VSGA‘s Golf in the Commonwealth Podcast (Virginia State Golf Association)

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.

In this episode of Golf in the Commonwealth, Chris Lang chats with Wells Fargo Championship tournament director Gary Sobba. The event is moving just across the river from Virginia to TPC Potomac at Avenel Farms this year due the Presidents Cup being played at its usual home, Quail Hollow, later this year. After that conversation, we recap the opening tournament of the 2022 VSGA championship schedule, the 4th VSGA Multi-Format Team Championship, which wrapped up Tuesday at The Dominion Club.

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.

The U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship is coming to Richmond in September, and several key figures in the run-up to the event were in town in May for a media day preview of the event. Catch up with defending champion Stewart Hagestad, Virginia’s own Evan Beck, and championship director Bill McCarthy as we start building the hype for this prestigious championship.

The 2022 State Open of Virginia presented by CapTech begins Friday, July 15 at Independence Golf Club in Midlothian. Listen to catch up with four of the event's competitors, including defending champion Evan Beck and last year's low professional, Mark Lawrence Jr.

Shopping for clubs at local thrift stores was the most affordable way for a then 22-year-old to get into the game. That quickly became an obsession of searching for bargain clubs that he’d then rebuild and play with himself or sell to others. Five years later, the Goodwill Golfing Instagram account is informing new golfers on clubs from the past and scratching the itch for hipsters looking for niche brands.

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.

We’re returning this week to our conversations with women who qualified for the 2021 US Women’s Mid-Am and this week we’re talking with Kristine Rohrbaugh. Kristine is a Richmond native who attended the College of William and Mary and has really been in and around golf most of her life with her father having been a professional and owning a couple golf stores in the Richmond area. Kristine shares the fascinating perspective of a thirty something female golfer who works a full-time job, practices a little and plays as much as she can but that still only adds up to Saturdays and Sundays and yet somehow still maintains a competitive edge.

In this episode of Golf in the Commonwealth, Chris Lang chats with aspiring young professional golfer Peter Gasperini. A two-time VSGA Amateur semifinalist from Halifax who played for five years at Radford University before transferring to VCU, Gasperini recently qualified for conditional status on PGA Tour Canada. He has his foot in the door, as he says, and he’s ready to put in the work to make his professional dream a reality.

Guest host Matt Pochily fills in for this episode as he talks to players and key figures leading into the 2nd Women's Open of Virginia at Independence Golf Club.

In wake of the USGA announcing major changes to the qualifying structure for several USGA championships starting in 2024, the USGA's senior director of championship administration, Brent Paladino, joins host Chris Lang on the pod. He discusses his time playing golf at William & Mary, the evolution of an important junior tournament he helped form, and of course, the major upcoming changes to USGA championship qualifying.

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 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.

Connor Burgess, Lynchburg native and 2023 State Open of Virginia champion, is battling during his first year on the Korn Ferry Tour as he chases his ultimate dream of playing PGA Tour golf. Burgess joins host Chris Lang in a wide-ranging conversation about growing up playing junior golf in Virginia, his time at Virginia Tech, and the start of the Korn Ferry Tour season.

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.

In this episode of Golf in the Commonwealth, Chris Lang chats with two members of the VSGA’s championships department – Kent Holubar and Amanda Braun – to preview the 2023 VSGA championship season. We talk venues, players and what’s new on the championship schedule in 2023.

For our first episode of 2022, we catch up again with VSGA manager of championships and junior golf Kent Holubar to see how his Youth on Course incentive trip to Pebble Beach went. Kent was on the podcast in 2021 prior to the 100-Hole Hike, and thanks to hitting the incredible benchmark of $10,000 raised for Youth on Course in Virginia, he earned a trip to California in December to play several iconic courses and spend time with folks from YOC national. Kent also talks about the upcoming VSGA Junior Golf Circuit season as it gets set to resume in the coming weeks. Here's our conversation with the VSGA's Kent Holubar.

