FIRST SHOT
Message from the CSGA Executive Director - Mike Moraghan
CSGA Continues to Grow
T
here was a time when the Connecticut State
Golf Association was run exclusively by
men from private clubs operating in the best
interests of men from private clubs. Over time the
CSGA’s organizational structure changed to include
representation from public golf courses. Today
in fact, three of our eight Executive Committee
members, Stan McFarland (Manchester), Shelly
Guyer (Oak Hills Park) and Judy Smith (Orange
Hills) come from public courses.
Recent past president, John Marion hails
from Norwich Golf Course, site of our 2017
Public Links Championship, and staff member
Bill Bigler, our Director of Club Relations, plays
his golf at Rockledge, site of this year’s Father-Son
Net Championship and next year’s Mixed Team
Daniela Lendl, CSGA Director of Women’s Golf
4 | CSGA Links // October, 2016
Championship.
These
key
people and many
others play significant
roles in the golf
community at large as
well as at their home
courses. Shelly Guyer
manages the cityowned Oak Hills Park Golf Course in Norwalk,
and Judy Smith manages her family-owned Orange
Hills Country Club in Orange.
The CSGA’s shift some years ago to represent
all golf course operations in our state was a logical
if not overdue development, especially so given
that there are actually more public golf courses
than private clubs in Connecticut.
Having the public golfer represented in
our operations is not just window dressing. The
primary beneficiaries of our successful effort in
2015 to thwart the State Legislature’s attempt to
raise an additional $14 million in golf taxes were the
men, women and children who tee it up at public
courses. We will continue to fight for reduced
property taxes for all golf courses, and while other
golf associations have dropped their Public Links
Championship we remain committed to crowning
a champion of public golf each year.
And now, just as years ago there was a
transition within the CSGA to include and celebrate
public golf, there is a similar transition happening
in regards to women’s golf in Connecticut.
With Daniela “Crash” Lendl joining our
staff, the CSGA has for the first time in our 117year history, a “Director of Women’s Golf.” In
addition to her duties as Official in Charge of
our fourteen One Day Tournaments, Crash will
be the lead official in our growing list of women’s
championships.
www.csgalinks.org