(Advancing the game) Golf's unknown acronym

Which of the following organizations has been most valuable to the game of golf throughout the 20th century and the early years of the 21st century: the PGA, LPGA, NGF, CMAA, IAGA, NGCOA, GCSAA, USGA or the First Tee Program? If asked, the American golf community’s opinion would be divided among the mainstream golf organizations listed while the IAGA would barely be noticed.

Latest estimates indicate there are about 27,300,000 golfers in the United States, yet maybe fewer than 5,000 people throughout the country have even heard of the IAGA. Graciously, Dick Haskell – retired executive director of the Massachusetts Golf Association and one of golf’s respected historians – has made his knowledge of the IAGA’s many, but little known, core contributions to the development of golf’s foundational institutions available.

IAGA history
First, to answer the question many must be asking, IAGA stands for the International Association of Golf Administrators, which is the membership association for golf organization management personnel. The IAGA was established in 1968 in New York City when the following representatives of state and regional golf associations met to consolidate their diverse approaches to supporting the game of golf throughout the country: Carol McCue of the Chicago District Golf Association, John Riggle of the Arizona GA, Newell Pinch of the Southern California GA, Marshall Dann of the Evans Scholarship Fund, Peg Burnett of the GA of Philadelphia, Jim Standish of the GA of Michigan, Dick Haskell of the Massachusetts GA and this columnist representing the N.Y. Metropolitan Golf Association.

Presently, there are 98 IAGA-related member regional/state golf associations (17 that are more than 100 years old, and 55 that are more than 75 years old) within the United States. They’re complemented by another 14 golf associations throughout the world. Historically, the IAGA has been the major catalyst for the growth and cultural development of golf in the United States.

Service to golf
The depth and breath of IAGA-related contributions throughout the past 100 years is one of the fascinating untold stories in golf. For example, during the late 1890s, the USGA and several regional/state golf associations were established for the sole purpose of conducting championship golf tournaments for their respective constituencies. As the years passed and player entries grew significantly, it became impractical for the USGA to provide experienced officiating support for each of its local and sectional-qualifying rounds throughout the country for its annual, multiple national championships.

Recognizing the scope of the challenge, the original and later-to-come IAGA state/regional golf associations assumed the responsibility (on a courtesy basis) to conduct all the men’s USGA local/sectional qualifying rounds throughout the country, in addition to managing similar qualifying and championship rounds for each of their own districtwide tournaments.

In 2005, this responsibility to the USGA required the IAGA associations to schedule more than 700 golf courses countrywide to conduct the collective qualifying rounds for a total of 38,500 player entries for all of the 13 USGA national championships. The IAGA associations have made the concept of championship golf possible throughout the United States.

The concept of a districtwide, electronic handicap-computing program was born (in the early 1970s), cultivated and permanently established within the national IAGA association structure. At the request of the USGA in the late 1970s, these collective regional handicap programs were consolidated into one and passed on to the USGA to become what’s known as the national GHIN Handicap System. To its credit, the USGA has perfected handicap policy, but the core foundation of all GHIN mechanisms and data flow originated from within the IAGA’s creative culture.

Up to and through World War II, new golf course development was dominated by the private sector. Thereafter, the concept of public access golf blossomed and flourished to the point where now there are more than two public access golf courses operating for every one private club course.

However, private and public sector golf didn’t mix any better than oil and water until the Buffalo District Golf Association took the first steps in the early 1970s to take down the firewall that existed between private and public golf throughout the country. For the first time in Buffalo (and relatively soon thereafter throughout the country): public links championship tournaments were welcomed at private club courses; public-course golfers became eligible for and earned respect playing in districtwide championship events; and player groups at public courses were granted membership status within the regional/state golf association structure. Golf became a cohesive family because of these IAGA initiatives.

Until the first national oil crunch developed in the mid-1970s, golf course operations were loosely managed amid an “easy come, easy go” financial environment. Thereafter, management mistakes cost golf course operations a lot of money and created insurance liabilities that made it difficult for golf clubs to acquire insurance coverage.

To counteract this crisis, a small subcommittee within the N.Y. Metropolitan Golf Association pioneered new property/casualty and benefit insurance packages that provided readily available coverages at an astonishing 40-percent discount rate to clubs that elevated the quality of and reduced risk within their business operations. Copycat IAGA-related insurance programs quickly spread these cost-efficient guaranteed access insurance packages throughout the country. Clearly, the IAGA provided the incentive and leadership needed to take golf course operations out of the dark ages  of the 1970s and into the critically necessary business environment that sustains the game currently.

The IAGA infrastructure consistently has lead the country to developing model industry programming, i.e., educational workshops for club/course officials, junior golf development, travel programs, local Rules of golf workshops, regional publications, caddie development/training programs, and by continuing to shape available insurance programs to address the golf club industry’s changing needs.

From developing essential culture changing programs to noticing curious statistics (i.e., about 3,000,000 golf balls are lost on a typical Saturday in July throughout the country), a proud IAGA never sleeps; and accordingly, golf can rest comfortably because the IAGA is always on sentinel watch. GCN

Jim McLoughlin is the founder of TMG Golf (www.TMGgolfcounsel.com), a golf course development and consulting firm, and is a former executive director of the GCSAA. He can be reached at golfguide@adelphia.net or 760-804-7339. His previous columns can be found on www.golfcoursenews.com.