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 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.

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.

This week we’re talking with Andrea Miller. Andrea qualified for the US Senior Women’s Open this year and in VSGA play won her second consecutive VSGA Senior Women’s Amateur title.

For the next few weeks we’re going to be sharing conversations with the Virginia women who competed in the US Women’s Mid-Am in September. Qualifying for a USGA championship is always a big deal and the diversity of age and work / playing balance the five Virginia women who qualified is fascinating…and they’re all women who are over 25…because that’s what a mid-am is but in the golf industry, that’s the age when many women drift away from the game to focus on families or careers so to see how these five do we thought would be fascinating.

This week we have audio from this fall’s Virginia Golf Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Kandi Kessler Comer was inducted with the class of 2020 and is currently the Director of Golf at Orchard Creek and has been recognized as a top teacher in Virginia by Golf Digest and as a US Kids Top 50 Junior Instructor.  Special thanks to our friends at Hourigan Construction, Lansing Building Products, Markel, Marsh McLennan Agency, TSW and Virginia Green for their sponsorship and support of the Virginia Golf Hall of Fame.

This week we're sharing a conversation focused on our veterans, their service to our country and involvement with golf. That led us to Mark Lynch the PGA professional and Vice President of Golf Operations for the First Tee of Greater Richmond and US Army veteran. Mark shares how he enlisted shortly after the attacks of September 11, 2001 and through his deployments in Africa began to find golf as a great way to support his mental health. We also get into how he came to Richmond and hear updates on Belmont now that it’s been reopened for almost six months. Oh, and shameless plug that Belmont is now a participating Youth on Course Club. Meaning that Youth on Course members can play Belmont or Little Bell, the six-hole short course, for $5 or less during the designated playing window. Visit VSGA.org/YouthOnCourse to see more.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

For our final episode of 2021 we thought it appropriate to provide kind of an all-encompassing look at the VSGA and who better to offer that than our Executive Director, Matt Smiley. Many listeners have asked to hear a conversation with Matt over the course of the year so here you are. That being said, we actually had this conversation back in the fall as we were getting ready for the 100-Hole Hike at The Hollows to raise money for Youth on Course here in Virginia. The hike ended up raising about $55,000 to support Youth on Course here in Virginia all thanks to our hikers and the folks who generously donated to their campaigns. So, you will hear a little hundred-hole hike conversation in there, which, again, took place before the hike. Quick shoutout to our 100-Hole Hike sponsors Adams Performance, Cutter & Buck, Fore Craft Cocktails, GolfDom, Srixon and Turtleson. During the hike, Matt was the only hiker to have find his way around the course playing with each of the other 11 hikers at The Hollows. Without further delay, here’s our conversation with VSGA Executive Director Matt Smiley.

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 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.

Two guests join Chris Lang on this special U.S. Open preview episode. Hear from Isaac Simmons (starting at the 3:23 mark), one of two VSGA members who qualified for the championship. Michael Brennan was the other. Then, U.S. Open Championship director Charlie Howe joins (starting at the 26:05 mark). Howe discusses his path from Virginia Tech soccer player to his current role with the USGA and gives some good intel on Los Angeles Country Club, a first-time U.S. Open host.

In this episode of Golf in the Commonwealth, we chat with Lanny Wadkins, the World Golf Hall of Famer, Virginia Golf Hall of Famer, and lead analyst for Golf Channel’s coverage of PGA Tour Champions. Wadkins was back in Virginia to emcee the Virginia Golf Hall of Fame induction ceremony before he turned his attention to his Golf Channel duties for the Dominion Energy Charity Classic at CCV. Lanny talks about growing up at Meadowbrook Country Club in Richmond, his battles with some of Virginia’s golf legends, and his work at Golf Channel.

