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Member Benefits: Travel with the AGA to TPC Danzante Bay in 2022

If you liked the Mayan Palace Member trip then you’re going to love the latest AGA Golf Experience!

The latest AGA Golf Experience has you headed to play rounds at the scenic TPC Danzante Bay Golf Resort while you stay beachfront at the Villa del Palmar Beach Resort & Spa in Loretto Bay, Mexico January 23 – January 27, 2022.

Registration includes four nights lodging at the Villa del Palmar at The Islands of Loreto, three rounds of golf at TPC Danzante Bay with cart and range privileges, daily golf contests and prizes, the all-inclusive meal plan, one Danzante upgrade per person, airport transfers, and all taxes and fees. Options also include with or without airfare.

REGISTER NOW

For more details on the trip click here: https://www.azgolf.org/travel/

RELATED: WATCH TPC Danzante Bay Preview

See Memories from our previous Mayan Palace member weekend below:

Meet the Newest Arizona Golf Hall of Fame Inductees

SCOTTSDALE, AZ – On November 23rd, the Arizona Golf Hall of Fame recognized and inducted four exceptional individuals into the 2020-2021 Hall of Fame Class. Those honored at the induction ceremony were John Gunby, Tina Tombs, Mark Woodward and the Desert Mashie Golf Club.

These individuals were chosen because they have distinguished themselves by going above and beyond the norm in golf in the state of Arizona, whether they are players, professionals, managers, administrators, industry leaders or volunteers to the allied associations. The Hall of Fame is a means to perpetually honor their legacy, continue reading to learn about the newest inductees and their contributions.

John Gunby, Southwest Section PGA Professional

A 2017 recipient of the AGA Champion of Golf Award recognizing “Selfless lifetime service to the Game of Golf in Arizona,” John Gunby’s dedication to serving the game for the last 40+ years is well-documented and recognized by his peers. He has orchestrated a fundraising golf tournament for the Wounded Warriors Foundation on Veterans Day and has been very involved from the outset with the Southwest PGA’s and the national PGA HOPE (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere) initiative including orchestrating a PGA HOPE Comedy Show to raise funds for PGA HOPE programs.

In 2019, Gunby received the Southwest PGA Patriot Award, which bestows special recognition on a PGA Professional who personifies patriotism through the game of golf and demonstrates unwavering commitment and dedication to the men and women who have valiantly served and protected the United States. The 2013 Southwest PGA Golf Professional of the Year, Gunby was recently announced as an enshrinee into the 2019 Southwest PGA Hall of Fame.

Tina Tombs, Professional Golfer and Instructor

A two-time NCAA All-American in 1984 and 1985 at Arizona State University, and an ASU Hall of Fame inductee in 2006, Tina Tombs competed on the LPGA Tour after graduation and won the 1990 Jamie Farr Toledo Championship. She has been a member of the LPGA ever since, as a competitive player on the tour and now on the Legends Tour, and as an accomplished teaching professional.
In 2014 and 2018, Tombs was named the LPGA National Teacher of the Year. She earned the Arizona Golf Association’s Updegraff Award in 2017, given annually to the person who “… by his or her actions and accomplishments exemplify the Spirit of the Game.” Other awards include 2014 and 2018 LPGA Central Section Teacher of the Year; 2015 Marilynn Smith Service Award; Golf Digest’s Best Teachers in Arizona, 2017- 20; Teaching and Club Pro’s Top 50 LPGA Teachers, 2017-20; and GOLF Magazine Top 100 Teacher since 2019.

“When I think about my career, I feel overwhelmed,” said Tombs. “I have put my heart and soul into this game. I am blessed to have received so much from the game of golf and its beautiful community. I wake up every morning and I am filled with gratitude, even more so after this year, that my office is the golf course. It is the honor of my career to be recognized by the Arizona Golf Hall of Fame!”

Related: https://tinatombsgolf.com/landing/home

Mark Woodward, Superintendent

Mark Woodward is a Certified Golf Course Superintendent/Director of Agronomy (CGCS) who has over 50 years of experience in many facets of the golf industry, forty-five of those in Arizona. His diverse career has included both stints as a Superintendent and Administrator, most recently serving as the Director of Agronomy at Whisper Rock Golf Club in Scottsdale.

As the City of San Diego’s Golf Operations Manager in 2005, Woodward was responsible for preparing the Torrey Pines South Golf Course to host the 2008 U.S. Open, working closely with the United States Golf Association (USGA). For his efforts at Torrey Pines, Woodward was recognized by Golf Inc. Magazine as one of golf’s “Most Admired Operators” in 2006 and in the Top 35 “Most Powerful People in Golf’ in 2008 and 2009. He served as CEO of the Golf Course Superintendent Association of America (GCSAA) from 2008 through 2010, and was a Senior Vice President of Operations for Scottsdale-based OB Sports Golf Management from 2013 through 2017. Woodward served on the Cactus and Pine Golf Course Superintendents Association board of directors on three separate occasions dating back to the 1980’s, and currently as President.

