On April 20th, 2022, at Manor Country Club, the Maryland State Golf Association celebrated its Centennial. Past Maryland State Golf Association (MSGA) Presidents, MSGA Board Members, Joe Sprague of the USGA, and Former Executive Director Bill Smith were in attendance. We want to give a special thanks to Manor Country Club, which celebrates its centennial this year, for hosting the event. Manor Country Club will be hosting the 101st Maryland State Open on July 11-13.
Current President of the Board, Diane Herndon, started the night welcoming the 170+ in attendance. Then, board member Randy Woods gave the invocation. All guests received a copy of Maryland State Golf Association Celebrating 100 Years 1921-2021 written by former Executive Director Bill Smith at the end of the night.
MSGA President Diane Herndon and Board Member Randy Woods
A Message from MSGA President Diane Herndon:
“Welcome to our 100th Year Celebration! We are delighted to be able to celebrate our great history of champions and all those individuals who worked tirelessly to bring this wonderful game to our State. Tonight, we welcome our inaugural class into the newly established Maryland Golf Hall of Fame.
The MSGA has come a long way since 1921, while still staying true to our mission of growing the game, sponsoring and conducting state tournaments, educating golfers on the Rules of Golf and Handicapping, fostering respect for the game, and awarding scholarships to so many deserving individuals that have gone on to pursue their dreams.
We hope you enjoy all of the work and effort that our former Executive Director, Bill Smith, endured in pulling together the history of the last 100 years of the MSGA. There are so many compelling stories of great Champions and others throughout our history. We began our journey when the founders of the MSGA convened a meeting at the Emerson Hotel back in March of 1921. We were small in 1921 with only 14 member clubs, but we continued to grow to where we are today with 165 member clubs.
As we look back on what our founders started, we wonder what they would think about how far the MSGA has come. Our fundraising has grown through the years enabling us to award scholarships to several hard-working college students each year. In addition, our Youth on Course Program demonstrates how much progress has been made in our growth of the game initiative. Youth on Course membership skyrocketed from 2019 to 2021 to a total of 1744 members! We’ve seen over 7,000 rounds of golf played by our juniors in 2021 throughout the State. None of this would be possible without the generosity of all those who support our junior golf program. With your support, we paid out over $65,000 in subsidies to our member clubs who allowed our juniors to play a game they hopefully carry with them for a lifetime.
We have much to celebrate as we enter our second centennial of stewardship to our great game. Thank you to all of our golfers, member clubs, professional staffs, and all those that allow us to do what we do!”
Brian Fitzgerald, past president of the MSGA, inducted the inaugural class into the Maryland Golf Hall of Fame. The class included; Charlie Bassler Sr., Deane Beman, Ralph Bogart, Bobby Brownell, Bill Clarke PGA, Warren Corkran Jr., Jane Fitzgerald, Evelyn Glick, Roland MacKenzie, Fred McLeod PGA, and Marty West. To learn more about the inductees, click here.
We would also like to thank Baltimore Country Club, Columbia Country Club, Rolling Road Golf Club, Chevy Chase Club, Country Club of Maryland, Middle Atlantic Golf Association, Washington Metropolitan Golf Association, Middle Atlantic PGA Section, and Virginia State Golf Association for being in attendance.
