Vision: Uniting golf communities to help shape the future of the game.
Mission: Advancing the game of golf and serving those who play it, by representing and developing those who lead it.
The International Association of Golf Administrators (IAGA) is a growing body of golf administrators welcoming amateur golf associations from across the globe.
IAGA was formed in 1968 to promote and conserve the best interests and the true spirit of the game of golf as embodied in its ancient and honorable traditions. With those pursuits in mind, the IAGA serves as a medium for golf administrators to exchange information, techniques and other data relating to the game of golf and establish channels of communication among all of the world’s golfing fraternities.
Members are golf administrators of state and regional amateur golf associations and other invited national golf-related organizations. These administrators manage the affairs of their respective golf associations in various capacities. The IAGA has members from the United States Golf Association, Golf Canada, and most of the state and provincial golf associations throughout North America. Administrators from several other countries hold memberships as well.
The IAGA holds its annual meeting in early November. A host of IAGA members and guest speakers make presentations on golf-related topics. Breakout sessions allow members to interact and discuss specific problems in their fields, and a new Board of Directors is elected during the business meeting.
History
Founded on January 25, 1968 in New York City, when 22 golf administrators assembled at the Biltmore Hotel for an informal meeting while attending the USGA Annual Conference, the IAGA was created to enhance communication, share techniques and information relating to the game among the many golf associations in the United States and abroad. The original members included Peg Burnett of the Golf Association of Philadelphia, Marshall Dann of the Western Golf Association, Robert Hanna of the Northern California Golf Association, Carol McCue of the Chicago District Golf Association, Jim McLaughlin of the Metropolitan Golf Association, and Newell Pinch of the Southern California Golf Association. These state and regional administrators were joined by Robert Creasy of the PGA, Joseph Dey, Jr. of the USGA, James Gaquin of the Royal Canadian Golf Association, Guillermo Lozano, Jr. of the Asociación Mexicana De Golf, and Don Rossi of the National Golf Foundation.
The following year, the IAGA reconvened in Palm Springs, Calif., in February for the 2nd IAGA Annual Meeting. In the years since, an increasingly larger group has continued this annual tradition. Beginning in 1988, the annual meeting would take place in November, since seasonal organizations completed their schedules in the Fall. The first international annual meeting took place in November 1991 in Casa de Campo, Dominican Republic.
Long before computers changed the communication landscape, the annual meeting was a time for golf administrators to share information and to network. As association staffs grew, programming for the annual meeting was developed for departments such as Championship Administration, Handicapping, Course Rating, Junior Golf, and Communications. The growth of the associations, and the constantly-evolving technology in the golf landscape, has afforded the IAGA the opportunity to take the lead in education as associations pursue the newest ideas and information.