MGA: Massachusetts Golf Association Illustration Illustration

About MGA

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The First Tee Executive Director
Joe Louis Barrow, Jr.

History - MGA Centennial
In celebration of its 100th anniversary, the MGA embarked on a year-long Centennial celebration to honor the rich, storied history of Massachusetts golf. Here are just a few highlights from the year-long celebration:

Centennial of Massachusetts Golf Gala Event:
The highlight of the 2003 MGA Centennial Celebration was the Centennial of Massachusetts Golf Gala Event, which was held on Saturday, March 29, 2003, at the historic Fairmont Copley Plaza in the heart of downtown Boston.

Over the past 100 years, Massachusetts has experienced a countless number of great golf moments that have helped shape the personality and character of the Massachusetts Golf Association, golf in the Commonwealth and golf throughout the world.

Hosted by WCVB-TV’s sports reporter Mike Dowling, the event featured surprise call ins by golf legends Byron Nelson, Gene Littler and Ben Crenshaw as well as a special announcement made by Joe Louis Barrow, Jr., executive director of The First Tee. With photos of the golf icons featured on two oversized screens, the three legends spoke about their experiences playing golf in the Commonwealth. Through one-of-a-kind video vignettes produced by Norwood-based Cramer Productions, the event also highlighted the people and moments – both past and present – that have contributed to the state’s rich golf heritage.

"A Commonwealth of Golfers - A Centennial Tribute to the Game and Its Players"
Created to mark the centenary of the MGA, "A Commonwealth of Golfers" features contributions by distinguished journalists and writers such as John Updike, Herbert Warren Wind, Bradley S. Klein and John P. English, and more than 400 stunning photographs commissioned especially for this book.

This 280-page coffee table style book is a celebration of the game of golf as well as a fascinating history of the game's growth and development in the state of Massachusetts. It is a book that every Massachusetts golfer will enjoy as well as any golfer with a passion for the customs and traditions of the greatest game of all.

Massachusetts Golf House, Museum & Hall of Fame:
A special feature of the Massachusetts Golf Museum is the Massachusetts Hall of Fame, which will serve as a forum to honor local heroes who have made indelible marks on the game of golf. The Hall of Fame - created during the MGA's Centennial year - will help visitors understand and appreciate the contributions made by such local legends as Francis Ouimet, Donald Ross, Pat Bradley and Fred Corcoran.

The inaugural Massachusetts Hall of Fame class will be named and inducted in the Spring 2004.

Centennial Championship Schedule:
In September 1903, Arthur G. Lockwood of Allston Golf Club made Massachusetts golf history when he defeated 37 other entrants to capture the first Massachusetts Amateur title at Myopia Hunt Club. Lockwood's victory that day - one of three Amateur titles he would claim over the first decade of the event - represents the beginnings of what has since become one of the most successful, competitive amateur Championship schedules in the country.

In honor of the MGA’s year-long Centennial celebration, the MGA Championships are returning to many founding member clubs and to some of the best layouts in the state such as The Country Club, Myopia Hunt Club, Oyster Harbors Club, Tedesco Country Club, Duxbury Yacht Club, Crumpin-Fox Club, Worcester Country Club, Concord Country Club, Stockbridge Golf Club, Brae Burn Country Club, Weston Golf Club and the Country Club of New Seabury.

Centennial MGA Spring Conference:
On Saturday, March 8th, the MGA welcomed Alastair Johnston, president and COO of International Management Group, as the keynote speaker of the 41st MGA Spring Conference. The event - an educational forum sponsored annually by the MGA - also featured headliner Ruffin Beckwith, former senior vice president of the World Golf Foundation and current executive director of Golf 20/20, a three-year old initiative of the World Golf Foundation focused on aligning the golf industry behind programs that impact the growth of interest and participation in golf. Beckwith discussed the "Growth of the Game" with a special focus on player development and retention.