VSGA‘s Golf in the Commonwealth Podcast

Meet the Hiker - Josh Stueve

This is the second in our meet the hiker series and an opportunity to meet our hiker Josh Stueve. Before we get to Josh, we do want to thank our amazing sponsors and donors who’ve helped us raise over $23,000 right now to support Youth on Course efforts here in Virginia. Obviously walking 100-holes in a day takes strength and endurance and our friends at Adams Performance have come on as our official fitness, training and recovery sponsor. You may recall me having Dr. Kyle Adams on the podcast earlier in the season. Kyle himself is TPI certified and his team works with a ton of athletes and golfers ranging from guys who play in VSGA Super-Senior events to kids playing high school golf. Learn more about getting your athletic edge at AdamsPerformanceRVA.com. We also have apparel donations from our friends at Cutter & Buck and Turtleson. Both Cutter & Buck and Turtleson will be outfitting our hikers for this challenge and when you make a Cutter & Buck purchase through VSGA.org/store, a portion of the purchase in donated back to the VSGA so please check that out and use promo code VSGA25 for 25% off regular priced items across their site. And lastly our friends at GolfDom in McLean, Virginia. Buddy Christensen, owner of GolfDom, is another former guest on the podcast and GolfDom has a huge selection of equipment, apparel and services for golfers at every stage of the game. We’re grateful for their support and hope you’ll visit GolfDomGolf.com to shop their site or learn more.  So…like I said before, our guest this week is Josh Stevie, Josh lives in northern Virginia, works in DC and plays golf all over Virginia and the United States. You may have seen him on Instagram as DC Linksouldier or in the catalogs for the Oceanside, California brand Linksoul. It’s been a pleasure getting to know Josh during my time with the VSGA and I’m sure you’ll enjoy this conversation with Josh Stueve.

Meet the Hiker - Kent Holubar

Part of the fundraising effort for Youth on Course is the annual 100-Hole Hike where staff members, volunteers and friends play 100 holes of golf in a day, walking, and raise money from their friends, family, colleagues, networks, etc to support Youth on Course here in Virginia. Kent Holubar is one of our hikers. Kent has been with the VSGA for more than a dozen years and as manager of junior golf for most of that time, Kent has a unique perceptive on the value and importance of growing the game through programs like Youth on Course.

BONUS - Interviews from Final Round of 2021 State Open of Virginia

In this bonus episode of Golf in the Commonwealth, we have interviews with Bryce Corbett, a rising sophomore whose final round 62 tied the competitive course record and earned him a third-place finish. We also have a conversation with Independence Golf Club's Director of Golf, Drew Clements. Drew and his staff managed so many of the operations that made the 2021 State Open a success and finally we have a conversation with 2021 State Open of Virginia Champion Evan Beck. Evan is now a two-time winner of the State Open of Virginia, having claimed his first title in 2010.

BONUS - Interviews from Round 1 of 2021 State Open of Virginia

The 2021 State Open of Virginia presented by Virginia Lottery began Friday at Independence Golf Club. The field of 144 had great course conditions and scored well on the fast greens. Post round interviews include 2020 champion Mark Lawrence, Jr., 2010 Champion Evan Beck. Lawrence and Beck are both one shot off the lead held by our third interviewee, Robb Kinder. Our final interview of the episode is with PGA Tour journeyman Dick Mast. Weekend television coverage by WTVR CBS 6 News. The 2021 State Open of Virginia is supported by Truist, Virginia Lottery, Delta Dental of Virginia, Pleasants Hardware Since 1915, Tee It Up RVA, Landscape Supply, Inc., Peebles Golf Cars & Powhatan County, Virginia.

