The Adobe Flash Player is required to view this multimedia interactive. Get it here.

MVGA brings area golfers together

Organization formed to provide golfers with adequate information

Cold, wind to keep roads slick Saturday
10:56 p.m.
Safety, job hopes linked to road work
10:23 p.m.
EPA seeks action against mobile home park owner
10:21 p.m.
Hard times continue for homeless mother, two kids
10:19 p.m.
Contractor wanted in theft from elderly
10:17 p.m.
> More headlines

By Bucky Albers, Contributing Writer Updated 12:35 PM Tuesday, April 14, 2009

When you consider that people began playing golf in the Miami Valley more than 100 years ago, the Miami Valley Golf Association is just a new kid on the links.

That “new kid” is only 14 years old, but its impact on competitive golf in the Dayton area has been so strong that it is difficult to imagine the sport without it.

Nearly 11,000 members of 50 golf clubs and golf courses in a  14-county area rely on the MVGA for a multitude of services, not the least of which is the administration of their handicaps using the USGA’s GHIN (Golf Handicap and Information Network) system.

The MVGA is a group of individuals associated with private and public courses who promote the interests of golf. Under the able leadership of executive director Steve Jurick, the MVGA measures and rates golf courses, stages 40 days of tournaments, conducts educational seminars and provides courses with resources helpful in managing their tournaments.

Operating from an office at Dayton Country Club, Jurick and two summer interns funded by the United States Golf Association provide Miami Valley golfers with a variety of resources, including a Web site that keeps members informed.

“The one thing I’m proudest of is that we’ve been able to bring everybody together,” Jurick said. “We are a vehicle for people in golf to get connected. We are stewards for the golf course superintendents, the Dayton Seniors and the Dayton District Women’s Golf Association.”

Until the formation of the MVGA in 1994, the Dayton area was considered Ohio’s black hole of golf because it had no organization to bring together its clubs or provide them with adequate information on golfers attending their member-guest competitions.

Before the MVGA was formed, some Dayton clubs were affiliated with the Greater Cincinnati Golfers League and others were under the Columbus district umbrella.

Others used various services to collect their scores and calculate handicaps.

The local women formed the DDWGA in 1992 and held organized competitions, but aside from the handful of loosely-managed annual city of Dayton tournaments, there was a void of competition for men.

Area golfers had nowhere, short of USGA headquarters in New Jersey, to have their golf questions answered.

And without a governing body acceptable to all, groups such as the old Dayton District Golf Association, could not count on getting access to many private courses for their competitions.

After being incorporated in 1996, the MVGA set up a schedule rotation of 24 years during which member courses were committed to provide their facilities for the tournaments. Jurick contacts a club 18 months before it is scheduled to host an event and subsequently works out details for fees, practice rounds and food and beverage requirements.

The MVGA has a group of 10 volunteers who measure golf courses and  60 others who perform course ratings.

They evaluate 10 courses a year. The USGA recommends rating courses every 10 years or when there are significant changes to a course.

An accurate course and slope rating is necessary so handicaps may be adjusted to consider the difficulty of each course.

In other words, a golfer with a  10-handicap at Community Golf Course usually needs more strokes on a more difficult course such as NCR South.

The MVGA runs the annual Metropolitan championship as well as Senior and Junior Metro championships.

It administers the DDWGA match and stroke-play tournaments as well as the Dayton Seniors’ three annual events and the golf superintendents’ scholarship event.

The MVGA’s latest offering is an eClub for those not currently affiliated with a country club.

Golfers  Can Join  Club  Without a home Course

In an effort to attract golfers who are not affiliated with any club or course, the Miami Valley Golf Association offers eClub Miami Valley.

“It’s a golf club that has no real estate,” MVGA Executive Director Steve Jurick said.

For $29.95, men and women can register on the Internet for eClub Miami Valley, which will make it possible for the member to have a handicap index and have an occasional round of golf on many of the area’s private golf courses.

“It’s for people who like to play golf but do not have one home club,” Jurick explained. “It gives them an opportunity be part of a golf community without being tied to one location.”

Over the year, eClub Miami Valley will have roughly 15 events at public and private courses.

Members pay a greens fee of about $50-$75 for the privilege.

To learn more about eClub Miami Valley, go to miamivalleygolf.org.

— Bucky Albers

Share this article