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Dear Friends and Members of CAG,
I want to express my thanks to Kevin Heaney, SCGA, and his leadership over the past year in guiding CAG forward. Through his efforts and those of our CAG team, during the pandemic we were able to keep Golf open in some areas and re-opened in others, and all as an "Essential Business," by assisting in the implementation of PGA and GCSAA health and safety guidelines at golf facilities throughout each county in the state. The ongoing work of CAG leadership (both out front and behind the scenes) with a variety of public agencies and local governments, each one different, with its own set of protocols, helped keep golf courses open.
Add to that, statewide weekly calls co-hosted by CAG Board Members Tom Addis (SCPGA) and Len Dumas (NCPGA), were extremely helpful as hundreds of golf pros and other industry representatives listened closely to legal, governmental, and medical professionals providing updates relating to COVID-19.
With golf being one of the few recreational activities that was open during the pandemic, we have seen a 30% gain in play throughout California. This is the most participation since pre-recession 2006 days. It is CAG's hope that golf can continue to grow with those who have come back to the game coupled with those who have started in the game, and those players who now want to play more often.
Our primary focus in 2021 will be on the legislative end, monitoring any county, state, and federal legislation that might be potentially detrimental to the business of golf, and its ability to flourish as one of the leading industries in California. This will be achieved with the help of our lobbyist Tony Rice from EKA, CAG's Legislative Committee, and the vast array of allied associations.
We will be communicating on a regular basis, CAG's legislative efforts through Craig Kessler, and Kevin Fitzgerald from the SCGA, and our CAG Communications Committee led by Emmy Moore Minister, with the support of Azucena Maldonado plus Nikki Gatch and Tyler Miller from the SCPGA.
We are also developing a CAG Resources Committee that will be charged with creating new relationships in the private and public golf sectors, strengthening our ties within the Alliance, so as to better assist CAG in the future. It will also focus on fending off negative golf legislation, promoting environmental stewardship, as well as encouraging future golf research and education through the University of California Riverside and the California Turfgrass and Landscape Foundation.
In case you hadn't heard, the GCSAA presented CAG with their annual Excellence in Government Relations award for 2020 at the Virtual Golf Industry Show in February. This is a very prestigious award, and much thanks is extended to all our CAG Board members, and especially to SCGA's Governmental Affairs team of Craig Kessler and Kevin Fitzgerald.
On a closing note, I look forward to working with the entire CAG board, and with our new team of officers: Vice President Len Dumas (NCPGA), Secretary Azucena Maldonado (Latina Golfers Association), and Past President Kevin Heaney (SCGA), in continuing to make the CAG "The Unified Voice For Golf" in California.
Let's Play Golf,
Jim Ferrin
President
California Alliance for Golf
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 CAG Member Highlight
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California Alliance for Golf Board Member Richard Harris and Bo Links—a Stellar Team in Support of Public Golf
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CAG Board Member Richard Harris is co-founder, with his fellow-San Francisco attorney Robert D. “Bo” Links, of the San Francisco Public Golf Alliance. Since 2007 that non-profit organization has made exceptional contributions to the game of golf by its all-volunteer grassroots advocacy on behalf of the City’s municipal golf courses, including scenic Lincoln Park and the Alister MacKenzie-designed Sharp Park, the charming seaside links located in the San Francisco suburb of Pacifica.
Links and Harris have deep roots in California golf. Harris is a member at Gleneagles GC, Sharp Park GC, and Stanford GC. He was a caddy at Stanford in the 1950's, and later captained the Stanford Varsity Golf Team ini 1968. After graduation, Harris served in the U.S. Army, 82nd Airborne Division and 25th Infantry Division, South Vietnam (1969-1971). He graduated from Boalt Hall School of Law at UC Berkeley in 1977 and has practiced law in San Francisco ever since. He was instrumental in the "Save Stanford Golf Course" campaign in 2000, and founded the San Francisco Public Golf Alliance with Links in 2007.
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 According to Harris, the Alliance is dedicated to educating and galvanizing public support for the benefits of municipal golf. “The fight to preserve Sharp Park and our other historic courses is an ongoing effort,” he says. “Golfers and the golf industry must continue to be vigorously engaged within the public arena, to help preserve golf’s role as a safe and valued place where the broad public can meet, recreate, and enjoy nature together.”
