Over the first three years of its existence, the Colorado golf industry’s annual G4 Summit has made it a point to include a wide variety of golf-related topics.
It’s also engaged a diverse list of speakers.
And now, it’s spreading its wings in another sense — geographically.
After first being held at The Inverness Hotel & Conference Center south of Denver in 2014, then The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs hosting it the past two years, the G4 Summit will go up north this winter. The Omni Interlocken Resort in Broomfield will be the site for the fourth annual G4 on Feb. 21.
The plan in upcoming years, according to Colorado PGA assistant executive director Patrick Salva, is to rotate the event between the Omni and The Broadmoor, with the G4 returning to the latter site in 2018, the year The Broadmoor will host the U.S. Senior Open.
The G4 brings together many of the industry leaders in Colorado golf — including the CGA, CWGA, Colorado PGA, course superintendents and managers — for a day of meetings, panel discussions and several presentations by notable speakers. The idea is working together to more effectively deal with issues that face golf.
In the past couple of years, the event has featured some newsworthy announcements as well:
— In 2015, former USGA president Will Nicholson Jr., announced that Jack Nicklaus had agreed to be a headliner at the Colorado Century of Golf Gala later that year at The Broadmoor.
— And last year, the name and logo for the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado were unveiled and details of the newly formed entity were announced.
In addition, the G4 has included an array of prominent speakers over the last several years, including former LPGA Tour standout and current CBS golf broadcaster Dottie Pepper, PGA of America CEO Pete Bevacqua, Golf Course Superintendents Association of America CEO Rhett Evans, and several USGA directors.
This year’s speaker lineup promises to likewise cover an array of topics:
— Major General Ryan Gonsalves, division commander for the 4th Infantry Division and Fort Carson. The Fort Carson native, who assumed his current post overseeing all operations at Fort Carson in May 2015, will speak about leadership development: “mentoring those behind us.” The general has served in Germany, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq, in addition to the U.S.
— Sarah Hirshland, senior managing director of business affairs for the USGA. Hirshland will address growing engagement with all golfers and the facilities at which they play. She oversees global distribution of USGA-owned content — both in broadcast and digital media — and manages integrated marketing and communications for the association.
— Aubrey McCormick and Gina Rizzi, principals and founding partners at IMPACT360 Sports. They’ll talk about growing the game of golf while “promoting whole value sustainability best management practices through corporate social responsibility reporting.” McCormick is a former professional golfer who appeared on Golf Channel’s “Big Break Atlantis” in 2012.
— David Phipps, the GCSAA’s Northwest regional field staff representative and a leader in environmental stewardship in the game of golf. Phipps will speak on the First Green Foundation, which promotes environmental education outreach using golf courses as learning labs. Phipps is a winner of the GCSAA’s President’s Award for Environmental Stewardship.
Also on the G4 agenda are an update on the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado, which is entering its second year, and an industry panel discussion.
For more information on the G4 Summit, CLICK HERE.
