Virginia ’ s Military Courses
» Aeropines Golf Club : Naval Air Station Oceana , 36 holes » Cardinal Golf Club at Fort Gregg-Adams : 27 holes » Eagle Haven Golf Course : Little Creek , 18 holes » Eaglewood Golf Course : Langley AFB , 18 holes » Fort Belvoir Golf Club : Fort Belvoir , 36 holes » Medal of Honor Golf Course : Quantico , 18 holes » The Pines Golf Course Fort Eustis : 27 holes » Sewells Point Golf Course : Norfolk , 18 holes
VSGA Military Engagement Group Members Josh Coates ( VSGA staff , Richmond ) Jim Gallagher ( VSGA Board Member , Yorktown ) Anne Greever ( VSGA President , Richmond ) Duncan Hardcastle ( VSGA Board Member , Richmond ) Marianne Lynch ( VSGA Event Participant , Virginia Beach ) Tyler Schaff ( VSGA Independent Contractor , Keswick ) Matt Smiley ( VSGA Executive Director , Richmond ) Erin Strickler ( VSGA Staff , Richmond )
We wanted to ask them how can we serve you better .”
Schaff ’ s title is Military Outreach Coordinator , and he had the support of a steering committee known as the Military Engagement Group ( MEG ).
Schaff first focused on in-person communication with all the military installations that had golf courses . He went to each base course ’ s range and gathered information from members , retirees , juniors , active duty and club managers and pros .
Then , using the feedback Schaff obtained , he , Coates and the MEG did some collective brainstorming .
A comment made by Greever resonated with Schaff : “ We ’ re not here to invent things . We ’ re not here to make up programs . We ’ re here to explore if there are some gaps out there where we can help out with our strategic goal and better connecting with the military in Virginia .”
“ We ’ re not asking anybody for anything we ’ re just trying to give ,” Schaff said .
Fort Belvoir
Cardinal Golf Club
“ I am excited about all components of this initiative because they collectively are aimed at increasing our interaction and strengthening our engagement with the Virginia golf community .”
— Duncan Hardcastle , retired military and member of the VSGA board and MEG
A New Scholarship
The first fruits of their labor tapped into a VSGA strength — the creation of a Military Scholarship that will be presented to a high school senior in May in conjunction with the VSGA-VIP Scholarship Foundation awards for the 2023-24 academic year .
The Scholarship Foundation has awarded more than $ 2.8 million to more than 1,100 students since its beginning in 1984 .
“ Virginia is home to thousands of active duty and retired military members and their families , and this scholarship is just one of many ways we hope to enhance the VSGA ’ s services to the golfers among them ,” Greever said when the scholarship was announced last September .
The VSGA will cover the initial funding for the Military Scholarship while the Foundation seeks individual and corporate donors to fund the scholarship in the future .
To be eligible for the Military Scholarship , students must be dependents of active-duty or retired members of the military . As for all Foundation scholarships , military applicants must be high school seniors who live in Virginia , have an interest or connection to golf , and plan to enroll in an undergraduate program .
Academics , extracurricular activities , golf involvement , need / impact of the scholarship and the impact golf has had on their life as a military child are factors for determining recipients from the pool of eligible candidates .
In addition to the scholarship , the VSGA is the first association in the U . S . to roll out the Youth on Course Stars & Stripes Club with complimentary memberships for military dependents .
“ I am excited about all components of this initiative because they collectively are aimed at increasing our interaction and strengthening our engagement with the Virginia golf community ,” says Duncan
PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE COURSES AND JUAN GIRAUD ; CHRIS LANG ( HARDCASTLE )
20 V IRGINIA G OLFER | J ANUARY / F EBRUARY 2024 vsga . org