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Bo Links is a San Francisco native and graduate of its Washington High, where he played on the golf team at nearby Lincoln Park. He then graduated from UC Berkeley and UCLA Law School. After taking his first case out of law school to a victory in the United States Supreme Court, Links has practiced law in San Francisco since 1974. Links is also an avid golfer and a dedicated golf historian. He has written three golf books, Follow the Wind and Riverbank Tweed & Roadmap, Jenkins: Tales from the Caddie Yard, and Golf Poems: The Greatest Game in Rhythm and Rhyme. Over the years he has served on the USGA Section Committee and also volunteered as a historian for the S.F. City’s golf courses. He was active in the major project to renovate and restore Harding Park GC. Links has been honored by the Alister MacKenzie Society which has twice awarded him first prize in the international Lido Design Contest.
Read the full article here.
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 PGA Professional Spotlight |
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Matt Flenniken, PGA | Los Lagos Golf Course
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Matt Flenniken, 2020 Northern California PGA Teacher of the Year, is one of NorCal's most prolific instructors and club fitting experts. Matt has taught golf swing, golf mind management business golf, and club fitting worldwide for three decades. He is currently the Director of Instruction at Los Lagos Golf Course a municipal facility in San Jose, CA, managed by CourseCo Inc.
Additional accolades:
· Class A PGA member since 1984
· Two-time NCPGA Teacher of the Year
· Three-time NCPGA Club Fitter of the Year
· Member of the PGA Magazine advisor council
· Certified Sport Psychology practitioner
· Pioneer of dynamic club fitting
· Pioneer of launch monitor technology
· Owner of HONU Golf Co. in Maui, Hawaii
If you are looking to improve your game, contact Matt Flenniken at mflenniken@playloslagos.com.
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Randy Chang, PGA | Journey at Pechanga
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Randy Chang, 2020 Southern California PGA Teacher of the Year, is a PGA golf Professional certified in Teaching/Coaching and founder of the Randy Chang Golf Schools, owning and managing multiple facilities throughout Southern California. Associates committees.
Additional accolades:
· 1995 SCPGA Junior Golf Leader of the Year
· 2002 Aloha Section PGA Teacher of the Year
· 2004 Nationally Recognized Teacher by Golf Digest
· 2010 SCPGA Section Teacher of the Year
· 2017 Induction to SCPGA Teaching Hall of Fame
· Featured live on Golf Channel Morning Drive
· Golf Channel Academy Lead Instructor
·Serves on SCPGA Board of Directors
If you are looking to improve your game, contact Randy Chang here.
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CHECK OUT RANDY'S TIP ON HOW TO USE YOUR GOLF BAG TO IMPROVE YOUR SWING PATH!
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 Growth of the Game
2021 Women's Golf Day Is Set for Tuesday, June 1st
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The California Alliance for Golf (CAG) has been a supporter of WOMEN’S GOLF DAY (WGD) since its inception in 2016. This major growth of the game initiative (which introduces women and girls to the game of golf) has held events in more than 900 venues spanning 68 countries round the globe. When it comes to participation, state of California has traditionally been a leader within the U.S.
This year, the WGD event will be held on Tuesday, June 1. We encourage all golf facilities (public, private, range, educational, military, retail, and resort) to participate. To register a facility for WGD, click below.
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However, please make sure your event follows all regional and state COVID-19 health & safety protocols. If for some reason you are unable to host an in-person event, you may want to consider a virtual one.
Have questions about WGD? If so, contact CAG Board Member/WGD Ambassador Emmy Moore Minister at EmmyPGA@aol.com.
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CAG Celebrates Women's History Month
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 A golf industry leader, Emmy is president of Moore Minister Consulting Group, a firm which specializes in business and sports communication services. In addition to corporate clients, Moore Minister has assisted golf organizations in media-related services which include the PGA of America, Northern California Section of the PGA Section, California Golf Reps Association, California Golf Course Superintendents Association, California Golf Course Owners Association and the California Alliance for Golf.
She is passionate about the game of golf and how the sport improves the quality of life for others, evidenced by her work with Doctor's Orders: Play Golf, a public health education initiative she established to help promote better health and wellness through the game. Emmy serves on the Board of Directors for Women in the Golf Industry (WIGI) as well as the California Alliance for Golf (CAG), and is an Advisory Board Member for the California Golf Course Owners Association (CGCOA).
Emmy Moore Minister holds the rare distinction as an Honorary Member of the Professional Golfers' Association of Northern California, and is recipient of the California Golf Writers & Broadcasters Media Award among other special honors.
Emmy Moore Minister has been a dedicated Board Member since the inception of the California Alliance for Golf, and also served as President of the organization in 2019.
