,171 for LPGA*USGA Girls Golf: The silent auction that was held in conjunction with the CWGA annual meeting on Saturday raised $7,171 for LPGA*USGA Girls Golf. That total was about $1,000 more than at the same event last year.

By the time the USGA and R&A released their 2016 edition of the Rules of Golf on Oct. 26, CGA executive director Ed Mate had already returned from meetings in Far Hills, N.J., that began to set the stage for the next edition.

Basically, it’s an ever-evolving process, and the personnel working behind the scenes on such matters come and go.

Mate (left), who’s headed up the staff of the CGA since 2000, is one of the newcomers to the Rules of Golf decision-making process.

In fact, with his recent appointment to the USGA Rules of Golf Committee, he becomes the first CGA staff member to ever serve on the committee. He’s one of five advisory members on the 13-member committee as he’s filling the slot reserved for a representative of the state and regional golf associations. Former CWGA executive director Robin Jervey served in that same position several years ago.

Being the first CGA staffer on the USGA Rules of Golf Committee “is not a compliment to me, but to the CGA,” Mate said. “We have a good reputation” with the USGA.

Indeed, two living Coloradans have been presidents of the USGA, Will Nicholson Jr., and Judy Bell. And in the last quarter-century, several other residents of the Centennial State have served on the powerful USGA Executive Committee, including M.J. Mastalir, Jim Bunch and Christie Austin.

Nicholson has been a fixture on the USGA Rules of Golf Committee since 1974 and is among those currently serving alongside Mate. Other Coloradans who have been on the committee in the relatively recent past are Mastalir, Bunch and Austin, all of whom have chaired the committee, and Jervey. Austin was the first female chair of the Rules of Golf Commitee, which works with the R&A in establishing and interpreting rules standards worldwide.

For Mate, having a hand in the process is a dream come true.

“I’m very excited to be on the committee,” he said. “I can tell you how welcome I felt and how sincere (others on the committee) were in welcoming my input. I didn’t know what to expect, but I have every opportunity to contribute.”

The invitation to serve on the committee came from a person with whom Mate is very familiar, Thomas Pagel. Pagel has been the USGA’s senior director of Rules of Golf & Amateur Status since 2011. He worked on the CGA staff from 2003-08 and was the assistant executive director of the association for two years until being named executive director of the Utah Golf Association in 2008.

Pagel asked Mate during this year’s U.S. Women’s Open if he’d like to join the USGA Rules of Golf Committee. And, after checking with the CGA board, Mate couldn’t say yes quickly enough.

“It’s pretty much a no-brainer for me,” he said. “I’m a self-proclaimed Rules geek. I’ve always been interested in the Rules since I got involved in the game. So to be part of process is amazing.”

The USGA Rules of Golf Committee, along with its R&A counterpart and their executive committees, are currently attempting to streamline the Rules as much as is practical.

“The stated objective is to find a way to simplify the Rules,” Pagel said on Oct. 26. “That’s our primary focus moving forward. … Are there wholesale ways to help simplify it?”

The USGA Rules of Golf Committee typically includes advisory reprepsentatives from the PGA of America, the Mexican Golf Federation, the PGA and LPGA Tours, and from state and regional golf associations. They and the rest of the committee normally meet three times per year.

To read about the changes made for the 2016 edition of the Rules of Golf, CLICK HERE.
 

There seemed to be a little of everything in the way of honorees Sunday night at the 43rd annual Colorado Golf Hall of Fame Dinner at Pinehurst Country Club.

Inducted into the Hall was a woman who’s served golf very well, besides having a little game of her own (Christie Austin), along with a respected PGA golf professional with an outstanding playing record (Ron Vlosich).

And receiving awards were some of the biggest philanthropists in Colorado golf (George Solich, and Dave and Gail Liniger), one of the most notable historians of the game in the Centennial State (Dan Hogan), and by far the longest-serving executive director in CWGA history (Robin Jervey).

A crowd of about 190 turned out for the festivities, including roughly two-dozen Colorado Golf Hall of Famers and a few Colorado Sports Hall of Fame inductees: Jack Vickers, Joan Birkland and Will Nicholson Jr., among them.

They honored Austin (above), a former USGA Executive Committee member who became the first female chairperson of the powerful USGA Rules of Golf Committee, and Vlosich, a former Green Gables Country Club head professional and standout player, with their inductions.

As Austin noted in her speech, in words that no doubt go double for Vlosich (left): “Have you ever had something happen in your life so special that you just can’t even believe it’s happening? Well, this is my something tonight. This is pretty amazing.”

Meanwhile, Solich was named Golf Person of the Year after being general chairman of the 2014 BMW Championship, the FedExCup Playoff event at Cherry Hills that was named the PGA Tour Tournament of the Year and that raised a record $3.5 million for the Evans Caddie Scholarship. Jervey was honored for Distinguished Service after spending 22 years at the CWGA helm. The Linigers received a Lifetime Achievement Award as their Santuary course in Sedalia has hosted tournaments that have raised almost $90 million for charity over the years. And Hogan, already a Hall of Famer, was given a similar honor as the Linigers for all the historical work he does for Colorado golf and the Hall of Fame.

