VSGA‘s Golf in the Commonwealth Podcast

We’re taking a quick break from the meet the hiker series to celebrate the recent Virginia Golf Hall of Fame ceremony where we inducted seven amazing individuals who have left their mark on golf in Virginia over the course of their careers, a few of which are even still shaping the game, Kandi Comer, Wayne Jackson, David Partridge, Richard Smith and Wynsol Spencer are all members of the 2020 class which was delayed induction due to the pandemic and Moss Beecroft and David King are members of the 2021 class. We’ll have audio from some of those speeches in upcoming episodes. Our sponsors for this year’s induction ceremony are Hourigan Construction, Lansing Building Products, Markel, Marsh McLennan Agency, TSW and Virginia Green. Big thanks to all of them for their support of the Virginia Golf Hall of Fame. For today’s episode though, we had the opportunity to talk with Dottie Pepper who was with us to celebrate the induction of her friend Kandi Comer and also serve as the emcee for the event.

This is the fifth in our meet the hiker series and an opportunity to meet our hiker Brian Wright…Brian was one of our at-large hikers who voluntarily signed up for this challenge. Brian lives in the Richmond area and recently joined Lakeside Park Club…when we first put out the opportunity to sign up as a hiker to the VSGA membership, Brian was the first onboard and has been super gung-ho throughout the process…stay tuned after the break too because the first part of the conversation is before the hike and the second part is after the hike and is a great recap. Thanks our amazing sponsors and donors who’ve helped us raise over $50,000 right now to support Youth on Course efforts here in Virginia. Obviously walking 100-holes in a day takes strength and endurance and our friends at Adams Performance have come on as our official fitness, training and recovery sponsor. You may recall me having Dr. Kyle Adams on the podcast earlier in the season. Kyle himself is TPI certified and his team works with a ton of athletes and golfers ranging from guys who play in VSGA Super-Senior events to kids playing high school golf. Learn more about getting your athletic edge at AdamsPerformanceRVA.com. We also have apparel donations from our friends at Cutter & Buck and Turtleson. Both Cutter & Buck and Turtleson will be outfitting our hikers for this challenge and when you make a Cutter & Buck purchase through VSGA.org/store, a portion of the purchase in donated back to the VSGA so please check that out and use promo code VSGA25 for 25% off regular priced items across their site. And lastly our friends at GolfDom in McLean, Virginia. Buddy Christensen, owner of GolfDom, is another former guest on the podcast and GolfDom has a huge selection of equipment, apparel and services for golfers at every stage of the game. We’re grateful for their support and hope you’ll visit GolfDomGolf.com to shop their site or learn more. Big thanks to our friends at Srixon for donating gloves and balls for our hikers and post round the hikers will enjoy the new transfusion canned cocktail from Fore Craft Cocktails. If you’re looking for Fore Craft Cocktails’ canned transfusion you must be 21 and up and please enjoy responsibly.

This is the fourth in our meet the hiker series and an opportunity to meet our hiker Glenn Gray…Glenn is the most veteran of our hikers with this being the fourth time he’s participated in the 100-Hole Hike. Before we get to the conversation though, we want to thank our amazing sponsors and donors who’ve helped us raise over 30 thousand dollars right now to support Youth on Course efforts here in Virginia. Obviously walking 100-holes in a day takes strength and endurance and our friends at Adams Performance have come on as our official fitness, training and recovery sponsor. You may recall we had Dr. Kyle Adams on the podcast earlier in the season. Kyle himself is TPI certified and his team works with a ton of athletes and golfers ranging from guys who play in VSGA Super-Senior events to kids playing high school golf. Learn more about getting your athletic edge at Adams Performance RVA dot com. We also have apparel donations from our friends at Cutter & Buck and Turtleson. Both Cutter & Buck and Turtleson will be outfitting our hikers for this challenge and when you make a Cutter & Buck purchase through VSGA.org/store, a portion of the purchase in donated back to the VSGA so please check that out and use promo code VSGA 25 for 25 percent off regular priced items across their site. Thanks to our friends at GolfDom in McLean, Virginia. Buddy Christensen, owner of GolfDom, is another former guest on the podcast and GolfDom has a huge selection of equipment, apparel and services for golfers at every stage of the game. We’re grateful for their support and hope you’ll visit Golf Dom Golf dot com to shop their site or learn more. Big thanks to our friends at Srixon for donating gloves and balls for our hikers and post round the hikers will enjoy the new transfusion canned cocktail from Fore Craft Cocktails. If you’re looking for Fore Craft Cocktails’ canned transfusion you must be 21 and up and please enjoy responsibly. As we mentioned, our guest this week is Glenn Gray, Glenn works in the golf industry for Buffalo Groupe and connects regularly with heavy-hitters across the industry and supports organizations like Youth on Course. He’s also a member of the VSGA Board of Directors and plays a lot of his golf at Lakeside Park Club but as you’ll hear, Schoolhouse Nine is a special place for him…with that, here’s our conversation with Glenn Gray.