State Open of Virginia Preview

The VSGA's Matt Pochily and Chris Lang visit with five competitors in this week's State Open of Virginia presented by Virginia Lottery to hear about the state of their games, how the course has changed since the event was last held at Independence and what to expect at the event. In this episode, you'll hear from four-time State Open champion Jay Woodson, former Director of Golf at Independence Golf Club Elliott Wilson, 2010 State Open champion Evan Beck, 2019 State Open champion Jack Montague and defending champion Mark Lawrence, Jr. The 2021 State Open of Virginia is presented by Virginia Lottery and supported by Truist, Delta Dental of Virginia, Pleasants Hardware, Tee It Up RVA, Landscape Supply,  Peebles Golf Cars & Powhatan County. ⁣

BONUS - 108th VSGA Amateur Bracket Breakdown

Matt Pochily and Chris Lang of the VSGA breakdown the bracket for the opening round of matches in the 108th VSGA Amateur Championship hosted at the Country Club of Petersburg.

BONUS - Interviews from Round 1 of 108th VSGA Amateur Championship

We’re sharing this on Tuesday, June 29, 2021 after the first day of qualifying for the 108^th VSGA Amateur Championship at the Country Club of Petersburg. The first round saw 36 players under par, the low 32 players through 36 holes of qualifying will advance to match play. For this episode we’re sharing some of the interviews with did with players after the first round. We’ll start with Mehrbaan Singh, who’s six-under 66 put him in a tie for second.

Mehrbaan is tied with Teddy Zinsner at six-under. Next is our interview with Jeff Long, a mid-am from northern Virginia who played with Mehrbaan.

Among the players near the top is David Stanford. Stanford was runner up in the Amateur last year and coming off a victory at the VSGA Junior Match Play Championship at Winchester Country Club.

The afternoon wave of players saw more great scoring conditions and produced the best round of the day, a seven-under par 65 from Sam Jung of the University of Virginia.

Our last event from Monday was with Scott Shingler, the 49 year-old from Dominion Valley Country Club whose 3-under par 69 earned him a tie for 9^th.

Keep an eye on the podcast feed and social media for more content, interviews and perspectives from the 108^th VSGA Amateur Championship. Thanks for listening and we’ll see you in the fairway soon.

Bill Keene with a Superintendent's Perspective on Covid

For this week’s episode we have a conversation Matt Pochily had with Bill Keene, the superintendent at Blacksburg Country Club. We first talked with Bill in the spring of 2020 as Covid quarantine was beginning and golf was booming, at the time, Bill was the president of the Virginia Chapter of Golf Course Superintendents Association and we did an Instagram live on some of the precautions superintendents were taking by putting pool noodles in the holes, removing rakes from bunkers and others. This time, we caught up with Bill in the pro shop of Blacksburg Country Club while we were out there for Lanto Griffin’s AJGA event at the course, a course Bill had to have ready for some of the nation’s top juniors. We hope you enjoy our conversation with Bill Keene.

Mallory Hetzel Loves Coaching and Competing

This week we had the pleasure of talking with the head women’s golf coach at Old Dominion University in Norfolk Mallory Hetzel. Mallory has a record of playing at the highest levels from her time at the University of Georgia to the Futures Tour after and then got into coaching but has received her amateur status back and continued to compete winning back-to-back Carolina's Golf Association Women's Match Play Championship titles in 2014 and 2015 before coming to Virginia and ODU shortly thereafter…in fact, we caught up at the VSGA Women’s Stroke Play Championship event at Wintergreen Resort. This was a really fun conversation with a someone who has great perspectives on two sides of the game. We hope you enjoy our conversation with Mallory Hetzel.

Lanto Griffin on Supporting Golf in Virginia

This week we're very excited to share the conversation Matt Smiley and Matt Pochily had with Lanto Griffin at the AJGA event that bears his name in Blacksburg. They caught up with Lanto during the first Lanto Junior Championship at Blacksburg Country Club, a club where Lanto had opportunity the play a lot of golf growing up where he is now offering the opportunity for a new generation of juniors to grow their competitive love of the game through the AJGA event. In this conversation, Lanto shares the thrill it is to serve as host for this event and his excitement for supporting golf at al levels in Virginia.