Minnesota Golfer - Directory 2020 - 32

BACK
PRESIDENT'S
DESK
An Extraordinary
Season Ahead
* BY TOM SMITH *
A
s I write this column, it is below zero and snowing.
Yet, by the time you read these words, the golf season
will be just around the corner. Time to dust off
your clubs and start planning to play the best game there is!
Inside this issue, you'll fi nd the annual golf course directory
listing all of the MGA Member Golf Clubs across the state.
That includes 342 green-grass clubs and 369 golf courses,
which are home to more than 70,000 individual MGA golf
members. This season, make a promise to play a couple of
courses you haven't played before. You won't regret it.
Congratulations to the MGA Players of the Year for their
extraordinary play last season, as featured on pages 44-45.
It's a remarkable feat to sustain championship-level golf
over the course of an entire season. Kudos to our Players of
the Year.
Likewise, Doug Hoffmann, the MGA Rules and
Competitions Director who manages the MGA tournament
department, was awarded the Minnesota PGA Section's
" Professional of the Year " for 2019. Well done, Doug!
The MGA has a great schedule of events lined up for the
coming season, featuring many wonderful venues. Entries
open March 2, so please take advantage of this opportunity
to play in an MGA competition, member day or senior tour
event. There's something for every type of golfer. It's a new
season and there are so many new champions to crown.
There will be great competitions, and best of all, a chance to
meet new friends and catch up with old ones.
I am proud of our association fulfi lling its goal to grow
the game. The Minnesota Youth on Course program saw
phenomenal growth in 2019, up 203 percent over the previous
year. What a great way to get more junior golfers out on
course. I ask you to help us support this program by joining
a YOC member for a round of golf or making a fi nancial
contribution to help subsidize this growing program. These
young boys and girls are the future of our game. A job well
done to the MGA's Joel Comstock, who runs MN YOC.
As we look to the new season, I am excited about the newly
updated MGA Foundation. At the recent annual meeting,
the MGA Board of Directors approved updated Articles and
Bylaws of the Foundation. It is our goal that the foundation's
mission will include current programming and allow for the
funding of future initiatives that will support Minnesota
golf and those who play the game. Look for more details in
an upcoming issue.
Last but not least, the new World Handicap System, which
came online in January, features several signifi cant improvements
over the old GHIN system (see story, pp. 6-7). I am
sure the transition will be easy once it becomes familiar.
What fun it will be to negotiate strokes on the fi rst tee with
a " new " Course Handicap revised the day after every posted
round.
Finally, I want to thank everyone who contributes their
time to our successful and distinguished association. Our
knowledgeable and dedicated staff, our wonderful volunteers,
our players and members are all a big part of our MGA
family. Together, you set the game apart in Minnesota. May
you all have a great season full of friends and fun golf!
32
MINNESOTAGOLFER Directory 2020
mngolf.org
http://www.mngolf.org
Minnesota Golfer - Directory 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Minnesota Golfer - Directory 2020