Perhaps Dave Liniger spoke for all those in attendance when he said, “We love the spirit of the game.”
 

Accompanying the post was a photo of Jervey’s badge as a rules official at the 2011 Masters. In all, she served in that capacity in four Masters, from 2008 through ’11.

But even without visiting Augusta National, this spring — and summer — will be eventful for Jervey. On May 31 at Pinehurst Country Club, she’ll receive the Distinguished Service Award from the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame. (To see all those who will be honored that night, CLICK HERE.) Then on Sept. 4, Jervey plans to marry Scott Whitcomb, director of field operations for the Massachusetts Golf Association.

Indeed, change has been the norm for Jervey since the beginning of 2014 after a lot of stability during her time in Colorado. A little more than a year ago, she ended her 22-year run as the CWGA’s executive director, with former USGA regional affairs director Ann Guiberson replacing her at the CWGA helm. Then she relocated to the East Coast, where she grew up, and started her new job as director of event management for JBC Golf — and the Legends Tour, the 45-and-over LPGA senior circuit.

“I didn’t know what to expect stepping into it,” Jervey said in a phone interview this week while fighting some traffic in the Boston area. “Personally it’s been terrific with my fiance here and my parents (in the area) six months a year. Professionally, working for a woman-owned business (JBC was founded by former LPGA player Jane Blalock) with a small, all-female staff is the same dynamic as with the CWGA. But the job is quite different.”

Jervey manages operations for the Legends Tour, which this year features 10 tournaments from March through November, with stops in Arizona, Florida (four), Georgia, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Jervey’s new hometown of Plymouth, Mass. (Note: Starting in 2018, many Legends Tour players will be competing in the new U.S. Senior Women’s Open, conducted by the USGA for competitors 50 and older.)

For the Legends Tour, Jervey handles everything from shipping loads of equipment from site to site, to setting up offices and tents at each venue, to dealing with player hospitality, signage and sometimes an expo area for sponsors, etc., etc.

“Basically all the stuff not inside the ropes,” Jervey said.

Ironically, the one thing Jervey doesn’t handle is Rules of Golf matters at the tournaments. After all, she once scored 100 percent on the Rules test, and she’s officiated at U.S. Opens, U.S. Women’s Opens, U.S. Senior Opens and other USGA national championships, in addition to the Masters.

One aspect of the work Jervey has certainly enjoyed is interacting with the Legends players. For example, the field for last month’s Walgreen’s Charity Classic in Sun City West, Ariz., featured Nancy Lopez, Amy Alcott, Pat Bradley, JoAnne Carner, Juli Inkster, Betsy King, Patty Sheehan, Sandra Haynie, Jan Stephenson, Sandra Palmer and Donna Caponi, among others. Also a regular on the tour is three-time U.S. Women’s Open champion Hollis Stacy, who lived in Lakewood almost two decades and who stayed in Jervey’s home during a Legends event last year.

“It’s neat to get to know people I grew up idolizing,” Jervey said. “And they’re similar to my age. They were huge LPGA players, but you realize they’re just like you and me.

“There’s a fair amount of (interaction) with players. They mingle and hang out at venues. At our Handa Cup event, which is our equivalent of the Solheim Cup, last year I really got to know the players. The event was in a small town in Mississippi and (the group) spent pretty much the whole week together. We were at the club pretty much 24/7. It was fun. They’ve been friendly and welcoming.”

In between stops on the Legends Tour, Jervey will return to her old stomping grounds, with fiance Scott, to accept the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame’s Distinguished Service Award for the impact she made in Colorado golf during her 22-year tenure as the CWGA’s executive director.

“I’ll have a few friends there, and (2015 inductee) Christie Austin is a good friend and I’m sure she’ll get a slew of support. And a lot of her friends are my friends,” said Jervey, who will be making her third trip back to Colorado since leaving the CWGA. “It’ll be nice to see those people. I’m looking forward to it.”

Indeed, though Facebook has made it easier to stay in touch with old friends, co-workers and volunteers in Colorado, Jervey said that not seeing them is one of the things she misses most about no longer being the CWGA executive director. There were also some perks that went by the wayside when she left her position, such as working USGA championships as she had to step away from prominent USGA committees.

“I was given a tremendous opportunity to serve in Colorado and nationally,” said Jervey a former president of the International Association of Golf Administrators. “I was appreciative of that opportunity. It was a wonderful experience.”
 

When compiling a list of the year’s top stories in Colorado golf, the toughest part is paring things down to a manageable number.

This year, as usual, there’s no lack of candidates for such a list. But in 2014, we’re taking a little different approach to our annual year-end countdown of the top Colorado golf stories of the last 12 months.

Over the next several days, we’ll break the top stories list into two installments. To stick with a golf theme, we’ve assembled the top 18 — as in an 18-hole round — plus an honorable-mention list.

We’ll “play the course” in reverse order so as to preserve some measure of suspense. And we’ll include the honorable-mention selections as part of the second installment.

