By Bruce Meadows
February 2020
Symetra Tour back at Windsor GC . . .
Northern California golf fans will once again have the opportunity to watch young women, many of whom may be the stars of the future on the LPGA Tour, when the Symetra Tour returns to Windsor GC March 31 through April 4.
This is the third time the event has been held at Windsor with previous tournaments in 2017 and 2019. Leona Maguire of County Caven, Ireland, was the champion last year.
“It’s been great to have a tour event back in Sonoma County,” says Windsor head pro Jason Schmuhl. “The best thing about the event is meeting all the women and watching them play and then seeing them compete on TV on the LPGA tour the following year. These women are really good and from all over the world. It shows what a global sport golf is.
“It is a great opportunity for people to bring their daughters out to watch young women play golf.
Jason’s words are spot on . . . it is great to see girls and young women who love the game to see what may be possible.
And consider this: admission is free . . . no tickets needed!
Practice rounds are Monday and Tuesday with the Pro-Am Wednesday. Thursday’s first round starts between 7:30 and 8 a.m. with players teeing off from No. 1 and No. 10. There will be a cut after Friday for Saturday’s final round, which should end about 2:30 or 3 p.m.
The Symetra Tour is the official qualifying tour of the LPGA and enters its 40th competitive season in 2020. With the support of its entitlement partner Symetra, the Tour’s mission is to prepare the world’s best young women professional golfers for a successful career on the LPGA Tour.
For a fourth consecutive year, the Symetra Tour and American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) are aligning around select AJGA invitationals hosted by current and former LPGA Tour greats to provide champions with exemption into Symetra Tour events.
There are numerous partnerships/sponsorships available, including Platinum Sponsorship ($50,000) for naming rights and a lot more; Gold Partnership ($25,000) for four pro-am teams, 24 invitations, etc.; Junior Clinic Sponsor ($10,000); Volunteer Sponsor ($10,000); VIP Hospitality Sponsor ($10,000); Trackboard and Leaderboard ($10,000); Tournament Gate Sponsor ($7,500);Caddie Bib Sponsor ($7,500); Golf Cart Sponsor ($5,000); Meet The Pros Party Sponsor ($5,000); Driving Range and Putting Green Sponsor, $5,000); Player Dining Sponsor ($5,000), Ticket Sponsor ($5,000); Pairings Guide Sponsor ($5,000); Standard Bearer Sponsor ($5,000); Ecology Sponsor ($5,000); Pro-Am Team Hole Sign ($4,000); Raffle Sponsor ($1,000), and Hole Sponsor ($1,000).
That’s a lot of sponsor opportunities but each provides participants with exposure to their business or cause. You might want to check them out.
Pro-Am participants ($3,000 per team or $1,000 individual) receive one round of golf with an LPGA Symetra Tour pro; a deluxe Pro-Am gift package ($200 value); two invitations to the Meet The Pros Party Tuesday, March 31; two VIP Hospitality Tickets per day (Thursday through Saturday); all-inclusive food and beverage during the Pro-Am, and logo place on one tournament hole sign.
To sign up for the Pro-Am or to get details on sponsorships and partnerships, contact Dean Schneider, Tournament Manager at dean.schneider@lpga.com or call the Windsor Pro Shop, 838-7888.
Volunteers are always needed at an event like this and having done that myself, I can tell you it’s fun and rewarding and a chance to see a tournament from a different perspective.
To get “inside the ropes” at the Symetra Tournament, cost to volunteer is a comparatively reasonable $25, which includes an official LPGA Windsor Golf Classic golf shirt; tournament cap; one lunch voucher for each day worked, and one complimentary round of golf at Windsor GC.
To find out more about volunteering, call Kay Robinson, kedntay@sonic.net or Demian Reddy at707-837-7079, Ext. 39, or demian@windsorgolf.com
The third edition of the Buick Shanshan Feng AJGA Girls Invitational was held Feb. 15-17 at Stanford Golf Course. The reward for its victor was a place in the field for the Windsor Golf Classic April 2-4.
Since Symetra’s inaugural sponsorship year in 2012, the Symetra Tour has grown from 16 tournaments and $1.7 million in prize money to $4.0 million in prize money awarded over the course of 22 events.
With more than 600 alumnae moving on to the LPGA, former Symetra Tour players have won a total of 445 LPGA titles.
You can follow the Symetra Tour on the web at www.SymetraTour.com, Facebook.com/Road2LPGA, Twitter.com/Road2LPGA and Instagram @road2lpga
What are your golfing favorites?
From time to time, when I wrote a weekly golf column for the Press Democrat, I would ask readers to take part in a very unofficial survey.
I wanted to know – and wanted our readers to have some knowledge – about what local golfers like or don’t like about golf in our area.
It’s been a while since I did this survey, so I figured I would toss it out to readers of my online column, GOLF 707.
I would like to know what you think, and local golf courses and golf-related businesses would no doubt like to have some idea what local golfers think, too. Those courses and business who get good reviews can continue to do what they’re doing, and those that do not show up on our survey might want to take a look at how they can do things a little better.
So check out the following list and let me know your thoughts. I would prefer an email to bmeadows4sports@aol.com so I can compile a list and keep a running vote total.
And while you are handing out praise, feel free to take a shot at golf courses, businesses or pros or whatever you feel need some improvement.
Include your name and city with your email if possible. And if there is a category you feel I missed, feel free to create one. You can respond to the categories that interest you, but respond to all of them if you wish.
Here’s the list:
Best Par 3
Best Par 4
Best Par 5
Best 18-hole Course
Best 9-hole Course
Best Greens
Best 19th Hole
Best Pro Shop
Friendliest, most helpful Pro Shop Staff
Best Golf Instructor
Best Junior Program
Best Women’s Program
Best Senior Program
Best Golf Course Food, Drink
Best Driving Range
Best “Bang for your Buck”
Best Practice Facility (putting green, chipping green, etc.)
Best Golf Shop (well-stocked, sales, etc.)
Best Golf Repair
Best Maintained Course
Let’s hear from you . . .
Thanks for your comments, questions and suggestions. I appreciate getting them and would like to get as many as possible. If you have information about anything golf-related, including upcoming clinics, activities, tournaments or sales, let me know. And if you have questions, complaints or compliments about golf in our area, I want to hear them.
If you have a golfer – pro or amateur — you know who you think would make an interesting story, tell me about it 
and I will take it from there. Having trouble with your game? Let me know what it is and I’ll try to get an answer for you from a local pro.
We would be proud to include you as one of our sponsors – thanks to Bill Carson at Wine Country Golf for his continued support – so if you care to get some details about being a sponsor of GOLF 707, email me at bmeadows4sports@aol.com