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Opening Drive
Servant Leaders
by CHRIS LANG
THE VSGA ANNUAL MEETING was held virtually on Jan . 15 , with only a few members of the VSGA staff and Board of Directors in attendance at Salisbury Country Club . Though the end of the pandemic seems to be on the horizon , thanks to the marvels of science and the ability to craft a quick and effective coronavirus vaccine , we ’ re not there yet . So we didn ’ t have an opportunity to dine and mingle with our award winners and representatives from VSGA member clubs as in years past . Hopefully that changes by the time the 2022 VSGA Annual Meeting rolls around . I want to take the opportunity in this space to congratulate the VSGA service award winners for 2021 , as selected by Gary Beck , President of the VSGA ’ s Board of Directors .
PRESIDENT ’ S AWARD : Arthur Utley You ’ ve read Utley ’ s stories for years in Virginia Golfer , and if you ’ re a resident of the Richmond area , you ’ ve seen his byline in the Times-Dispatch . Utley is a trusted voice on golf in the Commonwealth , and he ’ s also been an invaluable resource for the VSGA . He covered nearly every event in the summer of 2015 when the VSGA was transitioning between communications managers . Utley still covers VSGA championships , is a member of the Virginia Golf Hall of Fame selection committee , and he has volunteered with the Richmond Golf Association for years .
SERVICE TO GOLF AWARD : Grover Walker A well-respected Rules official at both the state and national level , Walker worked his final VSGA event — the 2020 VSGA Amateur — at his home club , River Bend . Walker is a past VSGA board member and VSGA Junior Committee chair , and he is also a past president of the Middle Atlantic Golf Association .
VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR : Larry Groves Groves has volunteered with the VSGA VIP-Scholarship Foundation for many years and is responsible for reviewing all scholarship applications on a yearly basis . A former associate dean of admissions at the University of Virginia , Groves provides invaluable insight and helps greatly in streamlining the selection process .
GROW THE GAME AWARD : Gavin Parker , PGA Parker is a former P . J . Boatwright Intern with the VSGA who has gone on to build successful junior programs at both Independence Golf Club and Salisbury Country Club . His high-energy approach to teaching kids has paid dividends , and he ’ s been instrumental in membership growth at Salisbury .
Congrats to four very deserving winners !
Chris Lang , Editor Contact me : clang @ vsga . org
Masters Track cont ' d ...
To have him walk alongside ( at Augusta ) that ’ s what it ’ s all about ,” Griffin smiled on Masters Tuesday just yards from the clubhouse .
Griffin has been quick to thank other key supporters for helping him get to Augusta including Stuart Swanson . He refers to Swanson as “ like a dad to me and helped raise me . I wouldn ’ t be where I am without him .”
Swanson met Griffin just after his father passed . Swanson often drove his daughter Meredith and Lanto each summer to various junior tournaments as they pursued their golf dreams .
“ Those were the best times ,” Swanson laughs .
Swanson also felt appreciated by Griffin during a major point in his career .
“ When he realized his dream and got his Tour card at Pumpkin Ridge in 2017 for the first time , Lanto was thoughtful enough to give me the symbolic copper medal card that memorialized that achievement ,” Swanson said .
Lastly , there are a couple buddies Griffin had a tradition with each Masters . They drive nine hours from Blacksburg to Lanto ’ s house near Jacksonville . “ We ’ d play TPC Sawgrass in the morning then watch the Masters at my house .” Griffin missed it this year . “ They both texted me Masters Monday and said , ‘ this a little bit better than sitting on your couch watching it , isn ' t it ?’” Griffin laughed just off the first fairway on Masters Tuesday .
LOOKING TO 2021 Griffin has qualified for all four majors in 2021 , no small feat .
“ It ’ s exciting to be qualified .” Griffin said . “ Those are the tournaments that you dream about having a shot to win and for you to play in as a kid . I played in three majors with zero crowd and it just felt weird this year .”
Fans or not , stretching his starts in majors to seven straight by July ’ s Open Championship will be impressive .
Garrett Johnston has covered 30 majors as a writer and eight Masters . He also hosts the Beyond the Clubhouse podcast with players / golf personalities . Follow the podcast on Facebook ( Beyond the Clubhouse ) and Twitter (@ BeyondClubhouse ).
8 V IRGINIA G OLFER | J ANUARY / F EBRUARY 2021
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