This is the third in our meet the hiker series and an opportunity to meet our hiker Don Bostic. To-date Don is leading the way in our fundraising and if he exceeds $10,000 raised will earn a trip to Pebble Beach with other hikers from across the country who reach the same benchmark. Don actually lives in Florida but is coming to Virginia to hike and support the VSGA which is amazing! He’s the executive director of The Friars Golf Club, a club that hosts events at courses across the country with folks who just love golf. Events range from venues like Bandon Dunes and Pinehurst to closer to home places like The Homestead and an upcoming event at Golden Horseshoe.

This is the second in our meet the hiker series and an opportunity to meet our hiker Josh Stueve. Before we get to Josh, we do want to thank our amazing sponsors and donors who’ve helped us raise over $23,000 right now to support Youth on Course efforts here in Virginia. Obviously walking 100-holes in a day takes strength and endurance and our friends at Adams Performance have come on as our official fitness, training and recovery sponsor. You may recall me having Dr. Kyle Adams on the podcast earlier in the season. Kyle himself is TPI certified and his team works with a ton of athletes and golfers ranging from guys who play in VSGA Super-Senior events to kids playing high school golf. Learn more about getting your athletic edge at AdamsPerformanceRVA.com. We also have apparel donations from our friends at Cutter & Buck and Turtleson. Both Cutter & Buck and Turtleson will be outfitting our hikers for this challenge and when you make a Cutter & Buck purchase through VSGA.org/store, a portion of the purchase in donated back to the VSGA so please check that out and use promo code VSGA25 for 25% off regular priced items across their site. And lastly our friends at GolfDom in McLean, Virginia. Buddy Christensen, owner of GolfDom, is another former guest on the podcast and GolfDom has a huge selection of equipment, apparel and services for golfers at every stage of the game. We’re grateful for their support and hope you’ll visit GolfDomGolf.com to shop their site or learn more. So…like I said before, our guest this week is Josh Stevie, Josh lives in northern Virginia, works in DC and plays golf all over Virginia and the United States. You may have seen him on Instagram as DC Linksouldier or in the catalogs for the Oceanside, California brand Linksoul. It’s been a pleasure getting to know Josh during my time with the VSGA and I’m sure you’ll enjoy this conversation with Josh Stueve.

Part of the fundraising effort for Youth on Course is the annual 100-Hole Hike where staff members, volunteers and friends play 100 holes of golf in a day, walking, and raise money from their friends, family, colleagues, networks, etc to support Youth on Course here in Virginia. Kent Holubar is one of our hikers. Kent has been with the VSGA for more than a dozen years and as manager of junior golf for most of that time, Kent has a unique perceptive on the value and importance of growing the game through programs like Youth on Course.

In this bonus episode of Golf in the Commonwealth, we have interviews with Bryce Corbett, a rising sophomore whose final round 62 tied the competitive course record and earned him a third-place finish. We also have a conversation with Independence Golf Club's Director of Golf, Drew Clements. Drew and his staff managed so many of the operations that made the 2021 State Open a success and finally we have a conversation with 2021 State Open of Virginia Champion Evan Beck. Evan is now a two-time winner of the State Open of Virginia, having claimed his first title in 2010.

The 2021 State Open of Virginia presented by Virginia Lottery began Friday at Independence Golf Club. The field of 144 had great course conditions and scored well on the fast greens. Post round interviews include 2020 champion Mark Lawrence, Jr., 2010 Champion Evan Beck. Lawrence and Beck are both one shot off the lead held by our third interviewee, Robb Kinder. Our final interview of the episode is with PGA Tour journeyman Dick Mast. Weekend television coverage by WTVR CBS 6 News. The 2021 State Open of Virginia is supported by Truist, Virginia Lottery, Delta Dental of Virginia, Pleasants Hardware Since 1915, Tee It Up RVA, Landscape Supply, Inc., Peebles Golf Cars & Powhatan County, Virginia.

