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Q & A
Craig Groenendaal prepares to speak at the 2026 VSGA Annual Meeting.
The New President
Craig Groenendaal speaks of his golf journey and his time on the VSGA Board of Directors interviewed by CHRIS LANG
ON JAN. 23, AT THE VIRGINIA STATE GOLF ASSOCIATION’ S Winter Board of Directors meeting, the board voted on and approved its new slate of officers. At the top of the ticket was Craig Groenendaal, who immediately began his tenure as the VSGA’ s 41st president. Presidents serve the VSGA for a two-year term, but Groenendaal has prepared for this moment since joining the board in 2011.
Virginia Golfer caught up with Groenendaal— who lives in South Riding with his wife and two boys— to discuss his golf background and his priorities as president.
Virginia Golfer: Tell us a little bit about your golf background. Craig Groenendaal: I started playing golf around the age of five. My dad was begrudgingly forced to take me to the course one day and I got hooked after that. We were in rural, northwest Pennsylvania— not the fanciest of places. By 13, I started washing dishes at a club so I could get access to a pretty good golf course. From there, it just took off.
I got to Virginia through college golf. I got to George Mason in 1990. I had a pretty unimpressive college golf career, I didn’ t do much. But that’ s what brought me to Virginia, and I’ ve been here ever since.
VG: What prompted you to get involved with the VSGA, and when did you start volunteering? CG: 2008. Clyde Luther and Ray Montgomery, who was the sectional chairman [ in Northern Virginia ] before I became sectional chairman in 2008. Clyde always told me I should get involved in the Rules, and Ray roped me into sectional chairman duties as he went on the board. That was really my introduction to it.
The Rules thing came separately. I thought I knew the Rules, and Clyde said I should go try to take the test and see how I would do. I took the test and got a 74. I was [ ticked ] off, so that started my Rules journey. I wanted to do better. I got a 90 on the second test. Back then, you had to get a 92 to be an expert. My third year, I was able to do that.
VG: What interested you in becoming a member of the board? CG: I thought it was an honor when they asked me. I was, hopefully, doing a good job as a sectional chairman and that gave them the sense that I could be a good board member. There were a lot of people that I looked up to that were involved in the board at the time, so I felt honored.
VG: You work a lot of national-level events as a Rules official, along with VSGA events. What are some of your favorite memories? CG: I got to work the Walker Cup at Seminole. That was awesome. I didn’ t even know if I’ d ever go to [ the Walker Cup ] as a spectator, let alone work one. That was certainly a highlight. I’ ve gotten to know the guys who run the U. S. Senior Open at the USGA, and they’ re just great guys. I put that on my schedule and try to make it every year. Traveling around to work the Senior Open has been a blast. At my age, those are the guys I saw playing on Tour, they’ re sort of my contemporaries. I’ m 53 now, so it’ s right in my wheelhouse.
VG: What are some things you want to accomplish during your term as president? CG: There’ s been an incredible growth of the staff during my time here, and we have this amazing professional staff. I feel like we need, as a board, to support the staff to grow the initiatives that we’ ve been tasked to do. The one goal that [ executive director ] Matt [ Smiley ] and I have discussed is bringing our various fundraising efforts together. The Virginia State Golf Association is a 501( c)( 3), and we do a lot of charitable work through the golf association. We have our Scholarship Foundation and we have the Virginia Golf Hall of Fame, and those are separate 501( c)( 3) s. If in the next two years we are able to plan and manage those efforts together, it will relieve some pressure on the staff and give our board focus on where we should be putting our efforts.
LOGAN WHITTON / PIXEL FACTORY CREATIVE STUDIO INC.
10 V IRGINIA G OLFER | M ARCH / A PRIL 2026 vsga. org