“I was extremely humbled and taken a little off-guard to be selected for this honor,” said Woodward. “By far, the most rewarding part of my career in golf has been all the inspirational people I’ve met and worked with. They are the true foundation of the golf industry.”

Desert Mashie Glf Club, Industry Leader

During the years of segregation when golf was a restrictive game and most courses were prohibitive or private, a group of ten professional African American men – the Desert Mashie founding fathers – came together and challenged that limitation. The Desert Mashie Golf Club was founded in 1946 as an organization “for all persons interested in golf regardless of race, or ethnicity,” one of the oldest independent clubs in Arizona. They stated the organization did not practice, permit or condone segregation or discrimination in any form because of color, race, creed, religion, national origin or gender orientation in order to foster their love of golf and expand the sport in the community.

The club defined its purpose, commitment and outlined a program for growth, with five objectives established:

1. To provide instructions and clinics for its members

2. To provide organized competition for its members

3. To promote a golf program for youth

4. To promote a program for women

5. To develop better public relations in the total golf community

In 1948, Desert Mashie held its first annual golf tournament and in 1950, Desert Mashie joined the United States Golf Association (USGA). In 1954, Desert Mashie Golf Club became a charter member of the Western States Golf Association (WSGA) whose 30 member clubs span six western states.

A past president, Dr. William “Bill” Dickey, was one of the most decorated servants of the golf industry. Fervently believing in a college education for youth through golf, Dr. Dickey was one of the founders of the PGA Minority Collegiate Golf Championship, and in his own BDSA Foundation, distributed over 1,000 scholarships to college-bound minority golfers. An Arizona Golf Updegraff Awardee recognizing his spirit and service, he also was presented with The PGA Distinguished Service Award in 1999, its highest honor.

“We are so honored and grateful to be named to the Arizona Golf Hall of Fame,” said Carolyn Suttles, Desert Mashie Club President. “The mission of Desert Mashie has always been about our Junior Golfers. The fact that we have helped send young people off to college – and the alumni from our Junior Program – to work not only in golf but in a myriad of professional careers, is proof of the impact our organization has had on this community.”

Related: https://desertmashie.org/

You may be thinking, “How are the inductees selected?”
Well, there’s a committee for that, and it’s called: The Hall of Fame Committee. It consists of representatives from five of the allied golf associations serving golf in Arizona; Arizona Golf Association, Cactus & Pine Golf Course Superintendents, Club Managers Association, Junior Golf Association of Arizona and the Southwest Section PGA. The Arizona Golf Association created the Arizona Golf Hall of Fame in 1968 and since that time, there have been 72 individuals inducted.

You can learn more about the process at https://www.arizonagolfhalloffame.com/.

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Scottsdale Prep Academy Earns First Team Title at D-III State Championship

Words by: Andy Morales, AZPreps365

Scottsdale Prep shot a 7-under-par 273 on Tuesday to pull away from Valley Christian at the Division III state championships held at the OMNI Tucson National. The Spartans held a slim 4-stroke lead over the Trojans after the first round on the Sonoran Course on Monday but that lead grew as the day went on and the program finished with a 40-stroke victory (572 to 612) to claim the first golf championship for the program.

It was the biggest margin of victory at the D-III level since 2009 when Snowflake beat Payson 595 to 652. In addition, Scottsdale Prep sophomore Adam Miller finished 3-under on Tuesday to claim the individual state championship with a 1-under 139. His teammate, junior Talia Gutman, finished three strokes back for second place after she shot a 3-under on Tuesday. Arizona College Prep senior Rajveer Sethi also took second place after he finished with the best round of the tournament with a 4-under 66.

Adam Miller is your 2021 @AZPreps365 D3 State Champion. First medalist from Scottsdale Prep and also first team title for the school #AZPreps365 His dad is the coach getting drenched https://t.co/xYLO6c7uL9 pic.twitter.com/R6Gq2jRk7l

— Andy Morales (@AZPreps365Andy) May 12, 2021

Gutman’s runner-up finish was the highest for a female athlete playing in D-III since former Estrella Foothills standout Sarah Freeman won a state title in 2007. Former Yuma Catholic standout Alexandria Schmunk took third place in 2018 and 2019.

Valley Christian won six of the last seven D-III championships, including 2018 and 2019, with former standout James Mackie winning it all as a freshman and as a senior in 2019. Now competing for California Baptist, Mackie took second place at the WAC championships earlier this month.

Mackie was the first freshman to win a championship in 2016 and Rancho Solano Prep freshman Brantlee Howard finished nine strokes back to take ninth place this year. As a team, Scottsdale Prep had four finishers in the top six and only Davis Johnson is a senior. Johnson took second to Mackie in 2019.

AZ College Prep took 12th place last year and Rajveer Sethi took 22nd.

Story via: Andy Morales, AZPreps365

AGA President Bob McNichols named 2020 Golf Executive of the Year by AJGA

Read the full article on the AJGA website