January 15, 2021

Dear OGA Member,

On behalf of the staff and Board of Directors, we hope that you and your family had a very safe and healthy holiday season to wind down 2020 and usher in the New Year.

Although it was a challenging year in many ways, the OGA staff worked tirelessly to ensure our customer service was second to none and that you, our member, remained the top priority. Heading into this year, we want you to know that we are committed to providing you the quality member experience you have come to expect, even despite the continued uncertainty of our times.

A few items of note that we continue to work on behind the scenes:

ADVOCACY – As part of the Golf Alliance of Oregon, we worked hard to ensure that golf remained a viable and permitted activity throughout the state of Oregon. We collaborated with our industry partners and communicated with the Governor’s office about how our game has a built-in social distancing component that makes it a perfect activity for people to enjoy the outdoors in a safe and welcoming environment. Those efforts helped keep golf courses open when other states were shut down.

We also initiated an on-going communications campaign to encourage our US Senators and Representatives from Oregon to include other 501 (c) corporations to be eligible for funding through the federal stimulus packages, when only (c) (3) organizations were included in the first round. Many private clubs have (c) (7) status and were not eligible.

PROMOTING SAFE PLAY – Also in conjunction with our Alliance partners, we took the lead in developing and providing facility operators comprehensive guidelines for maintaining safe and healthy locations for recreation. Working together, Oregon golf courses, because of their diligence in following protocols, experienced record growth in number of rounds. Along with this, we were able to conduct OGA tournaments by establishing a strict set of procedures that ensured fair play in the Covid-19 era and provided much-welcomed competition.

QUANTIFYING GOLF’S IMPACT – The Alliance also commissioned an updated Economic Impact Study in conjunction with the National Golf Foundation, a project that took most of last year and is based on 2019 data. The report, scheduled to be released this spring, provides a great tool to educate our lawmakers on how impactful the golf industry is to the state’s economy. It also highlights the environmental benefits of our game.

SUBSIDIZING ROUNDS FOR YOUTH GOLFERS – Through the OGA’s Youth on Course Program, we paid out over $100,000 to allow youth golfers in Oregon to play for only $5 at over 65 participating facilities, helping ensure the sustainability of our game into the future. Oregon youth were able to play affordable golf more often!

PROVIDING CORE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES – During the OGA Annual Meeting conducted virtually last October, OGA President Rusty Beckel categorized the year as “unusual business on top of business as usual.” How true that is. While adjusting to the new normal as well as continuing to elevate our value proposition (our new Bandon Dunes promotion last summer sold out!), we will continue to strive towards improving our offerings, keeping you apprised of updates and changes to the Rules of Golf and Handicapping, providing playing opportunities for all skill levels and delivering top-notch customer service that addresses all your needs.

We value your membership and look forward to serving you in 2021!

Sincerely,




Barb Trammell
OGA CEO