Colorado golf-style gift wishes for the holiday season
by Gary Baines
‘Tis that time of year again.
Among the long-held traditions of the holiday season for many is giving and receiving gifts.
But there are only so many socks, pajamas, ties, pullovers and the like that one can fit in the closet or dresser. Gift cards can sometimes fit the bill, as long as they don’t get lost at the bottom of some drawer.
Even in the golf realm, monogrammed balls are a fine idea — until they start really stacking up in the garage.
With that in mind, it’s time for our annual ritual of doling out things that can’t be neatly packaged. Yes, we mean our 2018 edition of Colorado golf-related holiday gift wishes.
To: Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster.
Gift Wish: That your decision to defer becoming an LPGA member will pay off with a second straight NCAA title in May.
To: Exiting CGA co-presidents Joe McCleary and Juliet Miner.
Gift Wish: Satisfaction in knowing that all the work you’ve put in as volunteer leaders of the CGA and CWGA/CGA, respectively, over the last three years has left the new-look CGA on a solid foundation for a long time to come.
To: New CGA president Janene Guzowski.
Gift Wish: Making McCleary and Miner proud in building on their accomplishments.
To: The Colorado PGA.
Gift Wish: That the good work you do as a Section, having won 10 national awards in 12 years from the PGA of America, leads to genuine growth in the game in Colorado.
To: Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado Boys Player of the Year Dillon Stewart.
Gift Wish: A spot in the five-man lineup for perennial college powerhouse Oklahoma State in your first year or two in Stillwater.
To: TPC Colorado in Berthoud.
Gift Wish: Rave reviews in your first year hosting the TPC Colorado Championship at Heron Lakes.
To: Colorado Golf Club in Parker.
Gift Wish: That the U.S. Mid-Amateur coming in September will be the first of many times the course hosts USGA championships.
To: City Park Golf Course in Denver.
Gift Wish: A redesigned layout worthy of the 100-plus-year history of the course, which is scheduled to reopen in 2019 after being closed since the fall of 2017.
To: The Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado.
Gift Wish: Steady growth and innovation for a fourth straight year.
To: Colorado-raised Wyndham Clark, Jim Knous, Jennifer Kupcho and Becca Huffer.
Gift Wish: Rookie seasons on the PGA and LPGA Tours that will guarantee cards on the world’s top golf circuits again the following season.
To: Former CU golfer Robyn Choi, who has qualified in Colorado for the last two U.S. Women’s Opens.
Gift Wish: That the decision to forego your final three semesters of college golf to start your LPGA Tour career at the beginning of 2019 will prove to be the right one.
To: The USGA and the CGA.
Gift Wish: That the inevitable tweaks to the modernized Rules of Golf that will take effect Jan. 1 will be kept to a reasonable minimum, and that the Rules rollout will be relatively seamless.
To: The powers that be in golf.
Gift Wish: That the 1985 PGA Championship isn’t the last men’s major that ever will be held in Colorado.
To: Colorado’s elite golfers.
Gift Wish: That players from the Centennial State win all three of the CoBank Colorado Open Championships in 2019.
To: Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy.
Gift Wish: That the academy’s model is adopted by a national organization so that teenagers country-wide can benefit.
To: Coloradans Caitlyn Chin, Chunya Boonta and Grady Ortiz.
Gift Wish: That one of you will become the first Coloradan to win a national title in the Drive, Chip & Putt Finals at Augusta National in April.
To: Colorado PGA senior players.
Gift Wish: That you take it easy on the young-uns after having won five of the last six Colorado PGA Professional Championships.
To: Topgolf.
Gift Wish: That a second Colorado site — in Thornton — will be a win-win, helping business in the short term and creating additional golfers for the game over the long haul.
To: Denver Golf Expo.
Gift Wish: Attendance exceeding 10,000 for the three-day show for the first time since 2012.
To: Evans Scholarship for Caddies at the University of Colorado.
Gift Wish: That the full-tuition and housing scholarship means a much to recipients in 2019 as it did in for the first “winners” in 1930.
To: Colorado college golf programs.
Gift Wish: A spring season that lasts into the second half of May.
To: Youth on Course.
Gift Wish: That its “sophomore” season in Colorado proves to be one where the program — which allows juniors to play golf at participating facilities for no more than $5 per round — really gains traction in the state.
To: Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton.
Gift Wish: That victory No. 26 — which would establish a record for CGA/CWGA women’s championships — comes your way at some tournament before you turn 60 in 2019.
To: World Golf Hall of Famer Hale Irwin, who grew up in Boulder.
Gift Wish: That golf organizations in Colorado will continue to draw upon your legacy to benefit future generations of golfers in the state.
To: The many Coloradans who volunteer their time in the name of golf.
Gift Wish: A full heart, knowing the game is better because of your generosity.
To: All golfers in Colorado.
Gift Wish: The time and good fortune to be able to get your golf fix in 2019 — or at least come close.