It would be another four years before ratification of the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution gave American women the right to vote, but on March 14, 1916, a group of eight women from five clubs made a pre-suffrage statement that still resonates a century later.
At a meeting that day, the CWGA was formed, with Mrs. Olyn Hemming being elected the first president. The group settled on this purpose for the association: “To promote and maintain the best interests of the game of golf; to hold golf tournaments; and to promote good fellowship among member clubs.”
Six months later, in September 1916 at Colorado Springs Golf Club (what is now Patty Jewett Golf Course), the CWGA held its first champonship, with 28 women competing in what is now known as the CWGA Match Play.
Plenty of water has gone under the bridge since then, bringing the CWGA to a major milestone in its history. This year, the association will celebrate its 100th anniversary, and the festivities will be spread out over the course of 2016.
“I hope the celebration of the winners, players, volunteers and leaders from the past 100 years will be inspiring,” said Laura Robinson, acting executive director of the CWGA.
Over the last two years, plans have been in the works for the centennial, with association board members Phyllis Jensen and Nancy Wilson co-chairing the Centennial Committee.
Most notably, three events are planned that will commemorate the CWGA’s first century:
— The CWGA’s annual meeting, set for Feb. 27 at The Inverness Hotel & Golf Club in Englewood, will feature a video history of the CWGA likely lasting 6-8 minutes. Among other things, it will include sections on tournaments, the rules and the Girls Junior Americas Cup. Several current and recent volunteer leaders of the CWGA have been interviewed, along with Jan Ford, who chaired the CWGA’s 75th-anniversary celebration, and Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Lynn Zmistowski. Organizers are also hoping to have World Golf Hall of Famer and former USGA president Judy Bell of Colorado Springs contribute the introduction and summary for the video. Also planned are unique time-lapse shots from a camera placed at a CWGA championship last year.
Three groups of people — to be announced — will receive centennial honors at the annual meeting: 10 CWGA volunteers who have gone “above and beyond” over the years; nine players who have won at least five major CWGA individual championships (Match Play, Stroke Play, Senior Match, and Senior Stroke); and three exceptional friends of the CWGA.
And beginning at the annual meeting, and for the remainder of the year, three items of CWGA centennial memorabilia will be available for purchase — a ball marker, bag tag and water bottle. Each will feature the association’s centennial logo. In addition, the CWGA will be awarding a special medallion to selected honorees in the course of 2016.
— The CWGA Stroke Play Championship, set for Aug. 2-4 at Denver Country Club, will include centennial-related festivities, though the details are still being finalized. Jensen said the centennial video will likely be shown again.
Denver Country Club is certainly a historic venue from the CWGA’s perspective, having hosted the CWGA Match Play in the association’s 25th anniversary year and the CWGA Stroke Play in the 50th, 75th (and now the 100th) anniversary years. The first CWGA championship held at the club was the 1917 Match Play.
— And on Sept. 21 at Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen, the CWGA will host a centennial celebration tournament to which some of the most dedicated volunteers and top champions will be invited. A luncheon will follow.
The idea is a take-off of the “medallion mixers” the CWGA used to hold for current and former association board members. “It’ll be called ‘Winners and Workers’,” Wilson noted.
“That will be a neat event,” Jensen added. “And if you can’t play golf, you can come to the luncheon and see people you may not have seen in a while.”
