A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE
Matt Smiley, assistant executive director and director of rules and
competitions for the VSGA, says the reputation was established by
“those who were running tournaments before the current staff.
Not only did they help establish the reputation, they trained a lot
of us who are on the staff now.”
Smiley cited the late Wallace McDowell, who ran the VSGA out
of the trunk of his car; the late Richard Smith, who was Smiley’s
predecessor as director of competitions; and rules officials Clyde
Luther, a member of the inaugural class of the Virginia Golf Hall
of Fame, and Galen Hill.
The VSGA will conduct 26 championships, 20 championship
qualifiers, seven interstate team matches and 11 USGA qualifiers this
year. A tournament staff member is assigned the role of chief admin-
istrator for every one of those events from start to finish. Some of the
major tournaments, such as the Men’s and Women’s amateurs, will
have multiple staff members, including interns, on hand. Everyone
knows everything that goes into being the one in charge.
“Our goal is to prepare and run the event in a fair way, but make it
where ultimately they are talking about the players and the golf course,
and not about the administrators,” Smiley said. “Our mentality is to do
the best you can preparing for the event so that you know when the first
tee shot is hit, you’ve done everything you can do to run a good event.”
Attention to detail, advance prep work and thinking ahead of
potential issues that could come up are the key elements in the
game plan for each tournament.
RELATING TO ALL PLAYERS
An in-depth assignment sheet for each round of each tournament
goes out five days in advance. The assignments cover such tasks
as who is responsible for front-nine setup or who’s starting or
who’s scoring.
Courtney Jones is one of the five staff members who adminis-
trate tournaments. She has 20 championships and qualifiers for
various age levels on her slate in addition to 30 or so One-Day
events to handle in her role as the One-Day manager.
“I think the most important aspect of running a tournament
is doing your best to find a way to relate to any and all players,”
Jones says. “In one week, we may find ourselves working with
VSGA CHAMPIONSHIPS BY THE NUMBERS
Full-time staff
members in
the VSGA
competitions
department
54
VSGA member clubs
hosting a VSGA champi-
onship, USGA or VSGA
qualifier, or interstate
team match in 2017
57
Volunteer rules
officials used at VSGA
championships and
VSGA/USGA qualifiers
in 2017
“The VSGA has a long-established tradition of
successfully running golf tournaments. Having
played in events in numerous venues and at all
levels of competition, I can personally attest to the
quality of the VSGA’s tournament administration.
Event organization, the number and dedication of administrators,
and the highly knowledgeable rules officials are hallmarks of the
VSGA and why the association is so well respected by other golf
organizations throughout the country.” —DAVID PARTRIDGE
26
V I R G I N I A G O L F E R | J U LY / A U G U ST 2 0 1 7
vsga.org
5
“We have a checklist that we use for what to bring to different
events; different things to do ahead of time. A lot of it depends on
if it is a course we have been to a lot or one we haven’t been to,”
Smiley says. “If it’s a course we’ve been to a few times, we’ve got
old rules sheets and hole locations and a lot of stuff to go back to.
If it’s a course new to us, it’s a blank canvas.”
For new courses, staff members have been using Google Earth
to get a look at the big picture from above. They also research the
course online, and they rely some on the home professional.
“We’re there a day, two days, three days, five days, and they are
there every day,” Smiley says. “We will use all the intel we can get
from the local staff and use that to help us in making decisions, but
we will make the decision that we think is best.”