In 1961, several women golfers from various Augusta area golf clubs held a meeting at Augusta Country Club and decided to form a woman’s golf organization. Its purpose would be to promote the further enjoyment of golf by providing a regular schedule of golfing events. Thus the CSRA WGA was born in October of 1961. That original CSRA board organized the elements of competition that remain in place today: monthly tournaments, team play, and a three-day championship tournament in the fall.
There were five founding clubs in October of 1961:
- Augusta Country Club
- Augusta Golf Club (now Augusta Municipal Golf Course or “The Patch”)
- Armed Forces (originally played out of Forest Hills, then moved to Fort Gordon in the 1970’s)
- Highland Park Country Club (now Aiken Golf Club)
- Midland Valley Country Club
Green Meadows joined at the very end of the first year. Membership in October of that year stood at 247 women from six clubs. Dues were twenty-five cents.
THE SIXTIES:
1962: The first 54-Hole Tournament was held.
1962: Team Play was begun.
1964: Persimmon Hill joined.
1965: North Augusta joined.
1968: Armed Forces became Fort Gordon.
1969: Dues were raised to 50 cents.
1969: West Lake joined.
THE SEVENTIES:
1970: Goshen Plantation joined.
1971: The Hole-In-One trophy was instituted.
1971: Pine Ridge joined.
***(Records from 1972 through 1975 are missing.)
197?: Fort Gordon resigned.
197? Augusta Golf Club resigned
197?: Persimmon Hill resigned.
197?: Houndslake joined.
1976: The first Lady/Pro was held (at West Lake).
1978: Belle Mead joined.
THE EIGHTIES:
1981: Houndslake resigned.
1982: Palmetto Golf Club joined.
1982: The Georgia GHIN network was begun.
1985: The board decided to publish new handbooks every four years.
1985: Houndslake rejoined. ACC resigned.
1986: The Most-Improved-Golfer award was begun.
1987: Persimmon Hill rejoined.
1987: First tee box markers were constructed.
1987: Dues were raised to $1 per person.
1988: Woodside Plantation joined.
1988: A senior division was added to the 54-Hole Tournament.
1989: Jones Creek joined.
1989: Fort Gordon rejoined.
1989: Augusta Country Club resigned.
THE NINETIES
1990: Current tee box markers were constructed
1991: A bingo set was purchased for use in case of bad weather.
1991: Persimmon Hill resigned.
1991: The board clarified and reaffirmed the 40-handicap limit.
1992: Highland Park resigned.
1992: Dues were increased from $1 to $3.
1993: Pointe South joined.
1993: Belle Mead resigned.
1993: The Mobley Cup Tournament was established by Board.
1993: Tara Golf Club at Savannah Lakes joined.
1993: Office of Secretary-Treasurer was split into two positions.
1994: Jones Creek resigned.
1995: The current CSRA logo was adapted.
1996: Palmetto Golf Club resigned.
1996: Pine Ridge resigned.
1997: Pine Ridge rejoined.
1997: A spectator policy was adapted.
1997: Cedar Creek joined.
1998: The Mobley Cup, renamed the Memorial Cup, was funded by private donors found by Board members.
1998: Dues were increased from $3 to $5.
1999: Membership books were published on a yearly basis.
2000 – 2009
2000: Mount Vintage joined.
2000: Pine Ridge resigned.
2001: Jones Creek rejoined.
2002: Tournament fees are raised by $1 to fund the Memorial Cup.
2002: Use of the bingo set for rain-outs was discontinued.
2002: The Board began recognition of 10 and 15 years of service for board members.
2003: The treasurer’s books would be audited yearly.
2004: The Reserve Club at Woodside Plantation joined.
2005: CSRA began funding girls’ golf scholarships in Georgia and S.C.
2006: Palmetto rejoined (February), withdrew (October) and Rocky Branch (now Golf de L) joined (October).
2007: Dues were raised to $6 to better fund the handbook.
2008: The Tournament Guide and SOP documents were created and put into use.
2009: Green Meadows resigned.
2009: Augusta Country Club rejoined.
2009: The 54-Hole Tournament was renamed the Abby Montenyohl Championship Tournament.
2010 to 2019
2010: North Augusta resigned. A Club Participation award was created for round robins.
2011: The 50th Anniversary of the CSRA WGA was recognized with a very special Montenyohl Tournament and End of Season Awards Luncheon Celebration.
2012: Jones Creek resigned.
2012: The 50th Anniversary of Team Play was recognized with a special event hosted by Midland Valley.
2013: The requirement to have 20 computed scores within the past 9 months for handicaps was dropped for stroke play tournaments.
2014: The River Golf Club joined.
2015: Augusta Country Club resigned after the 2014-2015 season.
2016: The River Club resigned.
2017: Pointe South resigned after the 2016-2017 season.
2018: Bartram Trail joined.
2019: The Senior Flight was eliminated from the Montenyohl.
2020 to Date
2020: This was the first year CSRA WGA operated until a calendar year. Unfortunately, the season was ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic with many (but not all!) events being cancelled.
2020: Rocky Branch resigned.
Of the five founding clubs, only Midland Valley remains.