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Member Clubs
Kinloch Prepping for
Big Year in 2020
F
or the most part, Kinloch Golf Club
is quiet these days, the only buzz
coming from construction vehicles
as the club adds infrastructure, rebuilds
bunkers and clears out invasive grasses
from the golf course’s rough. It’s all part
of a master plan project to update the
nearly 20-year-old club for the long-term
enjoyment of its members.
But it’s no coincidence that the club
chose the summer of 2019 to close for
three months to undertake these proj-
ects. Roughly a year from now, the buzz
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at Kinloch will increase exponentially, as
264 of the world’s best golfers ages 25 and
over will converge on the club (and nearby
Independence Golf Club for stroke-play
qualifying rounds) for the 2020 United
States Mid-Amateur Championship.
In preparation for the event—the club’s
first USGA championship since it hosted
the U.S. Senior Amateur in 2011—Kinloch
general manager Jonathan Ireland and
his staff traveled to Charlotte Country
Club in North Carolina last year and will
venture to Colorado Golf Club in Septem-
V I R G I N I A G O L F E R | S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2 0 19
ber to visit with USGA staff and see how
to best run the championship.
“They do a wonderful job of letting us
know how the tournament should be run,”
Ireland said. “But there’s no substitute for
seeing it firsthand.
“We were very excited and proud to host
(the Senior Amateur). When Kinloch was
founded, with (Vinny) Giles’ involvement,
it was founded to bolster amateur golf. To
be able to host a USGA event the first time
around was very, very exciting for us. The
fact that they were interested in coming
vsga.org
by CHRIS LANG