President’s Message by John Ronca O Taking it to Another Level
ur mission statement here at the NCGA is straightforward: To support and promote the game of golf.
And we’ve certainly been doing our best to live up to it. In recent years, and even going back to its founding in 1901, the NCGA has done a number of things to follow through on that mission. We offer tournaments for golf-
ers of all skill levels and provide handicapping; created the highly praised Youth on Course program; host Member Outings and instruc- tional Rules Schools; deliver valuable information on both our website and in the award-winning NCGA Golf magazine and have been advocates for the game on issues ranging from wa- ter restrictions and costs to legislative actions such as taxes on golf services. Overall, we feel that the state of
the NCGA is extremely sound. But we also want to do more. For 2016 and beyond, our mission is to take it to another level. One of the main things we’re
focused on is membership growth. While we’re fully confident that our tournament program is one of the best in the nation, we also want to offer members the other part of playing golf—having fun. As part of our goal to grow the game, we are offering new travel programs, more member out- ings and are introducing recreational golf programs. These are events and programs that are open to every NCGA member, whether they’re a beginner or a seasoned amateur. We also are working on ways to better inform non-members of the great benefits the NCGA member- ship has to offer. New programs on that front will be rolling out as the year progresses.
In the quest to share our love of
the game, we are also proud to declare that Youth on Course can now be found in 10 states, having recently added the Kansas City and Chicago
10 /
NCGA.ORG / SPRING 2016
John Ronca was in the final group on Sunday at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am with pro partner Hiroshi Iwata and Phil Mickelson.
regions. We believe it’s only a mat- ter of time before this wonderful program, which now has over 10,000 members, will be available from coast to coast. As part of our own support for Youth on Course, starting this year the annual NCGA Hall of Fame gala will benefit the program. We hope you can join us for the event, which will take place at our own Poppy Hills in the fall. Speaking of junior golf, you may
have heard that the USGA has chosen Poppy Hills to host the 2018 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship. The championship is a testament to the effort we made in improving Poppy Hills, and it fits in perfectly with our ties to Youth on Course and the also rapidly growing Junior Tour of Northern California, which we run in conjunction with our friends at the Northern California PGA. Still less than a decade old, the JTNC has already produced two national cham- pions—Bryson DeChambeau, who won last year’s U.S. Amateur Champi- onship, and recently competed at the Masters and Hannah O’Sullivan, who won last year’s U.S. Women’s Amateur. In what will surely be another
exciting year, there’s also the U.S. Women’s Open, which tees off in July
at CordeValle in San Martin. We’re thrilled for what will be the first U.S. Women’s Open to be held in the Bay Area, and will be rooting for Northern California natives such as Christina Kim and Paula Creamer. Looking a bit further down the
road, we’ll be co-hosting the Champions Tour First Tee Open at Pebble Beach. Held in September, the First Tee Open is a prime example of how golf can bring different generations together. By all means, the NCGA is on a
strong foundation. Whatever we try to do, and whoever does it—whether it’s a member of our dedicated staff or one of our volunteers—our goal is to deliver unparalleled service to the game and you, the member. We are not perfect, but we strive
for perfection. We owe that to our membership and the golf community. If we continue to act with these
principles, and with a purpose, our hard-earned and long-held reputation as being one of the best regional golf associations in the nation will continue. We’d love to hear your thoughts.
Visit
NCGA.org and look for the “Contact Us” page under the “About Us” dropdown menu. Enjoy the game!
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