History

MSGA Mission
To serve, grow, and advance the game of golf in Maryland and the District of Columbia

MSGA History
The Maryland State Golf Association was founded during a meeting at the Emerson Hotel in Baltimore on March 8, 1921. The founding clubs, which were said to represent 8,000 golfers were as follows:

• Baltimore Country Club
• Cumberland Country Club
• Elkridge Club
• Green Spring Valley Hunt Club
• Hagerstown Country Club
• Maryland Country Club
• Monterey Country Club
• Naval Academy Golf Club
• Public Parks Golf Association
• Rolling Road Golf Club
• Sherwood Forest Golf Club
• Suburban Club
• Talbot Country Club
• Tome Golf Club

Following are some of the most significant events in the history of the MSGA:

• 1921 – First Men’s Open was held at Baltimore Country Club | First Men’s Amateur was held at Rolling Road GC | First Women’s Amateur was held at the Suburban
• 1923 – First Junior Boy’s Championship was held at Baltimore CC
• 1926 – First Men’s State Team Championship was conducted
• 1929 – First Men’s Senior Amateur Championship was held at Baltimore CC
• 1936 – First Father & Son Championship was held at Baltimore CC
• 1938 – First Four-Ball Championship was held at Indian Spring GC
• 1957 – First Pro-Amateur was held at Hillendale CC | First BW Team Match was held at the Chevy Chase Club
• 1961 – Harry Pitt Trophy (Low Amateur) was added to the Men’s Open
• 1969 – First Women’s Senior Amateur Championship was held at the Elkridge Club | Emmet Gary Scholarships awarded to University of Maryland students majoring in Plant Sciences-Turf and Golf Course Management for the first time
• 1975 – A girls division was added to the Junior Championship held at Argyle CC
• 1987 – First Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship was held at Maryland G&CC
• 1994 – First Two-Woman Team Championship was held at Walden CC
• 1995 – The Maryland State Golf Association-Women’s Division was formed and the first annual meeting was held in November | MSGA joins the Four-State Senior Challenge
• 1996 – First Senior Four-Ball Championship was held at West Winds GC | Ann Bergquist honored with first Distinguished Service Award | Women’s Division began administering the Women’s Amateur, Two-Woman and Women’s Senior.
• 1997 – Women’s State Team Championship was reinstated after a hiatus of nearly a decade | First One-Day Rules Seminar was hosted by the Women’s Division
• 1998 –For the first time, the Girl’s Junior Championship was conducted as a separate event from the Boy’s Championship | First junior girls Poindexter Cup was held | First junior girls Mid-Atlantic Challenge was held at Independence GC
• 1999 – First Women’s Open was held at Bulle Rock Golf Club
• 2000 – First Senior Team Championship was conducted | First Senior Open Championship was held at Wakefield Valley GC
• 2003 – First Amateur Public Links Championship was held at Northwest GC
• 2006 – Golf Passport (Patron) Program was established offering discounts at area courses | MSGA and MAPGA begin a partnership for the Maryland Handicap Program
• 2007 – Player of the Year and Senior Player of the Year are honored for the first time | Scholarship Program was established, including an annual $2,500 David King Scholarship
• 2008 – First Two-Woman Team Mid-Handicap Championship was held at Holly Hills CC | First Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship was held at Lakewood CC
• 2009 – Maryland joins Virginia and West Virginia in the Mid Atlantic Junior Invitational
• 2010 – First BW Junior Team Match was held at Baltimore CC | First Club Team Stroke Play was held at Lake Presidential GC | MSGA hosts first Charity Golf tournament to benefit the MSGA scholarship program | Hole-in-One program established exclusively for MSGA members
• 2012 – A One-Day series, open to all ages and abilities, was added to the schedule | John Stewart receives first Dawson Stump Outstanding Achievement award
• 2013 – Know & Play by the Rules seminars were conducted for the first time at member clubs | MSGA’s first electronic magazine, Maryland State Golf, was launched
• 2014– Campbell Cup (Low Amateur) was added to the Maryland Women’s Open | Winner’s Circle established to recognize donor contributions to MSGA initiatives
• 2015 – Plans begin for a permanent MSGA headquarters
• 2016 – Junior Grant Program was established
• 2017 – Caves Valley Golf Club Junior Girls Grant and Scholarship programs established | First Junior Girls Season Opener was held in the Baltimore area
• 2018 – Women’s Division adds a second Junior Girls Season Opener in the D.C. area | MSGA partners with Youth on Course to bring $5 rounds of golf to youth in Maryland | MSGA partners with Affinity Travel to provide members with the lowest hotel prices, guaranteed | MSGA relocates to a permanent headquarters in Lutherville

Today, the MSGA has grown to an association consisting of over 150 clubs and 40,000 golfers.

VIEW PRESENTATION ON MSGA-WD HISTORY