VSGA‘s Golf in the Commonwealth Podcast

The U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur begins a week from Saturday at The Omni Homestead Resort’s Cascades Course, which boasts a rich history, especially when it comes to women’s golf. Host Chris Lang catches up with two VSGA members playing in the event – Kristin Shifflett and Joan Gardner – along with Boodie McGurn, who played in the championship the last time it visited Hot Springs in 2009. Listen along for a preview of the first USGA championship at the Homestead in 16 years.

It’s U.S. Open week, and our guest on Golf In The Commonwealth has some local knowledge of Oakmont Country Club, having played in a U.S. Open there. Keswick Hall club general manager and director of golf Rob McNamara joins host Chris Lang to talk U.S. Open memories and the excitement at Keswick for the upcoming 100th VSGA Women’s Amateur Championship.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.