Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2012 - 34

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MGANews
InsidetheMGA
The highlights of the 2012 golf season
By Tom Ryan
T
his has been quite a season. Great
weather this spring got us all on the
course earlier than most operators ever recall.
The early start helped many courses
get ahead fi nancially, and the relatively
good weather throughout the summer
helped sustain the momentum from those
early rounds.
It's a truism that golfers who get out
early continue to play regularly throughout
the summer-and the opposite happens
if it's a late spring. Weather is a signifi
cant driver of rounds played. It's not
too early to wish for another spring like
the one we had this year.
As rounds played were up 13 percent,
MGA membership was fairly stable. This
translates into stable membership in clubs
and leagues as well. After several years of
overall club memberships dipping, we
needed a year like this.
uses
A whole generation of players on tour
them. But
Updates on people, places
and events from the MGA
and its Allied Associations
In Memoriam
long putters obviously
aren't for everyone, because the majority
of players don't use them and never
would. The problem is that the real issue is
relegated to the tour players. I would hate
to see a rule inhibit the fun and enjoyment
a recreational player gets from making a
couple putts he might otherwise miss.
The last couple of seasons have ushered
It's not too early to wish for
another spring like the one
we had this year.
As a member at your course, you are
the loyal golfer every operator wants and
needs. It's the stability of members like
you that helps their bottom line, and I
know they appreciate your support.
We also saw the debate heat up over long
putters, more specifi cally, the anchoring to
the body that they require. Just 18 months
ago, Mike Davis of the USGA said that no
one had won a major championship with
one, and he really didn't see it as an issue.
When three of the last fi ve majors are
won with long putters, it becomes an issue.
Restrictions from the USGA and R&A
appear to be forthcoming. But the genie
is long out of the bottle, and I hope they
leave it alone.
in a new era of Minnesota champion. I
don't recall so many high school and college
players contending in and winning so
many of our amateur championships. Every
MGA championship open to all ages
this year, with the exception of the Players
Championship, was won by a college-age
player. On the women's side, high school
players have won the last two state amateurs
and state public links, and have
dominated the match play championships
as well. They are
obviously talented players,
but more importantly, these
young people are respectful,
polite and sincere. They have
a love and respect for the game
we can all admire.
This was also a year in which the MGA
and Minnesota golf lost some dear friends.
Charlie Hvass, MGA president in 1980-82,
passed away in May. In August we lost both
Tom Garrett III, a long-time Trans-Miss
director and 2001 MGA senior Amateur
Champion, and Rod Magnuson, beloved
coach, Keller Golf Club member, MGA
Champion many times and volunteer. We
cherish the memories of these men, and
all those in your golf world who passed.
Thank you for your
support of the
MGA. Your membership in your club or
league allows us to offer programs and
services for the greater good of golf in
Minnesota. It's a pleasure serving you.
See you on the course.
32
MINNESOTAGOLFER Fall 2012
Rod Magnuson
Rod Magnuson, 76, passed away in
early August. He graduated from Murray
High School in St. Paul in 1953
and from the University of Minnesota
in '57. His fi rst teaching job was in
Milwaukee, and he was there for two
years before teaching and coaching at
St. Paul Washington.
" He was a man of remarkable and
Rod
Magnuson
widely diverse talents, " noted Guy
Green, a former MGA assistant executive
director. " But when I think about
Rod, the fi rst thing that always comes
to mind is that he was also probably
the nicest guy I've ever known. When I
was with the MGA, he was the guy that
everybody wanted to be paired with.
I've never met anyone who knew Rod
and didn't like him. "
Magnuson was
one of the great
story-tellers of the
modern era, and
he was also very
good with a verbal
needle. He was an
exceptional athlete,
having played hockey
and baseball for the University
of Minnesota (he was a catcher for
the Gophers' NCAA Championship
team in 1956) before he took up golf,
and an artist of considerable skill.
Magnuson partnered with Lee Shortridge
to win the 1986 MGA Amateur
Four-Ball Championship after a twohole
playoff at Dellwood Hills GC.
Four years later, he and Norb Anderson
won the senior version of the MGA's
amateur four-ball championship.
In
1991, Magnuson won the MGA Senior
Amateur, and in 2000, he claimed the
inaugural MGA Senior Players' (match
play) championship. At Keller,
his
home club, he collected an astounding
28 championships, including the 1994
Putting Championship.
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Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2012

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