The VSGA's Matt Pochily and Chris Lang visit with five competitors in this week's State Open of Virginia presented by Virginia Lottery to hear about the state of their games, how the course has changed since the event was last held at Independence and what to expect at the event. In this episode, you'll hear from four-time State Open champion Jay Woodson, former Director of Golf at Independence Golf Club Elliott Wilson, 2010 State Open champion Evan Beck, 2019 State Open champion Jack Montague and defending champion Mark Lawrence, Jr. The 2021 State Open of Virginia is presented by Virginia Lottery and supported by Truist, Delta Dental of Virginia, Pleasants Hardware, Tee It Up RVA, Landscape Supply, Peebles Golf Cars & Powhatan County. ⁣

Matt Pochily and Chris Lang of the VSGA breakdown the bracket for the opening round of matches in the 108th VSGA Amateur Championship hosted at the Country Club of Petersburg.

We’re sharing this on Tuesday, June 29, 2021 after the first day of qualifying for the 108th VSGA Amateur Championship at the Country Club of Petersburg. The first round saw 36 players under par, the low 32 players through 36 holes of qualifying will advance to match play. For this episode we’re sharing some of the interviews with did with players after the first round. We’ll start with Mehrbaan Singh, who’s six-under 66 put him in a tie for second. Mehrbaan is tied with Teddy Zinsner at six-under. Next is our interview with Jeff Long, a mid-am from northern Virginia who played with Mehrbaan. Among the players near the top is David Stanford. Stanford was runner up in the Amateur last year and coming off a victory at the VSGA Junior Match Play Championship at Winchester Country Club. The afternoon wave of players saw more great scoring conditions and produced the best round of the day, a seven-under par 65 from Sam Jung of the University of Virginia. Our last event from Monday was with Scott Shingler, the 49 year-old from Dominion Valley Country Club whose 3-under par 69 earned him a tie for 9th. Keep an eye on the podcast feed and social media for more content, interviews and perspectives from the 108th VSGA Amateur Championship. Thanks for listening and we’ll see you in the fairway soon.

For this week’s episode we have a conversation Matt Pochily had with Bill Keene, the superintendent at Blacksburg Country Club. We first talked with Bill in the spring of 2020 as Covid quarantine was beginning and golf was booming, at the time, Bill was the president of the Virginia Chapter of Golf Course Superintendents Association and we did an Instagram live on some of the precautions superintendents were taking by putting pool noodles in the holes, removing rakes from bunkers and others. This time, we caught up with Bill in the pro shop of Blacksburg Country Club while we were out there for Lanto Griffin’s AJGA event at the course, a course Bill had to have ready for some of the nation’s top juniors. We hope you enjoy our conversation with Bill Keene.

This week we had the pleasure of talking with the head women’s golf coach at Old Dominion University in Norfolk Mallory Hetzel. Mallory has a record of playing at the highest levels from her time at the University of Georgia to the Futures Tour after and then got into coaching but has received her amateur status back and continued to compete winning back-to-back Carolina's Golf Association Women's Match Play Championship titles in 2014 and 2015 before coming to Virginia and ODU shortly thereafter…in fact, we caught up at the VSGA Women’s Stroke Play Championship event at Wintergreen Resort. This was a really fun conversation with a someone who has great perspectives on two sides of the game. We hope you enjoy our conversation with Mallory Hetzel.

This week we're very excited to share the conversation Matt Smiley and Matt Pochily had with Lanto Griffin at the AJGA event that bears his name in Blacksburg. They caught up with Lanto during the first Lanto Junior Championship at Blacksburg Country Club, a club where Lanto had opportunity the play a lot of golf growing up where he is now offering the opportunity for a new generation of juniors to grow their competitive love of the game through the AJGA event. In this conversation, Lanto shares the thrill it is to serve as host for this event and his excitement for supporting golf at al levels in Virginia.