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 Azucena Maldonado is a trailblazer and she is on a mission to transform women's lives through golf. She founded the Latina Golfers Association (LGA) in 2008 to introduce women of all ages to golf for their professional development, personal enjoyment, and to promote a healthy lifestyle. The LGA teaches women how to utilize golf as a business tool so they can advance in their careers/businesses by shattering the glass ceiling with a golf ball. Through their participation in the Latina Golfers Association, women are able to break gender and cultural barriers through golf as well as enhance their personal lives. What started as a passion and love of the game quickly turned into a movement with over 1,700 Southern California Latinas having participated in the LGA's golf clinics, lessons, events, and tournaments. Based in Southern California, the Latina Golfers Association is national in focus.
In addition to volunteering her time and service to the California Alliance for Golf, Azucena also serves on several committees for the Southern California Golf Association (SCGA), Southern California PGA (SCPGA), and Women's Golf Journal.
Maldonado received the 2019 Woman of the Year Award from the National Hispanic Business Women's Association (NHBWA) and the Latina Style Magazine Leadership Award in Los Angeles ini 2019.
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 Awards Section
California Alliance for Golf Earns Excellence in Government Affair Award from GCSAA
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 California Alliance for Golf (CAG) has earned the 2020 Excellence in Government Affairs Award from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) for their productive and ongoing efforts in advocating for the golf course management profession. GCSAA annually recognizes a chapter, coalition or superintendent for outstanding advocacy or compliance efforts in government affairs.
Read the full article here.
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 CAG Legislative Update
Articles Provided by Craig Kessler, SCGA |
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1.3 : 1
or it's tough to grow a game without places to grow it
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One and one-third human beings is what a maxed-out golf course puts on one acre of open space under current COVID restrictions, a 1.3 to 1 ratio that has been the game’s ticket to spectacular success during the pandemic. It’s the unshakable fact about the game that persuaded public policy makers that golf is among the safest forms of outdoor recreation; indeed, the safest when one considers that unlike other outdoor recreational activities, the business model of golf involves strict control over ingress and egress.
To be 100% accurate, golf doesn’t place 1.3 persons all by themselves on that 1 acre. Four persons share a hole, which does put them in proximity on tees and greens, but if there is an easier place to guarantee 6 feet of separation than a tee or a green, we’d like to know.
For all of these reasons golf never ceased play in some of California’s counties, most notable among them Sacramento County, and where it did cease, it was interrupted for no more than 4-7 weeks, and less out of concern for safety than politics.
Read the full article here.
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Our Board of Directors
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President
Jim Ferrin, California Golf Course Superintendents Association (CGCSA)
ferrin.james7@gmail.com
Vice President
Len Dumas, Northern California Professional Golfers’ Association (NCPGA)
ldumas@pgahq.com
Secretary
Azucena Maldonado, Latina Golfers Association (LGA)
azucenamaldonado@me.com
Past President
Kevin Heaney, Southern California Golf Association (SCGA)
kheaney@scga.org
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Tom Schunn, The Club Management Association of America (CMAA)
schunntu@aol.com
Emmy Moore Minister, Doctor's Orders / Voice of the Valley Media Group
emmypga@aol.com
Joe Huston, Northern California Golf Association (NCGA)
jhuston@ncga.org
Richard Harris, San Francisco Public Golf Alliance
rharrisjr1@gmail.com
Bruce Williams, California Turfgrass & Landscape Foundation
brucewms1@hotmail.com
Michael Lautenbach, Municipal Golf Association - Anaheim
mlautenbach@anaheim.net
Lee Finkel, California Golf Course Owners Association (CGCOA)
lfinkel123@gmail.com
Ted Horton, Emeritus
tnhorton@aol.com
Brian Sullivan, California Turf Grass & Landscape Foundation (CTLF)
belairccbrian@aol.com
Tom Addis, III, Southern California Professional Golfers’ Association (SCPGA)
taddis@pgahq.com
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Craig Kessler, Southern California Golf Association (SCGA)
ckessler@scga.org
Nikki Gatch, Southern California Professional Golfers’ Association (SCPGA)
ngatch@pgahq.com
Marc Connerly, California Golf Course Owners Association (CGCOA) / Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA)
mconnerly@connerlyandassociates.com
Jeff Jensen, Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA)
jjensen@gcsaa.org
Kevin Fitzgerald, Southern California Golf Association (SCGA)
kfitzgerald@scga.org
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Tony Rice, Rice/Englander & Associates
tony@riceenglander.com
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California Alliance for Golf Mission: To advance the Game by serving as an advocate for Golf before the public, legislative bodies, governmental agencies, and media, while promoting the economic, environmental, and numerous community-based benefits the Game of Golf provides.
We Welcome Your Support
Do you care about the future of Golf in California? Would you like to help make a difference in support of Advocacy for Golf? If so, please click here to donate online to the California Alliance for Golf. Checks may be mailed to:
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