Headline: Massachusetts Golf Association and Women’s Golf Association of Massachusetts Memberships Approve Plans to Merge Operations in 2018

For Immediate Release: April 5, 2017

Memberships from the MGA & WGAM gave the green light for the organizations to merge in 2018.

Norton, MA — The Massachusetts Golf Association (MGA) and Women’s Golf Association of Massachusetts (WGAM) announced that the two organizations will merge operations, effective January 1, 2018.

Following a successful vote of the WGAM membership on Saturday at a Special Meeting prior to its Annual Spring Meeting, the merger was approved by the MGA membership by a unanimous vote during a Special Meeting of the MGA Members held on Tuesday, April 4th at Golf House in Norton, Massachusetts.

“It is a historic time for amateur golf with our two organizations coming together for the good of the game,” said Tom Bagley, president of the MGA. “This merger will allow us to continue what these two organizations have established but also bring a concerted focus to growing golf and bringing it to even more people throughout the Commonwealth.”

The long-standing organizations serving their respective golf communities for a combined 231 years will become one under the name of Massachusetts Golf Association and will proudly represent and serve the golfers and member clubs of the Bay State.

As previously announced, the consolidated structure will have one governing board comprising men and women and a melding of enhanced services, including grow-the-game initiatives, championships, member events and tournaments, junior golf, handicapping, course rating, volunteer resources and opportunities, communications, marketing and business operations. It will also continue to provide a comprehensive suite of services to member clubs and expand the work of The First Tee of Massachusetts.

“We had more than 80 members brave a New England snow storm on April 1st to show their support of this merger,” said Leslie Logan, president of WGAM. “We are unified in our belief that this merger is in the best interest of women’s golf in our state. We are excited to move forward with our MGA partners to promote golf while respecting the history of the WGAM.”

The Letter of Intent to Merge was signed on November 7, 2016, and since that time the two organizations have been working together on a plan to fully integrate operations and governance beginning in January 2018.

“Much work and effort has been put forth by the WGAM and MGA board of directors and staff to prepare for the merger,” said Jesse Menachem, the MGA’s executive director. “Over the past six months, we have worked closely together to learn more about each other’s operations. This has been a tremendous opportunity for us to collectively identify best practices and streamline processes so that we can improve our services from top to bottom.”

Both organizations will continue to operate independently in 2017 and no changes to the championship and special events schedules are anticipated in 2018.  

“By becoming one organization, we will be able to significantly enhance our programs and more effectively meet the ever-changing demands of current and future golfers,” said Cathleen Beach, the current WGAM executive director who will take on a new role beginning in 2018 as the director of women’s golf and player development.

For more information on each organization, please visit MGAlinks.org and WGAM.org.