April 2024 - Carrying On Our Legacy

The 90-year history of the Illinois Women's Golf Association has been placed in the trusty hands of the Chicago District Golf Association

This article appeared in the April 2024 edition of Chicago District Golfer.
To read more Chicago District Golfer stories, head to our article archive.

The Illinois Women’s Golf Association (IWGA) was established in 1933 for the specific purpose of conducting the Illinois State Women’s Amateur Championship. The mission was to make sure that the women of the entire state were eligible to vie for the championship, whether they belonged to a private club or not, and no matter where they lived in the state. For the past 90 years, we did just that.

Starting with the Women’s Amateur in 1934, then adding the Illinois State Senior Women’s Amateur Championship in 1970 and finally the Illinois State Junior Girls’ Amateur Championship in 1980, our all-volunteer board conducted these prestigious championships for nine decades.

In addition to conducting championships, the IWGA added a philanthropic arm in 1944, during World War II. The initial mission was to support the war effort and grew into a mission to support female golfers in Illinois. Annually, the IWGA raised money through the Victory Fund and then distributed these funds via scholarships to girls of fine character that possess a love of the game of golf, and through grants to collegiate women’s golf programs. Thanks to the generosity of women’s golf associations and individual donors, the IWGA Victory Fund has distributed over $1.4 million to support women’s and girls’ golf over the past 82 years!

Sadly, the IWGA era, like many volunteer golf boards in the country, has come to an end. The load simply became too much for a dwindling group of dedicated volunteers with no funding or staff. Convinced that our mission was important to the women and girls of Illinois, but faced with the reality that we simply could not continue forward, the IWGA Board spent our last year seeking a replacement.

Enter the Chicago District Golf Association (CDGA). The CDGA has been conducting the Illinois State Amateur Championship, local USGA qualifiers and an array of other championships around the District for decades. The CDGA also has a philanthropic arm, the CDGA Foundation, that supports various activities that embody the spirit of the game.

With more than 106,000 individual members, 400 member clubs and a full complement of staff, the CDGA is uniquely suited to take on the IWGA’s mission. Recognizing the need to expand its horizons deeper into women’s golf, the CDGA has hired a manager of women’s competitions and programs and has committed to conducting the Illinois State Women’s and Illinois State Senior Women’s Amateur Championships. The Illinois State Junior Girls’ Amateur Championship will be conducted by the Illinois Junior Golf Association, paralleling its Junior Amateur Championship.

Additionally, through the CDGA Foundation, the CDGA has committed in principle to keeping the IWGA’s Victory Fund alive by continuing to provide for the annual Julia Dodds Scholarships and the Mini-Grant program for Illinois women’s college golf teams. Initial funding will be provided by the transfer of the existing IWGA Victory Funds. Future funding for the program will be, as always, through donations from individuals, clubs and ladies’ associations from across the state who are passionate about supporting women’s golf.

We are extremely proud of what we have accomplished over the past 90 years! Our heritage and future now rest with the CDGA, which has graciously acknowledged the importance of these accomplishments and the need to continue the IWGA mission well into the future. Members can find information on former IWGA events on the CDGA’s new Women’s Championship Schedule on their website under the “Competitions” menu. We look forward to the CDGA continuing the IWGA’s legacy of supporting women’s and girls’ golf in Illinois. l

Linda Betzelberger is President of the Illinois Women’s Golf Association.