( atc )
The Journey
Continues
by MATT SMILEY
OVER THE LAST 18 YEARS I HAVE BEEN FORTUNATE TO INTERACT WITH
COUNTLESS GOLFERS AROUND VIRGINIA IN VARIOUS CAPACITIES. What
has always struck me is just how passionate so many of you are about the game. Whether
it is practicing, playing, volunteering, instructing or otherwise supporting or working in
golf, it is clear that the love for the game of golf is alive and well in the Commonwealth.
As I begin the next chapter of my journey with the VSGA as Executive Director, it is
a great time for us to step back and look at what the VSGA does well and where it can
improve. We want to ensure that we provide
opportunities for your love of the game to
grow while supporting the health of our
“Whether it is practicing,
300-plus member clubs! Let us know where
playing, volunteering,
you feel we may be missing the boat.
Although we are not typically in a posi-
instructing or otherwise
tion to put a club in a golfer’s hand for the
supporting or working
first time, there are outstanding individu-
in
golf, it is clear that the
als and organizations around Virginia to
love for the game of golf
help you with that first step. Once you are
exposed to the game, the VSGA has worked
is alive and well in the
hard to design programs for golfers from 5
Commonwealth.”
to 105 years old and with handicaps from
+5 to 50. However, we need to continue to
adjust and expand these programs to meet
the demands of golfers in 2019 and beyond.
Why should you be a member of VSGA? The answer varies from golfer to golfer, but
we will continue to add benefits to make the membership more appealing. Although
membership is centered on a USGA Handicap Index, we will continue to educate golf-
ers that VSGA membership is much more than a handicap. There is significant value
in the Handicap Index alone, and we think you will appreciate the changes that are
coming with the World Handicap System in 2020. However, the additional benefits,
including the one you have in your hands right now, access to all VSGA events, the
MyVSGA app, education on the Rules of Golf and Handicapping, and member-only
deals on travel and apparel (to name a few) add to the reasons to join.
As for this issue of Virginia Golfer, read on to find out how club golf at the college level
is providing playing opportunities for many who aren’t quite at the Division I level but
want to continue to play competitively after high school. Also, check out stories on Jay
Hardwick’s successor as Virginia Tech’s men’s golf coach—Brian Sharp—and some of
the new equipment innovations that came out of the recent PGA Show in Florida.
Whatever your golf goal is for 2019—to get the ball airborne, lower your Handicap
Index below 30, qualify for a VSGA championship, shoot your age, or just play more
golf—we hope that you are able to accomplish it!
Matt Smiley, Executive Director
6
V I R G I N I A G O L F E R | M A R C H / A P R I L 2 0 1 9
News & Notes
VSGA-VIP SCHOLARSHIP
FOUNDATION BY THE NUMBERS
3 Students who received scholar-
ships from the VSGA in 1985.
987 Students in total who have
received VSGA-VIP Scholarships.
$2.3 Funds allocated to VSGA-VIP
Scholarship Foundation recipients
since 1985.
MILLION
5 Named scholarship awards:
C. Dan Keffer Award; Spencer-Wilkin-
son Awards (fund formed by Debbie
Spencer and Mary Nell Wilkinson);
Red Speigle Award; David A. King
Award; Richard Smith Award.
1 Event the VSGA holds each
year specifically to raise money
for the Spencer-Wilkinson Fund,
a benefit four-person captain’s
choice event held each May.
157 VSGA member clubs represent-
ed on the 2019 VSGA VIP Golf
Card (as of early February).
$60,000 Donation required to create a
named scholarship. Please contact
the VSGA if interested.
5/6/19 The date of VSGA Day at
Richmond Country Club, where
recipients of 2019 scholarships will
be honored.
COACH BUDLOVE GIVES BACK
Robert Budlove spent decades coaching
multiple sports at Petersburg High School.
And the soon-to-be 93-year-old retiree
continues to give back to the com-
munity through his favorite
sport—golf.
Budlove—who coached
g i r l s b a s k et b a l l , J V
football and softball in
Blackstone before mov-
ing to Petersburg—start-
ed at PHS in 1956, splitting
time between the school’s
baseball, basketball, football and golf
programs. A staple in the Petersburg ath-
letics community, Budlove spent nearly
30 years as the Crimson Wave’s head golf
coach before retiring. As the namesake for
the Robert E. Budlove Scholarship Golf
vsga.org
Opening Drive