positive initiatives to come out of the Long
Range Plan thus far is the integration of the
VSGA Women’s Division into the current
governance structure of the VSGA.
Anne Greever developed a proposal for
the integration and we worked collaboratively to include women golfers in all VSGA
committees. I’m proud to say that Anne has
since been elected to the VSGA Executive
Committee, and I expect one day she will
become President. Again, the VSGA Board
demonstrated its great wisdom by supporting the Women’s Division Integration
proposal with a unanimous and enthusiastic vote. At our annual meeting last year
the plan became official and, from now on,
women will play an important role in VSGA
governance and programs, and I know that
this is a very positive step for the VSGA and
for golf in Virginia.
Finally, perhaps the initiative I am
proudest of, is the creation of the Virginia
Golf Hall of Fame. Virginia has a wonderful heritage of golf: locally, nationally, and
internationally, but we have had no formal
place to celebrate it. We convened a Virginia Golf Hall of Fame Committee and
began meeting early in 2015 to discuss the
creation of a site to celebrate Virginia golf
history. Our Hall of Fame will be a virtual
place, so that visitors from anywhere in the
world can visit and learn about Virginians’
accomplishments in golf.
In June 2015, our inaugural class was
announced and it comprises a group of
incredibly talented individuals who have
achieved remarkable success in golf: Vinny
Giles, Chandler Harper, Clyde Luther, Sam
Snead, Curtis Strange, and Lanny Wadkins.
In May, we will launch our virtual Virginia
Golf Hall of Fame website in conjunction
with our induction ceremony at The Omni
Homestead Resort, home of one of Virginia’s finest golf courses and longtime VSGA
supporter, The Cascades.
For the past two years, I have had an
opportunity to work with a great staff, led
by the very capable Jamie Conkling; to
work at VSGA Championships conducted
by the Tournament staff under the able
direction of Matt Smiley; to captain the
Virginia side of the Virginia-West Virginia
Team Matches; to participate in countless
committee meetings and conference calls;
and to get to know many wonderful people
associated with the game of golf. So you
see, even someone who can hardly break 80
can contribute to the VSGA. Even though
I’m a 12, I feel like a scratch golfer when
it comes to working with this exceptional
organization.
vsga.org
Matson’s Love Of Golf Started
With A Trip
F
aithful readers of
Virginia Golfer will
recognize Bruce
M a t s o n ’s n a m e
from his byline on Great
Holes, a standing feature
profiling some of best holes
at VSGA member courses. In 2016, he’ll take on a
much more visible role within the VSGA, succeeding
Gib Palmer as the organization’s President.
We sat down briefly with
Bruce to talk about his
background and his visions for his term as
VSGA President.
How did you get interested in golf?
I didn’t play golf much in high school or
college, but during my last semester of
law school a number of us had the time
to run down to Newport News Park and
play Deer Run. My interest in playing
and watching the game took off from
there. I think the thing that turned golf
into a passion for me was a trip I took to
Scotland in the late 1980s with my father.
We played 14 rounds of golf in 10 days,
including the Old Course at St. Andrews,
Dornoch, Muirfield, Nairn, Cruden Bay,
Prestwick, Troon, and many others.
We had similar handicaps and played a
14-round competition. Believe it or not,
after 252 holes, my father won the medal
competition by three strokes and I won the
match play—one up after 252 holes.
How did you get interested in
the VSGA?
It’s hard to believe that I’ve been around
the VSGA for more than 20 years. With
the newfound passion I had for the game
after that trip to Scotland, I started following
the Virginia Golfer and the activities at the
VSGA. I volunteered to help Jay Kepley
as general counsel to the association and
took over the role when Jay decided to
step down. I also volunteered to write some
articles for the magazine and when David
Partridge, after a decade of service, decided
to give up the “Great Holes” column,
Andrew Blair asked me to take it over. … I
served as general counsel for more than 10
years and one day a few board members
asked me to consider serving on the VSGA
Board, which led to an opportunity to
become an Executive Officer, and here we
are. It’s a tired old cliché, but time sure flies.
What’s your favorite moment in golf?
Getting a chance to write the history of
the Bay Hill Club and play golf with Arnold
Palmer a number of times
is an incredible highlight,
but that trip with my father
probably still remains the
most meaningful time
I’ve had around golf. I’ve
recently had a couple of
trips back to Scotland with
the best friends one could
ask for, but nothing replaces
that first trip and certainly
nothing replaces the time
with your dad.
As you head into your
two-year term as President, what
thoughts and plans do you have?
For most of the time I’ve been involved
with the VSGA I have been at the law firm
of LeClairRyan. We have a saying there
that we always have “one foot in today
and one foot in tomorrow.” It’s our way
of recognizing that it’s important to get
things done and provide great service to
our clients everyday, while also recognizing
that times change and we need to
anticipate and change with the times.
That’s the way I am looking at the next two
years. The Virginia State Golf Association
has a past and traditions that we should
be proud of and that I want to preserve.
We started out over 100 years ago running
statewide competitions, we do that today
and we do so as well as any organization
in the United States.
Over the YX\