This week we're sharing what it sort of behind the scenes footage from the grand re-opening of Belmont Golf Course in Henrico under the management of the First Tee of Greater Richmond. We'll use these interviews for a video which you’ll be able to find on our YouTube channel but in the meantime we wanted to share them here in their entirety. The event took place on May 24 and included speeches from the First Tee’s Board Chair, Ben Pace, and comments from county officials recognizing the journey the course took from hosting the 1949 PGA Championship won by Virginia’s own Sam Snead to then a point of disrepair and near closure. Guests heard from the First Tee’s CEO Brent Schneider and then Davis Love III who spoke on Love Golf Design’s work with the course before Davis then coached a group of First Tee participants down the first whole of the short course where one young lady almost made a hole-in-one, another chipped in for birdie and others made great putts to cap off a special event. After all that was said and done, we had the opportunity to interview Brent Schneider and get his take on the project and celebration as well as Scot Sherman who was the lead architect for Love Golf Design on-site frequently working on the renovation and remaining mindful of the A.W. Tillinghast legacy and finally Davis Love III who talked about the creation of the First Tee from his time on the PGA Tour Board of Directors through today where his company had the opportunity to create an innovative and accessible golf course which is under the management of the First Tee.

Our guest this week is another former VSGA member with aspirations and opportunities to play professionally, in fact, the opportunity to play in this week’s PGA Championship at the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island. We’re talking with Larkin Gross, the 23 year-old assistant professional from Springfield Golf & Country Club in Northern Virginia who earned his way to the PGA Championship after a third round 64 at the PGA Professional Championship in Port St. Lucie, Florida. We spoke with Larkin while he was driving to Kiawah the week before the PGA and got the inside scoop on his excitement and preparation.

Our guest this week has achieved what many of us have aspire to, succeed in all levels of amateur events, play college golf and now play professionally. We’re talking with back-to-back VSGA Women’s Amateur champion from 2012 and 2013, UVA grad and Symetra and LPGA Tour player Lauren Coughlin. Lauren grew up in Chesapeake, attended the University of Virginia and has called Charlottesville home since graduating while managing a schedule on both tours. She has a unique sponsorship with the team at No Laying Up and despite having great success in many VSGA events, there’s still one title that alludes her…we spoke while she was driving back to Charlottesville from Florida so the audio may get a little choppy at times at spots but nothing we couldn't handle. We hope you enjoy our conversation with Lauren Coughlin.

This week we’re talking with a former VSGA member who grew up playing golf on the southside of Richmond at Brandermill Country Club and Clover Hill High School and then as a member of the James Madison golf team but has since moved about as far west as you can get in the continental United States and to one of the most beautiful resorts in the country, if not the world at Bandon Dunes. We’re talking with PGA Professional Michael Chupka who grew in the game in Virginia is now the Director of Communications for Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in southwest Oregon.

This week we’re talking with Corey and Eric. These guys were both in Matt's foursome during the VSGA One-Day event at the Country Club of Petersburg. What felt special about that day and this conversation is that none of them knew each other going into this round but four hours later could have sat and talked longer than they did and were already setting up the next time to play. They’re both at different places in the game and with competition which is part of what makes the community of respective VSGA events so great.

This week we’re talking with a couple of golfers whose names are annually among the top of VSGA leaderboards…not the leaderboards you’re thinking of in events or championships though…the perhaps more coveted leaderboard of number of rounds played in a year. Kate and Rob Tidgewell, of River Creek Club in Leesburg, posted a combined 538 rounds in 2020…and those are just the number of rounds they posted to their handicap. It’s a fascinating interview with a couple who’s been married for 28 years on how they amped up their number of rounds, how they manage the emergency nine and how they sell golf to their friends who don’t play.

This week we’re talking with PGA professional Troy Thorne. Troy is a Virginia native, graduate of Old Dominion University where he was a member of the golf team and now head golf professional at Hobbs Hole Golf Course in Tappahannock, not far from where he grew up…and, when Troy came out of high school he was a recipient of a scholarship from the VSGA-VIP Scholarship Foundation and is now giving back to the foundation through Hobbs Hole participating in the VSGA VIP Golf Card. Matt was actually at Hobbs Hole to produce a video on Hobbs Hole and their involvement with the VIP Golf Card and Youth on Course, keep an eye out for that on our social channels in the next few days.

This week we’re talking with Carrie Abernathy. You may recognize Carrie’s name from our weekly Clubhouse email where we’d featured her in the member spotlight a few weeks ago…but for those who don’t know…Carrie’s an event planner, podcast host and blogger through her blog A Woman with Drive where she shares ideas on leadership, elevating women and golf. She’s also recently begun contributing to Golf & Travel magazine. Carrie took up the game just seven years ago and in this conversation shares really relatable insight on how she came to it and how others can do the same so without further ado, we hope you enjoy our conversation with Carrie Abernathy.

