For the last decade, Coloradans have had a prominent seat at the table when it comes to the very highest levels of golf administration — often two seats, in fact.
But that will change in the early part of next year.
Jim Bunch of Denver started serving on the prestigious and powerful USGA Executive Committee in 2003, but he retired from that 15-person board in early 2010. (Bunch subsequently became chairman of the Western Golf Association at the beginning of this year.) And Christie Austin of Cherry Hills Village, who joined Executive Committee in 2007, will step down at the Feb. 2 USGA annual meeting in San Diego.
The USGA, which annually alters personnel on its Executive Committee, recently announced the Nominating Committee’s impending changes to the board. Austin (pictured above at right with former USGA president Judy Bell) is one of four Executive Committee members who will retire from the volunteer post at the 2013 annual meeting.
“The average time serving on the Executive Committee is three or four years,” Austin noted last week in a phone interview. “They want fresh ideas, and it’s a good process; it’s wise to (regularly) get fresh people on the board. And for me to serve six years is well beyond average. I thought last year would be my swan song. But I would say it’s time. I was fortunate and proud to serve six years.”
To say that it’s been quite an experience for Austin would be a big understatement. After all, very, very few people get the opportunity to serve at the highest level of golf administration. The USGA not only conducts 13 national championships — including the U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open, U.S. Senior Open and U.S. Amateur — but along with the R&A it governs the game worldwide. The organizations jointly administer the Rules of Golf, equipment standards, amateur status and the World Amateur Golf Rankings. The USGA also gives out large amounts of money through “for the good of the game” grants.
And the Executive Committee spearheads all of those efforts, and plenty of others.
“It’s been so great,” Austin said of her USGA leadership experience the last six years. “I have met people and done things and been places I never would have thought possible. The opportunities were immense and I’ve made lifelong friends. But I think their timing — serving 3-4-5 years — is about right. You serve with joy in your heart, but you sacrifice a lot. You need to get back to family and career.”
In 2007, Austin was just the fifth female to become a member of the USGA Executive Committee. This year, she became the first woman to chair the powerful USGA Rules of Golf Committee. And last year, she was the first woman to officiate a Walker Cup match held in Europe.
Overall in her six years on the Executive Committee, Austin chaired six USGA committees: Grants (2008-10), Rules (2012), Amateur Status (2010-11), the U.S. Amateur Public Links (2009-11), Audit (the last several years) and GHIN (2008). And this year, she was an officer for the first time, serving as USGA treasurer.
One of her more memorable experiences came in 2009 when she became chair of the Amateur Public Links Committee, which had been an all-male board.
“The year I took over I got an email saying, ‘You’re officially one of the guys.'” Austin remembers with a laugh.
While chairing the Grants Committee, Austin helped the CGA/CWGA-owned CommonGround Golf Course get a $175,000 USGA grant that helped the associations build the nine-hole Kids Course at CommonGround.
In the same vein, Austin serves on the national board for The First Tee — work that she will continue.
“I have a passion for junior golf; that’s near and dear to me,” said Austin, who also serves on the boards for the CWGA and the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame.
Austin also chaired the Amateur Status Committee when the USGA and R&A jointly established amateur status rules that went into effect Jan. 1 of this year.
Likewise, Austin found her work as chair of the Rules of Golf Committee “very rewarding”, though it lasted only this year. It’s certain that the USGA’s decision on anchoring putters — scheduled to be made by year’s end — will be highly scrutinized.
As a rules official in her own right, Austin has had plenty of unique experiences. This year, she became one of the first women to officiate at a British Open, and she’s done similar duty at every Masters and U.S. Open from 2007 through 2012.
The USGA’s president is chosen from the Executive Committee members, and the one female president in the association’s 118-year history — Bell — was a resident of Colorado Springs.
“One person goes up the ladder (to become president), so it’s a rare occurrence to be pushed forward,” Austin said. “I’m not disappointed. I served a great purpose for women in golf and for golf in general and I’m real proud of my accomplishments. I served with pleasure and honor and thoroughly enjoyed my time on the committee.”
So what does the immediate future hold for the University of Colorado graduate?
“I haven’t really contemplated the long term,” Austin said. “I want to take a breath and spend some more time (with her family, including daughter Julie, 17, son Michael, 24, and husband Bob). I went from a busy career (as executive vice president of Marsico Capital Management) to the Executive Committee, so I haven’t had any retirement time. Maybe I’ll play more competitive golf, take a few vacations … We’ll see what happens.”
Golf-wise, Austin is an accomplished player. She’s won more than 10 CWGA championships, many of them two-person team titles with Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Janet Moore. And Austin paired up with another Hall of Famer, Kim Eaton, to claim the 2010 Women’s Trans National Golf Association Senior Four-Ball Championship.
Individually, Austin won the CWGA Senior Stroke Play Championship and the senior division of the CWGA Match Play, both in 2007, leading to her being named CWGA Senior Player of the Year that season. In addition, she’s qualified for 11 USGA championships.