In this episode of Golf in the Commonwealth, Chris Lang chats with U.S. Solheim Cup captain Stacy Lewis, who was in Washington earlier this week for the announcement that she’ll serve a second term as U.S. captain in 2024 when the Cup is played at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville. Lewis shares her thoughts on both playing and captaining in the Cup and talks a little bit about her unique golf journey and her advice to young girls who want to play competitive golf.

This week we’re returning to meet another one of hikers from September’s 100-Hole Hike and will bounce between hiker profiles and other relevant Virginia golf interviews in the coming weeks. This week we’re talking with hiker Rachel Collins who came down from the northern Virginia area to join us at The Hollows. Rachel married into a big golf family and after not too long got into the game herself and during the pandemic dove all in and has ultimately built a business around it with her company called The Events Caddie. Big thanks to our sponsors of the 100-Hole Hike, Adams Performance, Cutter and Back, Fore Craft Cocktails, GolfDom, Srixon and Turtleson for supporting the VSGA and our hikers on the journey that has led us to raise more than $53 thousand dollars to date. Enjoy our conversation with Rachel Collins.

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.

For our second episode of 2022, we’re talking with Michael Brennan, the 2019 VSGA Amateur champion who recently had the opportunity to play in the PGA Tour’s Genesis Invitational after winning the Collegiate Showcase at Riviera Country Club. It was another accomplishment in a career filled with them. Now a sophomore at Wake Forest, Brennan has won four individual collegiate titles, and all indications are that he’s just getting started.

Grayson Wood and Ross Funderburke will meet in the 109th VSGA Amateur Championship final match on Friday, July 1. We visit with both competitors ahead of the big 36-hole match.

In this episode of Golf in the Commonwealth, we catch up with Sean Patterson, the PGA Director of Golf at Willow Oaks Country Club in Richmond. One of Patterson’s specialties as a teacher is helping his pupils slay their mental demons. One prime example is Willow Oaks member Joey Jordan, who qualified for the U.S. Mid-Amateur earlier this month. Patterson talks about the experience of caddying for Patterson at Erin Hills and shares some tips that might help you quiet some of the negative thoughts that creep up during a round.

We’re releasing this installment on Thursday, March 10, the opening round of The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass. We’ll hear from someone on the ground in Florida, past VSGA intern Daniel Stamper who now works for Trackman as a Tour Operator. Daniel takes us through his long journey from the state of Washington to VCU’s golf team, the value of the connections he made along the way in VCU’s Center For Sports Leadership, and the day-to-day life of running Trackman equipment on the PGA Tour. He also shares the best spot to grab a mid-round taco at TPC Sawgrass.

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.

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’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 this episode of Golf in the Commonwealth, we chat with Turner Lewis, founder of Fore Craft Cocktails, a Virginia beverage company that features a signature Transfusion drink that you’ll find in grocery stores and golf courses around the Commonwealth. Lewis, a VSGA member who is still a full-time radiologist, describes how the venture came to be and where he sees it going in the future.

In this episode of Golf in the Commonwealth, we catch up with Darren Clarke, who is in Richmond for this week’s Dominion Energy Charity Classic. Clarke is one of four players to have won both The Open Championship and The Senior Open Championship, and he enters this week ranked 13th in the Charles Schwab Cup points standings as the playoffs get underway at The Country Club of Virginia. Clarke speaks of his role as brand ambassador for Abaco Club in the Bahamas, his relationship with Dr. Bob Rotella, and his win in this past summer’s Senior Open at Gleneagles.

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.

Guest host Matt Pochily catches up with key figures in advance of the 2024 State Open of Virginia, which runs from Friday, July 19 to Sunday, July 21 at Independence Golf Club.

Virginia native Lauren Coughlin has made a late-season surge to earn a likely spot on the U.S. Solheim Cup team. Coughlin, fresh off a victory at the CPKC Canadian Open, joins host Chris Lang to talk about her season and the anticipation of being able to represent her country in her home state at the upcoming Solheim Cup at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club.

