GHIN Digital Profile

UGA Welcomes New Board Member Tina Mathieu

By Randy Dodson – A HER Fairways Story

Newly elected UGA Board member Tina Mathieu is looking forward to serving on the board and working as a volunteer. She is very involved in charity events and fund raising. She knows the UGA does so much more than handicapping and running tournaments and she can’t wait to get to work.

Her husband, Mike, is her mentor and best friend. He is an awesome golfer and has helped her improve her game by practicing the fundamentals at the driving range. She wishes she could have played with his dad, Henry. He would have loved hearing his golf stores.

Tina is a member of The Barn Ladies Association and claims the greatest thing she has done in golf was to join the ladies league.

Tina Mathieu is married with three children and two grandchildren. She has been in the 911 field for almost 30 years. She loves her job and the amazing people she works with.

UGA Welcomes New Board Member Rick Shew

By Mason Day

The only thing that can mitigate a sad goodbye is a happy hello. Though the UGA has said goodbye to a few members of their board this year, new faces will be replacing them. One of which is long-time volunteer and rules official, Rick Shew. Rick has spent a lot of time around Utah golf. His fondest first memories of golf were with his dad. “He would take me out with him and I’d pull the pull-cart and be his ‘caddy’,” Shew explained, “but my favorite part was when we found a hill and my dad pulled me down it while I sat on the cart.”

Shew started golfing early at an early age at Alpine Country Club where his dad was a member. As he interacted with other members, they all mentioned that he should volunteer with the UGA. So, hoping to give something back to the game, Shew went to rules training and started volunteering. He was elected onto the board for this upcoming year for the first time.

While discussing some challenges and things he wants to accomplish, Shew mentioned, “…golf has grown so much. The challenge will be to retain the players that [golf] has gained during the pandemic.” This is an admirable goal and he believes if more handicaps are welcome to courses, if play is faster, and if golfers are more educated then these players will have a higher likelihood to stay.

Rick Shew respects the UGA as an organization and wants to help the game in any way he can. He’ll be a part of the Competition and Players Advisory committee in the upcoming year. Shew has served on the board at his home club, Alpine, three separate times. He’s had great experience listening to players’ concerns and helping make competitions better and smoother. This experience will surely assist him in fulfilling all the duties awaiting him as a board member of the UGA. Welcome Rick Shew! We’re excited to have you.

UGA Welcomes New President Stew Walz

By Mason Day

There will be more than one president coming into office this coming November. The Utah Golf Association welcomes President Stewart Walz on the first day of next month. Stew has been on the board of the UGA for eight years. His ninth will be at the head of the board and it seems the association will be in great hands.

Stew grew up in South Dakota attending the University of South Dakota for his undergrad. Later he headed out to Nashville for law school at Vanderbilt. In 1976 he came to Utah and has been here ever since. Mr. Walz became an assistant US attorney as a federal prosecutor, specifically for white-collar crimes. He did that for over 37 years. Of his career he stated, “It was the perfect job for me…I was the luckiest guy in the world.” Initially Stew thought he’d work in academia as a history professor. However, the law captivated him and it seemed to be the perfect fit.

Teaching is a passion of Stew’s. He had the opportunity to teach at the Department of Justice in Colombia, South Carolina. This was his job for 2 years, molding minds with trial advocacy training, evidence, tax evasion, and more to help these kids reach their judicial goals. “Teaching was less stressful, but you don’t always know what happens with students,” Walz explained while discussing which he preferred, “in the courtroom you get a definitive answer at the end. You may not always win but you can know you did the best you could.” He compared this to a golf game. Saying, “You can’t control what another player does just like you can’t control a jury. If you play well on the course you still might lose, of course you hope to win but you can still feel good about how you played even if you don’t.”

With his experience in solving puzzles, putting facts together, finding errors and exploiting them, one may think Walz will come into the presidency of the UGA to change things up. This could not be further from the truth. He was avid in his admiration of former president, Kurt Bernhisel. “I’ve got big shoes to fill,” Walz complemented, “[Kurt] has been a big part of Utah golf for a long time…golf is a significant part of his life and he’s lived that part of his life very well.” Walz continued his expression of respect while discussing the volunteers. “They’re amazing! Working for cheeseburgers and working 14-hour days sometimes out of love for the game is incredible.” Point being, Stew Walz doesn’t want to shake things up. He wants to see this association grow as it’s been growing.

As Walz discussed his goals for the year, three main ones came up:

1. Expanding competition opportunities to players of all handicaps
2. Continue being an organization that runs premier tournaments
3. Expanding the number of people who play the great game of golf

The players in Utah play at a high level. Many have been witnesses of this as they attend tournaments, or see scores posted, or attempt to play in a tournament themselves. Walz wants to see these players satisfied, of course. However, he wants to also give the less premier players the opportunity to compete. Getting higher handicaps out competing may not appeal to viewers of the game, but it’s a fantastic idea to anyone who’s looking at their handicap praying it gets below 10 at some point. Of tournaments Stew said, “Look at how well all the tournaments came off during this season of Covid. That’s the work of the staff. It’s not the board that does that work.” Another thing he made sure to say again was that he wasn’t going to change anything. “It already works!” he explained. He believes the UGA will continue to grow, as it has, by itself because of how it has been established by the staff and those before him.