This week we’re talking about the Golf Digest Hot List. As a VSGA member, you’re receiving a complimentary subscription to the magazine and by now have probably caught the issue which contained the 2021 Hot List of new clubs and products. In flipping through that you may have seen today’s guest, Buddy Christensen. Buddy is the owner and president of GolfDom, a golf store in McLean, Virginia which helps golfers live the game through a huge selection of products, gear, fittings and more. Buddy has been a part of Golf Digest Hot List panel for the past seven years and in this interview shares is experience with the panel and his journey in golf.

This week we’re talking with one of our VSGA staff members, Director of Championships and Golf Operations, Josh Coates. With the tournament season opening in the next few weeks we wanted to have Josh on to share news on the upcoming events and venues and how the schedule comes together. This conversation is co-hosted by Matt Pochily and Chris Lang. We hope this conversation inspires you to visit VSGA.org and find an event that’s right for you and join us on the course in 2021.

This week’s episode is with physical therapist and sports performance coach Dr. Kyle Adams. Kyle is the owner of Adams Performance in Richmond where he works with some of the area’s best athletes including golfers who are often seen atop VSGA junior, amateur and senior amateur leaderboards. In this conversation he shares how the things we see at the tour level work their way down to his athletes and how he works with folks to safely incorporate those things with their bodies and games.

This week’s episode is with writer, golfer, student and teenager Gwen Foddrell. Gwen is the author of the book series, The Golf Diaries. She began writing just a few years ago as a means to improve her writing in school, a figure skating injury lead her to golf and the two growing passions of writing and golf converged to create The Golf Diaries.

In our final episode of Black History Month on Black golfers in Virginia, Chris Lang is talking with Lee Coble. Lee is a longtime volunteer with the VSGA, including Board President in 2013-2014; he is currently the head men's golf coach at Virginia Union University and recent recipient of the USGA's Ike Grainger Award for 25 years of service to the USGA. We hope you enjoy this conversation with Lee Coble.

This week we have the pleasure of talking with comedian Micah 'Bam Bamm' White. Micah’s only been playing the game for about three years but is already down to a single-digit handicap and is continually seeking more ways to expose under-privileged juniors to the game through his community involvement in Richmond. We hope you enjoy our conversation with Micah 'Bam Bamm' White.

Our guest this week is Gavin Parker. Gavin is the Junior Golf Coach at Salisbury Country Club, he’s a former PJ Boatwright intern with the VSGA and graduate of Campbell University. In 2020 he received the VSGA’s Grow the Game Award for his work with junior golfers, he also made Golf Digest’s list of Best Young Teachers in January of 2021. You’ll hear this in his voice but Gavin is passionate about golf and removing the boundaries and barriers that anyone may face as they experience the game. We hope you enjoy our conversation with Gavin Parker.

This week Matt Pochily talks with Ashleigh McLaughlin of Youth on Course. Ashleigh is the Vice President of Marketing and Communications for the national non-profit dedicated to opening doors, supporting dreams and transforming the lives of young people through opportunities on and off the golf course.To-date, there are 24 courses across Virginia participating in Youth on Course and the list is growing as word spreads.

This week we’re sharing a conversation Matt had with Dr. Bob Rotella in the fall to use for our annual meeting video. You can see that video on our YouTube channel at YouTube.com/VSGA1904. Dr. Rotella doesn’t need much more of an introduction. Most listeners have read or at least heard of his books like Golf is Not a Game of Perfect or Putting Out Of Your Mind. Matt had the opportunity to talk with Dr. Rotella mostly around things related to golf during the pandemic but we did cover some other golf psychology types of things, how he got into golf and more and that’s what we’ve included in today’s episode.

This week we’re sharing a conversation Matt had with Megan Wise back over the summer. For folks in Richmond they may be familiar with Megan, she’s a meteorologist on NBC12 and if you’re familiar with her Instagram you know she’s often playing golf around the metro Richmond area and also not shy about sneaking in some putting at the station between newscasts. Megan’s only been playing a handful of years or so but has found it to a great escape during the pandemic and has some tips for how to interpret that 50% chance of rain you see in the forecast.

Welcome to the VSGA's podcast! Golf in the Commonwealth is an opportunity to hear fun conversations from people involved with the game at all levels across Virginia. From top amateurs, upcoming juniors, club owners, superintendents, hall of famers, brands, influencers and everyday golfers like the rest of us, golf in the commonwealth has all types of golfers and we want to share their stories with you. Look for new episodes starting Thursday, January 7 and then every other week thereafter.