The Mountain State of Golf Volume 3, Issue 3, Summer 2023
WV Golf Association sees milestones in 2023 In some respects, 2023 to date has been a year of milestones for the West Virginia Golf Association (WVGA). Not only has it been a time of transition following the departure of our now former executive director, Brad Ullman, who we lost to elevate his career in the golf industry and become an important cog in the LIV Golf Tour, but other milestones have also been reached. The 100th anniversary of the WV Women’s Amateur we conducted this summer is yet another milestone. Arguably, the WVGA and Berry Hills Country Club surpassed all expectations with this year’s WV Open Championship. However, with this article, we want to share something about an effort that has left an enduring impact on the game of golf in the Mountain State that has and will continue to serve to grow the game in our state. Just this past week, our social media noted the 40th Anniversary of the heralded Callaway Junior Tour, which has not only spawned some of the best golfers in our state but also produced any number of collegiate level golfers, male and female, at both NCAA Division
1
I and Division II levels. Moreover, a long list of WV Amateur Champions received their start in competitive golf by participating in the Callaway (formerly Top-Flite) Junior Tour. Perhaps of greater consequence is the fact that the Junior Tour introduced competitive golf to and encouraged females to be a part of the sport of golf. It would be remiss to address the topic of the Callaway Junior Tour without noting the amazing contribution of time and talent by its founder, a dedicated servant and departed friend of West Virginia golf, Larry Martin, a former club pro at Parkersburg County Club and an award-winning representative for Callaway Golf prior to his passing. It was 15 years ago that Larry made sure there was some perpetuity to junior golf in our state when he proposed and, with help from others like-minded, created a very successful celebration of the first 25 years of the Junior Tour at Stonewall Resort. At that time, Larry’s fiscal management of Junior Tour allowed him and a group of others to establish the Larry Martin Junior Golf Development Fund and the WVGA then assumed operations of the Junior Tour and West Virginia’s junior golf community is still receiving the benefit of the work of our dear friend, Larry Martin. It is inescapable that the growth of the game and preservation of its value to the West Virginia community is greatly dependent on multiple ways of introducing the game to population segments, but none has the impact of the Callaway Junior Tour, along with its Rookie League, the Callaway High School Series and First Tee of West Virginia, all of which are administered by the WVGA.