It's Giving Tuesday 2021 and your opportunity to have an impact on golf in Virginia!

Visit VSGA.org/engage/donate to make a donation today.

VSGA member Mike Leach spent 16 years in the NFL, is now an assistant golf coach at William & Mary, and he’s watching proudly as his son Ryan makes final preparations for a Division I golf career at West Virginia. Join host Chris Lang and Leach as they hit on a wide-ranging variety of topics in this episode of Golf In The Commonwealth.

This week we're returning to our conversations with women who qualified for the 2021 US Women’s Mid-Am and we’re talking with Alexandra Austin. Alex was medalist at the Fredericksburg Country Club qualifier making birdie on the 18th hole to shoot a one-under par 71. Alex was also the runner-up in the 2021 VSGA Women’s Amateur and earlier in the season partnered with Lauren Greenlief to win their second VSGA Women’s Four-Ball. In this conversation, Alex shares her journey in golf from growing up, playing in college at Radford, to then turning professional and now back to amateur golf.

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.

The 2024 VSGA Championship season is here! Join us for a conversation with VSGA tournament department staffers Josh Coates and Amanda Braun as they take us through what happens in the golf association off-season, the new USGA Exemption Events, the VSGA’s relationship with the USGA ahead of this year’s U.S. Mid-Amateur in Virginia, and much more.

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.

In this episode of Golf in the Commonwealth, we’re chatting with the defending champion of the VSGA Women’s Stroke Play Championship, Jessica Spicer. A North Carolina native who had a decorated career at Virginia Tech, Jessica and her twin sister Sarah recently won the VSGA Women’s Four-Ball Championship. Jessica talks about how the twins got started in golf, her time in Blacksburg, and her future plans. Stay for the end to hear from UVA alum Steve Serrao, who earlier this week won the VSGA Senior Stroke Play Championship at Chatmoss Country Club.

The Club at Viniterra’s Josh Speight is one of 20 PGA members of the Corebridge Financial Team competing at this week’s PGA Championship at Oak Hill. Thanks to his T11 finish at the PGA National Professional Championship, Josh will get his second chance to tee it up against the world’s top players in a major championship, having previously compete in 2016. Chris Lang caught up with Josh prior to the tournament to hear his thoughts on his trip to Oak Hill.

Brinson Paolini won four VSGA Amateur Championships before departing on a whirlwind professional career that took him all over the globe. He played tournament golf in 43 different countries in eight years before starting first a coaching business, and now, a business focused on the nutritional aspect of golf. Paolini chats with Chris Lang about some of his favorite VSGA memories and his new venture, Sharp Focus Nutrition, in this episode of Golf in the Commonwealth.

VSGA communications intern Ben Walls catches up with two sides who competed in the recent VSGA Parent-Child Championship -- Olivia and Gregory Minjack and Joey and David Jordan. Listen to find out what keeps them coming back to one of the VSGA's most unique events.

This week we’re sharing a conversation Matt had over the summer with Abby Liebenthal. Abby’s full-time job is the Senior Manager of US Open Fan Engagement for the USGA, a position she’s been in for almost the last two years. She’s been in the golf industry her entire career including time at Acushnet and the Tiger Woods Foundation but her side hustle is what we’re really talking about in this conversation and that’s the non-profit she founded almost three years ago, Fore the Ladies. For the Ladies is a female-based community with the intent to introduce more women to the game and bring women together to play, watch and participate in everything golf has to offer. She also has a podcast called Fore the Ladies that you can find wherever you get your podcasts and for our listeners that have been with us a while you’ll appreciate that her fiancée is former VSGA intern Brendan Ahrnsbrak. Okay, here’s our conversation with Abby Liebenthal.

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.

The 109th VSGA Amateur Championship begins Monday, June 27 at Cedar Point Club in Suffolk. Before Sunday's practice round, we caught up with four of the competitors in the field to preview the event -- defending champion Jimmy Taylor, three-time finalist Jordan Utley, 2022 VSGA Four-Ball champ Adam Houck and two-time Senior Open of Virginia champion Dave Pulk.

