Robin Jervey admits she knew little about the CWGA when she was sending out job inquiries two decades ago. In fact, when she was writing to six or eight golf associations around the country in her job quest, the CWGA wasn’t on her original contact list.
Instead, she addressed her query to the CGA. And while she received a “nice rejection letter” from then-executive director Warren Simmons, that didn’t translate into a dead-end. Indeed, it led to a high-profile job that’s lasted 20 years.
Thanks to Simmons being true to his word when he said he’d keep Jervey’s information on file in case anything might open up, this month she is celebrating her 20th anniversary as executive director of the CWGA.
“I owe my hire to Warren Simmons,” Jervey noted recently.
With Maggie Giesenhagen, the first executive director of the CWGA, leaving the association 20 years ago to take a position with the USGA, Simmons remembered Jervey’s inquiry and gave her information to the CWGA hiring committee. After a couple of interviews in January 1992, Jervey received a phone call — and a job offer — at her residence in Athens, Ga., that altered her life. And though plenty of things have changed about the executive director’s job over the years, Jervey has remained the one constant.
“It’s gone pretty darn fast,” Jervey said of the last two decades. “I still remember interviewing for the job. Some days I’ll think, ‘Oh my gosh, how long have I been here?’ But I’ve gotten to know so many people over the years. It’s nice to feel like you have a history with the organization.”
The CWGA has been around since 1916, but it’s only had an executive director since 1988. And it’s certainly true that the association looks a lot different today than it did when Jervey arrived as a 28-year-old.
“It’s really become a small business now,” she said. “When I started, it was volunteer-driven and board members did the work at home. I was the sole employee initially, but it evolved pretty quickly the first five years.”
Nowadays, the CWGA staff includes four full-time employees, along with one part-timer and a P.J. Boatwright intern. And, of course, volunteers continue to play a major role with the organization.
“Some women’s golf association (volunteer) boards are very micromanaging, but the boards I’ve worked with have been very forward-thinking for the most part,” Jervey noted. “They let the staff take the lead and grow. If they didn’t do that, we’d still be in the dark ages.”
And as the CWGA has expanded, so has the work Jervey has taken on. Especially in the last decade, she’s played key roles not just in the state, but on a national level. In recent years, she’s served on four USGA committees — Regional Associations (which automatically includes executive directors), Rules of Golf, Handicap Procedure and the Joe Dey Award, which is presented to an outstanding volunteer.
“Certainly all the USGA committee work” is a highlight, Jervey said. “You don’t choose to be on those committees; you get invited. It’s always an honor to get selected.”
In addition, Jervey recently completed a one-year stint as president of the International Association of Golf Administrators. She was just the fourth woman to hold the IAGA president’s post, and the first since 1986. She was also the first woman president who represented a women’s golf association.
Jervey served as IAGA president at the same time she was wrapping up a sometimes-time-consuming run on the USGA Rules of Golf Committee.
“That was challenging doing that at the same time,” she said. “But it felt really good at the end of the year that it went off well.”
Jervey’s stint on the Rules Committee led to several high-profile opportunities as a rules official. Specifically, she’s worked the Masters each of the last four years, making a ruling on live TV at least once.
“It was a privilege to see Augusta inside the ropes and to be in the rules administration building there,” she said. “They go out of their way to make you feel welcome.”
Jervey also has been a rules official at every U.S. Open since 2006 and every U.S. Women’s Open but one since 2001.
Jervey said she doesn’t consider herself a “rules geek”, but that hasn’t kept her from becoming very knowledgeable in the Rules of Golf realm. Last year, she was one of just three people out of about 100 in her rules class to score 100 percent on the rules test. To serve as a rules official at major national and international championships, people must score at least 92 on the test during the current rules cycle. The average score for Jervey’s class last year was 79.5.
“Getting that (100) was a thrill,” she said. “The number of people who score 92 or better is a relatively short list.” Thanks to going to rules workshops on an annual basis “I think my comprehension gets better every year.”
Jervey hopes to work both the U.S. Open and the U.S. Women’s Open this year, and she’s planning to officiate at the U.S. Amateur for the first time as Cherry Hills will host the championship and CommonGround will serve as the second stroke-play course.
Jervey was certainly no stranger to golf before being hired by the CWGA. She played on the boys golf team at her high school in New Jersey, where she was a three-sport athlete. And she earned a spot on the women’s golf team at Furman University in South Carolina.
In higher education, Jervey was always sports-oriented. She earned an undergraduate degree in physical education from Furman and a Masters in sports management at the University of Georgia. During the summers throughout her high school and college days, she worked as a caddie at the prestigious Baltusrol Golf Club. In addition, she served a three-month internship with the Georgia State Golf Association, which whet her appetite for a career in golf administration.
“I like that non-profit environment — and being in a small office where you know everybody,” Jervey said. “I really like the feel of amateur golf.”
As a player, Jervey has competed in four USGA championships — the 1986 U.S. Women’s Amateur and the 1992, 2005 and 2006 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur — and she advanced to the round of 16 at the 1992 national Mid-Am. In addition, she was runner-up in the New Jersey women’s match play championship in mid-1980s.
More recently, Jervey teamed with Kelly Schaub to win the CWGA Brassie Championship three straight years (2004-06). While she maintains a handicap of about 5 these days, Jervey now considers herself mainly a social golfer.
Jervey had visited Colorado just once before interviewing with the CWGA 20 years ago, but suffice it to say the state certainly has grown on her.
“The people here are wonderful — friendly and welcoming,” she said. “They made me feel at home right away.”
And nowadays, while she has roots in the Northeast, Jervey has put some down in Colorado as well.
“I love my job, and I would never think of leaving unless an opportunity came along that I couldn’t say no to,” she said.
