Virginia Golfer January / February 2015 | Page 14

Kingsmill Seeks to Stoke LPGA Tourney Momentum Officials are intent on continuing to create a unique atmosphere for players and fans by TOM ROBINSON W A CONSCIENTOUS, CARING APPROACH Included among them, Schulze says, is a robust salute to active and retired military 12 members centered around free admission and a designated “Patriot’s Outpost” refreshment center. The latter will be a military hospitality tent with free beverages and snacks stationed behind the 15th green, where each day a female service member will tend the flagstick. Schulze notes that he also wants to introduce more golf-themed activity into the tournament’s Family Fun Zone, including instruction from LPGA members and professionals from the Middle Atlantic Section of the PGA of America. “It’s great to have the bounce house and the slides and those types of things,” Schulze says. “But we want to do some fun things with kids that revolve around golf, instead of just distracting them.” Remaining unchanged are Kingsmill’s environmentally friendly efforts, Schulze points out. He’d like the championship to reclaim Virginia Green Travel Star status as a “no landfill” event, last earned in 2013, wherein all trash produced is recycled, composted or burned for fuel. V IRGINIA G OLFER | J ANUARY/F EBRUARY 2015 12_VSGA_JanFeb15.indd 12 All-encompassing enthusiasm has become a trademark of the LPGA’s visit to Virginia. After winning last year’s event, fellow players celebrate Lizette Salas’ four-stroke triumph.celebrate Lizette Salas’ four-stroke triumph. Likewise, he says, Kingsmill’s reputation as one of the tour’s most player-friendly stops is only to be nurtured and enhanced. “That’s really part of every decision we make,” Schulze says. “Operationally and logistically, there are some things that are a challenge for us at Kingsmill. But if the players want it, most of the time we’re going to figure out how we can do it for them. “What makes the LPGA Tour great right now is how accessible the players are and how willing they are to promote what they do. It makes it easy when they come and ask us for stuff. We want them to come, relax and enjoy the resort while they play and compete. We want them to feel like it’s a fun week to be at work.” Author Tom Robinson is a writer from Norfolk, Va., and a contributor to Virginia Golfer. HUNTER MARTIN/GETTY IMAGES ith one year in his bag as tournament director, Matthew Schulze has a better idea and bigger plans for the LPGA’s 2015 Kingsmill Championship. Schulze and his three assistants weren’t all on board at the Kingsmill resort until last January, “and we ran the tournament in May,” says Schulze, the former head PGA professional at Richmond Country Club. “So we really kind of just watched and didn’t change anything that was already in place,” Schulze admits. “This year, we’re kind of playing around with some of that stuff and trying to figure out better ways to do some things.” Naturally, Schulze will let the world’s best female players, including defending champion Lizette Salas, handle the competitive golf part of the week. The $1.3 million event is scheduled for May 11-17 on Kingsmill Resort’s rolling River Course, where its 11th edition remains part of the LPGA Tour’s resurgence under commissioner ZZ