The Maryland State Golf Association held its 99th annual dinner meeting at the Green Spring Valley Hunt Club in suburban Baltimore, November 15, 2019. Among the features was the installation of a new slate of officers, headed by A.B. (Sandy) Martin, president, from the Green Spring Valley Hunt Club. As has been the custom, the meeting was held at the club of the in-coming president.
Joining Martin as officers are David (Moose) Brown, Rolling Road Golf Club, vice president; Jack Barse, Columbia CC, secretary, and John J. Pauliny, treasurer. Barse, a past MSGA president, succeeds the retiring Dr. Robert Sherwood, another past MSGA president, who recently completed 22 years of distinguished and untiring service to the organization.
(L to R) Mike Hinkey, Sandy Martin, Bob Van Namen
The previously elected directors will continue to serve as directors: Martin, Brown, Pauliny, Diane Herndon, Ted Florenz, Cliff Patterson, Robert Stewart, Geoff Gonella, Sinclair Eaddy, and Jan Miller. Newly elected officers for three-year terms are Barse, Michael Hinkey, Rolling Road GC, and Robert Van Namen, Chevy Chase Club, and for a two-year term, Rebecca Krimski, Baltimore CC.
Martin, a three-time Green Spring club golf champion, is a graduate of Randolph-Macon College and a former stock broker. He has won six U.S. and Canadian squash championships and is a member of the Maryland State Squash Hall of Fame.
Chief among the other announcements was the planned resignation of William K. Smith, Executive Director, who said he would relinquish his duties after 2020.
Smith has served the MSGA in several different capacities for the last 35 years, including being President in 1994 and in his current position since 2001. Patterson will chair a committee which will conduct a search for his successor.
Clark Mackenzie and Sandy Martin
Additionally, out-going president, Brian Fitzgerald, announced plans, which are still in the formative stage at this time, for a Maryland Golf Hall of Fame.
Clark MacKenzie, a Green Spring member who has known Martin as a friend and who has competed with and against him in competition for some 60 years, was the guest speaker.
Awards
(L to R) Chris Hanson, Bob Mokros, and Kim Ferguson
Baltimore County Golf was recognized for its strong support of the MSGA’s efforts on behalf of the national Youth on Course program, which allows children to play a round of golf for $5. In 2019 alone, BCG has logged more than 1,600 YOC rounds, more than 60% of the total YOC rounds played in Maryland this year.
William and Mary Matton
Baltimore County already has a thriving Junior golf program, so now these children can take their newly-learned skills to the golf course for a modest fee. Head golf professionals Bob Mokros (Greystone GC) and Chris Hanson (Fox Hollow GC) accepted on behalf of BCG.
William Matton, from Annapolis and the U.S. Naval Academy Golf Club, became the ninth recipient of the Dawson Stump Award for distinguished service, for his nationally known efforts on behalf of the USGA’s Course Rating System. He serves as the MSGA’s director for this program.
POY Billy Peel
In addition, William Peel, IV, was on hand to receive his previously announced Player-of-the-Year award. Pete DeTemple, the Senior winner, was unable to attend because of family obligations.
Scholarships
The Maryland State Golf Association Scholarship Program was organized in 2006 for exclusively charitable and educational purposes, including the awarding of educational scholarships to individuals employed by MSGA member clubs/courses and/or their children, and to students who have completed their junior year of high school with a bona fide connection to the game of golf. There have been 46 scholarships awarded totaling $161,750.
This year’s recipient is Brady Leonard, a dual enrollment student at Stephen Decatur High School at Worcester-Wicomico Community College, who plans to pursue a degree in biology and play on the men’s golf team. Outside of school, he volunteers at Assateague State Park and assists junior golfers at Ocean City Golf Club.
Amanda Deener
The following students had their MSGA scholarships renewed: Raja Hussain, University of Maryland; William Kreps, University of Dayton; Emily Malinowski, University of Maryland; Jordan Steinbach, Virginia Tech, and Grant Zangwill, Georgetown University.
The David King Scholarship is awarded annually in the amount of $2,500 to a deserving student. The scholarship is funded by Mr. King, who, among his other golf accomplishments is the only player to have won the MSGA Amateur, Mid-Amateur, and Senior Amateur.
This year’s recipient is Amanda Deener, of Frederick. A senior at Frederick Christian Academy, she is a member of the school’s volleyball team and has competed on the Middle Atlantic PGA and Peggy Kirk Bell junior golf tours. She will attend Shepherd College. Outside of school and sports, she is active in her church, including having served as a youth counselor at its summer camp.
Hallie Bridgers
In 2017, the MSGA-Women’s Division established the Caves Valley Golf Club Foundation Scholarship in the amount of $2,000. It is awarded annually to a female student who has completed her junior year of high school and has a bona fide connection to the game of golf. With additional funding, the MSGA-WD was able to award three $2,000 scholarships in 2019.
Hallie Bridgers, 18, from Baltimore, is a senior at Western High School. She participates in multiple sports, including the golf team, and multiple clubs, including the National Honor Society and the Big Sister/Little Sister Mentoring group.
Jenny Hua
Sarah Craft, 18, a Manchester Valley High School senior, is captain of the girls’ cross country team and has been honored for her success in girls track and field. She works at Oakmont Green Golf Course, where her father is the general manager and course superintendent. She has not made a college choice yet, but she plans on studying biology.
Jenny Hua, AG, a senior at Northwest High School, has had a successful Junior golf career, as she has been a member of the MSGA-WD’s girls teams, 2017-19, and was named the 2019 MAPGA Junior Girl Player of the Year. She will attend Amherst College next year, majoring in economics in preparation for pursuing an ultimate career as a lawyer, and will play on the women’s golf team.
Dr. Mark Carroll and Benjamin Word
In addition to its scholarships, the MSGA sponsors the Emmet Gary Scholarship(s) to the University of Maryland. The Emmet Gary Scholarship scholarship is open to UMD students enrolled in the Turf and Golf Course Management Curriculum at the University of Maryland who are interested in seeking employment within the golf industry.
University of Maryland Environmental Science and Policy Program Associate Professor and Director, Dr. Mark Carroll, spoke about the scholarships’ positive impact on students in the Turf and Golf Course Management program. In 2019, $12,000 in scholarships were awarded to two juniors who are majoring in Plant Science / Turf and Golf Course Management, Benjamin Word, 20, from Bel Air, who has served an internship at Winters Run Golf Course the last four summers, and Jacob Hess, who was unable to attend the meeting.
Reported by John Stewart
