Written by Beaux Yenchik, Manager of Media and Communications
Like most people out there, I always get asked what I do for work. When I mention that I work in the golf industry, many people react with righteous jealousy. Their typical responses include questions and statements like “Are you a professional?” or “Wouldn’t that be an awesome job.” Yet, not too long after my initial response, I am immediately asked what it is that the Idaho Golf Association does.
It always strikes me, especially when so many of the people that I interact with golf, that people do not know what the IGA does. People flock to its website, Boise Golf Show tent, and phone number to renew their annual IGA membership—knowing that the IGA can do that for them. But, anything beyond that seems foreign.
So, what is it that the IGA does? What are its core services? Does really anything else besides getting a handicap renewed pertinent to every golfer in Idaho? Well, let me answer what it is that IGA does and why.
The IGA’s motto is “promoting the best interest of amateur golf in Idaho”—a simple but profound statement. The main purpose or goal of the IGA is to help golfers have the best experience they can while on a golf course except for lowering their scores. That is on the golfer!
The IGA knows that golf means something different to each person. For some, it is a recreational activity and is enjoyed leisurely. For others, golf may be deemed a second religion—something a person “eats, drinks, and sleeps.” Whatever one’s relationship is with golf, the IGA can and wants to play a role in that person’s experience with the best sport in the world.
How can it do that? Sit back, relax, and I’ll explain!
HANDICAPPING
Where one gets a handicap might be the first and possibly the only thing a golfer associates with the IGA. One’s Handicap Index is what allows a player to be a part of a men’s or women’s league or in cahoots with one’s friends during their weekly weekend matches. That magical number for each golfer, regardless of how high or how low it is, is what makes this game fun and fair for anyone of any age.
The Handicap System is run and maintained by the USGA and The R&A. These governing bodies have implemented a set of rules which every golfer who holds a handicap is asked to follow—keeping to the old adage that golf is a game of integrity. Each club or course association has a Handicap Committee that is made up of fellow golfers who help regulate its own Handicap Roster.
On the state level, the IGA is the only entity within its jurisdiction—seeing that Washington Golf governs Idaho’s panhandle—that can issue official USGA handicaps. So, if an individual wants to hold and maintain a Handicap Index, it must come through the IGA. So, for 40 dollars a year, that person gets this beloved number that is monitored as it goes up, down, or sideways with every round posted. And, if anybody needs help answering some of golf’s toughest questions about the Handicap System, give Lexie VanAntwerp, the IGA’s Manager of Member Services, a call. She’s quite good.
COURSE RATING
Probably the most unknown core service the IGA offers is Course Rating. Does anyone really know what those funny numbers mean on the back of any scorecard? Well, those numbers are actually determined by the rating that each golf course receives from the IGA’s Course Rating team.
One of the main purposes of each rating is to help determine what each player’s Course Handicap should be in relation to par, or what each golfer should relatively shoot whenever they play golf.
Carl Adams, one of the IGA’s more experienced Course Raters, fills out his Form One following a morning on the course at The River Club.
A Course Rating is when a group of volunteers, led by the IGA’s Manager of Course Rating Nicole Rutledge, walk every hole on a course from every set of tees and perform an assessment on the course of how it plays for both the scratch and bogey golfer for men and women. That rating takes into account elevation, doglegs, green size, bunker depth, and the rest of the gamot. Charts are then filled and calculations are made to help determine the overall difficulty of the course.
So, the next time someone is looking at those funky numbers, realize that the slope and course rating numbers are not necessarily how slopey the course is in terms of left-to-right tilt, but the difficulty in relation to par for bogey and scratch golfers of each sex—helping to set a realistic number for each Handicap Index holder for what “par” is for them and what they should expect to shoot.
CHAMPIONSHIPS
Some may say that the IGA’s championships are its bread and butter and may even be considered the face or image of the IGA. Through hard work and dedication, Nicole Bird, Manager of Rules and Competitions, has led the charge to offer top-caliber events for elite amateur golfers throughout Idaho—from the juniors to the super-seniors for both men and women.
IGA championships give golfers the opportunity to showcase their talents against the best. And, it is never a bad thing when someone gets the chance to play some of the best courses that Idaho has to offer. Best players, best courses, what more could be wanted?
The formats for these events incorporate different styles of golf, which make it that much more fun. Our championships are as such:
-IGA Match Play Championship
-Idaho State Amateur
-Idaho Women’s State Amateur
-IGA Senior Amateur
-IGA Mid-Amateur
-IGA Four-Ball Championship
-Tournament of Champions
-Senior Tournament of Champions
Several of our events are even segmented into divisions, giving players a better opportunity to win against people of their own age and skill level. To put the cherry on top, our players get additional chances to win shop credit for having a good NET performance.
These events get amateurs inside the ropes and provide sensations similar to having “fluttering butterflies” in their stomachs. Who wouldn’t want to see what they are made of?
IDAHO JUNIOR TOUR
As golf continues to grow, its future is already being influenced by upcoming generations. Golf in Idaho is no different, and its golfing future is being molded by those who play on the Idaho Junior Tour.
Dividing the state into four divisions—the only situation where the IGA deals with the northern panhandle—kids aged 8-18 have the opportunity to play against kids their own age in a competitive format. With a handful of “regular season” tournaments, kids earn the right to play in the Junior Amateur, which is being hosted this year by Palouse Ridge Golf Club in Pullman, Washington, based on their performances throughout the season.
For the younger age groups, the Junior Tour hosts nine-hole tournaments, while the older kids play the full 18 holes.
Reid Hoppock, a Junior Tour player, watches while he barely misses a putt at the IMG Academy Junior World Championships at Canyon Springs GC last summer.
Junior Tour Director Cecilia Baney and her team have worked tirelessly on creating a system that encompasses the qualities of golf that we all love: hard work, dedication, integrity, competition, etc. Yet, while teaching the kids these valuable lessons through competition, the Junior Tour is always finding more and better ways to set up juniors with the skill set to be ready to play golf in high school and then college.
If someone hasn’t seen the number of kids from Idaho who will be playing college golf this coming season, please go to the Junior Tour’s social media accounts and comb through the big handful of players who will be lighting up the scoreboards for their respective teams.
WRAP-UP
As one can see, the IGA’s core services are centered around its members. The hope and desire is for individuals to enjoy their time on the golf course to whatever degree of love they have for the game.
The IGA wants everyone out on Wednesday nights for league play or to have their daughters test the waters of competitive golf. Whether an individual golfs in their newest polo shirt and PGA Tour-looking trousers or in a t-shirt and cargo shorts, the IGA wants everyone to be a part of its community. There is a service or function for everyone, and the IGA wants to help find it!
These core services are what help the IGA fulfill its motto of, “promoting the best interest of amateur golf in Idaho.”