A Message from MSGA President, Cliff Patterson:
I hope everyone had a great holiday season and you are looking forward to a great 2024. I can tell you the MSGA has already begun preparations, and it looks like a very promising season.
At the outset, I want to take this opportunity to thank the Board, our Staff, and everyone else for their faith in me to serve as your President this coming year. I have been left with the MSGA in great shape due in no small measure to the hard work of my predecessor, Ted Florenz. It is important to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of our Board of Directors, volunteers, and Staff. Special thanks go to Executive Director Kelly Newland and the MSGA Staff for their hard work, as we were short-staffed for part of the past season. I can report that we have hired Karl Yegey as our Manager, Championships & Events which will hopefully make things easier for the staff. I am sure many of you will get a chance to meet Karl this season and will welcome him on board.
I would also like to acknowledge the hard work of Sue Dailey, who has retired from the Board but has agreed to stay on to Chair the Women’s Committee. We are lucky to have been joined on the Board by Joan Heiss and Mike Cumberpatch. Joan, from Talbot Country Club, is familiar to many of you as she has served on our Tournaments and Competitions Committee and on the Women’s Board. We are also lucky to have Mike Cumberpatch, from the U.S. Naval Academy Golf Club, and a USGA National Committee Volunteer, joining the Board this year. Many of you know Mike from his years as the Executive Director of the Washington Metropolitan Golf Association and the Middle Atlantic Golf Association. We also welcome back Armando Deltoro for a second term.
We are looking forward to the upcoming golf season and have made a couple of minor changes that we hope will make things better for our members. The 2024 season begins on April 7 with the start of the Men’s Team matches. The following is a highlight of the upcoming season:
The 103rd Maryland Amateur will be held at Manor Country Club June 6-9, 2024. We are excited to announce that this year the winner will receive an automatic bid to the USGA Amateur held at Hazeltine National Golf Club on August 12-18, 2024;
The 100th Maryland Junior Amateur and the 47th Maryland Girls Junior Amateur will be played together at the U.S. Naval Academy Golf Club on June 24-26, 2024; The 103rd Maryland Open will be held at Talbot Country Club July 8-10, 2024; The 103rd Women’s Amateur is scheduled for July 22-24, 2024 at the Suburban Club; and Woodmont Country Club has agreed to host the 25th Women’s Open October 5-6, 2024.
Please make sure to sign up early for tournaments, as last year, many filled up quickly, leaving many players on the waitlist.
Our goal at the MSGA is to continue to offer our 40,000 members the great tournaments and events that we have had for years; to continue the great programs like Youth on Course, and to grow the game of golf in Maryland. There is plenty of work to be done, and I invite you to join us by participating and volunteering. I believe that you will find it as rewarding as I have.
I look forward to seeing you on the course this year. Please feel free to reach out to me or any of the MSGA staff if you have any questions or concerns.