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
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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