When people come into a position such as this, the word legacy comes up. What will you leave? How will you be remembered? When asked about what he’d want people to remember about his presidency he responded calmly and thoughtfully. Saying, “That the UGA continued to be a premier organization for the advancement of golf in Utah as it’s continued to be.” Again, Walz has a “don’t fix what’s not broken” mentality to this position, his responses are evidence of this. He described the purpose of the Board of the UGA as follows, “The board of directors does not exist to run the UGA. The board of directors exists to provide guidance and help the staff do their job.” With this definition and a supreme love for the game of golf, specifically golf in Utah, it does seem like the UGA is in great hands this upcoming year.

Fun facts about Stewart Walz:

Stew has played Bandon Dunes three times.

His lowest score is a 68.

He has shot five hole-in-ones

The best place he’s ever played is Great Britain (loves oceanside golf)

Served as the president of Hidden Valley Country Club (his home club)

Loves to ski

Favorite dessert is chocolate mousse but says, “If ice cream didn’t exist, I’d be skinny.”

Team Arizona Ends the 11-Year Drought

By: Easton Folster

Over the past week at Wigwam Golf Resort, Team Utah took on Team Arizona in the 30^th annual Arizona vs. Utah Shootout.  Team Utah was looking to extend a decade long streak in the Ryder cup style event, while Team Arizona was desperate for a win.

Utah got off to a sluggish start during the morning four-ball matches, falling behind 14 to 4.  Dan Horner, a veteran of The Shootout said:

“We got smoked in the Four-Ball on the first day and then tried to play catch up from there, even though we gained some ground in the Foursome matches and, in the Singles, it wasn’t enough.  We just got outplayed, not much else to say. They played very solid golf.”

One bright spot for the Utah Team was Nuny Kham-one, who won her singles match on day 2, while competing against Arizona State University freshman, Breyanna Matthews.  When asked what made the difference on day 2, Nuny explained:

“What helped me win the match was the putting…I made a lot of one putts by attacking the hole.  To seal the win on the 16^th hole, I made a 4-foot birdie putt.  It was the greatest feeling, hearing the ball drop in the cup.  Never say never and stay positive because it is possible to win, even in the most competitive of competitions.”

Despite an attempt at a late run on Day 2, Utah fell to Arizona 41.5 to 30.5.  Team Utah will look to take back the trophy in 2021, as they will host the 31^st edition of the event.

Bountiful Ridge Earns 8-Man Championship

In a lopsided final match, Bountiful Ridge earns the 2020 8-man championship.  The team of Ryan Brimley, Devon Purser, Jake Lasalle, Adam Epson, Jeremy Miller, Michael Yates, BJ Burt and Neal Barth dominated the final at Davis Park GC.

Full Results: https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/2635331

TalonsCove Wins 8-Man Senior Title

In a competitive season of senior 8-man competition, TalonsCove emerged as the best of the best with their  20.5 to 15.5 win in the playoff finale.  The team of Brett Sampson, Brent Robertson, Paul Pugmire, Greg Gust, Steve Kirk, Jamie Childs, Brett Wiseman, and Steve Watts dominated the four-ball portion with 9 out of a possible 12 points to secure the win.

Full Results: https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/2635517

Wilson Earns 3rd Stroke Play Title, Gaiotti Continues Winning Ways

On Monday, September 28th the Utah Senior Stroke Play Championship got under way at Stonebridge Golf Course. The field consisted of many decorated, seasoned players. With the competition being set at such a high level, the week produced great drama and deserving champions.

In both the senior women’s and super senior women’s divisions Annette Gaiotti came away with commanding wins. Her day two scorecard posted 4 birdies which propelled her to the 5 stroke win in the senior division and a convincing 37 stroke victory in the super senior division. Overall she shot 151 (+7) over the two days.

Moving to the men’s net division, it was Randy Stewman who found himself atop the leaderboard. A masterful 69 on day one gave him a lead that he never relinquished. His 4 birdies on day 3 kept him in the lead and he was able to pull out a win at Stonebridge.

The winner of the men’s super senior division was Michael Hacker. Hacker wasn’t leading the pack all week, but a bogey-free 3rd round that consisted of 6 birdies allowed him to solidify his 8-stroke W.

Our main senior division ended in wild fashion. The final pairing was represented by former champion Craig Wilson, and renowned player and winner, Kirk Siddens. They were neck and neck all week but on the final day it was Siddens who started pulling away. Of Siddens’ performance Wilson said, “…he’d been playing great all week and really this was his tournament.” Wilson was right, up until about the 15th hole.

Day 3 had Siddens working on a bogey-less round and Wilson trying to get back to even with 3 quick bogeys on the first 6 holes. But on hole 15, Craig Wilson heated up. He ended the day with 4 straight birdies as he closed the gap between him and Siddens. When asked what he was thinking on 15 he simply said, “I just wanted to make a better score…I didn’t feel any pressure because I had won before and I wanted Kirk to win.”

His desire for a good friend to hoist the trophy was squandered by those last 4 holes. While Wilson had straight birdies, Siddens had pars and an 8 on 18. Wilson commented, “yeah when Kirk‘s ball went a little left off the tee I thought, ‘wow I could actually win this thing’”. And win it he did with a total 3-day score of 208 (-8). Of the victory he told us, “I’m just glad I can prove to myself that I can still play golf and compete at a high level.” He proved that, to not only himself this week, but to everyone around Utah golf.

 Full Results: https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/2354121

Photos: Fairways Media