In this episode of Golf in the Commonwealth, Chris Lang is emptying the notebook, as they say in reporter terms. To supplement the recent Virginia Golfer story on Fat Perez, listen to the full interview with the man himself, otherwise known at Nick Stubbe. Learn more about his journey into golf and how Fat Perez came to be in this interview, which was conducted in November at Keswick Golf Club.

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.

The 110th VSGA Amateur begins Monday, June 26 at Boonsboro Country Club in Lynchburg. Hear from defending champ Ross Funderburke, last year's State Open champ, Nick Taliaferro, two-time Fox Puss champion Ben Keefer, and the VSGA's Josh Coates as we prime you for the week to come.

It’s tournament time! The VSGA championship season opens on Monday, April 11 and Golf in the Commonwealth has you covered with a full preview of the championship season. Tournament department staffers Josh Coates, Amanda Braun and Kent Holubar join host Chris Lang to discuss the high points of this year’s championship schedule, with insight into some of the venues and new things players will see at championships in 2022.

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.

This week we’re sharing David Partridge’s Virginia Golf Hall of Fame induction speech. You may know David’s name from our Virginia Golfer magazine where he’s the author of our recurring Great Holes feature, or as a five-time VSGA player of the year winner or, as you’ll hear from Dottie Pepper, David is the player with the third most VSGA wins behind only Keith Decker and Vinny Giles. Thanks to our friends at Hourigan Construction, Lansing Building Products, Markel, MarshMcLennan Agency, TSW and Virginia Green for their sponsorship and support of the Virginia Golf Hall of Fame. Okay, enjoy learning more about Virginia Golf Hall of Fame inductee David Partridge.

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.

Join guest host Matt Pochily as he chats with key figures in advance of the 111th VSGA Amateur Championship, which will be held June 24-28 at Belle Haven Country Club in Alexandria.

In this episode of Golf in the Commonwealth, we’re celebrating the scholarship recipients at VSGA Day, which was held on Monday, May 23 at Richmond Country Club. Listen in as VSGA P.J. Boatwright intern Ben Walls chats with our five named scholarship award winners. Stick around until the end to hear from VSGA Senior Four-Ball champions Buck Brittain and Jon Hurst. Chris Lang caught up with the back-to-back champs after their win on Tuesday at Washington G&CC.

Just a couple weeks after US Women’s Mid-Am in which five Virginia women competed at Berkley Hall in South Carolina, it seemed appropriate that we finally catch up with the 2015 champion, Virginia’s own Lauren Greenlief. While many listeners have seen or heard of Lauren in some way, this interview offers a different look at her journey to college golf at UVA and why an amateur at her level chooses to stay that way and not pursue playing professionally.

We're now a full month after the 100-Hole Hike and sharing our conversation with Lance Lemon. Lance and Matt Pochily have been friends for a few years leading up to the hike and had the chance to playing the first 36 holes or so with each other during the event. While everyone had a different strategy for carrying their bag and making it through the day, Lance alternated from carrying his bag on his should to carrying like a briefcase. In this conversation we talk with Lance about his growth in the game and full-time work as an entrepreneur and actor. Big thanks to our 100-Hole Hike sponsors Adams Performance, Cutter & Buck, Fore Craft Cocktails, GolfDom, Srixon and Turtleson.

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. ⁣

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.

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.

College golf in Virginia doesn’t stop with the Commonwealth’s Division I schools. In this episode, we chat with VSGA members Robb Kinder and Alex Price, who have helped elevate Christopher Newport University into the second-ranked Division III team in the country. The duo will participate in next week’s DIII championship before heading south to Kiawah Island for the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball. Chris Lang speaks with the pair about how they got to CNU and their hopes of leading the Captains to a national championship, among other topics.