The CGA: Investing in Century Links

The Colorado Golf Association celebrates “A Century of Golf in Colorado”

With the 1910 Trans-Mississippi and 1912 Western Amateur having both taken place at Denver Country Club, championship golf in Colorado predates the 1915 establishment of the Colorado Golf Association. But as the USGA’s sanctioned caretaker of handicapping and course rating and as the organizer of more than 50 official state tournaments annually, the CGA will throughout 2015 use its milestone birthday as a catalyst to celebrate golf ’s present and help fortify its future for the next 100 years.

“We’re celebrating a ‘Century of Golf ’ rather than just our centennial,” says CGA Executive Director Ed Mate. “And central to this yearlong celebration are the three I’s: Impact, Image and Investment.”

Impact, he says, “means elevating our working relationships with our allied association partners to strengthen and sustain the positive impact of the game on generations to come.” Those partners include the Colorado Section PGA, Colorado Women’s Golf Association, Colorado Open Golf Foundation and the Rocky Mountain Golf Course Superintendents’ Association. “We are going to work collaboratively as a golf community to make the greatest impact,” Mate says.

“Image” is the most visible and immediate manifestation of the Century of Golf initiative. The organization has a new logo and brand identity, thanks to the CGA’s public relations and marketing committees—headed, respectively, by Bill Pierson and Buddy Noel (pictured above, left to right)—which worked seamlessly with the Denver-based agency Adrenalin to shed the old logo’s pine needles and communicate both Colorado’s geographical uniqueness and the organization’s stewardship of traditions and the future of golf. The logo is being unveiled February 20-22 at the Denver Golf Expo.

“Investment” pivots mainly on the introduction of high-level sponsorships (Westerra Credit Union is the first to sign on) and cultivating a culture of philanthropy through the Colorado Golf Foundation. Founded in 2012 with a $2 million lead gift from George Solich, the nonprofit CGF funds “Colorado-based golf organizations and programs that use golf to build important life skills and character, with an emphasis on instilling hard work and self-reliance in young people.” The foundation funds such programs as the CommonGround Golf Course-based Solich Caddie and Leadership Academy and Hale Irwin Elite Player Program, PGA REACH, LPGA Girls Golf, Golf In Schools and the Evans Scholarship program, as well as dozens of community and wellness programs and nonprofits that wish to expose disabled or disadvantaged children and adults to the benefits of golf.

To support the Colorado Golf Foundation, the CGA will hold a season-long “Century of Golf Challenge,” a fundraising event centered around the number 100. Participants generate money through donations pledged for a golf-related activity of their own creation that involves the number 100. Mate, for example, will caddie 100 loops and ask donors to pledge $30 per bag, his rate while a caddy at Denver Country Club almost 30 years ago. You might want to play 100 holes in a day or 100 courses during the year. “100 strokes in a round doesn’t count,” jokes Mate. “The goal is to get the golf community across the state to play golf for a purpose.”

Additionally, for both posterity and potential proceeds, the CGA has commissioned “A Century of Golf in Colorado,” an original piece of fine art from Lee Wybranski, whose oeuvre has graced the official commemorative posters of numerous major championships. Scheduled for completion in late May, the work will be made available for purchase in limited edition prints. “We have not decided what we are going to do with the original piece of art,” Mate says when asked whether it will be auctioned.

The Century of Golf activities will climax November 14 with a gala celebration featuring Jack Nicklaus and other celebrities from Colorado’s rich golf history. Emceed by Golf Channel’s Tim Rosaforte, the gala portends to generate $150,000 in net revenue for the Colorado Golf Foundation. “This year we’re coming up for air and making culture shift towards more philanthropic activities,” says Director of Development Ryan Smith.

“We’re seizing on the centennial to position the CGA, our allied associations and the Colorado Golf Foundation for the next 100 years,” Mate elaborates. “We want to ensure the game is both around and thriving.”

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Colorado AvidGolfer is the state’s leading resource for golf and the lifestyle that surrounds it. It publishes eight issues annually and proudly delivers daily content via www.coloradoavidgolfer.comJon Rizzi is the founding editor and co-owner of this regional golf-related media company producing magazines, web content, tournaments, events and the Golf Passport.

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