18. DU Women Extend Improbable Streak: Winning NCAA Division I college golf tournaments is usually no simple matter, but the University of Denver women’s team has been able to consistently catch lightning in a bottle at conference championships. That continued in 2014 when coach Lindsay Kuhle’s Pioneers extended their streak of claiming conference titles to a remarkable 11 by winning the Summit League crown. From 2004 to ’14, the Pios — under Sammie Chergo, then Kuhle — have captured titles in the Sun Belt Conference (nine times), Western Athletic Conference (once) and the Summit League (once). Tonje Daffinrud, who went on to place 10th in the NCAA finals and earn first-team All-American honors, won the individual championship at the Summit League tournament in the spring. Full story: CLICK HERE. 

17. Humerickhouse Falls Just Short of Five-Peat: In September, Keith Humerickhouse of Glenwood Springs Golf Club was attempting to become the first player in the 114-year history of CGA championships to win five consecutive titles in the same CGA event. But the former pro finished a stroke out of a playoff at the CGA Mid-Amateur at River Valley Ranch Golf Club, where Chris Thayer of Bear Creek Golf Club won the championship. Full story: CLICK HERE. 

16. Joining Forces at G-4 Summit: The Allied Golf Associations of Colorado have made an increasingly concerted effort over the years to solve problems and address major issues in Colorado golf through joining forces. That continued in 2014 with, among other things, the inaugural G-4 Summit, held in February at Inverness Golf Club. The event featured high-level meetings, roundtables where best-practices were exchanged, and sessions featuring several issues crucial to the game. It’s a joint effort of the CGA, CWGA, Colorado PGA, Rocky Mountain Golf Course Superintendents Association and the Mile High Chapter of the Club Managers Association. Full story: CLICK HERE. 

15. Birthday Gifts for New Colorado Golf Hall of Famers: The timing of the voting on the 2015 class of the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame was remarkable considering who was chosen for induction. Former USGA Executive Committee member Christie Austin was voted in on her birthday and Ron Vlosich, long one of the best players in the Colorado PGA, earned the honor four days before his birthday. Austin and Vlosich, coincidentally, were born four days apart in the same year, 1956. Full story: CLICK HERE.

14. 64s Wild for Oraee: Suffice it to say that things worked out pretty well when David Oraee (left) shot 64s in 2014. The golfer from Greeley fired a bogey-free 64 in the final round at Lakewood Country Club to win the CGA Stroke Play, which completed his career sweep of the CGA’s major championships, the Stroke Play and Match Play. Full story: CLICK HERE. Then less than two months later, the University of Colorado golfer carded another bogey-free 64 — this one at Colorado National Golf Club in the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational — en route to claiming his first individual title in college. He posted rounds of 64-67 for a 13-under-par 131 total, the best 36-hole tally in CU program history. Full story: CLICK HERE.  

13. USGA Success for Harrington, Eaton: USGA amateur championships typically draw the country’s — and sometimes the world’s — top amateur golfers, so making hay at those events is no small feat. In 2014, two players with strong Colorado connections made it to the quarterfinals of match play in USGA championships. Michael Harrington of Colorado Springs advanced to the final eight of the U.S. Mid-Amateur, which is limited to players 25 and older. That performance helped the 42-year-old become one of the oldest winners of the CGA Les Fowler Player of the Year award. The week after Harrington made his run, Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton advanced to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur for the third time since 2009. Full story: CLICK HERE. 

12. The Moore, the Merrier: Give Kent Moore an award for both longevity and variety regarding his amateur golf success. When the longtime Coloradan won the CGA Senior Stroke Play in September, he continued to hit the mark in both categories. In the longevity division, Moore is believed to be the first player to win CGA championships in five consecutive decades, having captured the Junior Match Play in 1973, the Stroke Play in ’86, the Match Play in ’89, the Mid-Amateur in ’95, the Senior Match Play in ’06 and the Senior Stroke Play in ’14. As for variety, the Colorado Golf Hall of Famer has won almost every individual CGA championship for which he’s been eligible. For good measure, in 2014 Moore also earned low-amateur honors in the HealthOne Colorado Senior Open for the second time, leading to him winning CGA Senior Player of the Year award. Full story: CLICK HERE.

11. A First for the Colorado PGA: The Colorado PGA broke some new ground in October when Leslie Core-Drevecky, the only head professional Murphy Creek Golf Course has ever known, became the first female president in the history of the Colorado Section. For an organization committed to growing the game, the move certainly should send a welcoming message. Full story: CLICK HERE. 

10. Jervey Departs CWGA After 22 Years: Robin Jervey (left) was a fixture on the Colorado golf scene for more than two decades, but after a record 22 years as executive director of the CWGA, she stepped down in the early spring to become director of event management for JBC Golf, a Boston-based management company founded, owned and operated by Jane Blalock. Jervey made a significant impact in Colorado over the years, as evidenced by the Distinguished Service Award she’ll receive from the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame next spring. Full story: CLICK HERE. Ann Guiberson, a former director of regional affairs for the USGA, succeeded Jervey.